Tim and Louise's fostering story

 Tim worked three days a week and Louise worked the other three. "This worked well for childcare and fostering," says Tim, "as there was always one of us to look after the children."

The couple decided they'd foster children who were younger than their son, so as he grew up there'd always be a younger child in the house. "But after taking in two poorly babies, one after the other, we realised we were very adept at dealing with babies. Since then, we've focused on looking after babies with special needs.

"Fostering newborns involves a lot of give and take as decisions are made about the baby's future. Sometimes new mums give up their baby, only to realise that was the wrong decision. Sometimes we look after a newborn for a few weeks, sometimes for several months or a couple of years, depending how long it takes for adoption plans to be finalised. 

Training and learning

Since Tim and Louise first started fostering, research on how best to foster and transition babies to their forever families has progressed significantly.

We've learned so much about babies over the years. I've done several incredible training courses, learning about babies' brains and how they develop, how children's brains develop and grow in their teenage years too."

There have been huge changes over the last 30 years. "In the 90s adoptive parents met their babies for the first time on a Tuesday, and the baby moved in a week later after a longer introduction on the Thursday. Foster parents weren't allowed to visit the baby for at least three months. Now there's a longer transition period, we work together for longer. Adoptive parents spend more time with the baby before the child moves in, and foster parents gradually reduce their contact time once the baby has moved home. This ensures the baby doesn't feel abandoned as researchers now know this can lead to mental health issues for the child later down the line."

So rewarding

Tim and Louise form deep and lasting bonds with both the adoptive parents and the baby.

We're about to receive baby number 42 - it's been almost non-stop since we started. It's so rewarding, and we love being in touch with children we have previously fostered. One of the babies we fostered is now 26. She was back in the area for Christmas and popped round to see us. Thanks to fostering, we've got a large extended family."