Our Story: Our First Bundle (Part 3)
It was about two weeks since our license was finalized. We had a few weeks to heal from the news our first placement would not be come when when the agency called us again. I was in my boss' office when they called me about a newborn. The baby was born over the weekend and they needed a placement for him immediately. His biological brother was adopted out of foster care recently and his case was a "sure thing" - which rarely happens in foster care. It sounded too good to be true. We gladly accepted and I only had time to run to Target to get some diapers, formula & clothes before he was brought to our home.
I still remember his soft hair and adorable face. I remember rocking that little boy to sleep and waking up to him every couple hours that night with joy. He was basically ours - they had told us. We just needed to wait for the six months period every foster child needed wait. Then it would become official.
The next day, our licensing worker came over to check on our bundle of joy, but she looked shaken. She sat down and quickly was in tears. She had come from court, which she expected to be a typical hearing, but instead this baby's relative stepped forward (after not wanting custody the day before). She couldn't sleep and decided to take in the baby with hopes that her close friend could finish becoming licensed and adopt him. She informed us he would be picked up the next morning after his two day check up. After the appointment a case worker would come to take him to his family.
Heartbreak doesn't even begin to describe the way we felt that day. We were holding a little boy - one we thought to be our son & they were going to pick him up. They were going to take him away. We hadn't done anything wrong - it was just what had to happen.
Our licensing worker was taking the news almost as hard as we were. She didn't like having to bring us the bad news of two kids! It was so hard for her to tell us. She turned to us and sweetly asked, "Are you guys sure you want to do this? Would you like to take a break or close your license?"
I will never forget Ben's response. He looked her and asked her -
"Have we met our kids yet? No. We are not done."
Our mindset shifted that day. We wanted to take in more children, but we didn't want to know what the chances of us adopting them would be. We wanted to just love a baby that entered foster care until they were either reunified with family - which is the whole point of foster care - or until the child needed an adoptive home. We just wanted to love a baby - for a while or forever.
I still remember his soft hair and adorable face. I remember rocking that little boy to sleep and waking up to him every couple hours that night with joy. He was basically ours - they had told us. We just needed to wait for the six months period every foster child needed wait. Then it would become official.
The next day, our licensing worker came over to check on our bundle of joy, but she looked shaken. She sat down and quickly was in tears. She had come from court, which she expected to be a typical hearing, but instead this baby's relative stepped forward (after not wanting custody the day before). She couldn't sleep and decided to take in the baby with hopes that her close friend could finish becoming licensed and adopt him. She informed us he would be picked up the next morning after his two day check up. After the appointment a case worker would come to take him to his family.
Heartbreak doesn't even begin to describe the way we felt that day. We were holding a little boy - one we thought to be our son & they were going to pick him up. They were going to take him away. We hadn't done anything wrong - it was just what had to happen.
Our licensing worker was taking the news almost as hard as we were. She didn't like having to bring us the bad news of two kids! It was so hard for her to tell us. She turned to us and sweetly asked, "Are you guys sure you want to do this? Would you like to take a break or close your license?"
I will never forget Ben's response. He looked her and asked her -
"Have we met our kids yet? No. We are not done."
Our mindset shifted that day. We wanted to take in more children, but we didn't want to know what the chances of us adopting them would be. We wanted to just love a baby that entered foster care until they were either reunified with family - which is the whole point of foster care - or until the child needed an adoptive home. We just wanted to love a baby - for a while or forever.
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