Thoughtful Thursday- Part 7

 

The story begins Here- and continues Tuesdays and Thursdays....

Having a preemie and an active 10 month old was definitely an adjustment for us.  One thing about these babies is they are often drug exposed, or have any number of issues related to their past.  William tested clean for drugs when he was born, but shows many signs of a drug exposed baby.  One of those signs is he had some real issues with sleep.  Now, newborns are not known for their sleep…..  But he has some sensory issues that made sleep very difficult for him.  For the first 3 months that he was in our home he only slept if we were holding him a certain way and in a certain position, and that wasn’t even a given.  He had to have a certain kind of pajama on and a certain sheet on his bed, and he was (is) very sensitive to being laid back.  We were blurry eyed to say the least.  He’s my 4th baby and I’ve never experienced anything like this.  It was difficult.  We had several friends come in and help us get some sleep here and there.  And, Shea didn’t adjust well to having him here at first either.  She was used to being the center of attention, and it wasn’t like we had time to prepare her that he was coming…..

I found myself wondering if we had made the wrong choice by taking him.  We started attending court hearings and the biological parents were saying they were going to work their plan.  Fear began to really set in.

But God.  God told us to take him in, so we kept on keeping on.  And falling more and more in love with him.  Shea and William began to bond more and Shea got over her initial shock of having a brother.  Now she was really getting in to the big sister role.  CPS kept telling us their plan was for him to stay with us, but biological parents kept showing up to court.    Every court hearing they’d give another 3 months for the parents to get it together.  It was, to say the least, incredibly frustrating and scary. 

Meanwhile, Shea’s case was ready for Adoption. ……

To be continued…..