We have our second placement (not counting the respite that we did). They have been with us for about a week. They have not had school this week because of Thanksgiving, and they have also been sick. Despite them not feeling well for a few days, we’ve had a good first week.
Their arrival was so much smoother than our first placement. This is mostly because of circumstances that were outside our control. They arrived at our house at 11:30 on a Sunday morning, so we had the whole day to get things done. Whereas our last kiddo arrived at 7:30 pm, and we were up until 1 am that night. Another reason why this transition went so smoothly was because we did several things to prepare. Some of these things we did the first time, and some we did not. We had about 48 hours from when we found out kids were coming until they were here, and those two days ended up being pretty busy.
1) Prepared for lice treatments
One of the first things, we are required to do when the kids get here is to give them a lice treatment. Even if they don’t have lice, this is a precaution.
So, I set up two chairs in front of the television in the living. I also got a towel for each child and had Masha y El Oso already prepped on the TV. After our first placement, I ordered the hair clips that hairdressers use to divide hair into sections. This makes giving the lice treatment much easier.
2) Sorted Clothing
I prepared sets of clothing in different sizes for the two kiddos. As I mentioned before, we were given several sets of clothing from a couple different families. I also went to the store and bought a few clothing staples. I was able to give both kids something clean to put on after they showered.
One of the requirements is that we provide the children with a new set of pajamas for their first night, so we have bought several sets of pjs in different sizes for the kids. These were also divided up by size, so I could easily find the right size.
I had everything laid out on the guest bed, so I could give them to the kids when they arrived.
3) Went grocery shopping
The night before the kids came, we went to the grocery store. We bought our food for the week, but we also stocked up on kid things like chocolate milk and fruit gummies.
Then I replenished the snack baskets in my car and in the kitchen.
4) Cleaned the house
I don’t know if this is true for other foster parents, but we have found it easier to keep the house clean and to keep up with housework when the kids have been here. I think it’s because they need routine, so I work hard to provide that for them. But when they’re not here, it’s easy to want to relax. There were several household chores we had let go during our week without kids, and they needed to get done before our next set of kids arrived. I wanted to make our home inviting, and it is so much easier to maintain an organized home than it is to get organized.
5) Prepped the kids’ room
As I mentioned in my last post, we bought duvet covers for the kids’ beds. Because we hadn’t put them on the kids’ comforters yet, I made sure both beds were made and straightened up a few things in the room. I also moved some of my stock supplies of kids’ stuff (clothes, sheets, toothbrushes) into the closet in the kids’ room. I had it spread out in different places throughout the house, and I needed it to be in one place. As I was organizing, I also found a shirt left by our previous kiddo.
Despite the kids being sick, our first week together has gone really well. Tomorrow will be a big transition for us as the kids go back to school, and I go back to work. I think it will be good for all of us as we are feeling a little cooped up. I think the things that we did set us up for success, and they continue to be helpful as we head into the next week.
Good idea to have a show playing for them while you do the hair treatment! I had been thinking that must be a rather traumatizing way to enter, to have to be scrubbed immediately. I was imagining them sitting on the toilet seat or over the sink while you scrub them in a bath robe. Your idea sounds way better! I wanted to share the website we found when we did our trip with Wycliffe. It has the Bible, the Jesus film, and other great resources offered online in all the different languages worldwide that have been done so far! Some of the children you get may actually speak their native tongue more than Spanish. So this could be a great resource! It has stuff on audio and video so they don’t have to read it. https://scriptureearth.org/00i-Scripture_Index.php
You guys are doing so incredibly well at both being organized AND being flexible!