Cradle of Love Baby Home

Tuesday night after I had locked the office and gone upstairs to the apartment, Helen came up to tell me that a new baby had just arrived.  I went down to find a nurse from Tengeru and the social worker, with a baby boy of about 2 weeks. The story goes that a mother asked a stranger at the hospital to hold her baby while she went to the bathroom—she never came back! He makes 8 in the nursery, however Yahaya is going to move to crawlers this week, and Mospa is not far behind. Monica is actually old enough,but  [ Read More ]

Someone wrote and asked to see photos of Jerry. Here they are. They were on the Cradle Face Book page, but I had neglected to copy them here. Enjoy    

Yesterday we welcomed Charity, who is one month old. In fact, she is two days younger than Vanessa. Another case of the mother having mental problems with violent behavior. Charity is sweet and the new darling of the nursery.  

This afternoon was another HOT one. I went out to be with the wobblers who were sitting in the shade, when I thought that they would love some water to play with.  You’ve seen that we fill the huge basins and let the toddlers play in it, but I just bought out a small basin and put it down. I splashed my hand and flicked some water at the babies–then there was a baby rush towards the basin! They really LOVED it! The staff kept refilling the basin as they splashed it out. Such a simple pleasure to make their  [ Read More ]

Several days ago I received a referral of a 12 month old boy from Masai land.  This morning he arrived and joined us at Cradle.  Although he is a year old, we are placing him with the crawler group until he gains strength and becomes more mobile. He was distraught when his grandmother left, but he will settle in with a few days.          

I had a surprise text message this morning telling me that our adopted Cradle baby, Josefina was in town and they wanted to come by to visit.  It’s always nice to see the babies happy with their family! She loved the dogs as she has dogs at home and wanted to take control of the camera! Her mother Riika is glowing, having this little girl to love and raise. Thank you for coming and also for the gift for the babies!    

A young lady came up with the idea to make a cookbook, featuring recipes and photos of local Tanzanian foods. She then sold them as a fund raiser for three different organizations.  Cradle of Love was one of them and we have received a generous donation from her. Thank you Angela!       

Vanessa is a darling baby. She does have her colicky times, but they seem to be a bit less.  She is now sleeping a 4 hour stretch at night, so I don’t feel so sleep deprived! She follows people moving around the room and looks at toys. She knows my voice and turns towards it. Fun having her at home for a while.