Life Will Never Be the Same...

Today marks a week since I have become a momma!

For those who don't already know, within hours of being added to the placement list, Mark and I became parents. It is the most amazing feeling. I always knew I wanted to be a momma, but I never realized how great it would be.

Since we received our first placement, my views on what will and won't get shared has changed significantly. Where I am at right now is that, I just don't know what I can and should share. My number one priority is protecting this miracle baby. That being said, I do want to continue to post to the blog and share our experience. If nothing else, I just want to share this process and how amazing it is in hopes that I covert some of you do be foster mommies and daddies.

So I am going to be in touch with my licensing worker and review my thoughts and feelings on the issue. I will definitely be back in some form, I just want to be able to share with you but in a way that protects this baby.


P.S. He is a newborn baby boy. :)

LICENSED FOSTER PARENTS!!!

From my less than cryptic message you may have guessed that we are officially LICENSED FOSTER PARENTS!!!

 

This morning we are filling out our final paperwork and then we go on the list to accept children. It is absolutely crazy!

 

We have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We are told to expect a placement VERY soon, but we have been told similar things before. Something makes me think that the states definition of soon varies from mine. All I know is to expect the unexpected....

Not a Foster Baby...

**After causing a little over excitement, let me preface this post by saying this is NOT a foster baby. This little cuttie is a friend of mines baby girl. I am her go to babysitter and so I watch her on date nights, or if she has to work on the weekends (she is an RN). Nothing serious, just hanging out with my new little buddy. :)**

So getting to hang out with my little buddy has actually been wonderful! It has been a great way to start "training" for upcoming motherhood without diving into 24/7 Mom time! She is just slightly under 3 months old and so still itty bitty. 

Law's differ from state to state, but in AZ you cannot post pictures of these foster babies faces. This is for privacy and for safety. Once rights have been severed and they are eligible for adoption, but until that happens, no faces. So this means I am going to need to get creative... I apologize now. 

I have many natural talents... photography is not one of them. In fact, I suck. It is just a fact. I am ok with it though. I know I won't be pursuing life as a photographer and I am ok with that. While I await a foster baby of my very own, little buddy is going to be my practice model. 

This is what my life has become...

A friend and I have started jogging 3 days a week. Don't get too excited because it is mostly talking and walking with the occasional jog added in. Either way, I figure it has to be better sitting at home and watching Netflix for 4 hours straight. 

My best friend L calls me to find out if I am ready to head on over and start jogging. To which my response is, "hold on a second, I need to put my diapers in the wash". 

Yes, this phrase actually came out of my mouth. It was a very surreal moment. I felt like I had a small glimpse into my future as a cloth diapering mama. I asked myself am I really ready to have to do a load of diapers every 2-3 days?

Then I snapped back to reality and realized in just under a month I have collected all the items I will need for cloth diapering including 6 months of detergent, 2 large wet bags, 2 small wet bags, a diaper sprayer, cloth diaper safe cream, and 30 pocket diapers with various inserts. I have managed all of this with spending under $250. Plus, look at these things!!! It doesn't get much cuter!

By the way, any of you cloth diapering mammas want to share your wash routine? I ordered several samples of Rockin Green Detergent to try, but other than that I am clueless. 

Collecting dust

As of this week, I got word that AZ currently has 53 babies in a shelter because they don't have foster homes for them to go to. What breaks my heart is knowing that and having this view from my hallway...

Killing Time...

I have been absolutely dreadful at keeping up with this blog at all. Not to make excuses, but without being licensed for kiddo's we are painfully boring. This weekend for example I cleaned and hung around the house on Saturday and watched football on Sunday. I know, I should have warned you with news that exciting.

We do actually have a few updates since we last spoke. First off, we were submitted to the OLCR for licensing 8/30! That is great news because as soon as that is done we are officially licensed foster parents and will have a child shortly. They are averaging anywhere from 2-6 weeks. I am hearing more of the 6+ week range, but every once and awhile someone will have a random quicker process.

Secondly, we have made a big decision in regards to our foster babies. After an insane amount of research and discussion, we have made the decision to go cloth... as in cloth diapers! I NEVER imagined myself using cloth diapers, but alas I am.

My reasoning's for cloth diapering are:

1. The price. Yes I have had to invest a bit up front (yes, I bought some already and so I will share that with you below), but nothing horrible. I have made the choice to go with used diapers. I am extremely picky about the condition they come in, but I have been able to save a TON by going this route. For example, I purchased 24 one size pocket diapers, 24 microfiber inserts, 12 bamboo inserts, and 1 large wet bag for $70.00! The best part was that only 4 of these diapers were ever even used! These were from a fellow foster momma and so she gave me a smoking deal! I currently have 30 one size pocket diapers and have spent only $130 (including shipping).

