Little one coming home Thursday but no time for intros

[EnergyCreatesReality]

I posted last week about changing to FFA after approval because we had been approached by family finders about a little one who is our perfect match.

We've decided to go ahead but had a call Friday evening to say the foster carer is insisting she is gone by the end of this week not 2 weeks time as we were told.

This means there's no time for intros, we may get to go over one evening to give her dinner, bath and bed but it seems the foster carer isn't even keen on that. I'm really worried about how little one will cope suddenly coming to strangers and then never seeing foster carer again (she doesn't want ongoing contact). She's 21 months old so not sure how much she will understand about what's happening to her.

That’s good, and reflects the level of support that should be available to you. It’s just one of those things in sw that you sometimes need to be available out of hours and particularly given the way this move has been handled it’s important you have support available.

I hope everything goes well this evening and tomorrow - good luck.

And , because new mums deserve flowers

@EnergyCreatesReality it sounds like things have been a bit of a whirlwind but I hope you enjoyed your evening with your daughter and tomorrow goes smoothly as you become mum to your little darling. Congratulations on becoming a family and mum to this precious little one.

Yes congratulations!

I’m glad you are getting a little bit of time before your little one moves in. Just a word of caution, I probably wouldn’t have your social worker there when little one arrives. It will already be overwhelming for them to have a new house and two new parents without another adult being there. You could have your social worker there before she arrives just for a chat and a briefing but I wouldn’t have her there when the little one gets there.

Congratulations and good luck

@EnergyCreatesReality I've only just read this and your previous thread, what a whirlwind!

I'm on my second time round of FFA/early permanence and I'm not surprised at the changes in timescales you've been given.

I do think the LA have known about this for longer and could have planned better

Yes, sadly this is quite common too. Don't spend any energy on what should have happened, but do give strong feedback when all the dust is settled. I found it useful to write notes in my phone, so you'll have a record for a later date, but don't give it headspace when you've got parenting to do (hopefully that makes sense!).

Please feel free to PM me if you have any queries on the FFA process.

Good luck for today, I hope everything goes well!

No advice but good luck.

Thinking of you today! Hope all goes well and you all enjoy your first day together. Start of a new chapter! 💐