# Home Study started - when do you start to prepare?



## Guest (Dec 28, 2011)

Hello everyone - first post on FF

We are due our 3rd HS visit next week, just wondering if/when we should realistically start looking at preparation for nursery etc?


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## MrsYG (Oct 30, 2007)

HI Dinks
Welcome to the board.  You'll find lots of useful advise on here    Hope your HS is going well?  
Until you've completed the HS and been to Appoval Panel, you won't know what age/sex of child you'll be approved for.  Then you have to wait to be matched, which is like 'how long is a piece of string'?!  I wouldn't start buying any furniture until you know for sure your age range, and then ideally you'll need to know what type of bed/cot/toddler bed they currently sleep in, and it keep it as similar as possible to ensure a smooth transition to your home and family   
We decorated our spare room very neutral, so its all ready to just add furniture (as appropriate) and accessories!  When you are matched, you'll get to speak to the foster carers to find out what LO likes, and this will help with deciding on a theme/colours/characters.  So I guess you can make a start, because once you are matched it can all happen very quickly, and you won't want to be stripping wallpaper or painting when you''ll need to be out buying toys, prams and other more exciting things   
xx


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## Duckling (Oct 5, 2009)

Hi Dinks and welcome   . I agree with Mrs YG. We decorated the bedroom in a nice creamy colour with cream and green curtains (girl or boy colours) and I started to clear out my work stuff so it looked less like a spare room. I stopped myself from buying a cot until we'd been approved, but had a phone call only a week after to link us with our little boy. So had a few mad weeks shopping for nursery furniture. I had already bought a rug and some stickers in the IKEA sale, so had a lovely time putting them up and arranging toys etc. It might be a good idea to have researched what you'd like to buy before approval in case things happen really quickly. Lots of luck! 
Duckling x


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## Iman (Oct 11, 2007)

I would hold off buying until Matched. In advance, I made a list and did some research online (i.e. my top 3 pushchairs, best cotbeds etc) and then once we were matched we had 2 weeks to buy everything!! It was mad but made all the easier by the lists I'd made in advance. Plus its nice having a browse beforehand online etc....just I would advise hold off buying til you are matched so you can be sure. Plus, we ended up being given lots of stuff - from friends, family and the foster carers so wait to see what wings its way to you too!


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2011)

Thankyou all!! 

I was just wondering if I was being a bit premature to start decorating etc - feel that need to get as much done as we can before panel, as you never now could be weeks ,months or years and dont want to be stressing about last minute things!  We thought about decorating the nursery (clearing out suitcases/shoes etc etc - basically my dressing room) , perhaphs buying a wardrobe and chest of drawers in preparation.  We cant obviously buy a cot or bed etc, but feel that those can be last minute things.  Just not sure if being too excited or practical!!! been looking at pushchairs/car seats but again cant really decide until matched.

Thought about looking at lampshades/height charts, just a few neutral things to make it look like a childs room? is it normal to feel like this have 3rd hs visit next week, so pretty keen to get things moving but scared of "jinksing" it if you know what I mean??

I have spent many years wanting to be a mummy, and the thought of shopping for things seems totally unreal! should I start?!


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## Iman (Oct 11, 2007)

I swear if I went back through my posts, I posted something very similar to you at the start of our journey. Now our 'spare room' as it once was, is full of more cuddly toys than I can care to count, pyjamas that need folding, a box of nappies in the corner, some books, Winnie the Pooh transfers AND 2 sleeping 'monkeys'    in their beds ....I can barely remember what it looked like before !! All their things and all these 'children's things' arrived bit by bit and it was so exciting and sort of surreal and alien...going shopping for baby clothes for MY children and not someone else's was just the best feeling ever but I felt a bit like a fraud too, an expectant mummy but not pregnant in the usual sense....and now....well now, all those things and these 2 seem like they have been here forever and its real!   

Enjoy the part you are at because its that feeling of anticipation and excitement......before you know it you will be given the green light and be frantically thinking about everything you have to do before your little one(s) moves in!!    Good luck, wish you a quick and successful and happy journey 

xx


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2011)

Thankyou!!! made me feel lots better, have cleared all clothes out today, just want it xx
be nursery rather than a spare room!


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## Arrows (Nov 9, 2008)

We go to panel in Feb but have finished our homestudy and going to start looking at profiles in 2 weeks time as SW is hoping we can find a match and have the matching panel on the same day as approval or shortly after.

We have decorated  both spare bedrooms (one currently an office) one is set up as a kids room. In the current kids room we have a chest of drawers, a toy box, a single mattress and bookcase - we often have friend's children stay over and they sleep in there. 
We're now starting to look a little more at options, however we haven't bought a bed yet as we're aiming for 1-2kids aged 0-4 and don't know whether they'll need a cot or bed, whether we need one of each or a bunk bed etc.

The best thing we've done is do our Family book which we've been adding to gradually and you need to find a good photo of you both to give to the SWs.
In our book, which is done as a scrapbook which we can continue to add to, we have lots of colourful pages full of picture, information and questions. we aim to give them a CD too which has a recording of our voices so that they get used to  the sound of us which we think is important, especially if they're younger.
We've included:
Mummy,
Daddy
fun places nearby
My house -including cats
My room
holidays
Daddy's family -grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and pets
Mummy's family - ditto!
The only ones left to do are the house and room ones, as they need to wait until we get a possible match.
We hope to add over time and have left spaces for holiday pics with them, a page for a family pic to go at the front, and intend to put in 'when we first met you' etc


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