Opening my blog feels kind of strange. After an absence of almost 3 years it feels like that good friend you haven't calledmin ages, and hopefully after the first few awkward minutes things feel like the good old days.
Somon that note I'm changing tact to srage 1 of the PE >> Plett 4 day race. I opted for the 'light' version opposed to the extreme one. The 'quote' on light or extreme is merely to indicate that it was not all that light today. 'Awesome' would more aptly describe today's riding. After I had a slightly delayed start (trying to sort out access for my gardener at home) and missing marshalls who thought that the field all passed through, and subsequently taking a wrong turn, I had some catching up to do. I started catching riders in the first single track, and kept passing riders throughout the 3 rivers trails. Now I've made a mental note to come back to spend more time on the local trails here. They were quite magnificent!
More about those trails here.
http://3riverstrails.co.za/
We tracked the railway line for the first half of the race. Narrow gauge steel bridges, gentle gradients and amazing scenery would have made an amazing train journey decades ago. Now we were dong it on our bikes. Intle Game lodge offered some beautiful vistas of the veld rolling into the ocean. Another place to come back to...
http://www.intlegamelodge.com/
The second half of the race provided most of the climbing. The day was getting hotter and the tough route race snakes were coming through at regular intervals. A quick stop at the second water point and off again.
More climbing, and dropping 25 kg's since September and putting in hard time on the bike training all seemed to come together very nicely. Enjoying the climbs is maybe a bit far fetched, but at least I wasn't hating it like before.
64 km, 800m ascent l, 3 or 4 steel bridges, some light hearted banter, a rather deep river crossing later and Zuurbron opened up before our eyes. The race village is comfortable with a hearty lunch, free (yes, FREE!) Windhoeks and cooldrinks, a hot shower and a good sportsmassage done, and guys and girls exchanging war stories in the chill zone.
Tomorrow the start will be 6:30 to combat the mid 30's tempratures expected. Hopefully it equates to an earlier finish too.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Monday, March 16, 2015
Keeping all the batons in the air
Think of parenting as a circus act.
Not the grotesque type where you get over-sized wild animals to do things, rather the one where a juggler starts off with one baton, then two, until he has 7 or 8 in the air. It takes extreme patience and a lot of practice to juggle like that and I have to admit, I am a bit clumsy.
We have refined our routine to synchronize the activities in the evening that we have the, dogs fed, dinner made, baby fed, bathed and put to bed by 7pm. The house-hold tasks then starts in cleaning, preparing for the following work day, packing the creche bags, studying, cello practice and giving the dogs some much needed attention.
The big adjustment is that we cannot simply abandon our routine for an evening to go for sushi if we had a rough day at work.
9 and a half months in the teeth are cutting nicely, crawling with a cute little bum-shuffle rather than on all fours and developing a slight case of separation anxiety.
Two things I am grateful for is that we never had Luke sleep in the room with us. He slept in his own room (or with the night nurse) from day 1. The second is that we put him in creche from a young age. He has developed much faster and is socially much more advanced than what he would have been if he was at home for up to 6 months.
Weekends can get a bit "long" as he is now very busy and requires constant stimulation. The times that he is content to entertain himself seems short-lived and while we enjoy every minute (well we enjoy most minutes) there is an element of TGIM (thank G_d its Monday) every week.
The juggling act will continue with demanding work schedules, personal health, post graduate studies, building a house and cello lessons (for the wife, I am tone death).
The next milestone is talking and walking. I dread the walking-bit. The next post will probably contain a list of items that broke or got damaged with a new-found skill of walking.
Now to search for a good article on child-proofing our house...
Not the grotesque type where you get over-sized wild animals to do things, rather the one where a juggler starts off with one baton, then two, until he has 7 or 8 in the air. It takes extreme patience and a lot of practice to juggle like that and I have to admit, I am a bit clumsy.
We have refined our routine to synchronize the activities in the evening that we have the, dogs fed, dinner made, baby fed, bathed and put to bed by 7pm. The house-hold tasks then starts in cleaning, preparing for the following work day, packing the creche bags, studying, cello practice and giving the dogs some much needed attention.
The big adjustment is that we cannot simply abandon our routine for an evening to go for sushi if we had a rough day at work.
9 and a half months in the teeth are cutting nicely, crawling with a cute little bum-shuffle rather than on all fours and developing a slight case of separation anxiety.
