Pinch Me
There is a beautiful 3-day old baby boy in the crib in the nursery. Michael is calling him "Rufus", so that's what I'll use here.Rufus was born on Monday morning, and weighed 7lbs, 3 oz. He is healthy and content and has a touch of jaundice which we are treating with doses of sunshine and watchful waiting. He is long and looks a little skinny. He sucks down 2 oz. bottles of formula like clockwork every 3 hours and spits up about a tablespoon after each feeding. He is warm and unbelievably soft, and I can't stop looking at him. I like holding him and watching him sleep. When he cries because his circumcised penis hurts, I hurt for him. Poor little guy.
The odds are that this is short-term. No one could have known ahead of time. Here in KY, they do not want to ever place an infant into a home that is not pre-adoptive...just in case.
I don't want to talk a lot about Rufus' family situation. What we saw transpire in the hospital was sad. What pain it must cause to leave the hospital without your newborn baby - for whatever reason. We did not see birth mom. No dad is on the birth certificate. There is a sibling somewhere that social workers are looking for. Mom is in trouble. We do not know how bad said "trouble" is. But she needs prayer today. Still healing and hurting from childbirth, she is in trouble. She needs a mighty healing. I pray God will protect her, and that our time with Rufus is for good reason for all of us.
Today I am on a "vacation" day from work. Michael just left to go teach today. He won't be home until late tonight. It's just Rufus and I for the rest of the day. I need to....
1. Find out where the WIC office is and get signed up for it so I can get formula. Already, we are running low on what they sent home with us from the hospital.
2. Take Rufus and head out to Target with my $100 clothing voucher from the state. Pray that Target will accept the voucher. The state had some "bill paying" issues this year and a lot of retailers stopped taking the vouchers because they weren't getting paid. I understand this. If not Target, I'll try Sears, JcPenney, or Kmart. I'm not Kmart fan, and the one store I know of in town is rather, um...dirty.
Buy burp cloths and pee-pads because that tiny baby peed clear through his diaper, onezie, blanket, and into the crib sheet.
Buy a changing pad for the nursery.
Buy some bottles so I don't have to wash them constantly throughout the day.
Buy formula using acquired WIC voucher.
3. Pack up a diaper bag before I head out.
4. Buy more diapers for when the supplies from the hospital run out.
5. Clean up the house for the social worker's visit with the baby and us tomorrow.
6. Stop typing on this blog so I can go out and get my chores done.
7. Thank God again for His great and might works, and for loving us and trusting us enough to care for this beautiful newborn baby.
Thank you all for your well-wishes. It feels good to now be "officially" a foster parent. Even if it takes a while for us to adopt one, I know we are well on our way. You never know what placement will turn into the one you adopt.
posted by No Longer In Crisis @ 10/06/2005 01:05:00 PM
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