Our first day of planned therapy was a great experience. I was with Carla's feeding group. We first started off with some little babies in Haven 1. I worked with Cathy at the beginning. She didn't really need feeding therapy, but my assigned baby was asleep, and Cathy was crying for attention, so she got it. We stretched the babies, did various stretches around and in the babies mouth, and fed the babies. Cathy was doing very well. She was able to hold her head up, and she almost rolled herself over independently. Next I worked with Helen, she is a four week old baby that is so tiny! She was sweet, she woke up hungry so I was able to feed her. She did really well with the stretches and facial stimulation before feeding, and she continued to do well with the bottle feeding afterwards.
Our last session in the morning took place in Haven 2. I worked with Aumbi. Aumbi is a eight month old baby with TB, Downs, and HIV. She has alot of sickness going on, she is currently recovering from pneumonia. Her body is very small for an eight month old, she looks more like 3 months old. Today when I was working with her she did well. She had good eye contact and was able to attend to me well. She did great with the facial and oral stretches. She tolerated tummy time, but she was not able to lift her head. When it was time to feed her, we were able to find her a small nipple that really worked well for her today. It also helped when I added pressure to her jaw when she was sucking. She did great today besides all the coughing caused by the pneumonia. Please be praying for this baby. She is fighting alot of sickness.
Once we were finished we headed back to the Hamby House to have lunch. For lunch today we had meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. The gravy that Leonard and Harold make is the best gravy I have ever had. I look forward to eating it again. Whenever the make it, it usually goes on the potatoes, chicken, and biscuits. And there is usually more gravy than anything else on my plate. Its that good.
After lunch we headed back to the Havens. We had a language group in Haven 3 with some of the older boys. I worked with Adam and Joseph. Adam was in Haven 3 last year and was the baby that had hydrocephalus and was not doing well. He was tiny. This year he is HUGE. Probably one of the biggest babies and he less than two years of age. He has some behavior issues, because he is bigger than all the other kids, he is good at pushing and taking other babies toys. I also worked with Joseph who did very well. He was interactive, and behaved well during our group language therapy. At the end of my time in Haven 3, I spent an hour with Leo. Leo was non-responsive the entire time. Even Carla blew bubbles in his face, but he showed nothing. We read a book, we walked around, we played on the rocking horse, we played with colors, we did everything. By the end of our time together I thought, well maybe I could get a negative reaction out of him, I started taking toys away, and placing them out of reach....still nothing. As I was walking him back to his room, I threw him up in the air and caught him, only to find him returning to my arms giggling with a big smile on his face...of course. To top it off when I placed him in his crib, he started crying very loudly, like he actually enjoyed the past hour we had together....babies.
The last 45 min of therapy we are able to choose where we want to work. I love the toddlers. They are so interactive and funny, I can't stay away from them. Also during that time the babies are always fed a snack, which is always fun to watch. Those babies are my favorites. I cherish my time with them greatly.
For dinner tonight we had taco soup and corn bread. After dinner many of us played cards in the dark with our headlamps because the power went out. After cards we planned to sing with Webster, but because the lights were out he was not able to come to our house to teach us to sing, because he needed to guard the house out in the darkness. So we made a switch. We all headed to Webster's porch and he then taught us a song that I learned last year. It was fun to watch my friends learn the new song. I have found it very rewarding this year to watch my friends experience the same experiences that I did last year. I am so glad that my classmates are here with me this year.
After singing and learning our first song we all headed to bed. Tomorrow I have been giving an assignment by Carla to clip all the babies finger nails. I will let you know how it goes.
Thank you for all your support and prayers. Continue to pray for us as a group as we continue to serve the people here and maintain health.
Ben
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