9 Things You Need For Your Foster Registry
You have made the decision to become a foster parent! Welcome to the club! Fostering is a journey unlike any other. If there is one piece of advice I can give to all new fosters, it would be to find your tribe. Fostering is a whole other ball game and while our loved ones may fully support us, they can’t really understand what it’s like, because they haven’t walked it themselves.
Where We Started
A little backstory on our foster journey. As a little girl, my neighbor was a foster mom. She had a little girl who had the same name as me. We were the same age and played together often. One day, some woman I’d never seen had walked Amanda down the street to my house to say goodbye. She was being moved to another placement and I would never see her again. My heart felt so sad for her, and for myself. I so wanted her to have a stable home, like the one I had. It was this moment that cemented in my heart that one day I would be that stable landing place for other children.
Fast forward through my childhood to 2014 when I married an amazing guy. The very next year, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A year later, I was diagnosed with PCOS. We realized that our plan of bio children followed by fostering was not likely to happen. So we changed it around! We began the process in March 2018. We had already done research and found an agency we liked. We decided to pursue foster-to-adopt (that’s what they call it here) on our first go around.
We were tremendously blessed in that we had a large support system through family, friends, and church. Sadly, not every person who decides to do this has much support. That is why I would tell you to find your tribe. Go to support groups, meet other foster parents, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You will find there are many people who can’t be foster parents but want to help.
Our friends and family offered to throw us a foster shower. This was their way to support us in our endeavor and so we agreed. It felt a little strange. The whole journey feels strange. You are so excited for yourself, but you realize your dreams are happening because there are little ones who have been failed repeatedly. It is okay to be excited AND it is okay to be sad. They are not mutually exclusive. You can allow others to celebrate you and your journey and recognize it’s happening because of someone else’s loss.
Preparing For Placement
As a foster parent, you really don’t know much in advance, the gender or ages of the children coming into your home. This makes it a little trickier to put together a registry. We used Amazon Baby and Target Baby. Our age range was 0-6, and a sibling set up to 3. Here are 9 key items we put on our registry, that every foster parent will need for young placements.
Car seats
Since we were planning on more than one, age unknown, we chose the Graco 4 in 1 car seat. This car seat could convert from an infant seat to a booster. Its versatility made sense given the uncertainty of the placement.
Stroller
Initially, we chose the Evenflo Pivot Expand Stroller with the infant seat attachment. This stroller gave us the ability to push 1 or 2 kiddos. The stroller seat placements can be changed based on your needs. The seats fully recline which are great for toddler naps! When we ran that stroller ragged, we grabbed the Mockingbird. It felt much sturdier though I will say I preferred the condensability of the Evenflo better.
Camera
This is a necessity for babies on up. When our kids were small, we used the Infant Optics Baby Monitor in their rooms. I preferred a wifi less camera for their protection. Now that they are older, we have a Ring camera in the main room. I keep it there so I can keep an eye on things while I get ready in the bathroom. My son likes to get into mischief so it’s peace of mind for me and protection for him.
Bedding
While we eventually took the kids out to pick their own bedding, it was good to have basic bedding for those first few days. We chose gender neutral colors that felt soft and cozy. I always make sure to include a comfort blanket. These ones are great for younger kids.
Utensils
Little kids = little hands and mouths. Our grown-up breakable plates and larger silverware would not work. We registered for colorful, reusable plastic plates, bowls, and silverware. If I could do it again, I would either make sure to have multiple of the same color or only get 1 color. I think that would have helped us avoid a lot of arguments between toddlers.
Diaper Bag/ Backpack
Even if we didn’t get an infant placement, there were still snacks, clothes changes, diapers, wipes, etc. that needed transporting. We wanted a backpack my husband felt comfortable sporting around too. We opted for the Eddie Bauer Diaper Bag. After a while, I realized I wanted a “cuter” bag for certain outings. So I grabbed on similar to this.
Books
Books are a big love in our family. While we had many from our own childhood, we wanted a wider variety. We especially wanted books that touched on foster care and adoption. Here are a few titles we loved!
Toys
We selected some gender-neutral toys to add to our home. Large block Legos, stuffed animals, wood blocks, magnatiles, kinetic sand, etc. Until we knew what the kids liked or didn’t like, we wanted to make sure we had something for them when they arrived. We received some gift cards for our shower. We used those to go shopping with the kids once they arrived so they could pick some toys of their own.
Shower Goods
While you may need to adapt haircare based on the age and race of your child, it is helpful to have some bath goods on hand. Make sure to have shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a supply of lice medication just in case.
When your placement actually arrives, you will still have an extensive list of things to buy. So, take off some of the burden and let people celebrate your journey. Remember, this is their way of contributing to helping foster children.
While I’m sure there are many things you can add to your list, these were the most helpful for our family. I am so excited for you embarking on this journey. It won’t be easy, but the rewards far outweigh the trials.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Be sure to check out the Printable Resource Parent Planner for sale in my Etsy Shop! It’s an organizational game changer for the endless paperwork we get as foster parents!
