Loving Every Minute

I could not have ever imagined how hard it was to care for a preemie. The feedings, the medication, the apnea monitor going off all the time, weigh ins at the doctors office, visiting nurses, something was going on all the time. It's like being on high alert 24 hours a day. I managed and as Anthony grew stronger he would soon have to start visiting his parents. First they had to be clean from drugs, it took a while for mom and dad never came around. When they started it was hit or miss if  the mom would show up. Always an excuse no ride, slept too late, thought it was tomorrow, eventually  she started coming on a regular basis around the end of March after 5 clean drug screens. What a surprise she had in store, she was pregnant again due around the first of August. I was happy to see she was abstaining from drugs she was really going to give this baby a chance, I was proud of her and told her so. She was a very nice girl with a lot on her plate and she tried hard to change her life. On July 6, 2005 she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl she named Roselyn. Unfortunately she did not have a stable home as of yet so DHS asked us if we would like the baby placed with us. Yes we did but we didn't have an opening we had our quota according to foster care guide lines. So our licensing worker requested a variance so we could take Rosie home and keep the sibling together. On July 8 she was released to us. It was a sad day for the mom, she was trying and I gave her cuddos for that. We started visits with both babies a week later. Because Anthony had been in foster care longer and there was an older sister placed with paternal grandparents a termination trial had already been scheduled for them. That would proceed and the parental rights were terminated. Mom kept coming for visits with Rosie and trying to find a stable home but things just didn't work out for her. Around the time Rosie was 10 month the mom and I were leaving a visit when she said she was going to sign her parental  rights away. She told me she couldn't properly care for her and wanted to make sure we would adopt her. I had respected everything she tried to do to get her life in order, but for her to put this baby before herself I thought was the true act of a mother.
The psychic was kind of right  I did get sibling just not 2 girls. So here we were 14 kids, lord what was I thinking or not thinking ?

So I had reached the top of the laundry pile or so I thought. Fourteen was a nice even number besides I was getting way to old to stay up all night. Some of our kids were in their 20's it would soon be time for me to be a grandmother. I would get my baby fix during the day then send them home with their parents at night and I could sleep. Sounded real good to me. But for right now my pile runneth over.