Friday, October 27, 2006

Introducing Rara

We welcome our new member in the family: Cemara Vidya Lestari Perdana, nicknamed Rara. Rara was born on Wednesday, 18 October, 2006. According to the midwife record, she was 4 kg and 50 cm. A big girl – literally she is! We adopted Rara on the 26 October. So it was two days after the Ied (or three, depends on when did you celebrate it).

About the name

Cemara is ‘pine tree’ in Indonesian. We decided to name her Cemara because, well, we just liked it! But we were also inspired by ‘Keluarga Cemara’ (the Cemara Family), a novel by Arswendo Atmowiloto back in the ‘80s (yeah right, we are the ‘80s generation). And cemara is a strong kind of tree – it survives the winter, right?

Vidya is Sanskrit for ‘wisdom’ or ‘knowledge,’ while Lestari means ‘eternal’ or ‘persistent.’ So Vidya Lestari reflects our hope on her: to have, to give, and to be an eternal wisdom. It was her grandma who suggested using Lestari. (By the way, in Sanskrit, Lestari is ‘Amartya.’)

Finally, Perdana means the first one. Like her father, Rara is the first one in the family.

About the adoption

We’ve been discussing the plan to adopt a baby for a while. We began realizing the plan only about a month or so. According to the people we contacted, the process may take a long while. We must be interviewed first. Then it is a matter of luck and time before we can hear about anything.

Saturday, 18 October 2006 began as an ordinary Saturday. It was the last few days of Ramadhan. Juli and I were cleaning up our house when a phone call came to inform that a baby girl was born, but her parents could not afford the cost of delivery (they told us it was a Caesar operation). We were asked whether we wanted to see the baby.

The next day, we came to meet Rara for the first time. It was a love at first sight. We had to make an immediate decision – and it was a ‘yes.’ We were so excited, somehow emotional, that we didn’t bother to open her cover and examined her body. We believed that he was brought to us, and we were trusted to take care of her. So no matter what happened to her, we are chosen to take the responsibility. (In fact, Rara was in a very good condition.)

There was another problem: we were totally unprepared! No baby box, clothing, pampers etc. And we were already in the holiday break. So we had to wait for a few more days before we can pick Rara up. Nobody knows about this at that time except our parents and siblings. Even during our big family’s Ied celebration, we did not spread the news yet.

After some emergency shopping and a big favors from some friends and relatives, Rara finally moved in. However, she will stay at her grandparents’ in Bintaro because our small house in Benhil has not ready yet. Juli still has to formally resign from her work, and she may need a month or two. She's made the commitment to be a full-time mom whenever we have a kid.

Nevertheless, Rara has now joined our family. Let her steals our sleeping and leisure time. But of course she trades the time he steals from us with the joy and happiness she brings…

14 comments:

Enda Nasution said...

congrats!

Satya said...

selamat!

Unknown said...

congratulations and well wishes. It's a happy month!

Puspini said...

waaaaah, selamat yah guysss...

*speechless*

ange said...

Ijul & AP...congrats on baby Rara!!! I'm touched & extremely happy for you both. Rara is such an adorable baby. I'm sure she's the best Lebaran bundle you ever received. May she bring joy & laughter & the best to the Perdana family.

'za said...

Welcome Rara! Happy to meet you (and can't wait to meet you in person). Can't wait to see you paint the world with your color :-)

Hugs,
Tante Tezza

PS: Hugs for the new parents!

The Econ Babe said...

Ape & Ijul, selamat datang di dunua "orang tua"...
selamat ya... mudah-mudahan Rara bisa menjadi permata keluarga, penyejuk hati orang tuanya.

mudah-mudahan kalian bisa menjaga amanah besar ini. again congratulation and good luck!

Anymatters said...

congratulations for having a new member. wish you have lots of happiness as a family.

Rani said...

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Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Juli and Ari! I wish you all the best and I can already feel (even from another continent) that you three will make a very happy family. Congratulations again! (and I sure hope to receive more pictures in the future.)

Anonymous said...

ape & jule,

congrats for the new baby. it's always a pleasure to welcome a new soul in anyone's home. maybe you guys could share the intricacies of adopting a child here too, so if any of us wanna try then we can do it also.
cheers,

-b-

Anonymous said...

Selamat ya Ijul & Ape....

Ikutan jingkrak2 pas denger beritanya...Rara lucu banget yah!! Babies can really steal our hearts!!
Yo wis, anak kan udah dapet sekarang, tinggal kita rawat ajah. Nah, justru ngerawatnya ini yg penuh suka duka....hihihihi...
Ask if you guys need anything yah...beneran lho!!

Vera

Anonymous said...

AP & Ijul,

Kami ikut bahagia untuk kehadiran Rara dalam keluarga kalian. Semoga kebahagiaan kalian akan bertambah dengan tangis dan tawa bayi yang tidak pernah henti.

Rasanya tidak sabar pingin ketemu, mengendong dan mencium Rara. pasti dia bayi yang sangat cantik lebih dari yang kami lihat dari fotonya.

Salam dari jauh,
Nancy dan Tedjo

Anonymous said...

Dear Juli & Ari,

Baby Rara is so cute! Congratulations and all the best.