The Hunt Is On!

Last Friday at our Early Education Center, the teachers planned a fun activity that involved: 1) A Cultural Lesson about Easter and 2) Chocolate. Predictably, everyone LOVED it.

While the students were out at recess around 10:30, a couple of the teachers were busy hiding chocolate eggs all over the classroom. During circle time, one of the teachers explained the Easter Egg Hunt tradition, and told the students that they would be participating in their very own Easter Egg Hunt in just a few minutes.

The excitement was palpable!

Everybody grabbed their adorable little baskets, which had been made from paper cups and then decorated. And the egg hunt began!

The kids had a blast looking through all the nooks and crannies of the classroom and finding treasures hidden there.

Ya proudly holds up her prize!

Shan drops another chocolate egg in his basket.

And Ming finds one near the bookshelf!

In just twenty minutes, all the eggs had been found. The teachers set their full baskets aside to bring home later.

When getting on the school bus to go home after the day ended, their teacher Maria reminded them not to eat any of their eggs on the bus, but to wait until they'd arrived home. All the kids dutifully followed her instructions. And when they did get to their stop, where their foster parents were waiting for them, many of these kids held out their baskets to their foster mommas.

"I saved you some chocolate!" they said.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Featured Staff: Our Nannies

Hi everyone, Little Flower volunteer Mirjam here!

Today, as I was talking with two of our Nannies, or "Ayi's" about their work at the baby home, I thought this might make a great blog post. Our ayi's work incredibly hard so that each baby gets the love and support they deserve. They all rotate in and out of two 7-hour day shifts and a 10-hour night shift each day to provide the necessary 24-hour care we specialize in.

Giving baths, changing diapers, feeding hungry children, playing games with the bigger babies and toddlers, providing comfort and love, and of course helping our medical team observe each child's health condition, our Ayis are at the heart of the Baby Home staff. I sat down to ask two of our ayi's (Wang Ayi and Zhang Ayi) some quick questions about their time at Little Flower (all responses have been translated from Chinese to English). Wang Ayi has only recently joined Little Flower, and gives her perspective on having newly joined the team. Zhang Ayi has been working with us for about a year, and briefly shares her thoughts and experiences. Check it out below:

Wang Ayi

Why did you choose to work at Little Flower?

I love children, especially babies. In working here, I feel as though they are my own children, and I try to treat them that way. For me, it's like the perfect place to work.

What did you do before you started working here?

Before I started at the baby home, I didn’t work; I was actually a full-time mother and housewife. Currently, I live with my husband and 13-year-old son in the Beijing suburbs, not too far from the baby home.  After all these years as a full-time mom to my son, I felt like I needed to go out and see the world and work.

How did you hear about Chunmiao Little Flower?

I heard about Little Flower through a friend who’s working here as well. She often talked about this place and introduced me to the managing staff. My friend of course thought that this was the ideal place to work if you like children – and I can confirm that that is true!

What did you think when you visited the Baby Home for the first time?

When I visited the baby home for the first time, I was very touched--there were tears all over my face. I saw the children and just realized all at once that I wanted to give a mother's love to all of them.

How has your first week been?

As of now, I don’t know all the children in the Baby Home yet. I’ve been working in two rooms during this first week. The children from these two rooms, however...I feel that I already know them! Their names, their personalities, who's shy and who's more outgoing.

So far, I have not had any difficulties.  If I ever have any questions, the other Ayis always help and explain thing.

What are your favorite things about your job so far?         

I like doing all the work that needs to be done, but I especially like to play with the children, and to comfort them – everything that helps to keep them away from tears and crying!

Zhang Ayi

What is your family at home like?

I have a 4-year-old child, who’s living with her grandparents in Hebei province where I’m originally from. We moved to Beijing for work, and I’m currently living with my husband in Beijing.

How do you like your job? 

After working here for about one year, I’m familiar with the routine work and also with the children. One challenge that I've discovered, however, is that there is a high turnover rate with many children coming and going. This is good because it means that we're helping more kids get healthy, but it can be challenging, since there are constantly new issues and problems that come up.

Is there a special part of the job you like?

I do not have a preferred task or any kind of task that I don’t like – I like everything, from changing baby diapers, to feeding and singing with them. It is all part of the job!

