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.

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

Official Release: Book of Kai, 1st Edition, Chapter 1: Kai's Birth

Good night everyone, have been having some internet issues so couldn't update as I would like, but guess what??!!! HE's HERE!!!!!!!! Birthday: 19th July, 2013

Kai Nathaniel Haynes was born this afternoon 36 weeks into the 40 week journey. My baby boy is tiny, looks like 6 lbs but we are not sure as yet. Now before people start scrolling all the way down for photos... I didn't take any today. It has been a very, very, VERY long day.

Now from the beginning. As you know, Deborah had her bloody show last week and with the help of google we found out labour would be along between a few hours, up to 3 weeks after this event. I really did not get any sleep last night and neither did Deborah, if she wasn't getting up for a glass of water, she was going to bathroom. Around 4 am this morning now Deborah woke me up and told me that she thinks her water broke but she is not sure. Now I'm a big fan of google, so out came the laptop to search for "i think my water broke but i'm not sure" and seems this is a very common occurrence with women and there were lots of stories and things to look for. To look at the colour, the smell and consistent flow... Now Deborah's water didn't come swooshing out with a big popping sound some women seem to get, It was more of a small steady trickle, with no sign of contractions in sight.

Since Q.E.H. is famous for sending pregnant woman back home we decided to monitor this event and see if any contractions would start. There was only the usual back pain and the trickle, so I told her to start getting herself ready for the hospital by making sure she had everything she needed, getting breakfast and a shower then relax and wait for our ride. As stated before, the Ambulance is never an option, and if you play stubborn and call, then proceed to wait for one, you better have someone at home with birthing experience.

We got to the hospital around 7:00 am and when Deborah waddled into the Accident & Emergency section we were ushered straight inside to await an orderly. Anyone is Barbados would know the usual procedure of on arrival speaking to the guard and having a seat and waiting to turn to dust. Up on the Labour Ward now I must say the nurses on that shift were very nice and information was flowing on her condition. It was only then that I found out Deborah was a High Risk patient with Edema and Pre-eclampsia so she was awarded her own little private room. Should any complications arise, surgery would take place on the spot to get out Kai.

I was allowed to go check in on her a few times through out the day and was promised to be called when the actual pushing started. When I went in she had drips to try stabilize her pressure and antibiotics since her "water" was leaking for so long before she came in. Around 11:00am they broke her water and induced labour, now induced labour hurts a lot more than natural labour and the look on Deborah's face said it all. The contractions were in full swing now and the breathing technique was sharp, there was no doubt as to when a contraction started as her body would tense up and the breathing would get faster until it had passed. I was only allowed a few minutes visit at a time since they were trying to keep her as calm as possible and I returned around 2:00 pm, this time she could barely speak and her body was shaking slightly as she struggled between focusing on breathing to say "5 minutes apart".

The hospital shift changed at 3:00 pm and from there it was like the dark side of the moon, total black out. No information, no visits, and on inquiring several times was only met with the response "hold on a minute". I heard a few loud cries and in rushed some student nurses ...I don't have to tell you how worried I became because it sounded very much like Deborah and I told myself it couldn't be since I was supposed to be there. Around 5:00 pm her mother and brother arrived from work and also asked a nurse about her status to which they received the same response.

Around 5:30 pm the nurse came to the door and told that my son was born and he is healthy, that Deborah is also good but the delivery came so fast they had no time to call me and with it being high risk all the student nurses filled the room. Half hour later they came for me to go see Deborah and she too said it happened fast as they were focusing on her pressure and tell her not to push, but she was pushing because the pain was too great. I looked around and down the hall and saw a small baby in an incubator with the temperature set to 36 degrees Celsius, I knew he came early so I wouldn't expect him to be 8+ lbs so asked Deborah if it was him, to which she said she was unsure as to where they took him. It was only after I say the ziplock bag on top the incubator with the stuff we picked out for him to wear that I knew it had to be him. He looked tiny, like around 6 lbs and the shimmy the nurse put on almost swallowed him whole. She put on the shimmy, socks, the hat and whole piece suit with legs then wrapped him in a receiving blanket and a baby towel with the head piece over the hat.

At this point Kai was not crying at all and just sucking his finger with his eyes closed. She handed him to me and I held my baby boy for the first time and started to speak to him, and asked him where he was going with such long finger nails. On hearing my voice he stopped sucking his finger and started to open his eyes. I know they say babies can hear you in the womb, and lord knows I spoke to that child almost every night, but it was still breath taking to see his recognize my voice and open his eyes. It was now time for mommy's trial run at breast feeding so the nurse took him back and he closed his eyes and she handed him to his mother to show her the way to breast feed and to see if the Colostrum was already coming out. He found the breast with ease and after the nurse made sure he was latched on it was smooth sailing, not sure if he was getting but he seemed contented and either way if nothing was coming as yet, his constant sucking would eventually bring it down.

