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

[CathyBogart]

CPS is a bunch of BIG FAT IDIOTS if they'll harass my teenage siblings at length about something that happened a decade ago and yet won't help you and Nathan.

[sumbirdy]

*sigh* We got him to bed by 8 tonight and he's already woke up twice. The number of times he wakes up is getting worse but it's getting easier to get him back to sleep. I just don't get it. Monday we are going to ask her directly what she has done to him and if she won't admit it I'm going to make it known that I know she has done something and I intend to find out. It's cruel to a baby to take him out of the only home he has ever known and force him to live with complete strangers.
Mom told her he was allergic to Huggies diapers and you know what she said? "You don't have to worry about that, I'm not going to waste my money on that" I understand a mother saying she can't afford a more expensive brand but saying she's not going to waste her money on something that will go to her child?! That just tells us even more that she doesn't love him. Well, I take that back, she loves him like somebody loves a possesion, like their car. She's a control freak, she wants control over everything and everybody. When she lived here she tried to take control over everything in the house and when we wouldn't let that happen she got mad. When she went grocery shopping with mom she would tell her what she should buy and she would rearrange the whole house to suit her without asking anyone. I guess she thinks Nathan is someone she can have control over. But Nathan has a mind of his own and he's not going to be her little puppet. She also thinks she is going to get money off of him because we did. We got money because the government looked at him as our foster child. And everything we got went to him. Almost everything we got went to him. I can't tell you the last time any of us have bought something new for ourselves unless we absolutely needed it. She makes me so mad using Nathan like this.
Nathan came back to us so insecure and so clingy. And unless they have a change of heart and let us have him (doubtful) or Charles divorces her (even more doubtful) and gets sole custody, he's always going to be like this. I just hope that once he figures out we're always going to come back for him and we're not leaving him forever then this will get a little easier for him. I just want him to be the happy, carefree little boy he once was. I don't want to take him back because I don't want him to think we are abandoning him with them. I just wish he was old enough to understand.
Here's a pic I took of me and him about 20 minutes ago when he woke up. Babies are gifts from God, they don't deserve to be hurt or abused. I just wish everyone would look at it that way. The world would be so much better.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Poor little mite...maybe the novelty of having him around will wear off and his stupid, worthless, selfish..(I could go on) mother will hand him back to you. Children are resilient and he will come through this - they are also the best judge of people so he will know where he is truly loved and safe and once he finds his voice he will make it clear to everyone. Good luck

[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?