Los Tres Bebecitos

Our three youngest in CDA I! Left to right, they are 8 weeks, 6 weeks, and 5 weeks. They are all around 7-8 pounds, so it's a little confusing at moments to know who is who (try that game at night!!). Now to learn to tell their cries apart...

Some more pictures I took, having fun with our "triplets":

A picture of the little guy asleep in my lap (definitely one of his favorite places):


And for the fan club of the real twins, a new pic. =)

Thanks for letting me brag a minute!! Now back to work...

Baby Girl!

Just this morning as I sorted through several bags of beautiful clothes, blankets, bibs, and other things brought by donation over the weekend, I saw that most was for infant girls and thought "the next one needs to be a girl..." Well, I don't know if it's funny or not, but I didn't even have to wait two hours!

We were called about a 1 year old, another temporary case?, so when we opened the door expecting a toddler, we stared at the little mound of blankets and were like uh........oops. Turns out even though Child Defense says in their report "appears to be 1 year of age", somebody was busier listening to the radio and the unfolding Bolivia crisis rather than looking. She's 1 MONTH old and a cutie! Guess God just wants us to have the smallest babies. =)

So the work continues full ahead even as we deal with the fallout of friends evacuating Bolivia and hope for some sort of resolution of the ongoing conflict, strife, and shortages. We've just come off a 3 day weekend holiday in Cochabamba so we were mercifully spared much of the strife the rest of the country was (and is) experiencing. Thanks to all who are praying!! Your words of encouragement are a special blessing during these difficult and uncertain days.

My car (or is it?)

I couldn't resist-isn't this cute? Before leaving yesterday I stopped in my tracks to see all the little handprints around the car and one right above the handle, on the driver side window (future driver!!).
They are little hands, but by the size I imagine they're from my biggest at the Baby Home-3 year old Rudy! Every day he does something new and special, like smearing dirt in a rainbow pattern (had to stand on a ride-on toy to reach), or even taking off a piece of the car! Maybe I should check on some sort of tarp to cover it, but I loved going around town with all the little prints. =)

Multi-tasking

At least they mainly sleep!! I've been chief spoiler of the babies lately. No one else has time to hold them for hours on end, so I'm touching them a lot so that they'll grow up smart (my Mom's saying). I'm blessed with long legs where I can easily prop one or two while I work--the slightly shorter staff all admire that. =)

Lately I've been tempted to say "too many" babies. Supposedly Mother Teresa said "Saying there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers". However, the "too many" phrase could definitely be used in relation to the heartbreaking number of abandonments we've seen the past 11 months. It's nearly overwhelming. We received four babies in a row in August, one a week, and after the first week of September we've said no (or wait) to all of these:

1) a 1 year old in a bad situation (street parents)
2) transer of a four year old from the main baby home (I've heard they are up to 150 babies, which if true is absolutely horrific because their capacity is for 50, so just imagine...). He should’ve come to us last year but his very hard-core street mother couldn't make up her mind and shortly after he was forcefully taken away.
3) a toddler with medical issues and unstable (street?) mother
4) a newborn but his mother came back to the hospital for him, hallelujah!
5) a 2 week old, 1.5 kilo preemie. Reminds me of Alejandra, who arrived September last year. We’re going to suggest that he go first to the nutrition center and when he weighs 3 kilos (in 5 or 6 weeks?) we’ll see about our space.

We’re also keeping in mind two possible entries:
1) the 15 month old brother of Carla, one of our new babies (he’s in another baby home currently, but it’s best they are together for their eventual adoption)
2) a former child of ours, almost 4 years old, whose mother stays down more than up. Several who know them say he needs to come back to us, once they’re found.

(If anyone reading this desires to donate, oh say…$20,000? so that we can open a 4th home, let's go for it!)

Another factor is that we’re at the traditionally low time of year, donation-wise. And baby number 4 of August is STILL in the hospital (jaundice), so that will be a fun bill to pay, and baby number 2 needs a CT scan. Now we’re going to have to pay about $100 to do it in a private clinic because the public hospital’s machine is broken, with no idea of when it could be fixed.

But this is why Casa de Amor exists! As staff member Maria has told me for a couple years now and reminded me last week, she believes God sends us the special needs babies and kids on purpose. Reminds me of another favorite Mother Teresa saying…“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”

Pray that we have grace and peace in as overflowing abundance as children! Babies are practically addictive for me, and I’m glad that Saturday is almost here so that I have more time for them (and not just while staring at a computer screen), but we’ve kept up an exhausting pace lately and I don’t want anyone burning out. We want to be entirely healthy so as to handle whatever—and whoever—God sends our way!

