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.

Long time no see

It has been forever since I last made a blog post. I have been pretty busy and haven't had much time to get around to posting. Please remember you can also follow along on the facebook page The Book of Kai. Since last I was here, Kai started Daycare and he seems to be loving it. He has gotten so big now and he smiles a lot and even giggles, I can't look at him or hear him and not smile also.

The daycare has a shuttle service so that helps a lot in getting him there as we no longer have a vehicle. It's a cosy little place with the usual brightly painted walls and the staff is very helpful and kind. We get a report every evening on how his day was, diaper changes, if he cried, fussed or spit up.

His hair doesn't seem to be growing though but we will continue to monitor it. We googled it and some parents have said it starts to grow after a while so it's nothing to worry about so now it's a waiting game. His hand, eye coordination is improving daily and he has already attempted to hold his bottle a few times. He gives hugs and reaches for our faces a little more gentle, so I assume he is gauging distance better also.

He lifts his head on his own, creeps and has some powerful legs already. Kai was born practically a whole month pre-mature and all I asked the lord for was a happy and healthy baby boy. He has delivered and Kai has grown from being born at 5lbs 9oz to 11lbs at his last doctor visit for his first vaccines, so I know he is heavier now because it's almost time for his second set of shots.

Kai loves to sit up and stand now, and can even hold his own weight while standing, as long as he has a hold of something. Once before we could put him to sleep in a position and he would stay there... now if we put him down, he will wriggle and wriggle and end up at the top or bottom of the crib completely or in a circle so his head his now where his feet used to be.

Every time he wakes up and sees us... even if he was crying, we get the most beautiful smile filled with gums, but he is 3 months and just now we will see one or two little teeth start to show. We can't wait to see those pearly whites, we aren't looking forward to any bites though... he has already taken a liking to our noses.

I have also started on his books and have written three so far. It's a cute little series thus far, inspired by Kai and how the world must look through his eyes. Fingers are crossed that it's good enough to be published, since this is my first attempt at writing a book of any kind. Say a prayer of us to be successful with this venture, if not I will still continue to write and just post them here on the blog.

That's all for tonight, Kai is off to daycare again tomorrow and we have a big day ahead of us. Thank you for the support so far and hope you continue to enjoy the blog, facebook page and hopefully his published book series.

Goodnight

Week In Recap

Good morning Book of Kai friends and fans, we had a pretty long week and I was away on training so didnt have time to blog. We encountered two more centipede attacks this week, with one being 9" and the other around 8". Both were dispatched promptly but they were also the biggest we have seen since we moved here.

Slipper is size 11

What was even more concerning was the fact that the larger one was found not only in the apartment,  not only in our room, but also near to Kai's crib. Deborah just caught the movement in the corner of her eye an the centipede was moving with it's head in the air like a snake ready to strike. There has been a lot of rain fall recently so we are assuming they are looking for somewhere warm. We pretty much live in the country with a lot of lots over grown with grass, acres and acres of agriculture land and a Stud Farm, so encountering nature is expected every now and then.

We were having some issues with Kai and constipation since we changed his formula and it progressively got worst as the weeks went by. We started rubbing his tummy, bottom and under his feet with Castor Oil (bajan home remedy for our non-bajan readers) and started giving him some water between formula feedings but no more than 2oz a day and that helped but didn't completely solve the problem.

We had an appointment to take Kai to get his first set of vaccinations and decided to address the constipation and his apparent Umbilical Hernia. She told us not to limit his water intake an also recommended Prune Juice; one part prune juice, one part water, twice a day. The formula was also changed back to the Similac Soy and he has improved slightly. We will continue to monitor it and he seems to enjoy the water an prune juice.

I also have to get around to writing the first book in the Book of Kai series, and hope to launch it for his first birthday, so look out for that. We would also like to do a give-away for Christmas to an expectant mother in need. "The Newborn Survival Kit" will have in all the essentials to make it through the first month after the child's birth and we are hoping Corporate Barbados will come on board to donate the items. Should this be successful, we would make it an annual give-away.

So stay tuned as we gather momentum and build the book of Kai one brick at a time. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page.

Kai's Baby Dedication Ceremony

What is a Baby Dedication Ceremony you ask?

A Baby Dedication is a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways. Many Christian churches practice Baby Dedication instead of infant Baptism.  You can also see Bible.org for more in depth information on the actual process.

The service was held at the Collymore Rock Church of the Nazarene and service began at 8am. Kai was dressed up nice in his three piece, all white suit and we arrived fashionably late. Kai's Godparents, Lakeisha, Deborah and Dillon came to be apart of the occasion along with his grandmother Heather, Uncle Antonio and other family members. I must say, he was well represented today. Missing from the service was his other God parent, Darwin, who lives on another island and was unable to make it since his girlfriend is also soon expecting a bundle of joy.