2. They are gentler on babies behind than real diapers. Foster babies have a higher likelihood of coming to me with some not so pleasant diaper rash. These diapers will be nice and soft on those raw behinds.

3. Convenience. People laugh at me when I say this because they are like, "you think washing them every 2-3 days is convenient?!?". Well yes, I do. I think it is more convenient than having to have a range of diapers on hand for any age child we get, and running to the store weekly (or more) to buy more diapers. I think it is more convenient than getting up at 3 am when we get a call for a baby and needing to run to the store to buy diapers. I can handle washing my diapers every 2-3 days and having them on hand and ready to go instead of always having to run to the store to pick up diapers.

4. They are CUTE!!! I am that person that is totally a sucker for something cute. These diapers are just about the most adorable thing ever. They come in almost any color imaginable and a whole slew of prints. Even just a plain white diaper is still cuter than a disposable for me!

These particular diapers are Sun Baby. If you would like a full review on them once I start using them, let me know. I also purchased some Fuzzibunz, so let me know if you want to know about those too. 

Waiting is hard...

So I haven't posted anything in awhile and it is not only because I am lazy, but honestly I have nothing new for you. We are still just waiting for home study to be completed so that we can hurry up and wait on the OLCR to approve our license. We realistically have another 4-6 weeks. It is just hard because as one point we were told we had just a couple weeks if not days. I guess the phrase "expect the unexpected" is our new mantra.

How darling is this! If things work out this will be in our nursery!

We do have a small piece of news that I have debated on sharing, but finally decided we should. We heard about a little man that is in need of a set of adoptive parents and Mark and I are actually being considered! I know that doesn't sound like a little piece of news, but honestly, I am just trying to not get my hopes up. His name is baby A (obviously not his real name, but for privacy reasons it is A). Last I heard he is about 7-8 months. Mark and I have meet him before and just fell in love, but that was awhile ago.

A lot needs to happen for this to work out, and honestly the chances are larger that it won't work out vs. working out, but it is still something we are praying hard for! Most of all, I just want this little man to find an amazing home whether that is us, or another family. So if you could PLEASE be praying for us and for baby A, it would be appreciated.

I will update when I know more!

** UPDATE on baby A 9/9/2013**

The agency that has baby A currently has said they would prefer to keep him with the agency and adopt him out to one of their families. We are not with there agency currently so unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to adopt him, :(

Intervention...

The first step to overcoming any addiction is admitting you have one. So here it goes.

Hi. My name is Renee, and I have a baby carrier addiction. 

Let me jump on my soap box for a minute. I am a huge fan of using a baby carrier whenever possible instead of throwing a baby in a car seat. Reason for this is because with foster babies in particular, I think it is crucial to develop that bond. Many of these kiddos have not had the love and attention they need. They may have been left alone in a crib and/or car seat for extended periods of time without that interaction between mommy and baby. This will allow me to have that closeness and still be able to live my life and get things done around the house.

So this addiction all started harmless enough and before I knew it, I was the owner of 4 baby carriers. That is right, 4 carriers. The sad thing is that I have never actually used a carrier, so I don't even know how much I will use them or what I am looking for in a carrier. It is a small problem.

It all started when I bought a car seat off a friend after her son outgrew it. When doing so, she found her old baby carrier and asked if I wanted it. It was a Baby Bjorn Classic. Never having a baby before, this was the one carrier I had ever even heard of. Of course I said yes, and I went on my merry little way not thinking a thing of it.

Baby Bjorn Classic Carrier

Well then I got really into Goodwill's 50% off Saturdays. I found amazing baby gear for pennies on the dollar. This next carrier was no exception. This thing is in amazing shape. Honestly, I think it is brand new. I can find no signs of any use or wear and tear. Plus, I found it for $2.50. People, if you haven't tried Goodwill's 50% off Saturdays, you have to do it!

This isn't the color, but the model is the same.
Chicco Ultra Soft Baby Carrier

Then the shower came. I got my most favorite carrier yet, the Ergo Baby. It had amazing reviews, several positions to use it, and has a great weight range I can use it for. This one will be in our family for years! Thank you sister for one awesome carrier. It wasn't on my registry, but she is officially ALWAYS allowed to shop outside the registry.