Addition: Not two hours after writing this, while I was at the hospital getting out the baby, SEDEGES called about 5 siblings. Yikes!! They needed a temporary place for the youngest three, but we're just too full and busy as it is...

September 1: A day running Casa de Amor

Just an example of a regular day around here! This one wasn't overwhelmingly busy but I sure wasn't bored, either. ;-)

8:15am, work on emails until all gather for meeting. Called the clinic of our pediatrician several times to see if he'll work today (he had traveled) but no one seems to know.

9am, Baby Home staff meeting (just a few topics this time: scheduling improvements due to influx of babies, how the cook is getting along with everyone--PTL, better!, who the physical therapist needs to work with the most, a reminder on the proper way to prepare baby formula)

10:15am, meet with the administrator and social worker to catch up from day before, talk about staffing at III (moving a sub from II to replace a trial staff member at III). SEDEGES [child welfare department] calls and, how amazing, the newest baby was just temporary! Maria leaves to talk to Child Defense about him and do other paperwork in SEDEGES.

11am, create new staff schedule for September, work on August's email update, called our accountant about having the staff pay slips ready today, called the clinic and yes, the pediatrician is working. All the while holding a baby, my usual mode of work these days (slings/carriers: very cool!).

12:05pm, a social worker calls, apparently from an adoption agency. She tells us one of her families was assigned one of our kids, and I breathlessly wait to hear which. It's Juanito!!! (This was our very first child almost 4 years ago, whose papers have been lost countless times in gov't offices, and has supposedly been assigned a family all year, so this was welcome news indeed--although bittersweet.) She is bringing pictures and says they will arrive this month.

12:20pm, Rosa (administrator) heads to CDA II to meet up with her because I have a lunch appointment with my family for celebrating my sister Emma's gotcha day

12:40pm, not so late... Emma is in high spirits! I'm glad we're in the same country today. Rosa calls to catch me up on Juan's new family and to plan the afternoon. I asked my Dad to get the staff pay slips from the accountant's office at 2:30 because I won't have time.

1:30pm, considered heading to CDA II to catch the end of Jhoselin's birthday party, but they call and say they will have it at 3 so that I can come

1:45pm, finish August's email update, start sending out, caught up on new baby's case with Maria

3:15pm, I was so caught up in things in the office I forgot that Jhosie's party was to be at 3, yikes! Luckily when I got there it was so hot the little ones were still asleep. I talked to staff and a mother visiting.

4pm, the older 4 have been practicing Happy Birthday and other songs to be able to play in Jhosie's honor and play a while for her. I take pictures of them with their teacher for a future update. They love playing! I divvy out dairy products from the freezer for the 3 homes, made more complicated since there are two birthday at II this week (i.e., used more than their ration of milk and butter). And of course, I chatted with Juan about his new family as he proudly showed me their picture. Sadly, his best buddy is at the opposite extreme. How I wish they could be adopted at the same time!

5:15pm, back at office, I printed off the schedule of an HIV/AIDS seminar our friends are organizing for next week and showed it to Rosa and Maria (administration). There are excellent, highly practical topics, obviously thought of by a gringo group! Between the 3 of us, we'll see if we can actually attend it all...

6pm, as I go into playroom to talk about Luz Clarita, sick, before taking results to the pediatrician, I realize that Benito's eye infection is no better since the weekend although he's with eye drops. I called to see if the ophlamologist would have time for us and they said yes, if we came immediately. Quickly I gathered up a heap of results and other medical papers I needed to talk over with the pediatrician while changing Benito and gathering my baby stuff.

7ish, the pediatrician calls us in first and he ends up looking at Ben's eyes and that cough he almost always has... We also talk about babies Luz, Jose, Caleb, and changing the exam orders of Luz and Esteban to SUMI (=free!). Then we meet up with the eye doctor in the hall and she changes the medicine I should buy him.

7:30ish, of course the pharmacy there doesn't have those drops, so the search begins...

7:55pm, arrive an hour late to Women's Bible study at my parents. At least Benito was asleep so I could wait till the end to make his bottle. Catch up on some news from CDA III.

9:15pm, eat leftovers for dinner, play a little piano while Ben snoozes again, talk with Mom and Dad about day, particularly the meeting of the morning and updates on the kids' cases

10:10pm, leave earlier than usual since I need to hit another pharmacy and talk to tias (realized that I forgot the calcium for Jose since the doctor wrote it on the results and not an order, and that we'll need more baby urine collector bags)

10:20pm, at pharmacy again but they don't have the right kind of calcium....will have to search first thing in the morning since it's urgent

10:45pm, tias are asleep so I put Ben to bed and wrote them a note about med instructions, and getting a urine sample, urgent, from Luz before 9 the next morning (when I would take Benito for a meeting in court). Her parents are brother and sister and kidney problems are suspected (continual UTIs). I need to take her for a kidney sonogram soon.

