Alex's Adventures in Romania: Day 13

I woke up this morning after a night full of bad dreams and with a stomachache. I went to breakfast, ate (drank) my Actimel, and went back to bed. I didn’t wake up until I heard Amy banging on the door to our room at lunchtime; the maid had locked the door when she sneaked into the bathroom to clean up.

So I went to lunch and ate the beans out of the bean soup, and I didn’t have the pizza. Went back to my room to check email and such before going upstairs to socialize with Amy J., Amy D., and Becca. We watched the Sound of Music train station flash mob. YouTube it.

I went to the clinic for the afternoon shift, where I had the task of feeding Alina. She’s back and forth with her eating habits-—sometimes she has to be forced to eat. Today she did pretty well, considering other days, but she still didn’t finish her bottle.

Andrei was being checked on by the nurses and a doctor, I guess. I don’t really know what that was all about, but I’ll hopefully find out soon. He hasn’t been feeling well lately, and even after he finished out his antibiotic, he still looked miserable.

Good news: Paula is back! Bad news: she’s covered with bed bug bites. Terri said that the last few times kids went to the hospital in Barlad, they returned with bed bug bites. Ugh.

I spent a good bit of time holding Maria today. Becca had her in the rocking chair, but she (Becca) got up to change a few diapers, so I took over holding Maria in the chair. She almost cried once or twice, I think she was uncomfortably gassy, but overall it was a good visit.

I wondered if Andreea might be mad at me for staying away this morning, but by the time one of the aides brought her into the playroom near the end of the afternoon shift, she was fairly content. I picked her up and rocked her in the chair for a while, then just walked her around the room/hallway a bit before putting her to bed. She didn't even yell at me when I put her in her crib!

On the way out for the afternoon, I stopped by the preschool room to peek in and say hi to the older kids. Eve wanted to take a picture of me with the kids, so I grabbed up Mihaela, whom I was silly enough to think would sit still long enough for a photo shoot. WRONG! She was still for about three seconds, then started looking around and squirming. Next was Ionela, and Eve almost got a picture of her giving me a kiss, but wasn’t quick enough. It was a good picture, though, and I’ll post it when I get a copy.

We went into Barlad for dinner tonight, at a new restaurant whose name I don’t know. I wore my pretty dress and Becca braided my hair. :-) I had mashed potatoes, green beans, and grilled chicken, and the seasoning on the chicken was great. Dessert was ice cream with a little umbrella in it.

While we were out, we picked up a “stroller” for the clinic, one that has pedals like a bike but also has a handle for caregivers to hold onto. It’s in the shape of a bug, which is creepy, but I think the bigger kids will like it.