Everyday I continue to learn little bits and pieces of Lugandan. The first few (ironically) so far have been "sitica", "susu", "kaka", "tula", and "jangu"- be quiet, potty, poop, sit, and come. But today, I learned the best of all- Nkwagala. It means I love you.
Today was a pretty great day. I was with baby B this morning, and got to feed, bathe, diaper, and dress them all. Oh, and did I mention 6 of the 10 had some major kaka? It was phenomenal, let me tell you ;)
But I was still glad I was the one doing it; at least the dressing part. For some reason it feels so great to just look into these babies' faces while wiping them off and getting them dressed. It's not so much the act that I like, but how they look at me when I'm doing it. One boy specifically, Luke. Whenever I lay him on his back for anything- diapering, getting dressed, going to sleep, etc.- he just stares into my eyes as if he's completely content. He's so helpless lying there, and it's as if he understands how much I love him and care about him. I wouldn't trade changing his diaper for the world- funny statement, but so true.
I hope these kids understand how special they are. How in reality, they're so blessed. Their beginnings are so unfortunate, but seeing the poverty all around Jinja, I hope someday they will understand that God has a huge plan for them, and placing them at Amani was only for the best, since ouside these gates they would probably be just 50 more kids rummaging in the burning rubbish piles for things to eat or sell (I can't count how many times I've seen this). Here they have so many people loving on them, and caring for them. I don't really know what I'm trying to get out in this little rant.... but just know that Amani is a really special place, with incredible people and kids.
Anyway...
This afternoon, we brought some of the toddlers upstairs to watch a movie, Monsters Inc, as a treat. 4 times a week, we do what's called "outings", which is usually just that, but instead of literally leaving the compound, today we just brought them upstairs. And the results were..... toddlers have around a 20 minute attention spand. So an hour and a half movie = complete chaos and hilarity. It was super fun :D
After we got done with our "outing", we went back to our regular work, getting the kids fed and ready for bed. We were done by 8, like usual. Tomorrow we're starting a 24 hour monitor on the kids. Starting at midnight tonight, the 8 of us will split into 6 hour shifts (mine's 6am-12pm) to monitor-literally- everything that the babies are doing. Tuesday's monitoring is Baby A, Thursday's is Baby B, and so on. The purpose is to create new schedules, more appropriate to each baby's individual needs. Since Amani IS an orphanage, everything is pretty much set on a timed schedule where everyone wakes up at the same time, eats at the same time, the same amount, plays the same amount of time, and sleeps the same amount. So we'll be keeping watch and writing down notes about every behavior for the next week, in shifts.
The main problem here is sleep for the younger ones. In Baby B, the majority are 7mo's-1 year, but they still are only getting ONE NAP! Babies are constantly being woken up from sleep in order to "stay on schedule", so they will sleep when it's good for the mama's. Which is oh-so wrong. I'm pretty sure the first thing I learned when I was little about babies was "Never wake a sleeping baby!". Seeeeriously.
So Danyne realized this, and we're doing something about it. So we'll see what results we get in the next week! It should be really interesting. It will be pretty strenuous, but definitely necessary.
Well, that's all for now, I better get some sleep since I'll be starting my day at 5:00!
Love you all,
and of course, God is good.
Thanks for the emails and messages,
Linds
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