Babies

A couple of weeks ago I went with a friend to a brother's baby's welcome to the world party. (Kinda like a baptism for Buddhists.) My friend was holding the baby. And I asked if I could hold him. I was standing beside her. She uncertainly said, "OK" and was going to gently give the baby to me, but she said, "You should sit down first." Hello! I am 24 and have held plenty of babies! But I listened and sat and got to hold the baby. All of the mothers and grandmothers in the room didn't take their eyes off of me - they were worried that the foreigner doesn't know how to hold a baby and that I'll drop him and break him. Also after holding him for a while, he peed on me. Lao babies don't usually wear diapers. They were thin blankets wrapped around their little butts. They aren't very absorbent.

This morning I went to visit my student and her baby boy who was born two weeks ago. She was holding him for a long time and I wanted to ask to hold him but was a little worried because of last time. She didn't offer so I just thought I wouldn't. Then the other student who I went with asked me, "Can you hold babies?" "What?!" I said. "Of course I can, why do you think I can't?" She went on to explain that not very many people in the States have babies. Which is kinda true, considering a number of my students have 8 brothers and sisters. But I had to explain to them that all people come from babies and there are plenty of babies running around the States. And I have held quite a few of them in my life. After hearing that I am capable of holding babies and that I really like holding babies, she let me hold him for a while. And he was cute as ever! As far as I can tell babies are pretty much the same all over the world, but maybe there's something I don't know about Lao babies.