Little Green

Amanda is 20 weeks old. She can lift her head, and support her weight on her forearms if she starts from lying on her front. She is too young to be crawling yet. Today she cried for most of the day, in pain because of wind trapped in her chest. Sometimes if I stand up and hold her I can get her to stop crying for a while, but if I change her position even slightly - change the arm supporting her weight, for example - she will start again. Sometimes, if I sit down, and sit her on my lap, facing away from me, she will take one of my fingers and suckle on it. Eventually the lack of milk will frustrate her and she will again begin to cry. I give her a bottle of warm milk. She drinks four fifths of it, and immediately falls asleep, without burping. Ten minutes later, she wakes up in pain, and the whole cycle begins again. With us in the room are six other babies and one other adult - a girl, pale, aged 17 or eighteen. At five o'clock in the afternoon I leave. Amanda has been there since half past six this morning, and will stay until eight o'clock this evening, when her mother will arrive to take her home. This is how she spends every day, apart from Sundays, when she stays at home.

posted by Jim @ 6:21 PM