Remember your first placement??

Our first placement came about two weeks after getting our license. She was 2. 5 yrs and had an 18 month old brother who was in hospital in the city. The worker didn't know what her condition was, but she had a myriad of physical problems including femoral hypoplaysia, so she couldn't walk. She could say three words and pulled herself around with her hands on the floor. She wanted to walk so badly. We got her every therapy we could and she got a walker, learned to walk and learned to say about 30 words within the 6 months we had her. We got her brother after 3 months and he couldn't speak either. They were such happy kids and ate everything in sight. We would have loved to have kept them, but we were also so excited they went to relatives that really wanted them. The relatives had 4 kids older than these, so they will grow up with older siblings. Since being with family, they have both been potty trained, are really talking now, getting therapy and the girl has gotten a motorized wheelchair that allows her to be more independent. As the years go on she will have more surgeries to correct her legs and she will be able to walk, but needs the wheelchair also. We get regular updates and one day hope to visit, but they live 12 hrs away.

Our first placement was a sibling group - 3 year old girl and 18 month old boy - hispanic. I picked them up from the hospital, FD had her head rammed into a door jam because mom was frustrated with potty training. Big goose egg on her forehead. FD also had a full mouth of silver capped teeth (the entire mouth) as she obviously had been left with a bottle constantly and had bottle rot. At first I was shocked with the teeth. They stayed for three months and by the second week I don't think I ever noticed her silver teeth - she was a jewel.The first night we had them they were excited with the toys and the computer and printer and into everything. I had buyers remorse and literally said to my DH that I think we need to call them and have them taken back. LOL... We finally settled and it was a great placement. They went to relatives. We have been fostering for 5 years and we currently have a sibling group - 7 month old girl and 18 month old boy. They are numbers 31 and 32.

We started the process in April, 2008 and were finally licensed in Jan, 2009. It would have been done sooner, but we took our time with the classes. We are legal risk adoption familiy, but we agreed in March that we would take emergency or respite placements. On May 21, 2009 just after returning from visiting family in another state we got a call to take a sibling group of three. A 23 mo old boy and his to baby brothers 11 mo (twins). I couldn't get ahold of my husband so had to call dispatch at his work and tell them it was an emergency. He called five minutes later. I told him about the boys and said I really wanted to do it. I thought he would say no because we only wanted one child. But he just said yes, and rushed home and then to the store to get diapers and formula. The boys had been placed with a paunt and she dropped them off at 10am that morning and said she didn't want them anymore. The called me at 2pm and they showed up with their caseworker at 5:30pm. When the caseworker left I was shocked as some of you had said. I couldn't believe that she was leaving us with three babies. We went from a married couple with two dogs to a family of five with two dogs in two hours. :love: I am not going to lie, the first week was HELL...I had no idea how to juggle three kids and prepare a house for three kids, etc. But after we got a routine going it became magical. I love them so much! At first the caseworker sad it would only be two weeks. That they would be RU with bparents. Well three months later here we are. We still have a boys. bmom has been doing all she can but may be going to jail and bdad has kind of dropped off the face of the earth. I believe he is in jail. We are the boys 5th home since Jan. but I have made it very clear (when asked if we would adopt) that we are in no hurry to get rid of them and if adoption is an option, we are absolutely interested! I have built a good relationship with bmom. We will see what the future holds. But for now I am mommy to three amazing little boys! :banana:

We were licensed in December of 2002, and received our first placement in January 2003, sibling set, boy 2 and girl 1, they were adorable but a lot of work, at the time my youngest child was 15, so we had to get used to having little ones again. They were supposed to go to an aunt, she didn't pass the homestudy and 15 months later they became our forever children. We have fostered 12 children since then and adopted 1 more and are on our way to the TPR and adoption of our little guy we have now. Like others have said, we started out as foster only, but just fell in love with these kids and we were not going to let them go anywhere else. Sometimes people tease us because I am 50 years old and DH is 49, but we just love these kids, and truth be told we don't believe we are finished just yet.

i do remember my first three placements....nearly 7 years later...they are all still here...and all mine. :) we got the call for the first 2 before the ink was even dry on our license! :) it was to be a "short term" placement. the third placement quickly followed and was only supposed to be for a week. bunch of liars. ;)

My first placement came a day after I was licensed. She was 4 months old and the cutest baby ever! She also had a 2-year-old brother, but since I was new to parenting and fostering I only took her. I found out that her mother was only 13, which meant she had her first child at 11! I was totally shocked. They placed them both together with an aunt/uncle about 2 months after she came to live with me. I still think about her. But now I have my own little girl plus two boys! So I'm pretty busy and happy!!!

We got 2 boys, brothers, for our first placement. They were 17 months old and 3 1/2 years old at the time and were with us for 16 months. It was the hardest thing we'd ever done! It threw our entire family (we have 4 bio kids) into a tizzy for months and never really got better.We finally had to ask to have the boys moved and then we really asked ourselves some serious questions... would all placements be as traumatic as the first one had been? Was our family cut out for fostering? Were all foster kids happiest when there was chaos? We took a 6 week break and then got another placement of 3 siblings who we still have. We discovered that not all foster kids are like the first couple we had! Yes, it's still tough at times and our own family of children doesn't always "like" to sacrifice for foster children.:-) But we're encouraged with a better experience, all things considered, the second time around.

