Thursday, 18 October 2012

Newborn from the previous Baby Shower

I got to visit my friend whose 7-month baby party I had gone to in either July or August.  She and her husband were there with their newborn.  He has such a creative name: ReezVahz (is how it is pronounced).  What a cutie he is!

The aunties of the home have decided that I'm carrying a son because my belly is protruding forward like a ball or cone and girl-babies are carried from side to side and swell your whole body and abdomen.  Funny - my first old wives tale told by two old wives themselves!  They were conversing between themselves and pointing at me as they chattered.  Then asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl and I told them, "as God wills".  They smiled and said, "not a girl. Stomach is holding only son."  Haha!  They have 50% odds that they are right.


Cultural notes:
  • Baby was not wearing a diaper or pants, but only had on a long-sleeved t-shirt, tied bonnet, and he had a man's handkerchief underneath his bottom
  • Even though it is 80F most days (or hotter) here, they keep the baby in a bunting bag of sorts that is really warm - even in the hottest part of the day, and have only a ceiling fan with no A/C
  • This is the first new baby I've seen without eyeliner on his/her face to ward off the evil eye (usually parents will draw a large 'mole' on the baby's temple or center of the forehead)
  • My friend said that she had a "normal delivery by cesarean" - later her husband clarified that two hours after their arrival, the doctor said they must surgically remove the baby since the baby was 3 kilos (6.6lbs) and delivering the baby vaginally would be too risky.  
  • It is okay to feed the baby in front of guests, as long as you have a modest way of covering-up

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