First Day at Daycare

Here's my first attempt at writing an somewhat fictional illustrated book for Kai. Hope you like it, never got around to adding the illustrations though :(

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Kai's First Day at Daycare

 It was the 1st day and Kai had heard much about daycare.
He was excited to see what it was all about, but not about waking up early.

 Kai was awoken by the gentle embrace and kisses of his mommy and daddy.
It took him a minute for his eyes to adjust to the morning light and before long was calling for his breakfast.

 All fed, a warm bath and a nice outfit and Kai was ready for his journey to daycare
Kai fell back to sleep as soon as he got out the door.

 When Kai awoke he was at daycare and looked around at all the strange new faces.
Some of the people where big and tall like his mommy and daddy, and some were only a foot or two taller than him.

 The kids seemed very friendly, but Kai was too small to go out and play with them.
He looked at all the colours of the room, the pictures and noticed there was another baby crying in a feeding chair.

 Kai wanted to know what had the baby so upset, and realised the baby was just hungry. After one of the tall people gave her a bottle, she was happy.
He rolled over and saw some of the kids were all wearing the same clothes, then he looked at his outfit and wondered why his was different.

 He got one of the kid's attention and found out that older kids get to wear a uniform, and they get to learn a lot of fun stuff.
Kai also found out that the tall people were called "Aunties" and they took care of everyone and taught the kids their ABCs and 123s.

 Kai listened as the lessons went on and the kids said the ABC's, named the colours and named the pictures next to each letter.
"A is for Apple, B is for ball" he could hear one kid saying

 At lunch time Kai got his bottle and watched the kids eat their lunch and then run all around playing and laughing.
Kai really wanted to play with the kids and screamed with excitement and laughed each time the kids ran close to his cot.

 He kicked his feet and waved his arms and even though he was too small to join in, he still had a great time.
He took a nap and in no time it was time for another bottle and his afternoon bath.

 While he was having his bath he wondered when he would see his mommy and his daddy to tell them all that happened on his first day.
Kai wanted to tell them of all the new friends he made and they all wore the same clothes and about the lessons.

 He missed his mommy and daddy and started to cry, the aunty comforted him and took him for a walk to calm him down and he fell fast asleep.
When he awoke he saw his mommy at the door and he was excited to see her, finally he would get to tell her all that happened.

 Kai could hardly contain his excitement when his mother asked how his day was and didn't stop talking all the way home.
When he got home and saw his daddy, he reached for him and told him about all the wonders of the day as well.

 As Kai sat in his dads arms, he couldn't help but think about what the next day had in store.
Maybe tomorrow he will be strong enough to run with the kids.

 "Today was a great day" he thought to himself and fell asleep and dreamt of all the wonders to come.

Kai's 1st Doctor Visit

Last night Kai was very irritable with gas and what appeared to be constipation. Today is Wednesday and he didn't have a bowel movement since Monday, now it isn't uncommon for a newborn to go a day without a bowel movement but we could hear and see that Kai was straining. He was up for most of the night crying, breastfeeding and drinking formula. This was the first time that it was so bad that we didn't sleep a wink all night, we pumped his legs, gave him an ounce of water that was boiled then cooled and rubbed his tummy.

It was pretty tough to see our little guy in pain, especially when we were battling sleep deprivation and couldn't calm him.

Once again our plans to register Kai was pushed back as we called the Doctor who was recommended by my cousin to set an appointment for the same day. We had heard a lot of great stuff about this Doctor and in stressful situations it's always nice to have friendly and understanding people to interact with. Our appointment was set with Dr. Ranita Jhagroo from the "Well Kids Clinic" in Wildey. We were even called when the appointment ahead of ours was expected to run longer than expected and asked to come 30 mins later. This is pretty good since it minimises the amount of wait time after you arrive to see the doctor. We were greeted by two very nice young ladies at the front desk and after taking some information for our first visit we were seated in the waiting area. The waiting area was nicely decorated and themed with Winnie the Pooh characters painted all over the walls with a play area, a separate breastfeeding room and a flat screen television showing cartoons of course.

