They toss babies around like footballs

Babies are everywhere here. The main goal in life here is to get married and have children, the idea of furthering your education and focusing on a career is emerging but still a foreign concept to many. Family planning is slowly happening, condoms are apparently readily available but because of religion and stigma many will not use, natural methods are known and slowly seem to be coming into practice. My host family has 4 children under the age of 6. They are amazing kids, well behaved and wonderful to be around. The youngest is 1 month and 12 days. She is adorable and always makes me smile. I sang my first baby lullaby the other day-my heart melted a little. When I first got to site the baby was handed to me, only a week old. I don’t know anything about babies but they just trusted me with it and everything was fine. I watch the way they just leave the baby on the couch somtimes, is this normal in America? Babies are generally kept on the back of the mother or house worker, which I told my host mother I want to learn, the just take igitnenge (fabric) and tie and tuck and they are back there securely. It actually makes sense, as long as it isn’t bad for their legs, the baby is safe and the mother has two hands to do whatever it is she needs. In general there are babies everywhere, as well as breast-feeding, and they are handled like footballs- picked up, put down, by the arm, whatever way it is, and they are always fine. After I master the baby on the back im going to learn to carry my belongings on my head, water, purse, goods from the market…yesterday a table was delivered to me with two chairs, means of transport, the man walked with it on his head!