A Fostering Journey 70

So Contact had been stopped for the foreseeable future, a decision that didn’t really upset us that much. The babies being so young they weren’t really affected by the decision and were pretty oblivious to it. The difference in the behaviour of the eldest, who had suffered neglect, was really noticeable now and had been spotted by our Supervising Social Worker (SSW) and the Local Authority Social Worker (LASW). Our own family noticed how much more alert he was and was trying to do more physical tasks too. When he first came to us he would basically lie on his back and that was it. He wouldn’t try to roll or lift his head and it was sad to see him just laying there. However, with a little encouragement, he was now propping himself up and trying to roll over, which was great to see. He seemed to react to any noise that his sister made so we always made sure that they were close to each other. When we put them down for a nap we put them down together and they would generally wake each other up which helped from a routine point of view. Having them sleep at the same time, during the day, helped us to get some down time. Obviously, the youngest was still waking up in the night, at least once, and it meant that we had broken sleep but by careful planning and good organisation we could grab a nap during the day and catch up on some sleep. We had the youngest in with is whilst the eldest slept in another room which was covered by a baby monitor. Daytimes we tried to get them out as much as possible, maybe to the park just for them to get some fresh air and for us to get some exercise. It’s quite easy to get into bad habits when you are caring for young babies as you are tired and trying to be active isn’t easy. Although we both belonged to a gym with a crèche we felt that the youngest was too young and too vulnerable to be left, at this time. So we decided to keep to a routine of regular walks on a daily basis. We had a nice quiet couple of weeks without any outside distractions and could remain focussed on the babies and, also, our own wellbeing. The youngest, T, was putting on weight and was not looking so much of a premature baby anymore and I was now happy to change her nappy when needed. The eldest, L, was looking healthier and more active. L had an issue with a ‘lazy eye’ so we spoke to the Health Visitor about what was the best option. Her suggestion was that an ophthalmic appointment should be made for him at the local hospital so a decision on treatment could be made. The appointment, however, was not going to be quick as a 14 month old baby was not the top of the list. A meeting was held, at ours, with the LASW and our SSW in attendance. It was really just a chance for a catch up. They were happy with how the babies were doing and we were informed that Mum had dropped off the radar so there was no contact planned for a while. We were very happy with the support we were getting and how proactive everyone was. Sometimes getting good Social Workers was the luck of the draw but we had certainly been lucky, so far, on this placement.