Licensed in April of '06, first placement came in July of "06. Twin girls...preemies...drug exposed. A worker brought them to my home at the age of three weeks old, they were 4 and 5 pounds at that point respectively. They had to eat every two hours, so I'd feed one, it would take her about 45 minutes to eat an ounce or two, change her, feed myself and/or my own two toddlers and then start feeding the other one. Repeat repeat repeat. I lived in my jammies and didn't sleep the first two months or so lol. Loved every draining moment. Placement was concurrent but ended just before they were here 6 months. An estranged aunt came out of nowhere and within two weeks time of my agency finding her she drove up here from another state, stayed two days and then took them. She called me about a month after they left after hearing no updates up until that point ***asking for money*** I mentioned we had stockpiled in the event of legal costs that could be incurred had we been given the opportunity to adopt them. She wanted it and told me pretty much that she was now entitled to it because I had saved it via their DOC compensation while they were in my care. I'm sure anyone that's ever loved and lost a placement, especially one they would have adopted had they been given the chance can sympathize with what that did to my heart and the hope that they were ripped from my arms for the right reasons.... I heard several months later mom's rights were terminated and the aunt was still planning on adopting them...no further info since then. That one hurt a doozie and still does some days. There isn't a day that passes that I don't think about them and pray that they're happy and healthy. I've still got a picture of each up on a wall in my home that holds all of my families pictures. I've found peace with it all over time because I've been able to help so many other children since they left. If they'd of stayed I'd of never been able to love and help the rest.

Wow! I can't believe all these twins for first placements. Brave!

I was licensed in the middle of Nov. 2006, mY first placement call came at 4:00pm on dec. 4th and I was told that they had two boys that were two and two months. I said yes (even though I "wanted" to foster girls age 6-10) I asked their size and the (male) caseworker told me that they were big boys! SO I borrowed a few diapers (I worked in a daycare) They were dropped off to me at work at 5:30pm and I had to borrow carseats from the agency!! While I was talking to the caseworker and looking at the teeniest two month old I had ever seen, the two, acctually three year old was hitting my friend with toys and ripping the wallpaper off the walls! THe worker wished me luck and told me that mom and dad had just got the older one back a few months ago and were just arrested for drug manufacturing so to think long term, oh, and also that the baby was only breast fed!!! (By a meth addicted mother:eek: ) It was a very very long night thankfully it was a friday! They stayed with me for only twenty two days but when you are told to plan for the long term you give your heart out fast! It was a love filled month though with one snowstorm that kept us in bed for two whole days! THey left to live and are now in gaurdianship with a bio aunt. I haven't seen them since but she did send me an update.

My first placement came the same day I was licensed. A nine year old girl and her 21 month old nephew. They came in dirty clothes that were WAY too big and their faces just looked "empty" I remember feeling so sad for them. After two months we were considered the adoptive resource and TPR was in the works, we could not imagine our lives without them. Five months after that they left to live with an aunt and uncle/great aunt and uncle they had never met. We were promised lots of ongoing contact and visits, but it was not to be. I think of them often and I'm sad that I'm not still in their lives in some way. But, God had other plans for us and we love our two little ones and know they are the children we were meant to have.

WOW I only brought home ONE preemie and it had me in tears daily for about 3 weeks! Can't imagine 2 PLUS 2 toddlers. You are amazing. Feeding a preemie is exhasting. Mine would sputter, choke, turn pale and scare me half to death. SOOOO glad those days are past us. Now she shoves entire cookies in her mouth! Love it.

My wife is secretly hoping our first placement is a set of twins. :eek:

my first placement was about a week or two after getting approved and they called that afternnon around 2 wanting to know if we would take a 3 month old girl. I said yes and she said they would call me as soon as they had more info. I never heard back from anyone until someone pulled up after 7 pm dropping off a 3.5 month old BOY, it never was a girl it was a caseworker who was mis informed. Almost 2 years later we are about to adopt him. he is our lil monster. And im serious he is a monster!!! but we love him. our 2nd placement was a 2 day old preemie born addicted to meth. stopped breathing a few times, hospitalized for a week, apnea monitor for 5 months, surgery and at 10 months old keeps losing weight and is weighing in at 13 lbs. has problem after problem but is the cutest thing in the world just high maintence like you wouldn't believe. If im not holding him hes not happy. you will forever remember everything about your first placement. especially the bad things, such as how dirty they were, how the diaper was so small it was cutting into his legs, and you will always remember the smell of the diaper bag and all of its contents and the fact that the smell wouldn't wash away. you will remember your trip to the store to pick up everything you needed but didn't have on hand hoping you dont run into his family while you are in there.

I was licensed on April 10, 2000 but had not received my license in the mail yet so I wasn't aware that I was licensed yet. They called for a 5 yr old girl and her 6 year old brother. I told them that I wasn't licensed yet and they said yes you are, the license is in the mail today. I accepted and they were here for about 6 months. The kids were disappointed because they were told that I was a foster parent who is someone who takes care of kids and that I live on a farm so when they came they were expecting a whole bunch of kids to be already living here along with it being Old McDonalds farm. I had just recently moved there so didn't have anything but cats at that point. It was a case which the mom voluntarily put them into care because she couldn't handle them so they weren't in because of abuse or neglect at least.