The Story of Little Man

I shared the story of how the twins came to be with us and I had every intention of sharing little man’s story as well. However, life happened. I blinked, and it suddenly it is 4.5 months later! So, better late than never!

Last fall, we were very occupied with settling in to life as a family of four (Ryan, the twins, and I). The twins turned five on Sunday, October 21st and we had a party the Saturday before. That weekend we also had an eight year old with us for respite care. On Friday, the 19th, I was folding laundry in the early afternoon. Then, life changed completely.

I got a text from our support worker. All it said was, “Are you interested in a baby?” Much to my husband's dismay, whenever we are asked to take kids I try to get as much information as possible. It is SO HARD to say no in any situation, so I try to get all the information before I call Ryan. I texted back and just asked for details. I promptly got a call and was given all the information she had which was not much. All she knew was it was a baby boy and he was about 8 days old. I called Ryan and told him. A few minutes later, I had the green light to bring the baby home.

Ryan came home from work and we anxiously tried to figure out what we needed. Basically all we had for a newborn was a crib, a carseat, and a few bottles left from another placement. Other than my niece and nephew, I had not been around many newborns, so I wasn’t really sure what I should get when we were in the baby aisle at the store. I picked out a few outfits, diapers, wipes, and a few other essentials.

We made it back home and put the car seat base in the car as we waited for his worker to tell us when and where to pick him up. It is a huge understatement to say I was nervous. A few hours later, I got the information about where to pick him up. The twins and our 8 year old friend were home by this time, so I went alone to get him.

Unfortunately, little man was at shelter. I am very familiar with picking kids up there so I made my way. After filling out the very brief paperwork with children running around everywhere, they brought him out to me. I looked up and saw the smallest but cutest little man. He was only about seven pounds and the onesie he was wearing was 3-6 months so it was huge. It was the only baby clothes the shelter had for him. I put him in the car seat and we started home.

I walked in and put the car seat on the floor. The children and dogs were very curious as to what I had with me. I was mostly concerned with letting the dogs smell him and controlling the chaos with all the kids wanting to hold him. Honestly, that first night was a blur.

It was absolutely God’s plan that we had the twins birthday party the next day. Why? My parents were already coming to town! My parents gave me a crash course in newborns after the party. Plus, I don’t think they minded cuddling with a newborn.

The last four months have flown. Little man has grown a ton and at four months old was in the 80th percentile for height and 72nd percentile for weight. He rolls over, smiles all the time, coos, giggles, and loves to snuggle. He prefers sitting up so he can see what everyone is doing. He is starting to wiggle his little booty when he is on his tummy. Crawling is coming!

As usual, I can’t share anything about his case.

I will say that we have a court date for him on April 17 and that could be really huge in his life. It is also not a secret to anyone in his life (workers, CASA, GAL) that we love this little man. We are completely smitten by him and want him to have our last name if that were to be the direction things go.

Foster care is a really difficult life to live. The goal, as it should be, is reunification. However, sometimes that may not be in the best interest of the child. I am biased in this situation, but I don’t envy the professionals who will have to make the decision about what will happen in this case. Uncertainty is very difficult though. Some days are really hard. I know little man probably more than anyone else knows him in the world. I know where his freckles are. I know where his tickle spots are. I know what makes him smile and what makes him frown. I know how to get him back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night and that he hates having his face covered up in his car seat. However, I did not give birth to him. He is not my child. We walk a very weird and fine line in our world.

No matter what happens in April and beyond, nothing will ever take away our love for him. I have advocated for him basically his whole life and nothing will change that.

That is the story of little man.

If you are the type, I would ask for you to pray for his situation. Pray that whatever happens in the coming months is in his best interest even if that means something hard for us. I don’t like to think about that, but in foster care, that is reality. I actively pray and hope for the future with that possibility always in the back of my mind.

Thank you all for loving him, loving us, and supporting our family.