Zara goes to the dentist

29 April 2010

Today was Zara's first visit to the dentist. We have found a wonderful "paediatric dentist".

With toys galore and a magical chair that goes up and down, not to mention the great movie to watch (and take home) about a rabbit -Dr Rabbit - who tells kids all about dental hygiene...who needs to be afraid to say "AAAAHHHH" to the kind doctor?

We were very relieved to know that Zara's teeth are perfect - no cavities - and she and Eli will be back there in October! At this appointment, Zara will get "fissure sealants" to prevent cavities in the molars (assuming we have managed to keep her teeth cavity free till then)

Eli meets the Atkinson Grandparents

25 April 2010

We have been so lucky to have Chris' folks come to stay with us for the week!
With their help, was Zara still able to have all her usual activities swimming, music and gymnastics) and the novelty of her Grandparents taking her made it extra special... this also freed up sometime for me to rest up & settle into our new life with a new baby in the house.

Not only did they rally around Zara but also did all my shopping and Heather got stuck in and cooked & cooked & cooked making sure we were all very well fed while Mirriam was off sick!!

Thank you so so much xxx

and then there were THREE

when Zara was born there was an uncanny resemblence to Chris as a baby. We have now added little Eli to the equation and clearly the apple really doesnt fall far from the tree!

In this family, Mum is just the incubator... and no postman stopped by this house ;~)

Visit to Osetopath

20 April 2010

Today I took Eli to have a check-up with Emma, the osteopath. She says that he is in fine form and then also gave me the once over and did some much needed adjustments. I feel so much better and ready to tackle our new life ;~)

First bath

19 April 2010

Today, Eli is 7 days old! As this is the last day that Sharon would be visiting us at home, she also helps us with his first bath. In typical baby fashion, he was not best pleased having his clothes taken off, so cleared his lungs with a good roar but as soon as he was in the water he was completely relaxed. According to Sharon, a nice deep, warm bath simulates how they remember being in the womb and that why they relax so nicely. He was also weighed again and he is 50grams under his birth weight. Guess that means that he is feeding well!

I must admit I felt rather sad at the end of the visit. Even though we know she is just on the other end of the phone should we need her, we have shared the most magical experience with her and the support, encouragement and knowledge she shares with us is invaluable. Seeing her so regularly towards the end of the pregnancy and then on a daily basis for a week after the birth makes it hard to get used to not seeing her as often from now onwards...

The best assistant

19April 2010

This morning I was treated a refexology session at home. I had been given a voucher for my baby shower from some of the Mom's in our Friday afternoon Moms and babes get together. Zara was a very good assistant, I think she just loved getting to use as much cream as her little hands could get out of the jar...

Superman...

19 April 2010

When trying to choose a “first” outfit for Eli it was quite hard to find something neutral but special... While on holiday in Durban I found a superman baby vest and decided that it would be our new baby’s first clothes. We had a blue set and a pink set washed and packed as we didn’t know who we would be meeting when it was finally time for our baby to be born. Eli has certainly taken to his role quite seriously, starting by being born hand first and then posing in the sun...

Zara’s first outfit had “I’m the boss” on it and she certainly has tried her very best to live up to that! Perhaps I need to be more careful in my choice of outfits ;~)

He aint heavy... he's my brother

18 April 2010

Zara really does love her little brother! Sometimes she forgets her own strength and we have to remind her he is just a tiny baby and his arms and legs aren’t made of rubber ;~)

and of course, Daddy is as pleased as punch with his two little cherubs...

Sunshine boy

17 April 2010

Once again we are sunning our baby... luckily we have a great spot in our bedroom so it’s quite convenient to give him his daily dose of rays. The first day he was really not too keen to have his body all exposed but he really is starting to enjoy just lying there. Zara has also been enjoying helping us with massaging the calendula oil and passing us what we need when we need it. As you can see she takes her role very seriously as she also gets into her “birthday suit” to keep Eli company...

Story time

16 April 2010

This morning we had a leisurely start to the day... Chris brought me breakfast in bed ;~)

We have been trying to encourage Zara that Eli’s feed times can also be story time. So this morning whilst I was having my breakfast she decided she wanted to read to Eli...

Look what I can do...

15 April 2010

Eli is just two days old and I have just seen Sharon off after a her home visit to check on how Eli and I are doing... I went back upstairs to find our little boy happily sucking his thumb... Personally I would prefer him to have a dummy but we have decided to hold back on giving him one until we have fully established the breastfeeding. In the meantime, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next ;~)

Born 5 mins apart

Little Eli and Jett were born in rooms next door to each other only 5 minutes apart in the wee hours of Tuesday morning! It is absolutely bizarre how three of us had our babies at Genesis on Monday night... The first baby, Indigo, was born on Monday night. Her parents, Andrew and Clara and Jett’s parents, Toby and Taiya were with us in Sharon’s ante-natal classes. Eli at was born next at 03.22 am and Jett was born at 03.27am on Tuesday morning. The chances of this happening are pretty slim as our “due-dates” all differed by at least a week but clearly these babies needed to be born together – long may their friendship last!

Unfortunately we just missed Andrew, Clara and Indigo for the photo...