I love my job. One of my most favorite parts of my job is
getting to bring tiny babies home with me. When we admit new babies, one of us
International staff members usually cares for them for the first night or two.
This allows us to get a good assessment of their needs and abilities so that we
can make a good plan of care for them. We really covet this time to get to know
each of our kids, and sometimes it extends longer than a few days. 
On May
12 we admitted “Juice.” Shortly after bringing him home to my house, there was
some confusion with his name that produced the nickname “Juice,” and it just
stuck. At 6 months old he weighed 5.5 pounds and was struggling to gain weight
at home. Mom was not able to help, and it was becoming difficult for dad to take
care of Juice and his tiny twin sister all by himself. Dad had been bringing
the twins to our gate for a few weeks prior to his admission, and the babies
were in our formula program. Unfortunately, in between appointments with us
Juice’s sister passed away at a hospital. Dad was very concerned about Juice,
and didn’t want to lose him as well. This led us to decide to admit him into
our care for one month so he could gain weight and work on getting stronger.
This also gave dad time to grieve his daughter’s death and to develop a good
plan for caring for Juice once he brought him back home.
I fell in love with Juice’s tiny self that first night. And since he was only admitted for one month, I decided I wanted him to live with me for the whole month. Juice didn’t know how to drink from a bottle very well; it would take one hour to get him to drink 2 ounces of formula. So, I spent the first few days doing scheduled feedings every 2 hours and teaching him how to suck from a nipple. He did get the hang of it, and eventually got to the point of easily drinking 5 ounces at a time. I carried Juice around in a sling and kept him at work with me until he was drinking well enough to stay with the nannies during the hours I worked. I took him to birthday parties, to church, to do Pilates, to hang out with my friends on the compound. I loved walking over to his room after work and seeing his eyes light up as I reached down to pick him up. He loved to lie across my knees and sway back and forth, suck on his fingers, listen to music, and nap on the tile floor. I got pretty attached to my little Juicer.
Every Friday his dad would come to visit. And there was never a doubt in my mind that his dad loves him. It was the cutest sight to watch dad hold Juice close to his face and sing to him. Each visit I would hand dad a bottle and we would sit together and work on feeding Juice his whole bottle. By the end of June Juice was bigger, stronger, and ready to go back home with his family. His papa came to pick him up on June 25; he weighed in at 8.4 pounds. After prayers, singing, and well-wishes, I choked back tears as we waved good-bye to them.
This
past Tuesday Juice’s mom brought him back for his scheduled appointment with us.
We were so happy to learn that his mom is also invested in caring for him now.
Juice had gained weight at home and looked so content lying in his moms lap. I
did hold him for a bit and get some snuggle time :) Juice will continue to be in our Formula program and have appointments with us
for the next few months.
