I've just finished feeding and changing this cute little Baby Bug (our nickname for her at the moment) and she's hanging out in my lap. I thought I'd take a quick minute to give you all an update but typing one-handed will take some time.

This little girl is the sweetest baby. She's mellow, only crying when she's hungry, really. I can't remember for sure if this is right, but at 3 weeks old she seems to be smiling in response to our voice. I don't think it's just gas. She's such a teeny tiny little thing. She's got quite a bit of dark hair and her eyes seem hazel, although I know she's way too young to know for sure what color they'll be. She has a cute little button nose and long fingers.

Baby Bug arrived with a diaper bag containing newborn diapers, an unopened container of formula, a bottle of medicine to treat thrush, 2 pink blankets, and the yellow sleeper she was dressed in. That's all the CPS worker could get her mom to put together before they took Baby Bug away. Unfortunately, everything smelled like smoke. We took the diapers and formula out of the bag and then set the bag outside.

Thank goodness we saved all of Snuggle Bug's baby stuff. I got out some bottles, a couple of newborn sleepers and my favorite sleeper gowns, as well as a couple of baby blankets. I undressed her, checked her over, and then re-dressed her in clean clothes. I'd forgotten how squirmy little ones are at this age and I fumbled a bit to get her diaper and sleeper on. I took the sleeper she arrived in and put them in the washer. I braved an outing to Target yesterday with both Baby Bug and Snuggle Bug (it went well) and I bought Baby Bug more diapers and some baby socks to keep her feet warm.

Oronzo and I are getting in to the swing of night time and daytime feedings. In the beginning of her stay with us, Baby Bug started out only drinking about an ounce of formula at a feeding. She slowly worked her way up to a couple of ounces and even 3 ounces once or twice. This latest feeding she surprised me by sucking down 4 ounces in no time flat!

She came to us with a bit of a diaper rash so we've been treating that with what we always used for Snuggle Bug, Aquaphor, and it seems to be helping. I'd forgotten how often little ones need to be fed and changed. Good thing I bought those extra diapers!

Oronzo and Snuggle Bug took her to her doctors appointment yesterday and we learned that she doesn't actually have thrush (I'm glad we took the CPS worker's advice not to administer any medication until after she had seen our doctor). Our pediatrician told us to throw out the thrush medication that was brought with her.

We learned that Baby Bug weighs 6 lbs even (somewhat troublesome considering we think she weight 6 lbs, 11 oz at birth 3 weeks ago). Our pediatrician is concerned with that weight loss and wants to see her again next Thursday to weigh her. She's 19.5" long and her head circumference is 36 cm.

There doesn't appear to be any bruises or injuries anywhere on her body. The pediatrician did notice the stiffness in her limbs and said that's often a symptom of a drug exposed baby (even though she tested negative at birth, her mom admitted to doing drugs during the first 4 months of her pregnancy). There's not a lot that can be done about that.

Snuggle Bug is really enjoying having a baby in the house and is very gentle. He likes to "help" us feed her, adjust her blanket, and talk to her. He even sat on the floor next to her infant carrier and "read" her a book. And Oronzo told me that Snuggle Bug was quite protective of her in the doctor's office. He didn't like that the doctor was making her cry during the examination and Snuggle Bug walked up to the doctor and scolded him, saying, "Stop! Not nice!" and then turned to Baby Bug and asked, "You okay, baby?"

Yesterday was a flurry of activity. My phone ran off the hook. I had family members calling me. I played phone tag with the CPS Investigator a couple of times, I spoke with our agency, and I spoke to a woman from a state-run child protective agency that I'd never heard of before.

Several people are interested in checking on the welfare of Baby Bug. Per the request of the CPS worker who delivered her, we had Baby Bug checked out by our pediatrician right away. The CPS Investigator stopped by on his way home from work last night to check in on her. The woman from the state-run child protective agency is stopping by today at 8:45 a.m. to check her over. Our Foster Care Specialist is coming at 10 a.m. to do an in-home visit. We were warned in training that once we had a child placed with us we'd have a lot of strangers coming in to our home. They weren't kidding! We don't mind though. We know that all of these people have the interests of this little angel in mind.

After investigating the circumstances of Baby Bug's parents all day yesterday, the CPS Investigator assigned to this case finally connected with me on the phone around 5:00 p.m. He told me that he's confident that the decision to remove Baby Bug from the home was a sound one. There is evidence of substance abuse in the home and neglect of Baby Bug as a result. We suspect she wasn't being fed or changed on a regular basis.

We have been informed that it's very likely that an extended family member, from the mother's side, will step forward and request to take Baby Bug while her mother works her case plan. We learned that the 2 previous children that this mom had taken from her were adopted by extended family. Although we're sad to learn that we probably won't have a chance at adopting her, if that's the way things turn out, we are encouraged that Baby Bug has extended family that loves her and wants to care for her. I know if there were someone in my family struggling, I'd do everything in my power to take the kids in and care for them while things are being sorted out.

There's a Team Decision Meeting being held today at 10:00 a.m. and we've been told that Baby Bug's family, CPS, and a judge will be sitting down to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the family and to decide whether Baby Bug remains in custody of the state, in our home, or if she's allowed to be transferred to an extended family member.

An extended family member would have to pass a modified home study (not a rigorous or time consuming as the one we passed) but if that worked out, they could have Baby Bug in their home tomorrow, this weekend, or early next week. The CPS Investigator said it'd be Tuesday at the very latest but probably sooner.

So, it looks like we won't have Baby Bug here with us for very long. Oronzo and I are a bit sad about that but we're both grateful that the CPS Investigator has been very upfront with us about the situation. It's better that we know right away than have things drag on for months before we learn that the extended family will be taking her in.

While we have her here, we're making sure her basic needs are being met (food, clothing, diaper changes) and we're showering her with affection...holding her close, singing/talking to her, kissing and stroking her soft hair and cheeks. She really is very precious! Her little squeaks and coos are adorable!

Okay, that's all for now. Thank you to all of you who left such sweet comments on my post yesterday. Forgive me if I don't respond to them individually. We're a bit preoccupied at the moment. :)

I'll keep you all posted on what we learn from the Team Decision Meeting later this morning.

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Baby Bug, foster children, foster-to-adopt, fostering