BABY KEIRA

‘Meet your first granddaughter!’, she exclaimed as she walked into the living room holding the baby. She was cradling baby Keira as she walked around.

In the past week, my middle daughter had written down a few names for her baby and then had to decide on one when the teacher handed her the baby for her school project on Friday afternoon. Keira was her choice. A very good choice, I thought.

The baby project is unlike the ones from times past when you were given an egg or a bag of flour to take care of. One that you could simply place anywhere whilst you go and do other things. You simply needed to make sure the egg did not crack or the bag of flour did not break open.

The RealCare Infant Simulator baby comes with a car seat and a bag filled with fake diapers with sensors and other clothes for the robotic baby. The student also has to wear a wristband that needs to be activated against the computer-programmed infant when it starts crying so that the student’s responses are recorded. There are several different cries for which a student needs to decipher their meaning. Change the diaper, feed the baby, rock the baby.

You get only two minutes to figure out what possibly the baby could want. If you go over that time, points are deducted. After a while, my daughter was able to determine Keira’s needs based on past crying sounds. In addition to the cries, one has to make sure the baby is held properly, specifically that the neck is properly supported.

My daughter asked me to find some of her and her sibling’s old baby clothes for Keira. She was pleased when I returned from the garage with an assortment of onesies and a green jacket I bought for her sister, my first baby. She picked a neutral-coloured onesie and changed Keira into it. Then she put on the green jacket and changed the headband from pink to ivory.

At some point in the afternoon, the girls received word from their friend about being able to spend the night at her house. They then packed up everything they brought over the night before, including all of the baby gear.

I drove them first to their father’s house to get more clothes for themselves and then to their friend’s house to spend the rest of the weekend in another exciting environment for baby Keira. All before the baby is programmed to turn off at 7,00h on Monday morning.

My daughter was very careful and attentive during the entire time she was here, though there were a few times in the beginning where she was a bit unsure what the baby wanted. In time, she figured it all out. I have no doubt that she will do well with a real baby of her own one day.