Feliz Cumpleaños, Brexi

At 4 am, the day after Bryan`s birthday, my host mother had a new baby girl. Her name is Brexi Marciel and is delightful. She hardly cries at all. She does get hiccups though, which are "cured" by having her mom or dad stick a tiny piece of paper on her forehead. Seriously.














They have several interesting beliefs relating to the time following childbirth. During the first week, they did not take the baby outside of the house because it could die because of mal de 7 dìas. They also recite orations, "puja tu madre, puja tu padre," while passing a braided hand towl or a black cloth doll (see picture below) over the baby in a cross when it jerks its head, gasping. My host dad explained that this condition is caused when a girl who is menstruating or is growing her breasts (when she has 9 or so years of age) holds the baby. Another solution is to put fresh cotton (from the plant) on the baby`s head after it has been soaked with the liquid from a boiled fish head and sugar. Another successful step to stop a baby from being a pujalona is to make sure she is wrapped well in a mosquito net so that she doesn`t get cold. Perhaps I will buy a mosquito net for Brexi.