Two things I am grateful for is that we never had Luke sleep in the room with us. He slept in his own room (or with the night nurse) from day 1. The second is that we put him in creche from a young age. He has developed much faster and is socially much more advanced than what he would have been if he was at home for up to 6 months.
Weekends can get a bit "long" as he is now very busy and requires constant stimulation. The times that he is content to entertain himself seems short-lived and while we enjoy every minute (well we enjoy most minutes) there is an element of TGIM (thank G_d its Monday) every week.
The juggling act will continue with demanding work schedules, personal health, post graduate studies, building a house and cello lessons (for the wife, I am tone death).
The next milestone is talking and walking. I dread the walking-bit. The next post will probably contain a list of items that broke or got damaged with a new-found skill of walking.
Now to search for a good article on child-proofing our house...
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Time flies when you are having fun!
Its been a while since my last blog. The last few months simply flew past with so much happening. Luke has reached some rather important mile stones as he is sitting unaided, rolling over, eating solids (and love making a huge mess) and most importantly he continues to sleep through. He also crawls, but without the use of his arm, aka "the_slug"
The night nurse finished up after almost 5 months with us last week. I cannot emphasize what this meant to us to have her around through some of the more trying times. Almost like a 3rd Granny!
In between doctors visits for Conjunctivitis (which he successfully passed on to mom and dad) and a few other minor ailments he continues to be healthy and happy. I sometimes wish I had a camera around all the time, but promised myself that I am not going to be one of those whack-job parents who posts 50 pictures a week of my boy on Facebook, so most of the funnies will merely be remembered fondly in months and years to come.
I've had some successful stints at this parenting thing and one or 2 spectacular fails as well. With Rochelle going to gym one evening I ended up with demon-baby one evening It felt like eternity with a hysterical baby where nothing helped to soothe him. The last thing I remembered was starting the car and with baby in his seat in the back taking a long drive. He eventually calmed down to a mild panic and scream and after 30 minutes passed out from exhaustion. Only then I realized that my phone died and that I never let Rochelle know that I took Luke for a drive. I got home with a search party looking for me as I left the doors open and the dogs inside the house. I guess I just need a little more practice.
The next big mile stone will be the first tooth pushing through, which should be any day now. While it is amazing to see his little body change and develop, I must admit that I look less forward to some of the aches and pains that goes with the development... perhaps a little life lesson? To develop you need to experience growing pains?
The night nurse finished up after almost 5 months with us last week. I cannot emphasize what this meant to us to have her around through some of the more trying times. Almost like a 3rd Granny!
In between doctors visits for Conjunctivitis (which he successfully passed on to mom and dad) and a few other minor ailments he continues to be healthy and happy. I sometimes wish I had a camera around all the time, but promised myself that I am not going to be one of those whack-job parents who posts 50 pictures a week of my boy on Facebook, so most of the funnies will merely be remembered fondly in months and years to come.
I've had some successful stints at this parenting thing and one or 2 spectacular fails as well. With Rochelle going to gym one evening I ended up with demon-baby one evening It felt like eternity with a hysterical baby where nothing helped to soothe him. The last thing I remembered was starting the car and with baby in his seat in the back taking a long drive. He eventually calmed down to a mild panic and scream and after 30 minutes passed out from exhaustion. Only then I realized that my phone died and that I never let Rochelle know that I took Luke for a drive. I got home with a search party looking for me as I left the doors open and the dogs inside the house. I guess I just need a little more practice.
The next big mile stone will be the first tooth pushing through, which should be any day now. While it is amazing to see his little body change and develop, I must admit that I look less forward to some of the aches and pains that goes with the development... perhaps a little life lesson? To develop you need to experience growing pains?
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Homeopaths, Chiropractors, Date Night and a Blood Transfusion
This was a busy week.
Rochelle took Luke to a Homeopath. Now before everyone thinks that I've turned Hippie in my old age, the guy is a medical doctor as well. We got some natural remedies to make the 6 week vaccines a little less intense and after a full evaluation it was confirmed that Luke is very well advanced for his age. We were advised to keep an eye on him as he will be turning himself pretty soon.
Friends offered to baby sit for us so that we can go out for a proper date. The dinner at Paranga and seeing Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist was the perfect tonic to end off a tough week.