We made sure to put on a bib on Kai after we dressed him and it stayed on all the way to the church... at least his outfit would remain intact should he decide to spit up. Thankfully, he slept through the entire Ceremony and the little picture taking session at the end. His uncle Antonio was the photographer for the day, so will upload the photos to his facebook page as soon as I receive them.

We spent the rest of the day at a family luncheon and had a mini island tour. We are all very exhausted, and had a long day which was after a long night... not as bad as usual, but we're still a little sleep deprived. We had a wonderful day, completed an important milestone for Kai, ate some good food, had some good laughs and we are ready to tick off the next thing on the list.

Kai in the Big City

Good night, it has been a while since my last blog post but between work, Kai and fitting in sleep... somehow, I just haven't had the time. Much also has not been happening to blog about. Kai is now just over 7 lbs and feels like 15 lbs. His face is now round and chubby and has some big soft cheeks to die for. As I said in a previous post, we changed his formula and Deborah also changed her diet to see if it would help with his constipation. I happy to report that he no longer has that issue, but he still has gas every now and then. The silver lining with the gas is that it no longer smells like it would clear a room.

Now for Kai in the big city; Kai had an appointment at the Polyclinic in Oistins for his 4 week check up, Deborah got a wealth of information from the nurses on duty and encountered a student nurse who was here from North Carolina who couldn't contain her excitement on seeing him. She exclaimed how adorable and cute he was and as usual Kai is clueless to the fanfare going on around him. On walking the streets, we are now starting to get used to people stopping in their tracks to exclaim how cute the baby is before carrying on, while others walk up to us for a closer look and to enquire his age and try to talk to him. While Deborah was sitting at the bus stop waiting to head to Bridgetown, a lady that was already sitting there could not take her eyes off of him. She was caught in a trance and maintained it until the bus came, on the bus now she didn't sit too far and made sure everything was good, even leaping into action when it looked like Kai's baby bag was going to fall off the seat.

We were originally headed to town to collect a package but on realising the location of the business, we opted for delivery so Kai could get out the midday sun. Even with an umbrella, midday sun in Barbados is a force to be reckoned with. We decided it was best to purchase something to eat and just get out of town, so after weighing the options and distances, we decided on Chicken Barn which was supposed to be the healthier option to KFC or Chefette. We stepped through the door and like a scene in an old western the whole place went silent and looked at us. I had to make sure there was nothing on me and after a few seconds everyone went back to their conversations and watching the World Athletics Championships on the television. There was a line and it was kinda crowded but it moved quickly, plus we didn't want to miss the next bus out of town and the time was fast approaching.

All in all it was like any other day out in public, the usual stares, comments and fanfare, and as usual Kai slept through all of it. He is however becoming more active and his eyes are open a lot longer, for hours at a time just looking around the room. He looks directly at you now when you are talking to him, and depending on his interest level will determine how long he maintains it. We also found out during the check up at the polyclinic that his testicles have descended, he's also warming up to the idea of having baths and doesn't cry as much, sometimes not at all.

Ohh, forgot to mention we also applied for his ID card, which was a pretty quick and painless procedure... I always expect to spend at LEAST 2-3 hours at government places to get anything done. Next step is his passport so we can take our Canada trip next year that we postponed from winter season this year. Wouldn't want to subject our little guy to the height of winter so soon... I'm not even sure I want to subject myself to it, but would love to see the Ball drop in Times Square and the Festival of Lights at Niagara Falls... anyway, here are some pictures of Kai before we headed out to Oistins and Bridgetown. Don't forget to check out the facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kaikaihaynes

Kai's Tummy Woes

Good night everyone, as I said in a previous post, Kai was having some issues with Gas and Constipation. We took him to Dr. Jhagroo and she advised us to change his formula and for his mother to also change her diet. She advised her to cut out all dairy products and peas from her diet, no eggs either. Deborah was also having some issues with milk production caused by Edema, the medication given for the Pre-eclampsia and other factors, so Kai had to have a formula supplement to go along with her breastfeeding. The Doctor suggested adding oats to her diet to help with milk production and also Fennel Tea, which has lots of medicinal purposes including being a treatment for flatulence.

We had originally started Kai on the Similac SOY pictured above, but even though it is advertised as being for Fussiness & Gas, it was not very effective and lead to Kai's constipation and also some really horrible smelling gas... I mean clear a room, bio-hazard type of horrible gas. 

Under direction from Dr. Jhagroo we changed his formula and started him on the Similac SENSITIVE. Since then Kai hasn't really had a issue with constipation, and we have noticed a huge difference in smell when he passes gas, in that you can hardly smell it at all. 

Our baby is on the road to recovery and normalcy and seems much happier. He even spends more time now with his eyes open then before, maybe like an hour or so... don't know if that is related but it sure is great either way.

What formulas have you tried that didn't seem to work for your kid, and what where the effects that caused you to change them?

You can leave your answers in the comment section below.

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.