Newbie... :)

WOW that's great! It does make a difference when your work environment supports your personal choices. I haven't worked since my children were born - 7 years ago- so it has been a long time since I have been in a work environment but I am sure it is much more cut-throat now-a-days than it was even 7years ago. What time is your baby coming? I WISH we were getting a baby today. So do my children!! they are soooo excited! My son is 7 and my daughter is 6. So letme know if you have any questions about having TWO little ones. My daughter was born when my sone was 15 mos old. I am an old pro!! :) WOuld love to chat more! Michelle

Hey ladies! Welcome Michelle, and I SO know how you feel. I got my license in November and I'm getting my first little fs tomorrow morning. I am single, and another single in my class got 2, before her license even arrived in the mail! I was like, HEY!!! where's MINE!?!?! but then I just waited, tried to be patient, relied on God to make me wait for the placement that would be best matched in my home. and here he is. :) Sasha, I'm in TX too, Austin. How does the WIC work? I guess I'll need to do some paperwork or something?? It's so great to have people to share this with. Thanks for being there. Heather

You hit it right on the head! I was semi-complaining to a friend about all the stuff we had to go through and my fingerprints got sent back twice, then PA decided to change the medical testing AFTER we had already had it done so we had to go have more blood tests, etc. My friend said, "You know, God has specific babies for you and Ken and if things went smoothly and quickly it would throw HIS timing out the window..."your" baby may not even be born yet..." How old is your fs? How EXCITING!!!!! A am soooo happy for you! What are you doing to prepare? DO you have other children at home? Look forward to chatting more! Michelle in PA

T. is 18 months old. No, no other children. What am I doing to prepare? EVERYTHING! tonight I am putting the crib together and trying to reassemble the car seat! I got it from a friend and she said to wash it bc her child had gotten chocolate ice cream on it. so I did, now I can't figure out how to get the straps back on! :-( and praying. A LOT! I'm nervous, but so so excited.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA I JUST did the car seat straps this morning on THREE new/used car seats we got form friends....SO I AM WITH YOU on the "HOW the HECK do you do this??!" :) I am excited for you! My email addy is MLKB@PTD.NET would love to keep in touch through this!! :) Michelle

The worker is supposed to bring the baby to my office around 3:30 or 4:00 and I'll take him home on the train. WIC is great, especially for formula. Just call your local WIC office and set up an appointment (they'll tell you what to bring as far as paperwork). You will have to bring the child with you so they can weigh and measure him/her. You get vouchers for formula, cereal and juice for infants. I shop at Wal-Mart and just go through the checkout, hand them the voucher and they do the rest. You've got to be careful about what items because they only approve certain ones, but that only pertains to juice and cereal (for the infants, but it gets more complicated for toddlers). Luckily I've received formula with the kids when they arrived and got the vouchers to buy a month's worth at a time. It's worked out great! I have 2 young nephews (they're 4 yrs. and 2 yrs. old)but this is the first time that I've taken care of one toddler and one infant at the same time. It ought to be interesting...

I now I hate the waiting for a call time. That's where we are again. But I have found that on a day when you're really busy the phone will ring. And most of the time it catches me off guard. I'm either, cooking, driving, cleaning, taking a shower or bathing the kids. They never call when I'm sitting there thinking, "Gosh I wish I had another child." The day I got a call for Om I was really sick with a migraine and vomitting. The last thing on my mind was having a child that day. But I said yes, and he came home 4 hours later. Talk about the best way to get over a migraine (be so busy that you can't even remember you had one in the first place). WIC is great, especially with infants. And pediatricans will write out scripts for pediasure if they feel children are underwieght (then WIC should cover it). We've had underweight toddler placements on pediasure and it can get expensive. Good luck with the car seat straps. Thank goodness for the easy adjusting kind. Now if I can figure out how to put 3 seats in the back of my mini-van that would be great. It's like trying to squeeze into those pants I wore in the 6th grade.....so many yrs ago, lol. -LeenaB

Yep. That's what I figure!!! When I am trying not to have busy day - they won't call but when I have a million things to get done...that is when I will get the call! Let me run this by you - you can see how "frantic" I am about getting the first call.... I go to the YMCA to work out 3-4x a week...my cell phone does NOT get reception at the "Y" so what do you think the chances are that I get the call during those times? This has been driving me nuts!! Do I give my CW the phone# of the "Y" and tell her - "if you need to reach me on Tues. & Thursd. from......or on Wed. at this time...." UGH! I feel like a psycho but what if?? ya know? I am soooo anxious to help and be put to good use! Well, I am so glad to be a part of this group....I had a lot I wanted to get done this afternoon when my children were in school but I chose to sit at the computer and build some friendships - I am so glad I did! I can already tell that you all are going to be my major support system when I need it...I only hope I can return the favor!! Blessings to you all!