Medical Rounds

Every day at 9:00 AM, the Medical Team at the Little Flower Beijing Baby Home makes their daily morning rounds. From one room to the next, one child to the other, they check, examine, monitor and discuss each baby with the nannies. This process ensures that the team is constantly updated on the condition and status of each baby in our care.

The most important information for each child are written on that child's individual clipboard, or medical chart. These clipboards for each baby are positioned on white boards in each baby room and available for all of our staff to review.  The nannies, or "ayi" in Chinese, regularly measure and note down body temperature, weight, and feeding times. The medical team checks these numbers for abnormalities and keeps in constant contact with the ayi's, who are constantly around the children and often the first to observe if anything is out of the norm.

Here are some updates from one morning's rounds:

In Preemie Room 1:

Sha has got a cold. Yesterday, her temperature was a little abnormal, but it seems to have gotten better today. The medical team advises the ayi's to keep taking Sha's temperature every hour, which is more frequently than normal.

In addition to the irregular temperature, Sha isn’t drinking her formula well. This has to be closely observed during the next few days. If she doesn't gain some more weight soon, they consider putting her on a feeding tube, or taking her to the hospital for examination.

Most babies in Preemie Room 2 are doing quite well. Only Lu’s eyes are rather red. The medical team suggests eye drops.

In Baby Room 3:

Jiang is attracting the medical team's attention. He looks like he might be a little dehydrated. They suggest rehydration salts and nebulizer treatment.

After leaving Baby Room 3, the ayi from Preemie Room 1, where we started our rounds, is calling us back over. She just discovered something in Sha’s mouth. The medical team’s diagnosis: dental ulcer. This will have to be followed up with the doctor.

Standing in the door to Baby Room 4, the team is discussing rotation. Today, two new children from Shanxi Province are expected to arrive. They are discussing which room will have space for them, as well as whether some of the babies who have been doing very well could transfer to another healing home before awaiting adoption.

Baby room 4 is quiet, and all the babies are doing well. Only little Wang recently had a fever,but after taking some medicine, his temperature has stabilized.

Before going down the stairs, we enter Baby Room 2.

The ayi's present in this room tell us that Dan has developed a cough. From their experience, the medical team has a very good idea of which treatments are best for each child. For Dan's coughing symptoms, they recommend medicine and nebulizer treatment.

Downstairs, we go to the last station: the toddlers.

Most of the toddlers are doing well. Only Hong requires special attention. Her appetite has decreased. She hasn’t eaten much since yesterday evening and is not feeling well. Since she seems rather weak, the team discusses whether or not to use a feeding tube to help her gain some weight and energy again.

Every day, the medical team faces new challenges, whether it's who will require their special attention that day, or decisions to be made about each child's treatment.

We all hope Sha, Lu, Jiang, Wang and Hong get better soon!

Featured Volunteer: Kendra

We're excited to introduce our latest featured volunteer: Kendra. We sat down to ask Kendra a few questions about her experience volunteering at Little Flower's Beijing Baby Home. Check it out below!

When did you first arrive in China? What were you up to before you came here? 

I was working in the United States as a social worker before coming to China at the end of 2012.

How did you get involved with Little Flower?

After moving to China, I wanted to keep doing social work in some way.  I heard about Little Flower from sources in the expat community. However, I had never worked in infant care before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But from my first visit, I really liked the baby home. In the beginning, I would hold babies and spend time with the ones who need some extra time. I quickly found out that babies, especially the tiny preemies, are my favorite.

How often do you volunteer these days?

Since my first visit to the baby home in 2013, I come regularly twice a week. I come every Wednesday morning and Saturday. On Saturdays, my husband comes as well to play with the toddlers.

I am the regular volunteer for preemie room 2.  I always sit in the same room.  That means that after the babies in my room grow bigger, or are strong enough eventually leave Little Flower, I have no contact with them anymore. But I do follow the Little Flower Facebook page closely to get updates!

What is it like when a baby leaves your room?

It is hard to say goodbye. Whenever a baby leaves my room or goes back to their organization, it's hard to part with them. I can be the first person in the baby’s life that holds them with skin-to-skin contact (also known as kangaroo care).  That is something a mother would normally do, and something that is extremely important for a baby’s development.