Kai's eyes were the first thing I wanted to see when I held him and I'm glad he opened them for me, my other son Dominic had grey eyes when he was born but the turned dark brown a while after. Deborah says Kai will be a Daddy's boy since he only opened his eyes for me and not her. All in all, I am grateful that this high risk delivery was practically uneventful and my baby boy though small is happy and healthy and all went well. Can't wait to go back tomorrow and hold him again, also have to let Dominic know that his new little brother is here.

Welcome to the world Kai Nathaniel Haynes, there is tons of love here waiting for you and I can't wait to see you grow, experience and explore the world.

The Bloody Show

For those who don't know, I will start by explaining what the bloody show is; those who know can skip this part.

"A cervical mucus plug (operculum) is a plug that fills and seals the cervical canal during pregnancy. It is formed by a small amount of cervical mucus.^[1]

The mucus plug acts as a protective barrier by deterring the passage of bacteria into the uterus,^[2] and contains a variety of antimicrobial agents, including immunoglobulins, and similarantimicrobial peptides to those found in nasal mucus.^[3]

Normally during human pregnancy, the mucus is cloudy, clear, thick, and sticky. Toward the end of the pregnancy, when the cervix thins, some blood is released into the cervix which causes the mucus to become bloody. As the woman gets closer to labor, the mucus plug discharges as the cervix begins to dilate. The plug may come out as a plug, a lump, or simply as increased vaginal discharge over several days. The mucus may be tinged with brown, pink, or red blood, which is why the event is sometimes referred to as "bloody show". Loss of the mucus plug by no means implies that delivery or labor is imminent."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cervical_mucus_plug

So now that we are all on the same page, I shall begin.

Deborah is 35 weeks into her pregnancy and as stated in a previous post, we had started packing her hospital bag just in case Kai got impatient. Well last night that impatience started to materialize when Deborah got her Bloody Show, now as with all first time mothers who are just rolling with the punches and not sure of the fine details of pregnancy, the bloody show was cause for great concern. I usually keep in contact with her when I'm on duty via whatsapp, and after she googled this strange discharge, sent me a message saying she found it was the first sign of labour and she thinks I should come home. She was even nice enough to google a photo of what it looks like and sent it to me... awesome right??!!

Since she wasn't having pain or contractions, I instructed her to call the hospital and ask a question to which they told her come in through Accident & Emergency and bring her and Kai's things. Now! I don't have to tell you the panic that ensued after that phone call. First thing she stated was that she was afraid, I'm assuming since she was only 35 weeks... but that wasn't important as the important thing now was to keep her as calm as possible. I came home and took her to the hospital, (never, ever, ever, EVER as long as you can help it, wait for an ambulance in Bim) they got her a wheelchair and with her mother, mother's boyfriend, Deborah's bestfriend and myself in tow, we headed to the labour ward.

We reach the labour ward around 9:15pm and it is only when put in these situations you realise the hospital doesn't give updates AT ALL. A few people where there when we came in and it was only after a doctor was came out to see off a girl who came in too early that everyone had questions about the condition of their loved ones inside. The funny thing about it was that he came back out and stated the person gave birth a good while ago and the baby and mother are doing fine. Unless they are leaving, and even then there is a seperate staff entrance, you don't see anyone to even ask a question to, so make sure the person goes in with a full charged cell phone... at least you will be informed up until the actual event. 

She was assessed and blood pressure taken, baby heart monitored etc. and after a brief encounter with the dreaded Speculum, she was told she could go home and return when the contractions are at least 5 minutes apart. We got this message at 10:30pm... do you know we did not leave QEH until 12:45am? waiting for the doctor to Officially discharge her? If you are lucky you will encounter nice nurses but the nurses at QEH are not nice at all. They are also very spiteful so you have to take any abuse in silence and be polite or face neglect and rough treatment. All in all I think we only encountered two unmannerly nurses and kudos to Dr. Chatrani (hope it spell right) as this man is very kind, polite and a ray of sunshine in that hospital.

Until next time, I hope you enjoy reading the Book of Kai.

Life in the Big House

Sometimes I wonder what it is like for Kai in the womb. I mean we all have probably watched Discovery Channel and seen some of the documentaries of the baby at different stages and actual views from the inside... but do you ever wonder what is really going on in the Big House?

I usually have my ear to Deborah's tummy and listening to the noises of the liquid swishing as he moves around, that is until I get two swift kicks, then I know it's time to switch to feeling with my hands instead of my face. There is something calming about the sound and maybe it's just me but I enjoy listening and wondering about which body part is actually moving.

Since we are on the last leg of the pregnancy, his movement is definitely more defined and stronger. You can watch her tummy and see it pulse and the skin rise each time he stretches out or makes a big movement. The pain is more now as well since each big movement now is followed by a moan and request to rub her tummy to calm him down. I usually find this funny now since it wasn't too long ago she would complain he didn't move today as much as he did yesterday and she is worried and she likes to know that he is active so she can feel him and know he is okay.

Occasionally we wonder what he will look like, Dominic my first son had grey eyes when he was born, he is now 7 years old and his eyes are the usual dark brown now. Never knew why it happened or if it is a usual occurrence with newborns, so maybe someone reading had a similar experience with a newborn can let me know.