Introduction Day 2

Day two is over and we are emotionally shattered. The Foster Carer called us first thing this morning to let us know that Raina had woken up at 4.30am and suggesting that we make sure we get a blackout blind to help to keep her in bed longer if possible. Needless to say that we fully intend to do this as soon as possible!!! The phone call was useful; It helped us to prepare ourselves for a potentially tired and grumpy child for the day! However, the day started with an unexpected trip to the doctors because Ruth has a bad foot. She's been hobbling around on a crutch for a couple of days and we became worried about her ability to recover in time to chase after a two-year old! Anyway, finally made it (later than agreed in the plan) to the Foster Carers house and Raina came to the door to meet Mummy Ruth. We took a few bags of Raina's toys and put them in the boot of the car. We had discussed with the Foster Carer that we should have some of her things in our house, so when she visits for the first time on Saturday it helps her to feel settled. Raina was full of smiles and hugs when we first arrived and it was a really nice way to start the day. We had an hour or so together at the FC house and we all had lunch together. We did our first nappy change and started doing quite a good share of the disciplining which went fairly well. Feeling confident with ourselves, we took Raina off to the local park a short walk away. We had some fun on the slide, swings and climbing frames. She was constantly on the move and very independent ("get off me") as we tried to support her to climb. It was good fun, but being outside with her on our own was totally diffent from being indoors in the relative sanctuary of the FC home. We gave her the 5 minutes until we're leaving warning,then 2 minutes and then 1 minute. She ran off to start climbing up the slide again. We stood our ground and told her that it was time to leave and she accepted this. Phew. We enjoyed spending time together, dealt with a few tantrums and had to discipline her a lot today. It was draining and emotionally charged as we tried to do our best to parent Raina, when she has only known us for a matter of hours. Magic item for two year old 'Reins!!'. We will be doing more of the same tomorrow and really need to get some sleep now, so good night. X X X