127,000 diapers later, Levanites are expecting

"She wanted to know why our babies never grew!" Mrs. Levanites chuckled.

An outsider might easily be confused at seeing the Levanites carry a blonde baby into church one month and a brunette the next. Over the past 36 years, they have welcomed an astonishing 141 foster children into their home -- all infants and toddlers. Each child stays about three or four months. That adds up to at least 127,000 diapers.

Expanding house

The couple have raised three sons of their own and boast five grandchildren, the youngest of whom is about to graduate from high school.

But in 1966, when Mrs. Levanites heard that the Albany County Department of Social Services was looking for foster parents, she just couldn't say no.

"Our two older boys were in high school, and the youngest was nine," she remembered. The boys didn't mind the idea of having a baby around the house again, and a stipend from the DSS covered the foster child's diapers and formula.

First up: Bobby

In the time he lived with them, they brought him to countless doctor's appointments as he graduated from casts to splints and finally healed.

Like all of the other children they've welcomed in succession, the Levanites don't have much information on where Bobby is today. The couple have only gotten news or updated photos of 30 of their 141 foster children after the children moved on. The hardest part of foster parenting, said Mrs. Levanites, is giving up the children when they're adopted or they return to their birth families.

"`Don't get attached' -- that always got to me," she said with disgust, referring to the advice given to foster parents. "How do you have a child and take care of it for months and not get attached?"

Catholic connection

In fact, CMS caseworker Janice Baran told The Evangelist that the Levanites are often specifically chosen to take care of babies who have been abused, since they have so much experience dealing with such "fragile" children.

"I think they're marvelous," she said of the couple, whom she's worked with for 13 years. "There isn't a thing they wouldn't do for the agency, for the children. They've sacrificed a lot."

"I don't think we've sacrificed anything!" Mrs. Levanites objected.

Baby hobby

"It's my only hobby," said Mrs. Levanites, adding: "Well, I read and do crossword puzzles."

Mr. Levanites, a quiet man who said he leaves most of the parenting to his wife -- "he wasn't one for changing diapers" either, she remarked -- became animated as he recalled rushing sick children to the hospital in the middle of the night.

When police pulled him over for speeding, he said, they would hear his story and end up saying, "We'll escort you!"

Tammy's story

Before the couple could even bring her home, they had to learn how to change the tube, inject her with medications and give her nebulizing treatments to help her breathe. Tammy had 'round-the-clock nursing care, which meant the Levanites also had nurses in their home constantly for three years.

The couple were originally told they were bringing Tammy home to die. Mrs. Levanites broke into a grin as she said that the little girl will celebrate her 13th birthday in June. Doctors told the couple that if it weren't for their loving care, she never would have survived.

Parenting secrets

"The priest even compliments us," Mr. Levanites boasted. "He says, `How come your kids never cry?'"

Mrs. Levanites said her secret is that she holds the babies, rather than placing them in infant seats. "Holding them, rocking them -- to me, it's very relaxing," she remarked.

The couple stated that in nearly four decades, their own children have never once protested the extra additions to the family. Mrs. Levanites said she occasionally even asks her grandchildren to babysit -- although she prefers to keep her foster children close at hand.

"We bring them everywhere," she noted. "If you don't want the babies, don't [invite] us!"

Age is no object

The Levanites have been hoping for a new foster child since their last one left in March; Mrs. Levanites is getting impatient.

The couple said they have no intention of retiring from foster-parenting: "Until I have to give it up, I wouldn't think of it," Mrs. Levanites declared, adding: "I love to do it. I don't want to just sit here and vegetate."

"I'm the same way," her husband said.

(For information about foster parenting, call Community Maternity Services at 482-8836.)

(05-30-02) [[In-content Ad]]