Saturday, November 10, 2007

Twins? No, Thanks!


I never thought I'd say "No" to twins, but now I am. Ray and I (well, mostly Ray) have often talked about how fun it would be to have or adopt twins at some point if the opportunity presented itself. This week we've had a taste of what twins would be like, and now would likely run from the idea!

When foster parents go out of town on vacation they often can't or don't want to take the infants they are caring for with them. So the children go to "Respite Foster Care". When I went to North Carolina in October, a nice foster mom named Linda took care of "Amelia". So when the Department called me to see if I would take a 4 month-old for a week, I thought I would give back and say "yes". I thought we would gain experience, and I also wanted to see if I could do it--totally assuming that indeed I could, difficult though it would be. I can't.

I haven't left the house much this week. I haven't done much of anything, except take care of Amelia and "Peter". Both babies sleep through the night under normal circumstances, but this week I have been up with them anywhere between 3 and 9 times a night. I'm exhausted! AND Ray had to go out of town two days this week. Needless to say, I am counting the hours (4 more at the time of this post) until Peter gets picked up.

The saving graces this week were: both Amelia and Peter are awfully cute; my mom, sister and friend Tracy each brought us dinner this week (and how NICE it was that they didn't ask, they just did it!); my sister came and took one of the babies for me for 5 hours one day! Ah, yes. These thoughtful, gracious acts seriously saved my sanity and I am feel very indebted to them!

In summary, no more respite foster care for me!


4 comments:

Paige said...

You know, some of the best mothers in the world have twins. And barely made it through.

Wendy said...

Well thanks Court. It was my pleasure. Plus you know part of it was selfish since you know how much I love "Amelia." And don't feel indebted, cause that's what sisters, moms, and friends are for. :)

mamasuisse said...

Wow. I admire you for even giving it a try! I hope you're recovering okay.

Celia Fae said...

Wow. You are a saint. I'd cry a lot of I had twins.

I like how you still give us a picture of a baby even though we can't see yours. How old is Amelia?