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. 

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.