More Bambinos!

Well, since my last post, the activity at the Casa has not stopped.  The week after Bambino, now called Lucas, arrived, two more little babies came to us.  I had the opportunity to go with another house mother and the orphanage director to a Clinic where the babies were checked out..  Marleni is a cleft-palate lip baby and was about 10 days old when she arrived.  Carlos is about 3 1/2 months old, but the size of the other two newborns.  The Doctor believed he heard a heart murmer, which is likely the reason for his small size. The two both checked out at around 2.2 kgs- each under 5 lbs.
Carlos is having feeding problems, and seems to be uncomfortable alot of the time.  He has the softest cry and his little cheeks vibrate when he's really unhappy. 

We have a specialized feeding bottle for Marleni and thankfully she is feeding really well and is a very relaxed baby.  She needs to be at least 10 lbs before any operations can be performed for lip and palate construction.

Yesterday, we got another little one!  He's around 2 years old, and named Adriano.  He has a tendency to hit and scratch the other kids, but his tenderness and need for love is so evident when he just wants to walk around the room holding onto my hand.

All of their background stories are heartbreaking; it's great to have each one at the house.

This week has mostly been about feeding and holding babies, but I did get the chance to work with Hilda for an hour and a half.  She is in pre-school and needs extra help with her numbers.  She is eager to learn and to keep trying when she doesn't get it right.

Next week we want to get some photos of the kids for upcoming Christmas cards, so that should be fun!