Baby therapy

We had a young visitor at Hilltop. She’s got blue eyes and dark hair – what there is of it. She’s beautiful, and she brings out the best in all of the residents.

She’s the 3-month-old daughter of a co-worker. She came dressed in a pink, summery outfit, bright-eyed and wiggly. She easily won over the hearts of everyone – staff members, residents and family members of residents.

“I hear there’s a baby here,” said the wife of one of our residents as she came into the office. She wanted a turn to hold her, too.

We all did. We cooed and touched and oohed over her. We let her grasp our fingers in her tiny hands, and we held her tiny feet in our big hands.

We couldn’t get enough of her.

She’s a very pretty baby.

But it was more than just that. There is something about children and babies that appeal to us. It’s a rare person who isn’t intrigued by little ones. Our residents love it when staff or family members bring in their children or grandchildren. It might be their size or the energy they exude. It might be the memories stirred of their own children.

Even the next day, one of the residents at the Estate was gushing about the baby who came to visit, about how beautiful she was and how special it was to see and hold her.

While the residents in our memory care facility might not remember her visit, the joy they experienced in the moment is priceless.

That’s why we said we need baby therapy at least once a month. While our residents enjoy it when pets visit, they really love it when a baby visits. I guess the only trouble is babies grow up. But we’ll treasure their visits as long as we can.