Week 9

Week 9

Starfish aka Toddlers

The toddler section of the baby house is known as starfish. The name comes from the widely known story of the man walking on the beach. This is the story is you have not ever heard it, A young man is walking along the ocean and see a beach on which thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees an old man walking slowly and picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean. “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” He asks. “Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw the further in they will die.” “But old man don’t you realize there are miles of beach and starfish. You can’t possibly save them all. You can’t even save one tenth of them. Even if you work all day your efforts won’t make any difference at all.” The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”

 I made the transition from big babies to starfish on the first. So far it has been crazy. There is so much to learn and the day is not near as relaxing as in big babies. I thought that 14 big babies was crazy but 8 toddlers is beyond crazy. I say the words no and come ALL THE TIME! The kids are super adorable and I really love them but wow can they drive me up the wall. There are a few special needs in starfish that can make the day tricky as well. One of the girls has autism and is nonverbal and one of the boys has CP. 4 of the kids have HIV. One of the boys came in with scabies and TB but is on medication and is much better now. I should be fine health wise being around all of these different illnesses as long as I am smart and follow the precautions that are in place for us. I am not at all worried. One of the tricky parts of starfish is the discipline. There are two things that we are able to do to disciple the kids. We are allowed to slap their hands when they disobey or we can put them in the dark room. The dark room is the small 3 foot by 3 foot square that is like a hallway of sorts. One of the baby rooms is on the left another is on the right and the kitchen also comes off this hallway and there are doors on all of these rooms so the hallway can be closed off and dark, hence the name dark room. The dark room is essentially a time out. The dark room is not always the most effective punishment but it can be nice for the adults to have a time out away from the kids as much as getting the kids away for a few minutes.

Starfish Schedule

7:am- We get the kids out of bed and put them directly into their highchairs to eat breakfast.

7:15ish- We start feeding the kids breakfast. They have porridge everyday for breakfast and they are great eaters for the most part.

7:45ish- We bathe the kids. Each of the kids gets a bath everyday. For some of the kids we have to wear gloves when we bathe them because of the HIV and other illnesses that they have. This helps to protect us from getting anything. When we bathe the kids we change their diaper, brush their teeth, wash their bodies, wash their hair and put lotion on them. This process is a slippery ordeal everyday. Everything is wet at the den of bath time with 8 toddlers. After the get out of the bath we just put a diaper on them and send them to play. After everyone is bathed we then get them dressed in the living room where it is much more dry. This keeps their clothes for the day dry.

8:00am- First round of medications. Many of the kids get multiple medications each day. One of the little guys has 10 different medications that he must take everyday. Each of the medications needs to be given on time.

8:30am- Bible Story time. We read a story from the children’s Bible to the kids everyday. We also spend time clapping for Jesus and praying with the kids and singing. When the aunties pray here most of the time it is out loud and usually in their native language, which just sounds like a lot of sounds to many of us. The kids then pray and it is just a bunch of sounds and it is so cute to hear them.

8:45am- We have learning time. Each of the days we focus on something different such as numbers, letters, colors, shapes, animals and so on. This can be a trying time as the kids are not the best listeners.

9:00- Exercise time. We get out two big exercise balls and spend time with the kids rolling them on the balls.

9:30am- Milk time. The kids all still get formula for young kids. Two of the kids drink from a bottle but most of the kids drink from a sippy cup.

10:00am- We have tea time. Each of the people working take 15 minutes at separate times for a quick break. The kids are just having free play during this time. We also take time to hang laundry and such during this break time. We also give out more medication during this time.

10:30am- Snack time. All the kids sit on the tile floor and we have a snack together. They love snack time.

10:45am- Educational craft time is what the schedule says but most of the time it is coloring or play-doh. Most of the kids just try and eat the crayons or play-doh so this time is usually really short.

11:00am- Outside play as long as the weather is nice. We have a patio area that the kids can ride the ride on toys on and also a grass area with swings and a slide. Everyone loves this time because we are in a new space and have more room.

11:45am- Lunch. Right before lunch we change all the kid’s diapers. The kids eat all of their food mashed together. After they finish eating they also get a small glass of water. They drink their water out of a plastic cup without a lid. They are pretty good at it.

12:00pm- More medications have to be given out.

12:30pm- Nap time. The kids take a nap and the aunties have devotions before lunch.

1:00pm- I take my lunch break.

2:00pm- I go back and sit in the living room for starfish while auntie goes out to take a break. The kids are still sleeping so I usually take a book to read. It is really nice to have such a long break.

3:15pm- Get the kids up and change diapers. We then all sit down for a snack. After snack they get a tiny glass of juice also. During this time we are also putting the kids in their pajamas.

3:30pm- Music time. We play games with song like London Bridge is Falling Down, Ring Around A Rosey and Head and Shoulders, Keens and Toes and so on. The kids really love this time.

4:00pm- Free play time. This can be inside or outside depending on the weather and how the day is going.

4:45pm- Supper time. The kids eat baby cereal for toddlers every night for supper.

5:15pm- TV time. We put a movie on for the kids to watch. We watch the likes of Barney, Teletubbies and Winnie the Pooh.

6:00pm- Night shift comes and takes over for the next hour with the kids before they go to bed.

The days are really busy and unlike in big babies we do all of our own cleaning in starfish. We have to clean the kitchen and the bathroom and bedrooms and living room everyday. It makes for a really busy day. I am still adjusting to the days and the naughty behavior but it has been fun. I am excited to write more about my starfish adventures during the month.

Dinner Out

The other day after work we decided to go out to dinner together. We went to Mimmos, which is in The Glen. Mimmos is an Italian family restaurant. It is delicious! I ordered a pizza and even had leftovers to take home with me. We also got dessert. I have heard about the cookie brownie sundae from Mimmos for the last 2 months and finally tasted it the other day. Heaven in a pan. It is a fresh baked cookie and brownie that is made in a little skillet on the stovetop. It is then topped with ice cream and chocolate and even has the cherry on top. It was so good and I know that I will be having at least one more before I leave. It is just a good thing that Mimmos does not have Internet or we would be in trouble, it is that good. While the food was great, the company was even better. It is so fun to be able to go out as a group for a simple thing like a meal and just chat. Conversation usually starts with the babies and then moves into childhood memories and stories about friends and family from home. I am so excited to see what the next few months bring us together!

Prayer Request

All three of the baby houses are getting close to capacity if they have yet already reached capacity. We are praying here that loving families step up to adopt these beautiful babies so that we have room in the homes for the new babies that are brought to us. As much as we love the babies here I think that we love seeing them leave more because we know that they are starting life the way that it is meant to be lived, with a family.

Sending my love from South Africa,

Emily