As expected, we didn't wait very long before we saw Dr. Jhagroo and we were shown to her office. We spoke for a while about our challenges and what brought us to her office. I must say thought that it felt more like friends getting together for a chat than a doctors office and it was very calming. After we spoke and asked any and all questions, she began to assess Kai. The entire time he was sleeping and wrapped up in his blanket and on first glance she exclaimed how cute and adorable he was. Now the office is air conditioned and set to 22 degrees C and my child does not like cold. We stripped Kai down to his pamper and she somehow managed to keep him calm throughout the entire assessment. She checked him from head to toe and the entire time Kai was passing gas. I must say that this had to be super gas, because in my wildest dreams I would never expect newborn gas to smell that way. This kid would clear a room!!

In the end she recommended we change his formula from Similac Soy to Similac Sensitive and for his mother to also change her diet and avoid dairy products. Gripe water was also recommended should we get another repeat of the "night without sleep". This was the most thorough doctor visit I have ever been to and we also got a sample of he new formula to see if it helps alleviate the gas and constipation problem. We even shared a few laughs with the girls at the first desk on our way out and definitely left with a feeling of that we belonged. Needless to say, Dr Jhagroo is now Officially Kai's Paediatrician. He has already had a bowel movement for the day and almost back to his old self, so we feel a little better. We are also hoping for great results from the formula and diet change so our baby boy will have less gas and easier bowel movements.

Dr. Ranita Jhagroo has received the Official stamp of approval and excellence from The Book of Kai and I would recommend her to anyone. 

Kai's Island Adventure

Today was supposed to be Adventure Day, we had lots of errands to run and it was about time for Kai to see some more of the land. Our first stop was Skymall, we always get good reception there and everyone is always so thrilled to see Kai. Almost three weeks after his birth, he still turns the heads of the people working and visiting there. One lady whom we assume was going to shop, met us at the midway point between Trimart and the mall; and at first glance of Kai started to walk backwards while expressing how adorable he was. She wanted to know his gender and age, but at first her quick action to walk backwards and across our path threw us off a bit. 

There was also another case in Cost-U-Less aka Cost-U-the-same-amount-as-any-other-store where while shopping these two older ladies asked us if they could take Kai home with them. Deborah smiled and told her that she can't because we would miss Kai, to which the lady replied that we would be allowed to visit. I'm not sure if Kai secretes pheromones that attracts ladies who want to kidnap him or what, but if he has this effect at this age and 98% of the time he is sleeping... I don't want to see how it will be when he is walking and talking.

We went all over the island today, from Haggatt Hall to East Coast Road, from Mile and a quarter to Britton's Hill and all in between. I took Kai to visit his older brother Dominic today as well, He is 7 years old and has been eager and waiting since he heard of Deborah's pregnancy to see his little brother. I can just see that the two of them will get along just fine... I know boys will be boys and bothers will have their little tiffs, but that's all apart of life and they will work it out. There is also Jayden, he's my cousin Janelle's son (around 2 years old) and and since we grew up together, she would also like our kids to have the same bond we had. So Kai, Dominic and Jayden will have lots of play dates, and hopefully exhaust each other enough that they sleep good at night. I almost forgot about Arianna, she is Deborah's cousins daughter and she is 4 years old, Ari was pretty ecstatic when she first met Kai and even asked her mother if they could take Kai home. So I'm sure that she will be included in the festivities and games.

Now back to our little trip, the rain was falling today and had some pretty spectacular cloud coverage. It looked like something from a movie and I was just waiting for a tornado to touch down. As we got past Farley Hill and into St. Andrew and along the East Coast road, we could see the mist just covering the top of the hills and for a moment it was as if we were in another country. When we reached close to St. John Parish Church the mist was all the way to the floor and we really couldn't see that far ahead of us, now I don't know if this is a regular occurrence but I've never seen it and thought it was pretty awesome. 

Now all of this happened and we saw lots of pretty interesting things while on the road, and would you guest that Kai slept through ALLLL of it? Oh well, we have lots of time to do it again when he is awake, and much more. So Kai's Island Adventure pretty much passed him by, but he was there. *chuckle*

Before we started our journey I snapped a few pictures of Kai. I will only put one here but you can follow along via his official facebook page for The Book of Kai. The facebook page will be the photo gallery, provide short status updates and provide easier interaction while the long stories will be posted to the blog. So head on over to facebook and "Like" the page.

