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Real letters to a baby in foster care:
the first four weeks
Four weekly letters a foster family wrote to a newborn they brought home from hospital, with notes on what makes each one work.
In short
A baby can’t tell you about their week, so the letter does it for them. Write down how they came to you, what their parents passed on, who held them, where you went and what it sounded and smelled like. Keep their family in it, warmly. Nobody else will have those details when they’re grown up.
What I changed for this page
Every name, place and date. The photos are stock images, so nobody can be identified, but the layouts and captions are exactly as the app made them. In your own letters, keep the real names and places, because they’re what the child will want to know.
Hi Ruby!
It’s been quite a week getting to know you, and you getting to know us! We picked you up from the hospital at five o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon. Your mum and dad gave us some really good tips about burping you, and warned us that you liked to pee and poo while your nappy was being changed! They also told us they’d been calling you Roo, and they were happy for us to call you that too. You were very content leaving the hospital for the first time, looking out of the window and taking everything in, before falling asleep in the car on the way to our house.
There wasn’t much time to rest, as Megan and Josh were desperate to meet you and give you cuddles. Megan, in particular, didn’t want to put you down!
Your first night went really well. You let us know when you wanted food, and settled quickly afterwards.
Your second day was a sleepy one: you slept most of it! After we picked you up from family time with your mum and dad, we went shopping for a few more babygros. We’d heard that your mum loves Winnie the Pooh, so we found some with Pooh on them for you.
As the days went on you were much more awake and alert. We saw your beautiful eyes a lot, and loved watching them explore everything around you. Later in the week you met more of our family, who were really excited to meet you, and you got lots of attention when we all got together for Great-Gran’s 90th birthday.
It’s been a pleasure to welcome you into our family, for however long you’re with us.
With love from
Anna & Rob
13 October 2025
Roo! You’re growing by the day! You had a very sleepy first week, but this week you’ve had your eyes open a lot, taking in more of the world.
You’ve been feeding well and sleeping well at night, waking for your bottles and settling as soon as you’ve been winded.
You had your first walk by the sea, along the beach front, and then we went for lunch with Rob’s mum and dad, his sister Kate and his nephew Leo.
You also spent some time at soft play, where you were fascinated by all the different sights and sounds in the sensory room.
Here are some photos of your week with us.
With love from
Anna & Rob
20 October 2025
Roo! Oh, how you’ve grown! Your eyes have started to track what’s happening around you, following our faces (or the dogs!) as we talk to you.
You’ve been exploring more of where we live, too. We took a walk around the castle gardens, where you could hear the birds and the water from the fountain and the stream, and smell the gardeners’ herbs and roses.
You went to your first toddler group in the village hall, and got lots of cuddles from the other mums who were there that morning.
When you were born, your mum wanted to make sure the two of you could be together in whatever way was possible, so she gave you some scent squares to sleep with. You might spot her favourite one in one of the pictures.
It was also your mum’s birthday on Saturday. You made a little birthday card and a framed footprint picture with Anna to give to her, and she absolutely loved them.
Love from
Rob & Anna
27 October 2025
Roo!
You’ve been finding your voice a little more this week! You’re spending longer awake, looking at our faces and listening to the conversations going on around you. You’ve also been making some very funny little noises, especially when you’re hungry or have a bit of wind. I (Rob) have decided these are your “baby dinosaur noises”, and they’re very cute!
This week you and Anna met up with some other foster carers. Anna already knew some of them, and others were new faces. There was even someone she used to work with years ago! They gave you some beautiful little knitted cardigans, which was such a lovely gift. It’s nice to know there are people around us thinking of you.
You’ve had lots more cuddles with Megan this week, too. Josh is getting more confident holding you, although he’s still getting used to having such a tiny baby in his arms, and he really enjoys reading little stories to you.
You came along to Megan’s football match on Saturday and Josh’s on Sunday, so you’ve already met lots of people who were very excited to see you.
Friday was your very first Halloween! We all went trick-or-treating that evening, and you became part of Megan’s Mr Bean costume. You both won best dressed at the Halloween party!
You’re growing so quickly that you’ve already outgrown some of your little clothes. It’s amazing how much you can change in such a short time, and we get to see it happen day by day.
It’s been another lovely week getting to know you, learning all your little noises and expressions, and watching you discover more of the world. We’re enjoying these early days with you, Roo, and all the little moments that make up your story.
With love from
Anna & Rob
3 November 2025
Photos are stock images.
Ruby’s Chapters
7 October – 2 November 2025
Letters from Anna & Rob
4 letters
Then the letters become a book.
Bind every letter, or just a stretch of time, into a book with a cover, a contents page and chapters by month or by age. This is the cover the app made for these four letters.
The book is a PDF, so you can print it at home or take it to any printer to have it bound, ready to give them when they move on.
These letters were written in My Chapters.
The app laid out every page with the photos and captions, sent each one to the social worker as a PDF, and put the first month into a little book.