Sunday, March 30, 2008
Views From Home
It is weird to be home and see children, the same ages as some of ours in Romania, but whom have grown up being cared for in families and whom are mostly developmentally on target. I think I view the situation of the Tutova Clinic as more upsetting now that we are home. At least while we were there we knew that we were doing everything we could for them, but now we don't know how they are doing, or where they will end up. It is weird to think about the things that we thought were so normal while we were there, but in America are strange. Like the fact that kids in the clinic, of all ages, are in diapers, they won't get potty trained until they get a family. Or that they spend about 19 hours a day in a crib without any toys. And even simple things like not changing their clothes or bathing them more than once or twice a week, or brushing the older ones teeth. The nurses and aides do everything that they can, but they are technically maintenance staff so they have lots of responsibilities other than playing with and cuddling with the children. One thing that we noticed about the women working at the clinic is that they truly love the children, they just don't have enough time in their day to spend enough time with the kids. I hope to go back next year to see the kids, either with a group from school, or just a couple friends. I think that it will be nice to go back and see how the kids have advanced from when we were there this March.
Final Baby Descriptions
Florin: Florin is doing well. He was teething a lot the first week so was whiney, but nothing some time in the jumperoo couldn't solve! Over the two weeks we were there Florin began to crawl and interact more. He was a growing boy, and usually ended up eating two or three bottles every morning, but had trouble with the yogurt/hot cereal snack because of his tongue thrust. A lot of the time we was in his own little world, but when he noticed someone talking to him he had the most beautiful smile, and he got engaged in toys more and more often. We worked with him on standing up and walking holding our hands, but he is still reluctant. There is rumor that his dad is coming back from Italy next month to visit him and possibly take him home.
Alexandru: Alexandru is very vocal and loves to babble. He is also working on standing up and walking while holding our fingers, but doesn't seem interested. He is very independent and loves playing with all the toys, but sometimes gets into moods where he doesn't want to be put down. He bangs his head against the bars of the crib if he wakes up early from his nap, so I would usually get him early or put a toy or two in his crib to entertain him.
Michaela: Michaela began to walk on her own! She is a very smiley little girl, despite having the flu last week. She loves to walk and to dance (especially to Elvis). She is the princess of the mobile room, and a favorite of many of the nurses. She usually refuses to eat the snack of the day, but does well with her bottles, and is a sturdy girl, so we didn't worry. She is the youngest in the mobile room, but the most developmentally advanced.
Stefan: Stefan is another who is developmentally on target. He is the second youngest, but is very vocal and is working on walking. He loves to mimic noises he hears, and we encouraged him to mimic our speaking. He doesn't seem too interested in walking, he is a fast crawler, but began walking alone with the push walker towards the end of last week. Stefan is another favorite of the clinic and is never told no, so sometimes his behavior is not the best, but we worked on setting limits for him.
Sammy: Sammy is a happy boy, especially at meal times. He loves to dance, and get swung around in the air, especially while listening to the Supremes. We worked with Sammy's leg muscles, and tried to get him to stand up against the wall or in our arms, but he would whine a lot. He plays very independently, but we also saw him playing with the other kids occasionally. He sometimes gets picked on by the others, toys stolen etc., because he usually doesn't fight back, but by the end he got better and fending for himself. He is a sweetheart!
Adrian: Adrian still has not had his second cleft palatte surgery, so eating is still fairly difficult, but he is a trooper. He is also working on walking and LOVES the push walker. He also plays a game where he put him a few feet away from us and then he walks a couple steps before diving in for a hug. He is very cuddly, but can also play independently at times. He has tantrums sometimes when he doesn't get his way, but after a few weeks he was having less of these.
Alexandra: Alexandra scoots around a lot and loves being swung in the air. We bought some new books for the room and she loved to look through them, we think she knew that reading was an activity to big kids, which she is despite the fact that she's stuck in the mobile room. She could be difficult at times: throwing her bottle, stripping her clothes when she was mad, and hurting the other kids, but much of it was understandable. What she really needs is an aid of her own, like what Ana Maria has, so that she can get one on one attention and have a better chance of developing further.
Maiastra: Maiastra still spends much of her time in the walkers in the hallway. We would bring her into the room whenever she would let us, but when she became over stimulated/inconsolable we would bring her back out to the hallway to calm down. Sometimes she would take bottles in the room, but usually they set her up in a toddler crib for meal times. She loved to play with the teething key rings that lit up, or with toys with mirrors, as well as us as human jungle gyms. She would let us hold her usually, but there were very specific places that she would want our hands, and she was able to communicate this by moving them to her back or stomach, etc., when we held her. She is another who would benefit greatly from a one on one aid or a therapist.
Alexandru: Alexandru is very vocal and loves to babble. He is also working on standing up and walking while holding our fingers, but doesn't seem interested. He is very independent and loves playing with all the toys, but sometimes gets into moods where he doesn't want to be put down. He bangs his head against the bars of the crib if he wakes up early from his nap, so I would usually get him early or put a toy or two in his crib to entertain him.
Michaela: Michaela began to walk on her own! She is a very smiley little girl, despite having the flu last week. She loves to walk and to dance (especially to Elvis). She is the princess of the mobile room, and a favorite of many of the nurses. She usually refuses to eat the snack of the day, but does well with her bottles, and is a sturdy girl, so we didn't worry. She is the youngest in the mobile room, but the most developmentally advanced.
