Heroes: Orange County residents from lifeguards to nurses gave hope and touched others’ lives in 1989. : NEWPORT BEACH : Mother to Scores, She Loves Them All

More than 100 babies have spent the first months of their lives at Carol Newett’s home in Newport Beach--almost all of them battling drug or alcohol addiction.

For 22 years, Newett has been an Orange County foster parent and part of a team that deals with high-risk infants, many abandoned by their parents at birth.

Newett became a foster parent after having five children of her own and feeling that she still had more to give, she said.

“I have a need to mother,” said Newett, 56. “I never dreamed that I would still have that need now. I think that we are all here for a purpose, and I think that I am very fortunate to have found out what my purpose is.”

Newett cares for what she calls her babies until they are medically stable, from 6 months to a year.

“The day I bring the babies home from the hospital, they’re mine until they leave” to be reunited with parents or adopted, she said.

The separation is always difficult, Newett said, but necessary.

“I get my rewards every day that I have them. When they are well, my job is done.”

One of her babies is still with her. Aimee, now 15, was adopted by the Newetts on their 20th wedding anniversary. Newett often spends hours at UCI Medical Center with the babies, many of whom are going through withdrawals from the substances that the mothers used.

During those times, she said, she just hugs them and gives them affection. Any slight distraction, such as TV, causes them to go into fits.

Newett has never lost a baby but lives with constant fear.

“The little boy I have now is scary,” she said. All of the babies are on monitors, and she is on constant alert. Her smallest baby was just one pound at birth.

Her own unhappy childhood, Newett said, probably helped motivate her to this career. “I want all children to know that they are loved and wanted,” she said.

Although Newett receives financial aid from the county for each baby, it does not cover her costs.

“I like to dress my babies nice,” she said. “They have gone through so much already that they deserve it. You can’t do this for the money. If they cut off my funds, I’d do it anyway.”

When the babies are ready to move on, everything they have goes with them--pictures, their first Christmas stocking, personal items. “These children need some identity,” Newett said. “It’s important for them and for me.”