 

Kai Withdrawal Symptoms

Tonight will be the first night that I will be away from Kai. As expected I'm still getting periodic updates, but still not as good as being there. There will be no reason for me to wake up several times tonight and walk around the house, change his pamper or anything of the sort. I would have to say it's bitter sweet because I will finally get a complete night's rest, but I don't mind waking up to do all of those things.

We missed our walk this morning and since I'm at work tonight, we also missed our walk this evening. I try to take him out before 9am and after 4pm, closer to 5pm. The sun has been out with vengeance as of late so we try our hardest not to be in it between those hours, so today was a home day. We did the usual stuff, changed his pamper, fed him, bathe him, watched him sleep for a while, had a few minutes of him watching us as well and counting the amount of "likes" his photos got on facebook.

I guess I'll have to make the best of this situation and enjoy my full night's sleep while dreaming about him and his many facial expressions. Sometimes when he is awake his eyes dart back and forth like he woke up in a strange place and didn't remember going to sleep there. Then he crunches his eyebrows and then raise one while looking directly at you as if to ask, "and who are you again?". We mostly just laugh our heads off commentating his looks and expressions.

Next thing on the Agenda is to Register our little super star, so he can get his birth certificate and his National Registration Number and Identification Card. Passport would have also been the next step, but our winter trip to The US and Canada got cancelled since we would have been there at the height of Winter and New Year's Day. I'm guessing we will have to watch the ball drop in Times Square another time. Maybe even leave it to when he is old enough to remember the trip... even though I don't mind going several times. Maybe a Carnival Cruise next year would be our best bet since it would be more "baby friendly" since everything will be close by.

Anyway I'm thinking we will choose the Carnival cruise before they get another string of bad luck, I would like to be able to say "I have been". As the saying goes, "the faster you go to sleep, the faster you wake up" so as long as I can get to sleep with Soca Titans blaring in the background, I'll try to fast forward the night and get back to my Kai Kai.

The Kai Factor

Kai has been home almost a week and the Kai Factor has already set in. What's the Kai Factor? ...lack of sleep! Needless to say, we haven't been getting much but we still have our sanity for the moment. The fact that it took this long for me to get around to a blog post should also be an indication. It's not all bad though and he certainly keeps us entertained for the most part.

Since he was home we took him to Bridgetown, Skymall, and two family gatherings. Not bad, and there is also the once daily strolls through the neighbourhood. The trip to Skymall was the most hilarious one of his outings, he was the center on attention with people stopping to stare and some asking if they could see him. There were also a few people in the stores that watched as we passed by, I'm guessing after seeing Deborah with a tummy that looked like she was carrying a twin, they just had to see the end result.

For the most part, he sleeps for about 3 - 4 hours, wakes for a feeding and goes back off to sleep. More recently he has been staying awake a little longer to look around the room and look at us like we kidnapped him. He has a million facial expressions and can cycle through them quite frequently... especially when he has gas. Sometimes he smiles, and it's the most wonderful smile you have ever seen, but most of the time it comes just after he passes gas, but we take it when we can get it. Anyone who has seen him awake can attest to his facial expressions and the way he looks at them.

Exactly one week after his birth his umbilical cord dropped off... thought it would have been on a little longer but I'm not complaining. Just seemed a little soon to me. He is already starting to put on weight an fill out with some chubby cheeks that we can't help but squeeze. I can't wait until he reaches the point where he is awake more often without crying and there is more of a bonding session... until then I'll just have to make do with him periodically sharing his fingers with me. He usually sucks a few fingers (not too often) and then stretches out his other hand to me, so I join him in pretending to nibble on his fingers as well.

His hair, that was once straight and flat onto his head is starting to get more body and a few small curls. It's suits him and we're hoping this Indian hair remains and isn't just his "baby" hair. The Graco Pack N' Play with bassinet also arrived, so now he will have his own space when we spend the day at family or friends. Well he's asleep now, so that's our queue. I must apologize if this post seems all over the place but sleep deprivation has it's side effects.

The Eagle has landed

Good morning everyone,  baby Kai came home from the hospital yesterday but before we get to that lets back track a little.

