Progress!

In these two weeks we have seen so much progress in these little lives! Andre, Judy's protege, started off in the seat; today we all cheered as he sat up by himself for periods of time! Then, when he retrieved a toy from the Sandbox Bully (who shall go nameless!), we added another cheer for his assertiveness!

There were more than a few tears this afternoon as we took leave of our little ones. I thought I was prepared to just walk away - but alas, the last hug and kiss was emotional for me too!

Ron emailed me tonight with a soothing thought, and so I should close this with his remarks:

"You did it. You accomplished what you set out to do. To touch the soil, to meet the people. With all the difficulties and obstacles, in the end, I'm sure it's the connections we make that we remember. "

Thank you Ron, my children, Elissa and Mike, Dave and Fran, and all the friends who helped make this dream come true!

One More Day!

Today was so hot, few of us went outside for afternoon walks with the babies. Marius is still a bit cranky (teething? stomach? who knows?) so we keep shifting spots, activities, position... at least he didn't lose any lunch today!

Tonight we went to Barlad for one last dinner out. It was delicious: chicken kiev, country potatoes, and the wonderful shredded chicken salad for starters. Of course, our favorite ice cream dessert topped it off!

Now back at the hotel to complete paperwork and get rested up for the last day at the clinic. It will be an emotional one for many; several of the babies would have instant homes if we could take them with us - but alas, laws prevail and we must say good-bye.

Monday at the Clinic

The little one in my arms is Andrea, a little girl who is just coming out of isolation at the clinic. She was born prematurely, and is still so tiny! She is learning to suck, and we are using a special nipple on the bottle to help her, but she still doesn't have good sucking reflex and cries too much (all that energy needs to be for growth!). It was fun to snuggle a little baby for a change.

We certainly have variety here at Tutova! The next size up is Petra, as pictured with Becky a couple of days ago. He's a little guy, but eating, sleeping and growing fast! She has given him a great start these weeks.

And we have some bigger girls and boys also! Yesterday it was fun watching them eating scrambled eggs! Some just hold the food, not sure how to deal with solids, others just stuff their cheeks, and some gobble whatever you put in front. Yes, some things are certainly international!!

Tutova Clinic for Babies

These are the front doors of the clinic where we are loving these little babies, feeding them, and hoping that some little spark remains for them. Today was a perfect example of the great desire some of them have to learn; Bonny was shaking out her hair to put it up in a clip and three of the mobile girls were watching with much interest. Afterwards, Ionela started imitating her, pulling her pretty curls up and laughing! Bonny is going to buy some clips for the girls to play "dress up" tomorrow!

I am so grateful to feel healthy again! It made so much difference this afternoon - to be able to move around with the little ones and not feel like a slug! Only five days to help create a little sunshine...what a great life I have.

Becky and Petra (Peter)

This is Becky, one of the volunteers, and her little baby, Petra, who was premature and has recently come out of isolation.  He is thriving under her care!

My roommate, Bonny, and I have sure had our share of sick time here in Tutova! Headache, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal cramping...nasty stuff! We are both quite a bit better this evening - and plan to keep it that way! Less fried food for me; less dairy for her...I think we'll make it.

So, I haven't spent as much time with the babies as I would have liked, but we'll make up for it this weekend. Hopefully, it will be an even greater benefit, as they have a very short staff on weekends, and the babies get very little time out of the cribs. We'll try to give them as much attention as the six of us can in two days, while the rest of the volunteers are off to other parts of the country.

The clinic itself looks quite nice inside. The rooms are decorated with story book murals, and colorful rugs keep it cheerful. The babies' cribs are six to a room, but when they are up they are in either the mobile (walkers) room, or the non-mobile room (babies). There is also a pre-school room, but the teacher is away just now, so we have been using it as a quiet room for the anxious ones. The hallway is useful as a walker space, and they have several strollers to walk outdoors, weather permitting. There is a playground with some toys, and some baby swings out front.

This week one of the volunteers bought them a new vacuum cleaner. I wish I could afford a rug shampoo appliance...the thought of sitting on that drool-damp rug is creepy, much less their little faces on it. Apparently they take them out and hose them down now and then, but a shampoo would be so lovely.

I'll have to check with Dan or Mihaela about post-contributions, etc. I'm sure that something can be arranged, and I would do that rather than make this long trip again.

So, as night falls on this little village, I am grateful for my restored health and energy, and look forward to tomorrow!

Tutova - July 7th

Here's a little assortment of Tutova babies! Several of them enjoy rolling around together, and even climbing over each other!

Today was a tired day for me. Last night the whole group went to Barlad, the closest town, and had a walking tour, ate dinner, and shopped at the market. Several of us bought tubs of yogurt, as that is a favorite of the babies and they never have enough.

This morning I had a huge headache, so I ate a little breakfast, took two Advil, and went back to bed for a while. Got to work late, but no one seemed to mind. Fortunately, we are a large volunteer group, so there are many hands to do the work. I decided not to go to the Painted Monesteries this weekend because of the fatigue issue. I'll save about $500, which won't hurt me either. Staying here isn't costing much - a soda most days is about it.

I'll try to get more photos tomorrow - the little Petra (spelling I'm not sure of) is only 3 months and so adorable. Some of the dark-eyed, black curly haired children have smiles to melt your heart. There are some truly serious physical disabilities that break your heart, but much of the time we are laughing at their antics, and giving them adoring coos and smiles.

A great challenge, and a promise fulfilled - Mother would be proud!

Tuesday at the Clinic

Marius at Tutova Clinic

I'd like you to meet Marius - or for those of you who have met him before, a little up-date. I have found Marius a pleasant child, but fearful of loud noise and crowded places. We have a great time in the hall in a walker (as pictured) or in the bouncing chair in the non-mobile room. Too often the mobile room frightens him, so we haven't spent much time there. He loves quiet walks in the stroller, as long a we stay in the shade!

Marius isn't walking yet, but he is adept at crawling to get where he wants to be. He's standing with support for very short periods, so my goal is to help strengthen his little legs for future independent walks. He doesn't seem to mind gentle massage, as well as some exercise of legs and arms. I am anxious to see him in the morning! "Pa!" (Romanian for "Bye!")