11pm, start sending update emails to second mailing list while holding Benito

11:25pm, get Benito back to sleep

11:30pm, crash earlier than usual!

Gotcha Day!!

Nine years ago today, my family was headed from Kostroma, Russia, to Moscow, Russia, thrilled to be on the way home with our much awaited baby. We thought we were reaching the end of our journey; little did we know that God had other plans regarding us and His little ones!

Emma-Liza was 8 1/2 months old, weighed less than 12 pounds, and didn't do much...yet. Now she is 9 1/2 years old, proud to finally weigh over 50 pounds, and a bundle of energy and spunk! This weekend she was at horse camp (yep, here in Cochabamba) and the picture is of her afterwards, all cleaned up and holding one of her birds. WE LOVE YOU, EMMA!!! You're a very special part of our family.

A "temporary" addition?

When SEDEGES called a few minutes before closing time Thursday, I should've known they'd stoop to anything to find a home for the 4 day old in their office. They had already called us about 3 times in a row that afternoon, and every time I saw their number on caller ID I braced myself to say NO if it was anything to do with a kid. But when they said "temporary" I said hmm...how long? The secretary consulted with someone in the office, maybe the director, and said "tomorrow or Monday, very latest". Well then, why not? Sigh.

As I read his papers before getting to praise team rehearsal late, I began to panic. The mother was not simply physically unstable as they'd claimed, but emotionally unstable. Great. Sounds long term to me. (Now we've learned she's suffering from post partum depression, and if not from the street, is pretty close to it.)

Sooo.......now we're faced with a decision of what to do, since we're three over in the Baby Home, and adoptions delayed. At least for now, the issue was helped in an unexpected way. The newest baby is in the hospital! Last night (Friday) on the way to a dinner/meeting with former volunteers who minister to street kids now, I picked up the results from his CBC and bilirubin. He was obviously jaundiced and I prefered to go ahead and test him rather than wait for the return of our pediatrician (traveling to the US).

Reading the results, I could tell the bilirubin count was much higher than with the last baby we tested just last week, and the pediatrician had told me only higher numbers required action. I decided to go to the pediatric hospital we've used many a time and do an emergency consultation. The pediatrician said yes, he needed to be admitted for light therapy. I told him I'd be back after the meeting and swapping out babies (I was out with a different newborn). When I finally got back at about 11:15pm, the doctors were again a little confused "Uh...who is your doctor? How did you know to do these tests?" I've been around this bush before, that's why!! It's so interesting-and rewarding-to learn new things every day about health and medicine and be able to put it into practice, for the good of our kids.

I need to go visit him now. He's actually in a room where family/visitors are not allowed to stay, otherwise I'd be there and not here right now. As I write I'm with a baby, not an unusual state these days. I took care of a fussy 5 week old until 4am two nights ago then was woken early by my cell ringing, which meant that last night admitting the new baby till midnight, I was nearly falling asleep while talking to the doctors and nurses. (It's crazy trying to answer their "background history" questions--I'm always like, what do you not understand about "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING"?! I just met this baby 28 hours ago, and I would also love answers to your questions about his family.) I was so glad for the rare chance to sleep in today after such a packed week!

Got milk?

We sure do! Every month I write a new thank you letter to be sent to all who gave to CDA. Milk is the focus of August's letter! Here's a link: http://www.casadeamor.org/news/Thanks_Aug08.pdf

I have a CAR!!!

Yippee, I finally own a car in Bolivia!! In June, three years and eleven months to the day of moving here, I came to the decision that it was finally non-optional. Having three homes strung out pushed me over the edge. I was spending a small fortune in taxis for the days when I had no time for walking/buses (almost always) or was with babies and/or small children (more and more frequently these days) or a lot of stuff, and that still isn't the most efficient mode of transportation.

So Last Monday night one of my prayer requests to our ladies Bible study group was to find a car soon. Exactly the day after, I was walking and walking downtown (thanks to blockades) to a hearing aid fitting for baby Benito, and we stumbled upon this car for sale! I talked to the owner right then and there, and two days later my Dad took it and other options into the mechanic with this one easily coming out the winner. It also got thumbs up approval from kids and tias alike! I've already had anywhere from 2 to 8 babies/kids in it at once (don't worry--the 8 kids was just to give a spin around the block!). We are blessed! :-)

It's a girl!