The Chiropractor worked on Luke's alignment to correct a little bit of what is called "kissing syndrome" where his head turns involuntarily when he is held. It also assisted his bowel movements and since the 2 sessions with the Chiropractor he "burps" a bit easier too.
Rochelle's HB and Iron levels were a cause for concern after her last doctors visit, and after seeing a specialist she was advised to have a blood transfusion to top up her Iron and HB levels again. She is still in Hospital tonight, but fret not, as the night nurse is here tonight, so I am looking forward to a good night's sleep.
Rochelle took Luke to a Homeopath. Now before everyone thinks that I've turned Hippie in my old age, the guy is a medical doctor as well. We got some natural remedies to make the 6 week vaccines a little less intense and after a full evaluation it was confirmed that Luke is very well advanced for his age. We were advised to keep an eye on him as he will be turning himself pretty soon.
Friends offered to baby sit for us so that we can go out for a proper date. The dinner at Paranga and seeing Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist was the perfect tonic to end off a tough week.
The Chiropractor worked on Luke's alignment to correct a little bit of what is called "kissing syndrome" where his head turns involuntarily when he is held. It also assisted his bowel movements and since the 2 sessions with the Chiropractor he "burps" a bit easier too.
Rochelle's HB and Iron levels were a cause for concern after her last doctors visit, and after seeing a specialist she was advised to have a blood transfusion to top up her Iron and HB levels again. She is still in Hospital tonight, but fret not, as the night nurse is here tonight, so I am looking forward to a good night's sleep.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Growth spurts, constipation and colic
As can be derived from the title, week 2 and 3 have not been a cake-walk, such as week 1. This was to be expected and while you prepare yourself mentally for the challenge, the physical demands still sets you back.
I realized that they DO actually grow in a week. The Newborn vests that were fitting perfectly a week or so ago suddenly became very snug. So snug that after 15 minutes of my wife struggling to get the now tight-fitting vest off Luke and he getting quite agitated at the situation, I make an entrance with the kitchen scissors. The missus held him tightly and I cut very carefully to relieve him of his body-suite and with relief we peeled the remains from his arms to proceed with the bath. With his weekly weigh in, there was a nice increase to just under 4kg's so it is confirmed that the clothes did not shrink in the wash. We expect a similar gain by tomorrow's weigh-in.
His tummy was also rock-hard this week. It is probably a combination of the formula powder and colic medicine, but as I was trawling through the shelves at Pick n Pay to get infant pro-biotics I spotted the Phipps' Milk of Magnesia bottle and suddenly had flashbacks from my Grandma's medicine cabinet. This little bottle of magic cured many a tummy ache, so into the trolley it went. It seemed to sort out the tummy nicely after a week of pro-biotics did not do much.
We also got what seems to be a light introduction to colic. Every evening after his 8pm feed it is a real mission to burp him and get him to sleep. We moved his bath to the afternoon and continue with Telement drops (spelling?!) before his feeds and Gripe Water afterwards. Sunday night and last night we took him for a 40 minute drive which seems to get him to settle, but as soon as the car stops, the fussiness starts again, so it is trial and error until he either outgrows it, or we hit the sweet-spot with various techniques of burping, playing soothing music, tummy massages and the like.
I am becoming more and more grateful for the night nurse that we have twice a week. While it is truly amazing to see how fast a little human develops (he is already holding his head up by himself for most parts and he seems to be coming along nicely with control over his arms and legs) it is sometimes forgotten with the short term focus of feeding, burping, changing and putting him to sleep successfully.
Furthermore it is great to have friends and family who not only sympathize, but are also willing to get their hands "dirty" and help out where necessary.
Good news is that the missus got the all-clear to drive, so I suspect that if things gets too much she will be turning off her laptop (jip, she is still working between 4 and 6 hours a day even though the little man became so demanding) and take him for a nice stroll on the beachfront. The weather is at least pleasant for the rest of the week.
I realized that they DO actually grow in a week. The Newborn vests that were fitting perfectly a week or so ago suddenly became very snug. So snug that after 15 minutes of my wife struggling to get the now tight-fitting vest off Luke and he getting quite agitated at the situation, I make an entrance with the kitchen scissors. The missus held him tightly and I cut very carefully to relieve him of his body-suite and with relief we peeled the remains from his arms to proceed with the bath. With his weekly weigh in, there was a nice increase to just under 4kg's so it is confirmed that the clothes did not shrink in the wash. We expect a similar gain by tomorrow's weigh-in.