You are exactly right! You will get that call on the day you have 6,000 things to do!! LOL We had gotten a 4 month old little girl 2 years ago on Feb 18 & my older daughter (17 at the time), the baby & I were shopping for a swim suit on March 8 (a Saturday) because she was leaving in a week to go to Hawaii on spring break when my phone rang in the department store asking if I could drive an hour away to pick up a newborn baby. Of course I said yes but then it was a mad rush to get everything I needed (fortunately I borrowed an infant car seat as mine was already being used by my little 4 month old). CRAZY TIMES! but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I currently have 3 bio children who are 22, 19 & 14, one 5 year old I have legal guardianship of & we just adopted our foster son who is 22 months now (he's the one we picked up from the hospital). We also have 2 other foster children who are 5 & 2 years old who we are adopting & those adoptions will be final the end of March or beginning of April. So guess what I did last week?????? Told the caseworker I was ready for another baby!!!! LOL I truly don't think we will adopt any more (but never say never!) but I really miss having a baby around the house. GOOD LUCK!

WOW!! You remind me of the woman in the book I just read, "Another Place at the Table" she had such a heart for foster care and the children she opened her home to that she barely EVER said "No!" :) God Bless you! I am sure you are such a blessing to those children you take in! You are a true inspiration to those of us just getting our feet wet! Where are you from? I am in PA. Nice to meet you! Michelle

Welcome Michelle! So great to be able to see your enthusiasm... Around here, short-term placements are for emergency basis (less than 30 days) and in great need. Usually there's not alot of info on the kids, so you have to deal with everything as it comes. It sounds like you have a really balanced idea of what to expect. We became foster parents a year ago, specifically for a sibling group we had hoped to adopt. It's a long (and painful) story, but they are no longer with us. I'm in NE and had traveled to PA (where are girls are from) for a court hearing. It was at that point that it hit that it was over... I had been grieving for months and finally had the beginning of closure. Once I started opening my mind and heart to moving on, I was given a wonderful surprise on Christmas Eve. We are now foster parents for a special little girl who is recovering from a liver transplant. My point is, you never know what to expect. I too believe that what you are meant to experience comes your way... I can see now that I had to go through that painful experience to be open to this new little one... Sorry a little rambly. While so many of us go into this with the hopes of helping a child, I found that really we end up getting back as much as we give. Not only the joy of having the time with our kids, but also the journey of self-discovery that the whole process takes us on... Best of luck! Looking forward to hearing about your first placement!

Welcome Michelle! We gave up our foster license in December when we adopted our two sibs. I was so sure at the time and didn't want to get calls and have to say no, but I'm already starting to miss it. I'm looking into things like becoming a CASA or mentoring. My dh is something like yours. Likes structure and predictability. I, on the other hand, feel like the more the merrier! We got the call for our daughter (LOVE calling her DAUGHTER now :D :D ) at a soccer game. My husband was coaching, so therefore on the other side of the field. I said yes and screamed across the field..."We're getting a baby today"....raised more than a couple eyebrows, I'm sure ;) ! Her little brother joined us 14 months later and the rest is history. So glad you're here, and looking forward to hearing your placement story. Hope you hang around for the good times and the bad, because with fostering there are sure to be plenty of both!!

Oh so true Cobb that we very much going into this to "help a child" but end up getting so much ourselves from these little guys. We had absolutely no intention of adopting when we began this journey. HA! HA! Now we're in the process of adopting the 2nd and 3rd. I need to read that book - it sounds good. Good luck on your "journey" Michelle and if you need anything just ask - I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice. LOL

HAng in there the phone will ring. I'm still waiting for mine to ring.....So we'll see. But we recently moved from northern NJ to Southern NJ and it's a completely slower process down here. Fewer calls, fewer children to be placed. So it looks like we'll be waiting a while. Hopefully we'll have a fost/adopt daughter before the end of April (it would be a great brithday gift for me). My sons are still driving me crazy for a sister. Today we bought pink sheets for her bed. I think it's easier to wait this time around, compared to waiting for my first child. Because I have my sons to keep me busy. Let me know when the phone rings for you. -LeenaB

I have been licensed since 10/04 and just received my first placement 1/20/05. Be patient your call will come and it will feel like you never waited.