So Kai had to go to the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (N.I.C.U) because he had Jaundice and was a little dehydrated. Sometimes it takes a while for milk to come in with new mothers and flow as much as baby would like, so he was getting suppliments along with the breast milk... that is until the nurse decided he wasn't getting anymore and clearly the breast milk wasn't enough.

So in the N.I.C.U Kai was put in an incubator on drips and under the lights to take care of the Bilirubin level which causes Jaundice. In fine QEH form, we walked in for the first time and we were shown where he was and that's it. We sat there staring at him and waiting to be briefed on his condition. The N.I.C.U sounds like slot arcades with buzzers and bells going off and then out of the blue an alarm goes off on Kai's incubator. None of the nurses seemed fazed, nor were they making any attempt to even come in our direction. This is our first visit and a high pitch noise is going off and we don't know why... we stopped a passing nurse to enquire and she mumbled something about temperature and pressed the silence/reset button an continued to walk away.

We then asked another nurse about his condition who told us that the doctor will speak to us in a minute... now I don't have to tell you that visiting hours ended 2 hours later and no doctor spoke to us. Another thing is that half hour after we arrived, the maid decided it was time to mop and all the parents had to go outside until she was finished. As inconvenient as this was, It gave us time to chat with some of the other parents who also stated the lack of information on coming to the N.I.C.U was also a problem they faced. After being allowed to go back in half hour later, we were asked to leave again later on so they could do an xray on a baby on the other side of the room from us. Everyone was asked to leave again but they got to us late and they told us to wait in the Breastfeeding Room since it was closer than the exit. We entered and found the couple with the newborn toddler and while we were waiting she decided to try Breastfeeding him as he wasn't really accepting it. Would you know it another nurse would walk in and tell us that guys are not allowed in the breastfeeding room? As if we salked in off the street and decided this was the ideal place to just chill out and watch the day go by. Then when we got back outside a nurse asked if we wanted to change Kai's pamper and to take down the side for access, and another nurse passed by during the change and told us not to take down the side, but to use the two little holes... these people would send you up a wall.

Anyways, my baby is home and the same evening he got home we found a lump on the back of his head, close down by his hair line. The lump is about the size of a marble and we don't know where it came from. We called back the N.I.C.U and they said he didn't have it when he was discharged, so now we have to make and appointment to take him to the doctor to get it checked out.

The first night home was as expected, little sleep and up every 3 hours or so. Other than the lump on his head I would say my little tike is happy and healthy... he also passes gas like he has a trumpet in his pamper, but better out than in I guess. We will take it one day at a time and tackle each problem as it presents itself.

He usually just breastfeeds and sleeps and doesn't open his eyes for extended periods. So snapped a picture quick so you can see him with them open.
Have a great day and I hope you are enjoying the blog.

Kai... nuff said

Hey everyone, said in the last post that Kai's eyes were brown but he opening them for his mother today and she told me they are actually grey. Unfortunately I'll have to get a picture of his eyes later as it was nap time when I got there.

Kai is 5 lbs 9 oz and is by far the sweetest baby in the hospital. Why you ask? Or rather, how did I manage to come to this conclusion? Simple... he's mine! :)

While all the other babies were crying their heads off, this was Kai. Deborah also realised that as long as she met his needs promptly then there no need to cry. When he is hungry he puts his little lips together and starts to make a sucking noise so mommy knows it's time to eat.

He is happy and healthy and hopefully should be home on Monday so I can spend more time with him. I remember Dominic was equally quiet and had "volume control", meaning he didn't cry to rival police sirens. That was one of the most joyous times of my life and it felt like we would have the most interesting conversations... when really we were just laying side by side and staring at each other for extended periods. Now that Kai is here, it's time for another round of whirlwind emotions, fear, love, admiration, joy, pain, ups, downs... life. Any parent would understand the "new baby" feeling, to try to protect from any and everything an the heartbreak and defeat when you realise that there are just somethings you can't control and protect them from. 

