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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Day 11

Last Monday, I started out by working with the infants. There were more awake and active infants than there were hands to hold them. I started out by playing with one of the little girls that has been at the shelter for awhile. She was the first baby I got to hold here at PSP and she has grown so much! It's crazy to watch how fast they grow even over only a couple months. Volunteers were limited that day so it was challenging at points when an instructor had to leave and help out the other side. The babies were all over the place: various blankets and pillows on the floor, being held by random instructors, and lounging in various cradle-holders. Almost all of them were awake and looking for games to play and things to do because only a few had succumbed to sleep. The toddler side needed help, however, so I propped a few of the kids up on pillows and blankets with a toy they could play with and went over to the other side to help the toddlers. They were getting ready to head outside, so we gathered up the kids and started maneuvering them out the door to the playground in the front of the building.
One of the girls was not having a great day and only wanted to be held. She had me carry her pretty much the whole time we were outside. I tried offering her the alternative of playing on the jungle gym, but she was not having it. After a while, her mom finally came and picked her up, and she was fairly relieved when she saw her. I also noted that there were quite a few kids who wanted to be held and not interested in playing with their friends. I think it is usually around this time of day when the kids start to get really family-sick and miss their mom and dads.
My favorite part of the day was when one of the little boys I was holding started to get super happy and excited for seemingly no reason. He started waving at someone and I looked over to see what all the commotion was about. His young mom and dad were heading up towards the shelter on their way back from somewhere and he was just really excited to see them. We walked up to the gate and since we recognized his dad, we handed the little boy over to his sweet family.
A lot of close-minded people would criticize a young family for being unprepared and too young, maybe even pulling out the argument of the dad's-gonna-leave situation. I do not think anyone can truly be prepared for a new baby. Whether they are young parents or old parents, you never can be too ready for a baby, money or none. I'm not a parent myself, but I have been around a lot of people who are new parents and they never seem quite ready for the baby no matter what their financial situation may be. However, with some help and guidance from others, they can pull through. It's just important you find people you can trust. In this young family's situation, yeah they may not be in an ideal set-up, but I think all that matters to them right now is the love they have for each other. I feel they can pull out of their situation if they work together. Thoughts anyone?

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