Christmas in West Africa. December 27, 2006

Madeline’s first Christmas was a fine one. Unfortunately she didn’t get to see any of her family (besides of course, her mom and dad)… since she and her mom were in the USA so recently, and I had gone back in September, it was logistically and financially wise to stay in Dakar. So here we are! Naturally, a 3-month old baby doesn’t really care where she is, as long as she is happy and healthy with the boob(s).

Over the 2-week holiday we are house-sitting for the director of our school. She lives in a really nice house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city… not too far from school and the club. We’ve enjoyed our time here very much – though we like our apartment, it is nice to be able to walk to places.

Madeline got so many presents, far more than her mom and dad. Two big packages arrived from the USA last week and there were so many goodies in them. You can see the fun

time she had opening all of these gifts in these photos! Already she is obviously feeling overwhelmed by Christmas.

3 months ‘old’! December 20, 2006

A very special day – Madeline is 3 months old today. We can’t believe how much she is changing.

We did a little ‘pre-birthday’ celebration by going to the pediatrician yesterday. Dr. Moreira is from Cape Verde and spent many years practicing medicine in France before opening his practice here in Dakar. Conveniently, his office is not too far from our school. He likes Maddie a lot and Maddie puts on her best behavior for him when she visits. She’s not too fussy despite the fact that our average wait time for appointments there is over an hour. You gotta love ‘Senegalese time’.

Yesterday’s vitals: 6.0 kg (13.2 pounds), 60 cm ‘tall’ (23.6 inches). Yes, she is getting to be a big girl. Pretty soon we will be running out of clothes… and she’ll be wearing a diaper with a different number. According to Dr. Moreira, 6.0 kg is exactly the average weight for a 3-month old baby.

Madeline has had very good health for her entire life so far. Lately, however, she has had a little skin fungus on her arm, and a mild rash on her belly due to some sort of allergy. But these don’t seem to bother her a bit – and starting tonight we’ll bathe her in a different kind of soap and apply a new skin lotion as prescribed by Dr. Moreira. We’ll see if that helps any. She still seems so fragile!

A Best Friend. December 14, 2006

Madeline is already a popular baby in Dakar. You should have seen the 100+ kids that crowded around her the first time she came to school! It was like the paparazzi. She has a lot of friends, many of whom she hasn’t even met yet.

But perhaps her best friend of all is named Laye. Laye is our nanny who comes to our apartment five days a week (M-F) while we are at work. From the very first time they met, we could all tell that they would have a special friendship; Maddie immediately warmed up to Laye and felt right at home in her arms.

Laye always arrives right on time for work (7:30 am), always with a smile and a happy attitude. And she is still in a pleasant, soothing mood when we get home (usually by 16:30), even if Maddie has been fussy during the day. With three little kids of her own, she has had a lot of practice raising babies, and I sometimes feel like an amateur when she is here (well… I am!)

Besides taking care of Maddie, Laye is also our maid. Somehow she gets it all taken care of by the time we get home. Like all African mothers, often she wraps Maddie on her back while she is working.

I am convinced that Madeline is a such happy baby partly because of Laye.

Designer clothing. December 9, 2006

Maddie has lots of clothes. I mean a LOT. This little kid, at almost 3 months, has more clothes by far than her dad (and mom? I will not make that claim : ) ) … and most of them are way more hip too. The great thing about having in infant is that you don’t have to buy much in the way of clothing because everyone buys for you. I confess, I have never bought an article of clothing for my baby. That is either wonderful or pathetic. Did I mention her full Ralph Lauren knitted outfit? Destined to become a holiday favorite!

Last night we went to Amy and Mike’s house for a fun-filled evening. Mike is the Peace Corps regional doctor for West Africa. Very cool people even though they are from Texas. And they are legendary for their strong drinks. Margaritas, homebrew, pingpong, and poker. A good evening. However, Maddie was not on form. As is the case with most babies, sometimes (rarely) she just isn’t in the groove, not in a good space. Last night she was fussy, fussy, fussy for much longer than normal… I think she just didn’t want to miss anything in the new space she was in. She didn’t sleep until after midnight (when we got home), so we all really slept in this morning. Tonight we have another evening planned with friends downtown so we’ll try it all again.

The great outdoors. December 7, 2006

The weather has gotten nice and cool in Dakar which is great for Maddie and her little temperature system – no more heat rashes! Today the 3 of us went for a walk around our neighborhood just before sunset and it was the coolest it has felt here since last winter. Maddie loved it until she got fussy to eat (drink).

There are so many cultural differences between Senegalese and Americans that come out when babies are around. For example, we try not to dress Maddie in too many clothes since we live in a tropical climate. But when Senegalese see that we are carrying around our babies with no socks, they are aghast! For some reason, African babies are wrapped up in several layers even when the weather is hot…. and tonight was ‘cold’ enough that the winter caps were out in full force! And there is something about a baby’s feet that somehow are special in Senegal – this was not the first foot comment we’ve gotten here.

Hello world! December 6, 2006

She can’t even sit up yet and here she is blogging already. Actually, thanks to her dad, she is now rolling along on the ‘information superhighway’ before she’s rolling in real life.

Maddie lives in Dakar, Senegal with her mom and dad. When she was only 6 weeks old she flew all the way across the US and over the Atlantic Ocean!

Maddie hopes this blog will be a convenient way for family and friends back home to keep track of all the great things that are happening in her life. There’s a lot more going on here besides crying, sleeping, drinking breast milk, and pooping.

So be sure and check back often – we will try to blog frequently with stories, pictures, and videos!