Thursday, March 11, 2010

Well It Happened...

and I am not happy about it. Last night we were at a wake in Santa Rita. It was dark with only a few candles around. For this story we will say that I had Baby A and Jimmy was in charge of Baby B. We were sitting with some of our friends when I turned around and realized one of them was holding Baby B and NURSING him! This may sound humorous if it is not YOUR child, but it is actually pretty dangerous. You can catch all kinds of infectious diseases that way. While our friend looks healthy and has 2 healthy children, I don't know her history... and it is not that she is Guatemalan, it is that she is anyone other than me. Baby B had just been fed, so I am hoping he was only pacifying. He wasn't hungry. Our boys get held a lot in Santa Rita. The indigenous believe that if you look at a baby and don't touch and hold it you could give them the "evil eye"... plus Jonah and Silas are completely adorable! Before I hand any woman my child I always think, "do you make milk?" because I knew this could be a possibility. Well Jimmy did not think anyone would ever do that. He was sitting right beside her, but to his defense a representative from the family had come to talk to him about trying to get the son's body back to SR for burial (story here) so he was distracted. Jimmy called our pediatrician in Guatemala City last night, which is a different world from here by the way, and his first response was, "Why did she DO that?!" He said there is a small chance that he could have caught something and to keep an eye on him and her.

So that is a piece of what life is like raising children here. PLEASE pray that God will protect Baby B and that he did not catch anything. And you should probably pray for Jimmy too since he is a very good daddy, but is living with the wrath of a very protective mommy right now... last night wasn't pretty.

7 comments:

  1. that has been one of my biggest fears!! I have joked about it happening a lot all the while knowing the reality of it actually happening is pretty good. I will now be EXTRA cautious and careful when our baby arrives! Soo sorry and I pray that the baby will be ok!

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  2. Oh Shelley! Jon and I were just talking about something like this yesterday happening. I cannot imagine how you feel, yet this will make me more alert with our baby on the way as this is a possibility in Togo as well. I am praying Baby B will be just fine and hopefully no other ladies will take such liberty with your precious boys!

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  3. Oh my goodness, that is crazy. I honestly never even thought about such a thing happening. Probably it wouldn't happen here since we are in the city. There is a world of difference within the same small country between the city and a village. We'll continue to pray for you all.

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  4. I do not blame you for your reaction, but I'm sure he will be fine, Shelley. Don't worry! God knows where you are, and what is best for your babies. Suppose he does get exposed to some disease, and then his body develops an immunity to it. And suppose God raises him up to serve Him in a poor country where he will have natural resistance to that disease.

    I remember when I got hepatitis A. I have no idea how I got it, and I had it for days before we figured out what it was. I had been nursing our little baby all that time. I got worried, and did some research online. Turns out that when little ones are exposed to it, their symptoms are very mild yet they develop an immunity to it.

    (((hugs))) and prayers..

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  5. Praying for you guys. I got antsy about anybody just holding my babies! LOL

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  6. When Dorian was tiny, I couldn't breastfeed and one day my sister-in-law decided that I must just be a failure as a mother and decided she would nurse him. Irving had taken him to his family's place for a bit and I was taking a nap. When I found out, I was so furious . . . I didn't let them see the baby for over a month!

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  7. HIV rates are near nil. If Hep isn't a worry in this circumstance, I honestly wouldn't care.

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