Well......we did it again. This time the administrator and caregivers voted to say yes and I lifted my hands from the decision! Three babies within 12 days, all with their own unique, tragic stories and health needs. The new baby, 5 days old on arrival (the one at right in picture), does/will have effects from the addictions of her mother. It's maddening, to see this day in and day out. At least she's here now where even though we're seriously overflowing with babies, there's no comparison to life on the street! She'll have a new life now. =)

Update: According to data from the hospital, she was born on my Dad's birthday (August 14)! Strangely, out of all the kids we've had, only one other shares a birthday with a member of my family.

And another baby...

I think I should be careful what I read. Shortly before receiving our HIV positive baby, I read a book by a Christian surgeon who was HIV+. A couple weeks before getting the baby pictured below, whose mother is deaf/mute, I read a book by the daughter of deaf parents. Then yesterday morning, I read an article on a baby who died from shaken baby syndrome and the multiple injuries the abuse caused, and it listed some stats.....that came in useful just a couple hours later when SEDEGES called. In every case God was preparing me and my mind was opened to a different side of the suffering in this world.

I really don't have a good reason of why we said yes this time, having said no to another the day before. For once, we actually had forewarning that this was going to be a difficult case. SEDEGES said the baby was being released from the hospital from multiple injuries pointing towards child abuse. We still don't have room. Two babies leave "soon", but soon here has an entirely different meaning. And it had only been 8 days since a new baby. Anyway, we said yes and within an hour he was in my arms. He's about 4 months old.

It was awful reading through and trying to understand the many medical reports he arrived with (side note: we're grateful he actually came with so much background info). One from July listed 8 prescribed medicines and no less than 14 diagnoses (I'm translating, hopefully correctly, from Spanish): meningitis, seizures, hygroma, moderate intraventricular hemorrhaging, moderate hydrocephaly, generalized hypotonia, intracranial pressure, psychomotor delay, anemia, oral thrush, cardiac insufficiency, bronchitis, fractured left rib, and-finally!-possible battered baby syndrome. A couple weeks before a forensic report also listed multiple bruises, from head to toe, and that he was at imminent risk of death. By the time I finished, I was nervous to even have him in my care! He was also a little bit cranky...who knows from what? The main thing we notice holding him is how "floppy" he is, from the hypotonia, which makes him kinda hard to hold (although not quite as challenging as our Benito, with CP).

But thankfully, I was out till late with him at our pediatrician and he seems pretty much recovered from all the above. He still needs to visit our neurologist though. Hopefully his need for brain surgery, as listed on one of the reports, is wrong. Poor baby! He has a 3 year old sibling that I want to check on as soon as possible.

This is definitely the dark side of our work, seeing what humans in their sin nature are capable of. Still, I will not throw the first stone. Living my comfortable life, I cannot even begin to imagine surviving the incredible stresses, crisis, and trauma that make up the everyday lives of the parents of our kids. Apart from the Lord, we are all doomed to commit such atrocities.

New addition!

Just arrived! It's a BOY! He's about 2 weeks old and weighs 5.5 pounds. He's really long and yet he's light as a feather--and cute!! We were begged to take in two babies, but we don't even have space for one...so one it is. Now it really feels like a Monday (common day for new arrivals) since yesterday was a holiday. =)

Yet more unrest in Bolivia

I don't like writing about Bolivian politics. Besides not always understanding exactly who-is-mad-at-who-for-what, I'm afraid I'll mistakenly write a rumor as truth. However, I can say with certainty that this week is crazy for three reasons:

• Protests/blockades/strikes because of the highly controversial referendum vote coming up this Sunday (August 10)
• Teachers on strike, also blockading and protesting (I can't remember the last time our kids had classes)
• "Dia de Bolivia" holiday tomorrow (August 6)

Also many medical facilities have closed down and gone on strike, which always has great repercussions for us because we are so constantly in labs, clinics, hospitals, etc. And yesterday an important court hearing regarding an adoption was nearly canceled because Child Defense is on a hunger strike!

Of course today I had to do fifty things downtown before the holiday tomorrow, so my poor sister and I trudged from one side to the other--and back again! Blockades, marches, and parades made transportation practically not useful. My feet have blisters and red marks from my sandals, which were not so good for hours of walking. Dad got stuck inside the mess for hours at one point, with a caregiver and two kids, trying to get out using his car. Another two had to walk an hour with two more kids.

