They came and took him! What do I do now? *UPDATE PAGE 5!*

[sumbirdy]

Well, tonight has will be our last night until Saturday (mom decided she was going to pick him up a couple of days early and if they don't agree she's going to have a little talk with Adult Protective Services because they are supposed to be making her happy) It's going to be hard. Really hard. And unlike when they gave him to us, he's going to be clean when he goes back. And we are going to tell them to keep him that way. He gets really dirty when he eats because he likes to feed himself, but there's no reason to let him sit in it for hours. I clean him up right after he gets done eating. Those bumps are almost gone and he doesn't have any new ones and guess what? We've even taken him outside! And still no new bites! Amazing isn't it? Mom even gave her some stuff to keep the bugs away that she had for Nathan so we better not be seeing any more of those bites on him.

He's napping right now (which is the only reason I'm on here) so I probably won't be on for the rest of the day as I want to spend lots of time with him.

[sumbirdy]

Charles has agreed to having him five days here and five days there. He also said that he may want us to keep him for a few more days sometimes.
Nathan has become afraid of belts and Stephanie tried to tell Charles it was because my dad whipped him with one ( ) Charles told her that dad wouldn't do that with a one year old baby (dad does believe in spankings but not until a child is at least 6 or 7)
We also found out that when Stephanie can't handle Nathan getting up at night she calls her friends to come and get him and they are getting a little ticked off about it. What kind of mother doesn't want to be with her baby at night? I love being with Nathan at night. It's true, I don't get very much sleep, but I think one of the greatest gifts I can give him is letting him know that I am there and loving him and comforting him through his nightmares.
Anyway right now he is still with us and we're taking him back tonight and picking him up again Saturday.
I've attached a pic of him with his leap frog that sings the alphabet that I bought for him Thursday.

[mrspunkysmom]

I haven't seen this mentioned before, so I'm mentioning it now. I hope I don't step on anyone's toes.

You need to keep a diary or journal of all that you have told us here. I have been told that if kept daily, a journal is considered a legal document and is admissable as evidence. Be sure to separate your feelings separate from observations and hearsay (gossip). You can write about your feelings, but the journal should be clear about what you are discussing. Make sure you credit quotes from people and give date, time, and location and any witnesses.

This would also be a good way to put each day in perspective and work through your feelings.

Get good pictures of any marks or excessive bites. I'm sure you are doing that anyway.

I don't know that you should mention this board. Yes, this is the same thing as talking with friends, but there are those that would differ in their opinion.

As a teacher I keep a journal of class events and meetings with principals. It has been a lifesaver. I let my bosses know I keep the journal, but I'm not sure you should let her know. You want to record her behavior without incentive to behave otherwise.

I think you are doing a good thing for Nathan. I hope you succeed in getting him back permanently.

[Karen]

Give that boy an extra kiss from all of us, okay?

[sumbirdy]

We just got back from taking him back to his daddy. She didn't come out of the house and that was good because none of us wanted to hand him over to her. There was one thing I was very glad to see. He loves his daddy and appears to feel safe with him. I'm glad there is one person in that house he's like that with. But I didn't think he thought we were going to leave. He looked at us over Charles' shoulder with the saddest eyes when we were driving off. It made me want to cry. I hope when we do this a few more times he will realize that we'll always be back for him. I just hate to leave him there.


mrspunkysmom-I had heard that keeping a journal can be considered legal documents. I had meant to do that, thanks for reminding me. I have several notes to Nathan but they don't go into much details, which is what I had planned on writing down, all the details, such as how Stephanie acted towards Nathan when they lived here, and then when they moved out (and left him) and how Nathan acted before and after this happened.

Soon, I'm hoping for Nathan's sake that this back and forth routine will become normal for him, because I don't see Stephanie letting go of him as long as she thinks she'll get something out of it. Which reminds me, she went into the DHS office (a different branch than the one we have been trying to get to help us) to get more money on their foodstamps "for Nathan" and when they wouldn't do it started screaming at them. She gets WIC, that plus the foodstamps they get now is plenty to feed them and a baby. One of the workers told her "Well, it seems that someone over eats and it's not the baby."
With Stephanie it always has to be more, more, more and it always has to be about and for her. With a baby, you just can't be that way. You can't be selfish and greedy without hurting your child.