The two things which are most commented on in the village as regards Eve are her lack of hair and earrings. Her lack of hair is sometimes put down to us having shaved it off - something which people here do if their baby has a lot of hair - but they are slightly doubtful whether we'd do that at the coolest time of year. I explain that no, all three of our babies were born with very little hair, and they shouldn't expect to see Eve with much hair for quite some time!
People also ask me why we didn't get her ears pierced. I explain that at home it is quite rare to pierce babies' ears, and that she'll probably get them pierced when she's older. When I said I was fourteen years old when I had mine done, I got a puzzled look and an attempt to correct me with, "Four months?" "No no, fourteen years!" Someone else present exclaimed, "Then how do you tell boys and girls apart?" and I explained that hairstyle or clothes usually indicate it.
Blue for boys and pink for girls isn't a custom here. Another missionary friend was asked whether her baby was a boy or a girl, and when she answered "a boy", was presented with a little pink and white sparkly pyjama outfit.
One thing I do appreciate about people in our village is that they may exclaim over differences, but generally they don't tell me I'm doing things wrong. Another example is that I've been told that if I were Beninese I would wrap Eve up a lot warmer (ie. woolly jumpers and hats even in 25°C heat) but they seem to accept that that's not what we do, and that she doesn't seem to be suffering for it. I do put a little cotton hat on her if we're going out in the mornings, as I don't want to shock people too much by seeing her little hairless head exposed when they are feeling cold! And I did put several layers on her to go to church, but ended up having to peel some of them off as she was getting hot and sweaty and was squeaking in protest!
People are also interested by my sling, since babies are carried on women's backs here. But again, if I explain that this way she can hear my heart beating and I can see her, they understand. I have started to carry her on my back occasionally, but I'm slightly nervous of the process of getting her onto my back, since it involves her starting off lying on my back with nothing holding her there!
In the sling:
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