Days 6 & 7

Saturday morning we got up and played around in the room with the baby.
He slept very well the night before, it was nice. We called our
driver and went to the Mercato. There are a bunch of outdoor shops there
that sell souvenirs. We got some really beautiful things for us and for
our family and friends. It was so hot out in the sun and the baby
fell straight over asleep in the Bjorn! We got back in the car...bought a
last minute map (for those of you who have been or will go to the
Mercato..you will likely buy a map also!), and headed back toward the
hotel. I had wanted a watch for Christmas so Cortney asked the driver to
take us somewhere to get a watch. We went to a very nice little shop and
I picked out my watch! I love it! We came back to the hotel and took
a little nap. We were supposed to meet Belay at 4 in the lobby to go
to Dreamland. At 4:00 on the nose, my eyes sprang open and I
frantically got Cortney and the baby up! We ran downstairs and they were
waiting on us. I'm sure we looked like we had just gotten up! So Belay
drove us and another couple in one car up to Dreamland. It was amazing up
there, I couldn't believe something that beautiful was hidden behind
the roadside shops and people. We all sat down to have dinner and Ian
became very fussy...time for a bottle, right? I get the bottle of water
out of my bag and start searching for the powder formula to pour
in....AHHHHHHHHHHHH I had made a bottle before we napped and didn't put it
back in the bag!!! So here we were 1 hour away from the hotel, no
driver of our own, with zero formula for our very hungry baby!!! I did what
any new mother would do...cry. LOL Another family had some baby food
that we tried. He liked it a little but it was not about to be his
whole meal. Then we tried just water...'no thank you' he said. So then we
tried to get him to sleep, he was having none of that! Then a
gentleman came into the restaurant with a can of formula!!!!!!!!!! I grabbed
the formula, hugged him, and told Cortney to pay him! Then I ran off
to make the bottle. Ahh, instant gratification for Ian! He was very
happy again. Belay had sent the man to get us some formula. How nice
was that?? I felt like a negligent mother but I'm pretty sure that will
never happen again. All I could think was, how are we ever going to
make it back to the hotel with him?

Sunday morning really early Ian started to get sick. I think it was a
stomach virus because I had it a couple days earlier. He would cry and
want a bottle then when he got it, he vomited the whole thing straight
up. It was terrible. As the day went on he refused to take a bottle
or drink any water. I started to panic. I called the hotel dr who was
out because it was Sunday. He said he would have someone take us to
the clinic in town. That made me scared so I called Belay. I told him
that Ian was running a fever and he would take a bottle, he hadn't had
a wet diaper all day and they he was very lifeless. He said that we
should keep his fever down and wait until morning and take him to the the
pediatrician who has been seeing him all along. He wouldn't drink
anything...I was soooo scared. I know that babies dehydrate so much
faster than adults and that no wet diapers was not good. So my sister
recommended getting a medicine dropper and filling it with water and giving
it to him that way. She said that her pediatrician said that if he got
an ounce an hour that he wouldn't dehydrate. So, we did that. With a
1ml medicine dropper I gave him 2 or 3 ounces so that he would not get
dehydrated. He got up 3 times during the night and gradually started
taking very diluted bottles. He drank 3 or so ounces at a time, had a
wet diaper and we kept his fever down with Tylenol. I had a bunch of
fears when we set out on this journey but being here, 9000 miles away
from my family, with a sick baby was among the greatest. On Monday
morning Belay called to check on us and we apologized for calling him on
Sunday and for being typical new parents. He laughed and said that he
would send over the Ethiopian version of Pedialyte and we began our first
Christmas Eve together.