Nursery is the biggest test of a child's life, because believe it or not, you don't send your child to nursery for them to be looked after and cared for... you send them to nursery to get sick. Think about it for a second... I can guarantee you that the first month isn't going to pass without your child getting sick, sometimes not even the first week. The upside is that it's also supposed to be their time to socialize, even at that young age your child will encounter all types of personalities, the spoilt child that doesn't like to share, the bully that believes every toy, chair, and table is theirs, the quiet ones that just enjoy playing quietly alone, the loud ones that don't stop talking and do it like they're at the train station, the friendly ones that are like the fun sized version of hippies and love everything, try to get along with everyone and quick to try find solution to arguments of other kids.

I can just see it all unfolding before my eyes, and as with any parent, I have high hopes for my little man and will encourage him to pursue his passions and interests. Just hope the income can keep up so he can have the opportunities to do it all.

...Kai

Special: Pre TS Chantal Edition

As most of you may know already, there is a Tropical Storm headed this way and due to pass the island sometime tonight. A tropical storm warning is currently in effect for Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe and the last update at 2pm stated the Hurricane Hunter aircraft was en-route to Chantal.

As a Bajan I'm sure not too many people are bothered, plus the fact that outside still looks pretty good even though this storm is on our door steps, but I'm also sure alot of people have heeded the warnings and started to put certain things in place.
Now! The National Emergency Operations Centre will fully deploy from 9:30pm with regular briefings.
All Category 1 shelters will open from 6pm, so start preparing if you know your house isn't safe enough.
The last Transport Board bus will leave the terminals at 9pm, so don't wait till after then complain.
The Air and Sea Ports will remain open with all emergency personnel on high alert if needed.
Light and Power expects their systems will remain on an will only shut down if absolutely necessary so keep those flash lights, batteries and candles handy. I actually have some lights that come on automatically when power goes out.

Kai, as you know is warm, safe and sound in his Category 4 Shelter, and we will join along with all those smart enough, in prayer that we are spared for yet another year.

So stay safe everyone, make sure you store water, charge your mobile phones, and put gas in your vehicles in case you need to make a quick exit.

Tropical Storm CHANTAL Public Advisory



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US Watch/Warning  



000
WTNT33 KNHC 081756
TCPAT3

BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM CHANTAL INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER   3A
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL       AL032013
200 PM AST MON JUL 08 2013

...RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT ABOUT TO HEAD TOWARD CHANTAL...


SUMMARY OF 200 PM AST...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...11.3N 52.8W
ABOUT 470 MI...760 KM ESE OF BARBADOS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...45 MPH...75 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 285 DEGREES AT 25 MPH...41 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1005 MB...29.68 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* BARBADOS
* DOMINICA
* SAINT LUCIA
* MARTINIQUE
* GUADELOUPE

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* SAINT VINCENT
* PUERTO RICO...INCLUDING VIEQUES AND CULEBRA

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN
24 TO 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE SOMEWHERE IN THE WATCH AREA...USUALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

INTERESTS IN HAITI...THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...AND EASTERN
CUBA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF CHANTAL.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA WITHIN THE UNITED
STATES...PLEASE CONSULT PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.  FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR
AREA OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 200 PM AST...1800 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM CHANTAL WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 11.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 52.8 WEST. CHANTAL IS
MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 25 MPH...41 KM/H...AND A WEST-
NORTHWESTWARD MOTION AT ABOUT THE SAME FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.  ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER
OF CHANTAL SHOULD REACH THE LESSER ANTILLES EARLY TUESDAY...AND MOVE
INTO THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA LATER ON TUESDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MPH...75 KM/H...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48
HOURS.

TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 60 MILES...95 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1005 MB...29.68 INCHES.


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING
AREA BY EARLY TUESDAY.  TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN
THE LESSER ANTILLES WATCH AREA BY EARLY TUESDAY...AND ACROSS PUERTO
RICO BY WEDNESDAY.

STORM SURGE...A STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS
1 TO 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IN THE LEEWARD ISLANDS...
WINDWARD ISLANDS...AND PUERTO RICO.  NEAR THE COAST...THE SURGE
WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY DANGEROUS WAVES.

RAINFALL...CHANTAL IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF
2 TO 4 INCHES OVER THE LEEWARD AND WINDWARD ISLANDS...WITH MAXIMUM
AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES POSSIBLE.


NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...500 PM AST.

$$
FORECASTER STEWART








Source: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov