Baby on Board

We had a somewhat unplanned addition to the Schultz family on Friday. We brought our foster baby home from the hospital at exactly 4pm.

I say somewhat unplanned because we finished our training in June and the county was still working on our paperwork. They said since we were new parents, they were recommending us for respite care - weekend or weeklong placements for full time foster parents. Instead we got the call a week ago that there was a baby in need, and we could meet her on Monday.

My wife spent the week at the hospital - mostly bonding with the baby but also getting training on working with a newborn with some special medical needs. I spent a couple of hours a day with her.

Now we're into our first full weekend together. The house is upside down, but caring for the baby is going well. She was an absolute angel at Mass today, and did what I hope hope a 2 month old would do: sleep through the entire Mass.

We're not sure how long we'll have her - maybe a few months, maybe forever. Only God knows, and the state gets to decide is she can be cared for by a family member.

She's sleeping now, and when she wakes up I'll be taking care of her all afternoon while Teresa catches up on some sleep.

She's a real blessing to have in our family.