Third Day At Tutova

Today was our third day at the clinic. The highlight was that Mihaela took her first few steps! Many of the kids were whiney today due to teething and wanting to go outside in the nice weather. We were able to take some of the kids out in strollers or carrying them so that they could get some fresh air. We're hoping to take the rest out tomorrow if it's still nice. It's funny when we take the kids out because the nurses make them wear hats and jackets and everything even when it's warm enough that we don't wear our sweaters.

There was a really nice nurse on duty today. She actually came into the mobile room and played with the kids and worked with them on walking and standing. She also got them some orajel or something like that for their sore teeth. She also worked on trying to get them to know their names by calling to them across the room. We learned words for the parts of the face and some numbers so that we can work with the kids on those.

One of my favorite parts of the day is getting the kids out of their cribs in the morning and after nap time. It's sad because many of the kids freak out right before you get them; they slam their heads against the bars and rock, so when you get them out they are really cuddly and cling to you. It is nice to get a couple minutes of cuddles before they run wild in the playroom. Then we get to give them their bottles which is cute and funny. The nurses lay them all on their backs and they hold their own bottles, but many of them think it's funny to throw them and make us fetch them.