any sahm want playdates?

Hi Lainey! Bummer....we are all the way down in Berks Co...closer to Lancaster Co. We, too, are brand new at this and have not yet had a placement. We are hoping for a call for birth - 3 yrs. old. How long did it take for your first call? We have been licensed since Feb 1st. :) Look forward to hearing from you! Michelle in PA

Hi Michelle, Oh, that is too bad.. I would love to find some people who would want to get together a few times a month and let the kids play. I have friends who have older kids, but none as young as our little guy. I just think it is so important for him to have socialization with kids around his age. I actually called some daycares today, to see if anyone would do one day a week. It's costly, but I think he would have a blast playing with all the other kids. I haven't made my mind up yet... Our agency was supposed to put me in touch with some other foster families so we could help each other out with babysitting, playdates, etc.. but they never got back to me. oh well. So you are waiting for your first placement?? How exciting! We waited 3 weeks for the phone to ring. It was a long 3 weeks. lol But I have had a lot of calls in the past 3 months! Since we are just starting out, I turned down most of the calls. But we did take an emergency placement once for 3 days. I had 2 under 2yrs old! The whole time my husband and I were thinking, what in the world did we get ourselves into? It was a lot of fun, though. I am sure your phone is going to ring very soon! Did you go through the county or private agency? They did tell us that it might take longer to get the calls for the little ones, but I have to tell you, our age range is 0-5 and I get a lot of phone calls asking me to take kids in that age range. Before you know it, you are going have a little cutie in your arms! It was very overwhelming at first. I saw one post on here recently, where a poster was asking if other foster parents cried so much when they got their first placement. I was not at all prepared for how emotional it was! I knew of course, it would be difficult to get attached and have this child go back to his parents. But I never expected the first few weeks to be such an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I was so excited this was finally happening, and the next minute I was crying because I couldn't understand how anyone could let this child go. (not only did the bios lose custody, but he was in a different foster home before here). My husband and I would get so emotional every evening after putting him to bed. It is a big change in your daily life as well. I am pretty much adjusted by now, but in the begining, I felt so spent at the end of the day. Like I gave all I had to give to this little boy all day.. there was nothing left for me, or my husband.. or the cats lol. (and believe it or not, i did feel guilty about not giving the pets enough attention) :o But once you get a handle on it all, it just becomes routine and situation normal. It is a little rough in the begining as well, learning the ropes with your agency. for example.. the paper work, visits, etc. Our caseworker is new too.. so we are both kinda in the dark. I know I am rambling on and on.. so I will say bye for now. But if you have any questions, or just need some support and to vent at any time.. please drop me an email. It is so nice to be able to "talk" to other people on here, who understand what I am talking about. Take care, Lainey

Lainey, Hi there! We have 2 bio children and everything you mentioned about feeling spent, euphoric one minute and crying the next....welcome to motherhood!! :) I was that way, too. I am sure (as I am expecting it to be) foster care puts another twist in there, too b/c you have terrible info on what may have happened to the baby that is bringing you so much joy!! That is inevitably heart breaking!!! Sound slike you are adjusting very well!! You seem to be a natural!! :) Before you go the daycare route...check your local paper for MOM'S CLUBS. Our paper runs a "What's Happening" section every week and I have noticed there are Mom's clubs listed. If you could get into one of those - they are INCREDIBLE!!!!! It is honestly like a SAHM SORORITY!!! HAHAHA I joined one soon after my daughter was born. She was born when my son was 15 months old so I needed to get to know other moms!! They have events that take place all over the town/city. Like zoo day, or meet at Chuck E Cheese, Easter egg hunts, then they also have JUST MOM nights. Like a book club that meets at Barnes & Noble once a month or a MOVIE NIGHT. They also have date night for you an your hubby and babysitting co-ops where you can call one of your new friends and have them watch your child while you shop/sleep/etc! The one I belonged to was called "MOTHER AND MORE" I am sure of you "google" it you could find a website that might have all it's PA locations. The one I belonged to was in upstate NY but it is a National Organization! That was the BEST thing I have ever done for ME and it benefitted my children, too. I have a lot of friends whose kids are in day care and they are SOOOOOOOOO SICK AAAAAALLLLLLLLLL the TIME! Just be careful with that decision...JUST my opinion....take it or leave it! :) You may end up stressing yourself out more b/c he will be sick all the time! I would love to chat via email, too! Nice meetin' ya - new friend!! :) PS We are through Catholic Soc Agency

hi michelle! thanks for your post, again. i appreciate your advice on the day care thing. i gave it some thought, and decided i am not going to go with the big daycare, where they have 10-15 kids to a room. i found a women close by who watches a few kids in her home. they are right at the same age as my fs, so he can go over one day a week, and play with these kids and get some socialization in. the women sounds really great. she does things for the moms of the kids she watches, like has pampered chef parties, and gatherings with and without the kids. i also thank you for the tip on the moms and more club. i checked into it, but unfortunately there are no groups near me. it sounded great...too bad there isnt one close by. i havent given up though, in my researching today i did find a few other options that i am inquiring about. please keep in touch, and let me know how you are doing and when you get that first phone call!!! lainey

Hi..I am an amom of an 8 year old girl and a soon to be 2 year old boy(he turns 2 next month)..Im a teacher..so I work during the week..I live in Montgomery County..so it isnt too far...if you are ever available to meet on a weekend let me know! My son would love a new playmate!

Hi Mommyoftwo! That sounds great. We will have to get together sometime! Our Saturdays are usually pretty free. Maybe we could meet at a park or something, as soon as the weather gets a little warmer. Keep in touch! lainey

Lainey! :) There is also a club called simply "MOMS CLUB" and I think it is National and check out MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) - technically your fs is not preschool age but I am sure there would be younger siblings of the preschoolers at the playdates that he would enjoy playing with! :) Good Luck!

Check out these links.... [url]http://www.gospelcom.net/mops/Groups/group_search.php?srctype=search&src=GS#result[/url] [url]http://www.momsclub.org/links.html#Pennsylvania[/url] :)

thank you so much! i am going to check them out :)

you can also check out "Mothers and More" as well as "Other Mothers" and "Mom's Club".