Please check out Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to send aid: http://www.pcusa.org/pda/

In Christ,

Mark, Jenny, Keila

Keila in the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) prop plane on her way to Hinche. We chartered the flight so we were able to take two friends with us, Agame (front left) and Cenare (back left)

 Keila Rosa has begun her adventures with Jenny and me here in Haiti. One of her first adventures, after two days in Port au Prince (we all arrived Thursday, October 29th) was flying on a small prop plane to Hinche. Jenny was worried that the bumpy ride would scare her, but she went to sleep almost before we were off the ground. Keila has been an all round incredible traveler.

Sunday, November 22nd, Jenny, Keila and I came into Port in Landcruiser, Keila’s first extended trip on the ground here in Haiti. That was a bit rougher for her. We started late and had a lot of stopping and starting, the usual picking folks up who had asked either me or the driver, Fenese, for rides to Port au Prince. So Keila didn’t sleep much of the trip and was fairly grumpy by the time we got in. But she recovered quickly enough, once she had some time to rest, despite the fact that she’s been having some trouble with a touch of diarrhea.

We got tests done for the diarrhea and it looks to be a bacterial infection. Hard to imagine how she got tht. Oh, yeah. She’s started to put everything she can get into her hand, into her mouth. That might be part of it!

We also found a good pediatrician, with just a bit of  assistance from the medical doctore serving in MPP’s Integrated Health Center. Dr. Woselen also has a recent born and gave us the name of Dr. Marorie Preval. Nice lady. Today she gave Keila her next set of vaccinations.

That’s all for now. Sweet dreams all.

Mark

Here's looking at ya'

Keila is closing in on two months old, now. She’s growing quickly. Last we checked, she weighed around 14 pounds. What’s the most fun, though, are her smiles. She smiles when she recognizes us. Sometimes she even smiles at one of us when  we’re not even looking at her. There is a new page with photos from the last four weeks. Check it out!

And some day, this blog will have some other news besides Keila news, again.

Not her usual, “eh eh eh eh” or “ch ch ch ch”. But a real word. “GEH,” you guys! She said it twice in exactly the same way looking us straight in the eye.

Now the trick is to check the dictionaries to see what it means. Between Spanish, Miskito, English and Haitian Creole, we’re fairly confident we can figure out exactly what she was saying. We feel like we do have some clues, though, even before we go to the dictionaries. While we were laughing at her (with her? near her?), she started her cry that normally means she wants milk. Jenny started nursing her, and she went back to being the angelic contented Keila that is particularly fun to be around. So we feel like the odds are decent that GEH means something to do with milk.

Or maybe it means “You have a booger in your nose” and she cried ’cause we didn’t do anything about it.

In any case, GEH, you all.

Enjoy.

Keila Rosa turned one month old Sunday, August 16th

Yesterday, Sunday, Keila hit her one month mark. She was baptized at Jenny’s home church, the Moravian Church of Managua. We were able to organize the baptism during Mom’s visit. See pages for more photos of Keila.

Keila turns 3 today. See Pages for more photos

We took Keila to her Nicaraguan pediatrician yesterday, because of an allergy apparently caused by using Huggies part of the time. I’ll tell you, I always thought folks her used disposables were just lazy, but after changing Keila three times in 15 minutes, I tend to just give up and throw on a disposable, especially since we wash everything by hand. I also thought I’d like the diapers with extra cushion in the toosh area, but geez! them is hard to wash. Give me the dish towel variety, please. They are a nice light material that washes out relatively easily, without me having to rub my knuckles raw.

We also had one or two other concerns, such as the fact that Jenny is nursing Keila all day and, in addition, Keila is consuming formula–some days as much as 10 ounces a day. I was hoping the doctor would say something like, “Oh, that’s well with in the normal range,” versus what she did say, which was  something like “Are you serious??”

The doctor weighed Keila and she now weighs 3,850 grams, or around 8 pounds 7 ounces. She had dropped down to 3,450 grams, or around 7 pounds 10 ounces when we saw the doctor 9 days ago. That means Keila has gained 400 grams in 9 days, or around 44 grams a day. The average is 25 grams a day, so Keila, in her second week out in the big wide world, was closing in on doubling the average. She is queen of milk! She likes milk any which way we want to give it to her, as long as we give it when she wants it.

So, that’s the latest news from Managua, Nicaragua. Enjoy the pictures in the pages marked, “Keila Rosa.” And please continue to pray for us, remembering especially Modestina who has jumped whole heartedly into helping take care of Keila and keep Jenny and me at least moderately sane. Among other things, Modestina is helping us take care of Keila at night.

P.S. Pray for us tomorrow! Jenny, Keila and I have an appointment at the Embassy to register Keila as a U.S. citizen, to apply for a passport and for her social security card. Last week, her grandfather, Norman, and I went to get her birth certificate. We did! Six hours and four different queues later.

Keila Rosa--one week old

Thanks to everyone who has written us with your congratulations.

Especially those who have taken time to look at the photos of Keila.

Jenny, Keila and Mark

Hey Friends,

Keila Rosa Hare McDonald was born yesterday, 16 July, 2009 at 1:47 PM in Managua, Nicaragua. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces (3.8 Kg) and was 49 cm long (about 20″). She is listed as scoring 9/9 on the APGAR scale. APGAR stands for Appearance (skin color or complexion), Pulse (rate), Grimace (irritation reaction, whether the baby reacts well), Activity (muscle tone, whether the muscles flex well) and Respiration. According to Wikipedia, the scale is supposed to be out of 10, with each of the characteristics being given a numerical value of 0,1 or 2. We’ll ask the pediatrician on Monday when Keila has her next appointment why this scale only goes to 9.

You can see more photos on the “Keila Rosa” page.