We're holding our breath till Sunday, to see how the vote goes and how the people take it. It could be v-e-r-y interesting across Bolivia. I'll have an interesting time here too--I might be caring for the 16 babies with one other caregiver for several hours Sunday morning, until the others on duty can vote (obligatory) and then make it to the home. No transportation is allowed on vote days, so they have to arrive by bicycle or foot....and at that point I would love to go spend the rest of the day with my family, but by walking there, and they live in a completely different part of the city.

We'd appreciate prayers for safety, peace, a good outcome to the referendum vote, and that all of the shift changes at the homes would go well that day! Oh, and that the medical and teacher strikes would be resolved soon!!

Fire!

Our most commonly used phrase as a family must be “Never a dull moment!" With 36 babies, 18 full time staff members, and any number of volunteers of any age at once, well—that’s a lot of people to be responsible for! Friday night was no exeption…

Let me begin by explaining that the family who manages CDA III was taking their weekend off. In fact this time, while we had volunteers available to help, we encouraged them to take a few days off for a trip (Friday--Sunday). On Friday, I began the day at 8am with a staff meeting at the Baby Home and was busy until 8pm. As my Dad pointed out, I’d just worked half a day by this point. Well if you put it THAT way…

At 9pm, we were just finishing a casual dinner on the couch as I caught my family up on the day. I hadn’t even had a chance to think about what I’d do next when my cell rang. It was one of the two sisters watching the 6 kids (ages 1 month—5 years) at CDA III. I expected anything but what she actually said: "Is it normal for people to burn their trees here?" To burn, yes, but TREES? She said yeah, and it's approaching the back property. I started noted the concern in her voice and sat up straight. At that moment she started almost yelling "Oh, no, it's getting really high and really close. We're just leaving with the kids, okay?"

We sprang into action, racing out the door and speeding to the home, some 20 minutes away. The trip had never seemed so long! While we drove I called the administrator and asked what we should do. She said she'd call the fire fighters, just in case. I called the girls back on their cell phone and they said they were still at the house, just monitoring it from the treehouse in the backyard. At intersections, Emma sounded our siren (her voice!).

As we approached km 11 I started trying to spot the fire--and did! There were high, shooting flames and lots of sparks. All that appeared to be on fire were trees. As we turned the corner to go to the house, Emma and I saw a fire truck (literally just a big truck with guys in the back) and lots of people in the road behind us.

All of a sudden it was frightening as we got closer to the house. People had just started to stream out of the convention center that's on the same country road, and there were other people running on the road--some to see the fire, some to head the opposite direction. About the time we realized the fire truck was right behind us and we needed to get out of the way, I noticed that Dad was about to run over a group of refugee children--ours! We pulled over and they threw the babies into my lap and started lifting in the others, if just to get them out of the way of the panicked people, bikes, trucks, cars, etc., suddenly on the road.

After a few minutes we decided to go inside and grab baby Victoria's new formula and some more valuable items. Observing the proximity of the fire to their home, I kept recalling the story a couple of lawyers had told me just two nights before. They had watched an apartment burn down in a nice building, right across from their office, as fire fighters watched helpless from the ground. We were relieved that the fire fighters had arrived, but I didn't know how much confidence to have in their efforts. Dad said they had leaked water all down the road on their way, and they didn't even have a siren. My second thought was "this can NOT be happening while both the owners AND renters are gone!!"

As I came out with the laptop and kids' files, I nearly ran into Rosa (CDA's administrator). She had come with her family to help! When she called and they said a fire truck was already on the way, they were concerned and came to help us.

Rosa went in to get a change of clothes for the kids and I started deciding how to divide the kids between the other two homes for the night. Dad and Emma were watching the progress of the fire fighters, along with a large group of neighbors. The kids had been asking questions or crying on and off, so I started reassuring them and calming them down in Spanish. As we kept kind of waiting around and seeing what would happen, the fire fighters got the fire out, yeah!

Charity and Chantelle, the volunteers on duty, asked if they had overreacted by calling us. We said absolutely not! The entire area had come out of their homes to watch and it was kind of hectic there for a minute, not knowing what would happen. The girls were troopers and said they preferred to stay there for the night, so we unloaded the kids and babies and started the process of getting them to bed. Of course, tiny Victoria had stayed asleep through the whole thing. Baby Alejandra went right to sleep without a peep. The older kids were another story: Mayra and Marcus have bad memories of fires, so we had to take them to the back windows and prove there was now no fire and then they were fine. Poor things! Luis was just wound up, although that's a rather common state for him now that I think about it. Rosa got Noemi to bed easily. The next day, the two volunteers were flying home to Canada (what a way to spend their last night in Bolivia!).

We're so grateful that nothing happened and that everyone pulled together to help on a definitely-not-dull-Friday-night.