When Mia was 10 days old we finally took her back to Paraiso. Here she is resting on her Grammy Judy’s lap at home.
Heuris’ family was very excited to meet Mia. Here we are outside their house for an afternoon visit. Holding Mia is Heuris’ older sister Cristina. Heuris’ mom Teresa is the one sitting and peeling green bananas, while Heuris’ dad Verian looks on eating a homemade ice cream. The standing on the left is a neighbor who came by to inspect the new arrival.
Being a new mother – and an American one – in this culture is a real learning experience. Since the second we arrived back in Paraiso, everyone (and I do mean everyone!) has been intent on giving Heuris and me (but especially me) specific advice about how to take care of a new baby. And Dominicans have very particular rules about babies. There are rules about how to hold babies, how to dress them, how to carry them, how to lie them down for a nap, how (and what) to feed them, how to talk to them, how to protect them from the evil eye, etc, etc. Rule number one, I learned quickly, is that you dress a newborn in a hat and socks and bundle her in a blanket at ALL times, even if it is wicked hot outside.
That’s Mia’s abuela, Teresa. My mom and I had shamefully dressed Mia that afternoon only in a baby dress and wrapped her in a blanket, so when we arrived at Teresa’s for a visit the baby was quickly taken away and re-dressed in hat and socks, and so tightly bundled up in her blanket that I thought she might expire. It was probably 80 degrees in the shade when this photo was taken.
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