Alan had a busy morning

Well, first, the stats on Baby D from her 2 week doctor's appointment yesterday. She weighs 5 pounds 11 ounces and is 19.5 inches long, up from 5 pounds 6 ounces and 18.5 inches long a week previous (birthweight was 5 pounds 4 ounces and discharge weight 2 days later was 5 pounds 2 ounces, length unknown). Doctor was pleased with her progress, so that's good.

i also got a good amount of sleep last night! Yay! First off, she didn't fuss at all after work yesterday, and i was able to get a lot of housework done for our social worker visit today. i lay on the couch for about an hour around 9, and then slept until 2:30 (set alarm to give Alan a little more sleep). D then slept from about 3:00 until 4:30 (wanting food), and then from about 4:30 until about 6:00 when i got up and fed her to get ready for work. i slept most of that time, of course waking when she would make a noise, but still much better than nothing. And to top it off, she slept from 6:30 until 8:30 for Alan!

This morning we were expecting visitors in the form of an Allstate adjustor re: the infamous tree, and also our social worker. The way this works is that we have a social worker (resource parent support unit), and Baby D has a social worker (foster care unit). Our worker came by this morning to see the baby in our home.

Alan says she was favorably impressed, but perhaps TOO impressed. Apparently we have so much baby stuff that she's concerned that we're getting "too attached". You just can't NOT get attached (despite nearly all the clothes and probably a fourth of the bigger items having been donated). If you are, you're not doing your job as foster parent right. So boo on her for that. We are very much hoping that we can someday adopt D, but we also realize that nothing in foster care is that easy, that even though today the plan may look like adoption, there's still a chance the caseworker will decide to pursue reunification, or a judge will, or that a qualified relative will come forward. And technically we won't have "dibs" on adopting D until she's been in our home for a full year, so if Termination of Parental Rights were to happen when D is 11 1/2 months old, the state could turn around and give her to some other adoptive parents even if they're not relatives. We know all this intellectually. But you can't watch a helpless 5 pound baby shake and quake from the effects of the drugs her mother did while pregnant, watch that little girl in horrible agony through no fault of her own and help ease her through it with all the patience and tenderness you have in you and not get attached. It's just not possible, and if that's the kind of foster parents they're looking for, then they're not doing those kids any favors.

Would it completely tear us apart inside to see her leave? Yes, absolutely, and that will be the case whether she leaves tomorrow or in 2 years. i just can't see myself loving her any more tomorrow than i do today. End of story. But we'll put our own needs aside for the case of Baby D, to do whatever is right for her (or whatever the court system decides is right). If Solomon were going to cut her in two, you'd better believe i'd give her up to save her life.

Oh, yeah, and on the insurance thing. The adjustor estimated $1600 in damages and gave us a check for $1100. They are going to try to subrogate the damages (in other words, to make her insurance pay them back), but i'm not sure if we'll have to eat the $500 or if they'll get it from the neighbor or her insurance. But booooooo for being out $500 through no fault of our own. Not to mention, of course, all the hassle. And they only gave us $92 for the fence. Granted it's a cheap fence, but a roll of fencing material will cost that much, i think. It did when we put the fence up anyway.