Tonight I was looking for a floppy-disk that I could put some files on and came across a disk with pictures I took of the baby my cousin and his wife adopted last year. I was not really going to tell this story, as it boarders on the very personal side of my life, which could violate my policy of sharing such things on the internet to strangers. None the less, I did mention it in a recent log and got quite a few private messages about it from people interested in adopting a child from here. With that said, here is the story of one of the memorable �adventures� I have had here that I know for sure I would have never experienced in America and would not trade it for anything in the world:
When I was 7 years old, a mother brought in her infant son to my elementary school and gave us a lesson on how to care for a baby. Though I was really not interested, I participated in changing, feeding and bathing this baby.
In all my years I have never babysat nor cared for any small children, all until last year.
As I mentioned, last year, my cousin decided to adopt a child from the Artsakh. They did all the papers in the US and all that was left was to find a child for them.
A friend of mine located an unwed mother, who had just given birth to a baby girl and had no intentions of keeping her.
I made arrangements for a nurse to care for the child until my cousin could come 3 weeks later and was all set to receive this new born bundle of joy.
Culturally, my having the nurse come stay at my house, being that I am a single male, did not go over too well with the Nurse�s husband and at the last minute she bailed out on me.
I did all I could to find someone else and the best I could do was to get my neighbor (my contractor�s wife) to take care of the baby during the day. Night duty would be my job.
Everyone thought I was crazy to take responsibility of caring for a newborn baby, but I knew that I really didn�t have any choice. So at 3 days old, I to custody of this baby.
Not to say that it is easy to care for a newborn, but I guess the 7 year old Ara was paying more attention then he remembers, because once we got use to the every 2 or so hour feedings (I let her decide when she wanted to be fed), it was not that hard and everything came naturally.
I gave her, her first bath (and almost every bath or shower for the following 2 months). I was the one that mixed up all her formula. I determined what diapers worked for her. From day one, I knew from her cry when she was wet or when she was hungry. I knew how to burp her better than the lady that helped in the day and she had 3 kids of her own. When someone unfamiliar would pick her up and she would cry, it only took the sound of my voice to comfort her. As my cousin said after getting here 2 months later (due to bureaucratic red-tape), for that little girl, the sun rose and set on me. I was mom and dad for 2 months. Many people commented that I took better care of that baby, than some people take care of their own biological children.
Though I have not seen that baby since they took her to the states last August, I get regular installments of pictures and reports of what a well balanced, well tempered and confident child she is turning into. My cousin's wife attributes this to the care she received in the first couple months of her life (maybe she just says this to make me feel proud).
When I was 7 years old, a mother brought in her infant son to my elementary school and gave us a lesson on how to care for a baby. Though I was really not interested, I participated in changing, feeding and bathing this baby.
In all my years I have never babysat nor cared for any small children, all until last year.
As I mentioned, last year, my cousin decided to adopt a child from the Artsakh. They did all the papers in the US and all that was left was to find a child for them.
A friend of mine located an unwed mother, who had just given birth to a baby girl and had no intentions of keeping her.
I made arrangements for a nurse to care for the child until my cousin could come 3 weeks later and was all set to receive this new born bundle of joy.
Culturally, my having the nurse come stay at my house, being that I am a single male, did not go over too well with the Nurse�s husband and at the last minute she bailed out on me.
I did all I could to find someone else and the best I could do was to get my neighbor (my contractor�s wife) to take care of the baby during the day. Night duty would be my job.
Everyone thought I was crazy to take responsibility of caring for a newborn baby, but I knew that I really didn�t have any choice. So at 3 days old, I to custody of this baby.
Not to say that it is easy to care for a newborn, but I guess the 7 year old Ara was paying more attention then he remembers, because once we got use to the every 2 or so hour feedings (I let her decide when she wanted to be fed), it was not that hard and everything came naturally.
I gave her, her first bath (and almost every bath or shower for the following 2 months). I was the one that mixed up all her formula. I determined what diapers worked for her. From day one, I knew from her cry when she was wet or when she was hungry. I knew how to burp her better than the lady that helped in the day and she had 3 kids of her own. When someone unfamiliar would pick her up and she would cry, it only took the sound of my voice to comfort her. As my cousin said after getting here 2 months later (due to bureaucratic red-tape), for that little girl, the sun rose and set on me. I was mom and dad for 2 months. Many people commented that I took better care of that baby, than some people take care of their own biological children.
Though I have not seen that baby since they took her to the states last August, I get regular installments of pictures and reports of what a well balanced, well tempered and confident child she is turning into. My cousin's wife attributes this to the care she received in the first couple months of her life (maybe she just says this to make me feel proud).
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