New to all this

[Krissy~and~Chris]

Hi y'all. I am from Missouri and my husband and I are beginning the process of fostering and hope to eventually adopt. We are having our fingerprints done Tuesday (7-15) and have filled out the papers to become respite care providers for now. We are working on getting all of the other papers filled out and will probably start our classes at the end of September. Does any one have any advice for the things we should have on hand here in order to provide repite care? Like, should we have car seats or will the foster parents provide those.....and what about bottles and diapers and things, I am assuming if the child is that young the foster parents will send that stuff??? Thanks y'all!

[Texas Foster Mommy]

I am a foster Parent in Texas. First off, Welcome to the foster care world. I wish I had a some to respit for me. There is not one in the town that I live in If I did I would send everything for the child that was needed for basic care. Since my husband and I are soo young, we only keep children 0-5. I would send my carseat if the respit needed it, Car seats are expensive and there are several different ones for children of all sizes, it would be in my opinion best to ask for the foster parents. I have 2 car seats that are wonderfull. I bought them at wal-mart for 40 each. you can use it rear-facing from 10-25lbs and then foward facing from 25-50 lbs. I have never had a kid that was too big for it. Since I keep kids 0-5, it was a great purchase. I would send bottles, formula, clothes. If the child was spending the night for what ever reason, or was still napping, I have a few pack and plays that I could supply. It might be worth your while to invest in a pack and play.. if you plan on keeping small children. THey are not that expensive and are easy to store. Also something to consider for sleeping/napping. I have an extra crib matterss that I keep under a twin bed. I have a 21 mth old and a 5 year old that share a room right now, and during nap time they talk to each other. I pull out the crib mattress, put linens on it and put it in the hall for the 5 yr old to nap. That way the toddler can actually sleep. They are not that expensive and light/portable. I have used it for kids that are emergancy placements untill I can put together the crib or get them a bed. I also would Invest in a few bottles and cups, kid friendly plates and baby spoons, kids break everything. When I 1st started doing foster care I had fun shopping for kid stuff. Bottles are more of a personal thing but it might be a good idea to have a few so if one get lost or broken(which accounts for 85% of all my bottles) you have a back-up. As far a diapers, I would ask the foster parent for them. I hope this helps, and again welcome.

[lucky62]

My husband and I are in Missouri also.We have 2 foster sons and when we use repsite, we leave them a carseat, pull ups and clothes for the days gone.We dont provide food or snacks,however.Our respite care giver is wonderful and we only use the same one.Hope that helps.

[lovemykids]

I do respite sometimes. The parents are usually very good about sending what the children need but it doesn't hurt to have extra things on hand just in case. Since you're new at this you'll get the hang of it as you go along. The best to you!