Stefan: Stefan is another who is developmentally on target. He is the second youngest, but is very vocal and is working on walking. He loves to mimic noises he hears, and we encouraged him to mimic our speaking. He doesn't seem too interested in walking, he is a fast crawler, but began walking alone with the push walker towards the end of last week. Stefan is another favorite of the clinic and is never told no, so sometimes his behavior is not the best, but we worked on setting limits for him.
Sammy: Sammy is a happy boy, especially at meal times. He loves to dance, and get swung around in the air, especially while listening to the Supremes. We worked with Sammy's leg muscles, and tried to get him to stand up against the wall or in our arms, but he would whine a lot. He plays very independently, but we also saw him playing with the other kids occasionally. He sometimes gets picked on by the others, toys stolen etc., because he usually doesn't fight back, but by the end he got better and fending for himself. He is a sweetheart!
Adrian: Adrian still has not had his second cleft palatte surgery, so eating is still fairly difficult, but he is a trooper. He is also working on walking and LOVES the push walker. He also plays a game where he put him a few feet away from us and then he walks a couple steps before diving in for a hug. He is very cuddly, but can also play independently at times. He has tantrums sometimes when he doesn't get his way, but after a few weeks he was having less of these.
Alexandra: Alexandra scoots around a lot and loves being swung in the air. We bought some new books for the room and she loved to look through them, we think she knew that reading was an activity to big kids, which she is despite the fact that she's stuck in the mobile room. She could be difficult at times: throwing her bottle, stripping her clothes when she was mad, and hurting the other kids, but much of it was understandable. What she really needs is an aid of her own, like what Ana Maria has, so that she can get one on one attention and have a better chance of developing further.
Maiastra: Maiastra still spends much of her time in the walkers in the hallway. We would bring her into the room whenever she would let us, but when she became over stimulated/inconsolable we would bring her back out to the hallway to calm down. Sometimes she would take bottles in the room, but usually they set her up in a toddler crib for meal times. She loved to play with the teething key rings that lit up, or with toys with mirrors, as well as us as human jungle gyms. She would let us hold her usually, but there were very specific places that she would want our hands, and she was able to communicate this by moving them to her back or stomach, etc., when we held her. She is another who would benefit greatly from a one on one aid or a therapist.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Things We've Learned
Taxis: *Do NOT take “taxis” marked rental car!
*Even if a taxi has a meter, you will probably get overcharged anyway
*It is not okay to pay for taxi rides, even in part, with coins "those are for church"*Even if a taxi has a meter, you will probably get overcharged anyway
Purchases: *It is okay to get your change from a store in gum
*Bring the PIN number for your credit card, you need it even in the grocery store
Health: *Drafts are the major causes of childhood illness
Animals: *Dogs say humpf-humpf
*No matter where you go, you will hear dogs barking ALL night
Hotels: *All bedspreads at 3 and 4 star hotels MUST be gold
*It is very hard to identify what classifies a hotel as a three star hotel, or two for that matter*Before booking a room, check if the hotel has a disco (the run all night, loudly!)
Social Scene: *When given a choice, always take the big bus!
*When given a choice, always take the first class train
*If you find yourself in a line of people, you must push or you will be left behind
*Menus aren’t available in English, but you only need to know the words snitzel and cartofi (potatoes) to order
*Snitzel is ALWAYS available, it's like a staple food
*Ketchup always costs extra
*In Birlad, NEVER CROSS THE RIVER
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Around Tutova (I don't think I ever put these up)
Horse Cart Working In The Hospital
Train Station
Horse Cart (these are everywhere in Romania)
Road To The Clinic
Houses On The Road (and one of our dog friends)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Final Days
The last few days at the clinic were great. The kids were in better moods, and more healthy, and we were starting to see progress. We really got to know what they like, and don't like, and what they need to work on. When we left we wrote in some of the kids journals about their progress (each child has a journal that the volunteer teams write in to update the next teams). We took a "class picture" of the mobiles which was not a popular activity, but they calmed down quickly afterwards and were ready for a day of dancing and playing. The two weekers of our group left on three consecutive days, so we had lots of goodbye dinners and lunches. The rest of the group has four more days with the kids so we will be able to hear updates about our babies.
We decided to join our group for the final weekend trip to Transylvania. It was fun to spend a few more days with our group away from Birlad and see more of Romania. The drives may be long, but they are interesting because you get to see all of the different cultures Romania has. We stopped at the black church, Bran Castle, Peles Castle, and a few more Transylvania hotspots before taking the train back to Bucharest for our final night. Today we were in Amsterdam for a layover and took a tour around the city for a few hours, complete with snow! It was nice to get to see one more city on our travels, and Amsterdam is beautiful.
We decided to join our group for the final weekend trip to Transylvania. It was fun to spend a few more days with our group away from Birlad and see more of Romania. The drives may be long, but they are interesting because you get to see all of the different cultures Romania has. We stopped at the black church, Bran Castle, Peles Castle, and a few more Transylvania hotspots before taking the train back to Bucharest for our final night. Today we were in Amsterdam for a layover and took a tour around the city for a few hours, complete with snow! It was nice to get to see one more city on our travels, and Amsterdam is beautiful.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Around The Clinic
Changing Cloth Diapers Without Wipes
The Non-Mobile Room
Isolation Room
Crib Room
Hall And Changing Tables
The Non-Mobile Room
Isolation Room
Crib Room
Hall And Changing Tables
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
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