Doula Mel: All we want for Christmas...

Is onesies and sleepers please!    My BF in California Dawnielle is kindly collecting for us again.   Every time we do a shout out you gals just knock my socks off and make me wanna bawl with your kindness. Being in the 'charity business' has the potential to make one hugely cynical.    You watch these TV programmes of these companies falling over themselves to help someone or some organization and you know it is all one big marketing ploy.   You watch how a group of people come into the hospital, trash the people there behind their backs and then ensure the newspaper is invited to photograph them handing over some gift. Nothing for nothing, people want recognition, they want press, they want to know what are THEY getting in return. Of course not everyone is like this and you girls who live a million miles away and literally go out of your way to shop for babies you will never even see, well it just re-affirms my faith in womenkind again.
I have really had a good week of blessings and we drove into Cape Town today to collect an awesome donation from Robin Good. A whole ton of baby products for the bags.   I also got stunning bags donated by Ally Knight which will be used for nurses gifts. She even included one for me, love language... gifts, feeling the love, Baby!   Old Mutual and Greater Good gave us R3000 to go shopping, Operation Shoebox gave us 50 bags, I have a ton of bigger clothes to give to Thembacare and now that we have unpacked our summer stock, clothes for at least 2 weeks.
I think God knows how much I feel like throwing in the towel once again and He is making it a little easier for me. I am a tad ashamed at how often I want to quit and how much I moan. I know it is mainly because it is December and I feel like a break. (Almost three years God, I know I don't have to build an ark or walk through the desert but it feels rather long!)    I also know taking a break now is just not practical and the hospital is way too busy.   Today I gave out 19 bags and the morning was intense, the mothers really needing the prayer, the affirmation and the encouragement and of course the prezzie too.

Last week we had a real rough case, a girl from the streets. She was super thin and hooked on TIK. Her baby is prem and in the neonatal ICU. When I went down to take her clothes, I saw how tiny she was and had to phone my petite little friend Olliet who came down to clothe her. Saturday night at 2.00am she left to 'go look at the lights' and has not been back since. I bet she sold all the clothes for drugs, grrrrrrrr! Anyway, back to our Christmas wish list....

Pls send to Dawnielle's address before the 11th of January as Gary arrives then. Stick to 0-3 month size or newborn or prem. Sleepers are winner, onesies too. Don't worry if the clothes are winter, we keep them till our winter starts. Gently used clothes also welcome up till size 6 months. You can mail her on dawnielle@mac.com to arrange the logistics. One of my donors has asked to send us a cheque which Dawnielle will cash for us so that is also an option. She's gorg, makes gorg food, has 3 gorg kids and a big gorg heart. (Pic of her of course!)