After having 4 children born in the US and having all the “extras” for them, we are adjusting well to the Brazillian ways. In the States, we had the basic baby “necessities” like a swing .  We also enjoyed our pack-n-play (aka play pen), strollers/infant carrier, high chairs and many other small play items.  Since these are considered luxury items here, they are very expensive, and are priced anywhere from 3 to 10 times as much as they are in the states.  So we are adjusing to bringing up our new baby the way the average Brazillian  raises their child. (That is, we make do with what we have).

Starting with Rachel(now 14) we learned the value of a baby swing.  Each of the oldest four spent many hours swinging as a baby. When Joshua was little, we had a porch swing and Rachel would swing him and put him to sleep swinging.  Even when he was two years old, the swing worked wonders in getting him down for a nap.  So our brazillian option is the hammock (or in Portuguese-rede pronounced like “hedge” but with a long e sound for the last “e”).  Abigail loves to swing alone or with someone else.  Joel and I and the girls will take turns swinging with her. Most Brazillian homes have hammocks.  As a matter of fact, hammock “hooks” are installed in most bedroom walls.  It is just a natural way to sit or sleep in equatorial Brazil.  We have learned the art of using hammocks and really enjoy sharing with Abigail.

We have tile floors through-out our house.  They are pretty and cool to the touch on hot days, as well as being easy to clean.  But having a baby and no play pen we had to look for a solution.  We found a set of foam interlocking blocks for the floor.  This way Abigail can play and have a soft place on the floor.

Since Abigail is not eating solid food yet we have not had to come up with a solution for a high chair.  Since the cheapest ones here look just that “cheap” and the nicer ones- like the average high chair in the states- have a large price tag on them.  We are still looking around for our options. We may have to wait forsomeone to come from the states to bring us a portable high chair like we had for Joshua, or we will hold her in our lap as we feed her.

There are so many times that I wish I had our stroller/Carseat carrier.  We did purchase a stroller with money sent to Abigail by her Mammaw.  We found one for a really good price but it is not the best quality. Since Joshua was still in his car seat when we left the states we were able to bring his car seat on the airplane.  So when Abigail was born we moved him out of his car seat.  Joshua has not always been happy about sharing “his ” carseat with his little sister. But finding him a booster seat for the car has also been a challenge.  In all the shops we have looked we have only found 1 booster seat and it was WAY out of our price range.

Over all, Abigail has everything she needs.  Her mommy just misses a few things that just made life a little easier. But we are adjusting well to new way of caring for a baby.