Thursday, November 12, 2009

Babies got back...

Living in Africa has taught me ALOT. One of the things that it has taught me is that you don't have to have all the latest gadgets when it comes to parenthood! When I became a mum I didn't have anything! We decided to "look into" adoption on December 28th 2005. I became a mother December 29th 2005 and bought our baby home on January 10th 2006!!!! We borrowed a crib, I went to the 2nd hand store for baby clothes and had a bit of a panic! But I had some Zulu Mamas around me who I looked to for ideas of how to cope. I couldn't breastfeed as we had adopted and had to boil Joe's bottles and make up formula. One day the power in our community went off for 3 days, 2 of those day the water went too! That was fun! We had a 2month old baby to feed and no water or electricity to make his bottles. Martin would get up in the night and build a fire outside the house and heat the bottle up on the open fire in a pan of bottled water.
But we coped.

One of the other things I soon realised was that I didn't need a new super dooper pram/stroller, or even a sling to carry my baby around. Just a piece of cloth, or like in the photo below, a sweatshirt! I started to tie my babies to my back to carry them around. Both my children are adopted and I am a firm believer in baby carrying/wearing. I really took this on board with Jesse as he had a few security issues when we bought him home. So on my back he went. If I was cleaning, shopping or taking a walk he was on my back. Even last week I had him tied on.

A few weeks ago some one donated these adorable African dolls to us. Joe and Jesse claimed one each and when Maggie and Primrose were here last week I gave them one each also. They all spent the week with their babies tied to their backs........So cute!

12 comments:

Hendrick Family said...

I love these pictures! I need to learn to do this. It doesn't hurt your back? My back is wimpy I think.

Heather

Danae Hudson said...

That is so incredible!!! I love the dolls and the stories.

How on earth did you adopt so quickly?! That is incredible to me, especially when I read things in the U.S. that say it can take you up to 4 years to adopt...

Hope you're doing okay :)
xxxx

strokeofliving said...

These photos make me smile. I just love that all of the children wanted the wear their doll babies rather than carrying them.

Hannah said...

I LOVE this post. I sent my mum a link to it so that she could read it, considering how painfully slow the adoption process is here and how much it drives her crazy her reaction was quite funny, she said It's probably a good job adoption is not that quick here or who knows how many brothers and sisters you would have by now!!!!

Cristy said...

Oh we are kindred spirits!! I am A HUGE fan of baby wearing. In fact, I still wear the girls when I can (i.e. they let me) I love it and it promotes such a healthy bond. My sling obsession has not been as frugal as yours so I still have a lot to learn!!

Lisa@saltandlightstudio said...

I love that you adopted Joe a mere day after you "considered adoption"! Isn't it lovely when things are so clear and the process so "easy". Not that having a new baby is easy but it's just as if the Lord gave you the question right before he gave you the answer. :)

Oh and I love the pictures of the girls and your boys wearing their babies. so cute!

BlogBaby

Marilyn (A Lot of Loves) said...

I love those pictures of the kids wearing their "babies". Totally great.

Life Laugh Latte said...

Your children are so adorable!! Both my sister and brothers families adopted little girls from China and they are a precious addition to our family.
Keeping it simple is the way to go.
Charisse

Sandy said...

Love this post and all your photos! Just makes sense to me.

Maggie May said...

Wow what a story Vashti!!! You are incredible and so are your babies. I wish I could give you a hug. I love those doll babies and carriers. Lola would love that too!

Unknown said...

So cute! I love wearing my babies...I wish I had done it more. My 2 youngest fight over who gets to go on my back. I've tied one to the back and one to the front before and it's actually very comfortable!

cat said...

That's one thing about Africa - the original baby wearing place. I see however in town a lot of the younger African moms now use the commercial style pouches, and then a blanket over. I used slings for the twins - that way I could have one on each side of my body.