Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Baby Peter is doing so well now. He is cheerful and the noisiest little rascal we've ever had. He babbles and squeals to make sure everyone in the room is paying attention to him. Since he is healthy Tom asked me to move him down to the nursery. There were plenty of tears (mine--Peter is doing just fine, the little rascal) but the transition went well.

He still comes up to the main house in the evening because we are short staffed then but also because we just love playing with him.



With Peter down in the nursery I was able to sleep through the night and get caught up on some of the sleep I missed out on while I was nursing him back to health. I also resumed my morning walks. I prefer to do them early before there are many people out on the road. This cuts down on my audience.



Well, as you may have seen from my post title--things couldn't stay this way for long.



Last night we received a little baby girl. This reminds me of when my kids were little. I would wean the baby, get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and within a couple months if not weeks--I'd be pregnant!



But back to now. Without further ado,


meet Matete (which means grass by the river). Her name may get a western addition--we'll see.

Matete's mother died a week ago, four days after Matete's birth. She apparently died of yellow fever but we are going to be checking with the hospital and getting the records. Matete's very elderly grandmother brought her to us yesterday. The father is a fisherman working on a river far away from here. If I understand correctly, this is the first child which means that the father will probably just forget about this family and start a new one.

Since then, and perhaps even after birth, Matete only received sugar water. We don't understand why the hospital didn't provide formula. Poor little baby girl is skinny skinny. Thankfully she is not dehydrated but her stomach is unaccustomed to milk and so she has some tummy issues. We're watching her closely to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated.

Please pray with us that her tummy adapts to the formula and that she can retain the fluids she needs. Pray for me when you're at it, would you? This process is always really challenging for me--especially since losing 3 babies in the first half of the year. I find myself feeling pretty anxious.