Imelda

Imelda shares her experiences of providing foster care to a new mum and her baby.

"Following a 40 year career in social care and one heck of a life, I opted to start fostering. I really longed to look after a parent and child. I managed to persuade my partner and our 10-year-old, both dubious initially. As a first placement, it could have been overwhelming, being thrust into sharing your living space with a strange adult and a vulnerable new-born. However, a good plan of introductions made a more comfortable and less overwhelming start for everyone.  We got to speak with the baby’s social worker, which gave us far better understanding of both his and mum’s needs.

"I visited the hospital daily for 5 days and got to know mum very well and were able to welcome her with open arms to a fully decorated house of 'New Baby Boy' bunting, cards, and gifts. This beginning, then set the course for a lovely living situation. Nothing scary at all, just a vulnerable mum with her new baby.

"We all got on extremely well, of course, there were many challenges to face, such as mum not always accepting our support or not organising her bottles until baby was screaming for a feed. These were delicate situations to manage, as we didn’t want to seem to be taking over, but sometimes we simply had to intervene, for the safety or comfort of the baby.

"We managed to maintain the status quo with a very matter of fact, no-nonsense approach in returning the focus to baby’s needs. We supported mum with every aspect of caring for her baby, from making health appointments, budgeting and meal planning to bottle sterilisation and, safety issues.

"Fostering a parent and child really is intense and demanding. However, it’s also massively rewarding, which far outweighed anything we gave of ourselves.  We’ve grown in so many ways, both as a family and individually. There’s no magic formula, just do your best, and have a genuine interest and desire in nurturing relationships and families. We are all agreed that we would not have missed this experience for the world!"