Another hard thing about working in preemie room 2 is that since some preemies are very fragile and unstable, there is some uncertainty after each visit at the baby home. Will the tiny little preemie I’ve just kangarooed still be there the next time I come?

Did you start working with preemies right away?

After some months of volunteering, the Little Flower staff could see my long-term commitment.  I was then allowed to come into contact with preemies. In fact, just before Kate left I also started Kangarooing (see Featured Volunteer: Kate and Kangarooing). I really like kangarooing.  One of the reasons I like it so much is because being that close to a baby, I can feel how they develop and how much they grow every week.  Up to now, I've probably kangarooed more than ten babies.

Have you learned anything coming here?

During my time here, I have learned a lot. For example, I had no knowledge of anything medical-related. But now I have learned how to read the oximeter and how to monitor the babies.

How do you remember or keep track of all the babies you come in contact with?

To better be able to remember them, I give them all their own English names. Usually, when I’m telling my husband about my experiences, or when I’m praying for a preemie, it helps me to be able to refer to their English name. There are only two babies I call by their Chinese names. The first is Fei, who is the first preemie I kangarooed. The second is Ya, the one I am currently kangarooing. Their Chinese names are quite simple!

Do you have any special memories that stand out from your time here?

One of my most special memories is Grace.

The first time I came to volunteer at the baby home, I was asked to hold a small girl. This girl was in hospice care – she urgently needed a liver transplant, but it was impossible to get a transplantation donor for a liver of that small size. Her face was yellow, and she was very sick. I would hold her, comfort her and try to get her to forget her pain.  I would sing the song “amazing grace” to her – and after that, I named her “Grace.”

I did this regularly for over one month. During the time I would hold Grace in her arms, it was great to observe all the other nannies.  Everyone did everything they could to care for Grace.  Everything was done to decrease her pain and make her as comfortable as possible.

After about one month, I came to the baby home as usual. But little Grace wasn’t there anymore. Though it was heart-breaking, I was very thankful to know Grace had the best possible care during the last weeks of her life.

April 2014 Featured Child: Ye

This month’s featured child is little Ye. With spring finally here, the weather warming, and leaves beginning to turn green on all of the city’s trees, it only made sense to feature this bright little girl, who’s name can actually be translated as “leaf.”

Ye, or “Yezi,” is now three and a half years old, and is currently part of our Group Educational Foster Care project, as well as a student at our Early Education Center. She came to Little Flower last year. She was born with spina bifida, for which she has already had surgery, as well as club foot. Due to her diagnosis, she once couldn’t walk by herself, but has progressed to being able to walk with a walker, as well as braces that are helping to correct her feet and legs.

When she first arrived at Little Flower and moved in with her foster family last summer, she needed a bit more time than other children normally do to adjust. She was shy, quiet, and timid around new people. So it was only after a couple months of acclimation that Ye joined our Early Education Center in the fall of 2013.

Compared to those first few months after arriving at our Beijing foster care program, however, she is much more out-going these days!

This strong little girl is smart and independent. Her language ability is very advanced for her age; she can have complex conversations with adults and teachers, and is quite talkative at school. This little comedian also loves telling funny jokes and doesn’t get tired of hearing or telling the same jokes each day. Her sweet laughter is enough to make your heart melt.

She’s also much more patient than the average kid, a sign of great maturity for a child her age! But in the end, Ye is still a three-year-old girl, and like many other girls her age, she loves to play princess games. As a matter of fact, anything girly is great! She loves when her foster mama puts bows in her hair!

At school, she loves to play with her two older brothers from Group Home #4, Ping and Ming. In general though, a lot of the boys in her class, also part of our other Little Flower Group Foster Homes, have taken on big brotherly roles toward her! Whether it's helping her put on her jacket or pushing her wheelchair around the playground at recess, her classmates are always willing to lend a hand.

She loves participating in every activity that our teachers set up at our school. At last year’s end-of-semester party, Ye was actually crying because of the loud music. Nevertheless, the minute her teacher Maria took her in her arms and started dancing, she was laughing and enjoying herself!

Ye has been doing really well recently. Though she is still wearing leg braces, she spends an hour every day practicing walking with her walker. We all hope that she will be able to walk on her own very soon. With her determination and growing sense of confidence, we know she can do it!