Ergo Baby Carrier

 



Lastly, it is the Baby K'tan. This is a carrier I actively went searching for. It all started when I learned that for my Ergo baby carrier, I would need an infant insert for little ones. When I found this one I loved that it was easy to use and was a hybrid between a wrap and a carrier (in my mind). It gives that super close snugly fit I want for those infants! When a friend approached me saying she knew of a friend of a friend selling one, I was sold. :)

Baby K'tan

The smart thing to do would be to pick one or two and sell and/or donate the remaining. Where it stands now is that I am ABSOLUTELY keeping the Ergo Baby carrier, but without purchasing the infant insert, it isn't made for little little babies. For this reason I think having one additional would be OK. I am leaning towards Baby K'tan, but I just can't decide. Opinions would be greatly appreciated. 

The struggles of a baby carrier addict...

It's the final countdown...

So we had our home study/ interview with our licensing worker. I am not going to lie, it was rough. It was 3 1/2 hours of straight questioning with no breaks. It wasn't easy questions like your name and favorite color. These were in depth short answer questions regarding childhood, parenting style, and discipline. These are all things Mark and I have talked extensively about, but they just are so difficult to explain and put into words in an interview format. When the experience is over I was completely mentally exhausted. It was also a lot of heavy material so it wasn't probably the joyous moment it should have been.

All and all though, we survived and it is now done. We should be hearing the results in the next week or so. From that point we will find out if they are requesting additional tasks be completed or if we are finally going to be submitted to OLCR for final approval and licensing. Once the OLCR received it, who knows what could happen.

The biggest frustration we have at this point is absolutely the lack of any sort of expected timeline. We are just sitting and waiting. We have a completed nursery that just sits empty while so many children are in need of a home...

Foster Shower Pt 3 (The Last, I Promise)

So I know you are so sad, but this is the last and final installment of the foster shower! Yes I know I dragged this out for a ridiculous amount of time, but really don't rain on my parade! 

So this is all about the items that we bought using our gift cards from the shower. It was items we didn't get, but still needed/ wanted. Luckily we had a lot of people give us gift cards and so we were really able to get a lot of items and saved ourselves a TON of money. 

So after my big post about the car seat we had registered for, I ended up getting a totally different seat. You see this one was awesome and on clearance and yea...

See how nice and gender neutral the pattern is.

Here is the pack and play. Again, not what we originally registered for. Really I cannot resist a Target clearance section.

Fun little lion on the pack and play.

This little item is again one of my favorites for the baby room. Honestly, I kind of want one for our room. It is a sound machine and projector in one. It has 3 different discs for projecting on the wall and 6 different sounds! Until the kids arrive, it may find itself in our room.

Now I know that pacifiers are really an item that varies from baby to baby, but I couldn't pass these babies up. Too cute. Plus whether our child is a boy or girl, they will like football...

Well there you go. A summary of everything. Now clearly I didn't include every item we got or every gift we received in this post, but you can get a good idea of what we got. This was just intended to share with those of you who couldn't be there. 

If you saw anything you want a review on or opinions on, please let me know. 

Foster Shower Pt 2

As promised, here is the second installment of the foster shower. This will be covering the items we received as gifts from our amazingly generous friends and family. 

This drying rack is actually Mark's number one requested item on the registry. He saw it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. The branch and flower accessories for hanging items on make it even more fun. So much more appealing than a traditional drying rack on the counter.

This activity table was one of the awesome gifts my sister got for us. It is great for sitting or standing because the legs are easily removed. 

This has to be one of my absolute favorite gifts from my sister. The Ergo baby carrier was actually not on my registry, but I had my eye on it for some time. Using a baby carrier is a priority to me so having a quality carrier is going to make things so much easier. 

Now I know I am clearly not going to be breast feeding my foster kiddos, but I am a huge fan of the Boppy pillow! They are great for those kiddos that are just learning to sit up and even for tummy time!

World's softest blanket. Hands down!!!

I saw this and fell in love with it. The kiddos are going to need a security blanket type item. I thought this was perfect because it is a blanket and stuffed animal in one (similar). Now I should probably invest in multiple of these to send with the kiddos when they return home.

Now I didn't actually receive this at the shower, but my bosses daughter had given it to me to use. It is a video baby monitor. We have just played around with this a bit, but so far, I love it! 

Just a sample of a few of my favorite boys clothing items from the shower!

Same with a few of the favorite girls items!

The most common gift of the shower BOOKS! This bin is completely full of books along with several shelves full of books. I joked that our kids would be reading to us by the time they were 2! 

