In The Land of Milk & Spit Up: Gifts for Baby

Even though we have had 5 kids, our four month old is truly our 'first baby.' We have been through the trenches with him, and for the first time as parents we are watching a baby grow and reach all of the exciting milestones. He came to us by accident, but obviously it was so much more than that. On the day our first baby was leaving (we had already said goodbye to our 10 month old 2 days prior) I prayed ALL DAY LONG for our phone to ring. My friends kept saying that I should just enjoy a break, but I couldn't fathom a quiet house without a baby. 4 hours before our little girl was scheduled for pickup, the phone rang. There was a 6 day old baby boy available...were we interested??? At the time we were only on the call list for girls (quite frankly, the thought of preparing for both sexes 0-4 years overwhelmed me) and this little babe was from a different county (kids are ALWAYS placed in the same city). So CPS made a mistake, and so did our agency, but we couldn't have been happier. Our little bundle was so beautiful, but I had no clue what I was in for. He had sleeping, eating, and breathing issues and was up all night. At the time I had no information regarding the circumstances of his traumatic birth or that he was born premature. Unfortunately in foster care this 'important' information is not always relayed, and sometimes considered none of your business. His first 2 months were total chaos. There were so many times when I thought I was going to lose it, I had no idea how to make him happy or content. I felt like such a crappy momma. I worked the 5 S's around the clock, never slept, and was just a hot mess.

The joy of parenthood isn't all about the smiles, giggles, & love, it's about being tougher than you ever thought was possible. It's about pouring your heart & soul into a kid, even though you just want to crawl up into bed for a month. It's an exhausting and beautiful job!

In the last month we have seen a total turn around, he is such a happy little guy and is finally sleeping more than 2-3 hours, we've even had a couple of 7 hour stretches. He is absolutely perfect and has brought so much joy into our lives. Although in our hearts he is "our baby," his permanency is still in limbo and it looks like the fight will continue til the very end. All bio parents have at least one year to work their services (I will post on this soon), so it's going to be a long road! Because we have no idea what the future holds, we want to celebrate everything with him. I have started planning a very happy half birthday party and I can't stop buying him gifts!

Shopping on the the internet is so much fun these days! There are so many great shops and too many awesome options out there (it took me 2 hours to decide on a custom boppy cover on Etsy). Needless to say, I am definitively going overboard. One of the perks of foster care is you can justify buying some pricier items, b/c you could potentially have babies in your house for years and years. But to save a little dough, I have started following my favorite shops on Instagram and there are always sales posted with 10-25% savings, which helps justify my spending!

Here's what our little prince is getting so far:

Indie Nook 'Juice" T-Shirt $22

Snagged with an IG 20% Promo Code

Loved by Hannah and Eli 'Man Cub' T-Shirt $34

Salt City Emporium 'Blue Deer' Leggings and Beanie

Sale posted on IG - Leggings $11 & Beanie $6

I'm still a little torn on his stuffed animal and with the way things are going, I may just get all of them. I can't help but spoil him rotten!! But my thrifty self may just wait for the first shop that has a sale.