The Stork has Arrived

Kim called me this morning, and said, "Kerri, would you like to see your Godson?"  Oh...I thought we were just kidding about that?  She had her baby at Mongkol Borei Hospital, the same place Cynthia went the first time.  The maternity ward room held 16 beds, jammed together with pregnant women, crying infants, and relatives sprawled out on mats.  A poster of a woman breast-feeding her child adorned one wall.

His name is Daniel.  I think it's becoming fashionable to give children an American name.  In the next ten years, they'll all be called Ashley or Trevor.  Kim joked that he looks like me because he has a wide nose.  I said, "Yeah, and you can't tell now, but his eyes are blue."

Kim said, "He poo and pee all the time," in a somewhat shocked manner.  I watched Kim's mom remove the cloth diaper and try to scrape it off with a dry paper towel.  I'm pretty sure Daniel was thinking, "Jeez lady, I'm one day old, and my bum is already red.  Can someone please tell her about the invention of  baby wipes?"  When she was finished, she threw the paper towel on the floor.  No point in washing your hands here, especially since there's no soap at the one sink, which may or may not even work. 

Kim informed me that after giving birth, Cambodian women can only eat certain foods.  No bananas, raw vegetables, or pork from a male pig.  But porridge, cooked vegetables and pork from a female pig are ok.  I asked about the pork.  She explained that female pig pork hurts the hands, knees, and back.  Oh, well, of course.