So this is another favorite from the shower. I saw this diaper bag and fell in LOVE! My co-workers went in and bought this for me. This silly little bag brought me SO much joy!

So now you know more about my gifts from my shower than you ever wanted to know! I am sure you will sleep better at night seeing what I got. I am sure you are holding your breath in anticipation for part 3... the spending of the gift cards. ;)

The great debate...

To keep me from going absolutely insane while waiting for "the call", we have been slowly but surely putting the nursery together. It started because we realized things were moving much quicker than we anticipated, but then I got a little over excited and now, the nursery is practically completely finished.

 

One thing that we went back and forth on and couldn't decide was whether or not to have a glider or rocker in the nursery. Yes, it is was really a big debate that spanned several days. Ok, who am I kidding! It was really just me talking in circles to myself with Mark standing in the room. Don't get me wrong, Mark is very involved and is always helpful with opinions when I need them. He just didn't think this was as big of a decision than I did (nor does anyone else I assume).

 

Let me explain, I know a glider or rocker is great for those late nights of trying to get baby back to sleep. Plus they are super comfy. My issue is that every single nursery I see looks adorable with them, but once that adorable little baby grows up to a toddler, they are rarely used. Then inevitably they go to live in the garage until they are sold in a garage sale or given to a friend. I wanted something that I would use for much longer.

 

So I found a solution!



 

 This is our new nursery chair (we got the matching ottoman too). Now yes, I realize this doesn't have the rocking motion that a glider and rocker offer, but it does still provide an incredibly comfy place to kick up our feet and sit and cuddle/read to our little one. Plus with the neutral color and classic design, this piece can easily transition from the nursery to any other room of the house. I am thrilled with it and it is SO comfy that it is already Mark and I's favorite spot in the house.



Waiting Game

So at this point, Mark and I have been assigned a licensing worker. What this means is that we have completed everything with our agency. Being assigned a licensing worker is the final step before being officially licensed and ready to accept a placement.

The bad news is that we are now just waiting on the system which is at best unpredictable. We could be looking at days or weeks. We just don't know. This is frustrating because I am a total planner. I am climbing up the walls in anticipation!

To help pass the time, my amazing friends Lauren and Erin have thrown me a foster shower! The shower will be this Saturday and I am unbelievably excited. Once we found out that we would likely not ever have our own biological children, I thought I lost the chance to ever have a baby shower. Thanks to my amazing friends, I still get to have one.

We have registered for gifts here, but we decided to also do something different. We encouraged our friends and family to use this registry as just a guide for finding gently used items as well. This way they have options for both new or used items. The response thus far has been positive. I still realize that because we are going to be licensed for such a range (newborn-2), gift giving is difficult, so gift cards will likely be the gift of choice for most. I think this is great because once we do have a need for an item, we will have gift cards to help us with those purchases.

This is one item we have an immediate need for. Like, I will run out and purchase the day of the shower if I don't get it. We have had two friends either sell or donate old infant car seats to us, but this would be much more versatile. Plus, the price is right. Anyone used this model? Thoughts?

What are we going to do with all of this stuff if we can't or don't end up using it (wrong size, too old and/or young)? I am so glad you asked... even if you didn't really. Well if it is new and we have gift receipts, obviously return it for something we can use, but if it used, we plan to donate it. There are several organizations for foster children that would benefit greatly from these donations! We foster families gotta stick together!

Getting Ready

Being foster parents, you have to get your house ready differently then “normal” parents would when they are expecting a baby. That is what has been happening this week in the Henderson household. A large portion of the week has been spent purchasing and scheduling various things.
So far this week we have purchased a full size commercial fire extinguisher, trigger locks for our guns, locking ammo boxes, a locking cabinet for all of my cleaning supplies, and a locking tackle box to store all medication (including over the counter). What, the state didn’t make you do those things before you brought home your baby?
Another thing we had this week was scheduling our First Aid and CPR class, our class on administering medication to children, and our medically frail class for children 2 and under. These are all classes we need in addition to the 30 hours of classes we have already taken.
As a reward for all of this hard work I allowed us to buy a little something for the nursery.

Nothing makes the idea of welcoming a child into your home more real than buying a crib!

Welcome

Hi there! For those of you who don’t know, my name is Renee and my husband is Mark. We are soon to be foster parents! While there are many ways to build a family, we have chosen to do that through foster care.

 

I have created this site to share with you our story of not only being foster parents, but being first time parents in a very nontraditional way. Whether you are a friend, family member, or a random stranger, welcome!