I finished the first draft of our portfolio tonight. Yea! I think I have all the pictures in place. Chris will need to look at it next and give his input on it. Though I have the lead on the portfolio, Chris has the lead on the "Dear Birthmother" letter. We used the "divide and conquer" philosophy, so to speak. We'll each review and give our voice on the other's project.
I think the portfolio is looking good. Chris and I picked out pictures together. We picked out some pictures from our wedding, family pictures, pictures of us doing our hobbies, and some goofy pictures. I took in a lot of advice from the caseworkers and tried to not overload the pages with too many pictures or make them look too busy. We also wanted to make sure that we showed our "real" selves and have no more than a few poised pictures.
On a sad note, I've been stricken with hearing news about a recent shaken baby case.
Chesterfield police: dad shook severely injured 6-week-old boy
It is so sad to hear news like this as someone who has had the joy of holding a precious child of her own, who has tried for many years to have another, and who is now in the process of adopting a little one. I understand that sometimes a crying baby is the hardest thing to hear. Nick was colicky and cried so much during his first three or four months. Sometimes it seemed that every time I tried to sit down to eat or laid down to sleep, he would have a crying spell that wouldn't stop. It was trying to be honest. I learned, though, that sometimes I had to just put him in his crib, make sure he was safe, walk away for a few minutes, and let him cry. That in itself was hard, but it was the best thing as I knew that he could feel my stress.
I remember seeing commercials about Shaken Baby Syndrome and how they said to tell your baby's caregivers to "Never shake the baby." I always thought that it would be awkward to that tell someone you trust and never thought I would have to say it. But if a father can do something like that to his own baby, anyone can get in a stressful enough situation to shake a baby. I will definitely have that written on any babysitter's instructions and verbally tell them to "never shake a baby."
Please say a quick pray for God to be with all babies who are suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome and with their parents.
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