His tummy was also rock-hard this week. It is probably a combination of the formula powder and colic medicine, but as I was trawling through the shelves at Pick n Pay to get infant pro-biotics I spotted the Phipps' Milk of Magnesia bottle and suddenly had flashbacks from my Grandma's medicine cabinet. This little bottle of magic cured many a tummy ache, so into the trolley it went. It seemed to sort out the tummy nicely after a week of pro-biotics did not do much.
We also got what seems to be a light introduction to colic. Every evening after his 8pm feed it is a real mission to burp him and get him to sleep. We moved his bath to the afternoon and continue with Telement drops (spelling?!) before his feeds and Gripe Water afterwards. Sunday night and last night we took him for a 40 minute drive which seems to get him to settle, but as soon as the car stops, the fussiness starts again, so it is trial and error until he either outgrows it, or we hit the sweet-spot with various techniques of burping, playing soothing music, tummy massages and the like.
I am becoming more and more grateful for the night nurse that we have twice a week. While it is truly amazing to see how fast a little human develops (he is already holding his head up by himself for most parts and he seems to be coming along nicely with control over his arms and legs) it is sometimes forgotten with the short term focus of feeding, burping, changing and putting him to sleep successfully.
Furthermore it is great to have friends and family who not only sympathize, but are also willing to get their hands "dirty" and help out where necessary.
Good news is that the missus got the all-clear to drive, so I suspect that if things gets too much she will be turning off her laptop (jip, she is still working between 4 and 6 hours a day even though the little man became so demanding) and take him for a nice stroll on the beachfront. The weather is at least pleasant for the rest of the week.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Hospitals, C-Sections and a Homecoming
Certain things in life just will not wait. Our son Luke was scheduled to be delivered by C Section at 11am on Wednesday 4 June, but true to form, the contractions started on Tuesday evening. Being new to all of this my wife was not even aware that she was having contractions, so it was a bit of a surprise that when we checked in for the regular C Section early on Wednesday morning we were told that we are now bumped up to the 7:30am slot.
After an Epidural that was only partially successful followed by General Anesthetic the rest of the theatre process happened very quickly. A Caesarean is surprisingly brutal with quick well-trained hands cutting away through the layers and then there is some ripping, tearing and lots of blood followed by a heart stopping, moment when you hear that first cry. It touches the soul so deeply that words cannot describe it. Perhaps this is true love at first sight.
The lump in my throat subsided as they handed Luke to me. In 2 minutes he was examined, cleaned (well semi cleaned), weighed and I performed my first duty as a parent by cutting the Umbilical Chord. Its quite squishy!
While they were stitching my wife up again I had him in my arms and after a few minutes my voice returned. He would recognize it from they 9 months in the womb and hopefully it would calm him down.
After a few minutes he was placed in an incubator where is vital signs could be checked and I stripped out of the overalls. We waited in the nursery while the Pediatric medical staff monitored him and I was able to touch him and feel his soft skin.
The hospital was a few days of haze with visits, being back at work, information from everywhere and many visitors. I was determined to be involved from day 1 and gave him his bottle with confidence I did not truly feel. Burping, changing diapers, wrapping him up in blankets, etc was all new, but you pick it up quickly.
3 nights in hospital for mom and baby gave me time to think about how to approach this new chapter in my life. After working very hard to list a company on the JSE in 11 months, 2 overseas trips in 12 months and dealing with a close family member being diagnosed with Cancer I never had time to think about parenthood much.
Saturday was upon us and soon we were home after treating my wife to Prawn Curry. After a 9 month Prawn fast she was not going to pass up the opportunity. I was advised by a business colleague to consider a night nurse for a few evenings in a week to help us out for the first few weeks. The night nurse arrived at 7pm to get us through the first night at home, so the real test came on Sunday. We decided to invite friends and family over for tea on Sunday as there would not be time for us to visit friends and family in the coming weeks to meet our little one as I was due back at work by Wednesday.
I was on leave on Monday and Tuesday, and the night nurse is assisting 2 nights a week (Tuesday and Wednesday), so to date sleep has not been an issue (phew). I have to confess that the multitude of people asking with glee whether I am getting sleep and whether my life is now totally upside down make me want to put their heads through their own arses. I am out of 1 hour sleep a night and have countered that by going to bed earlier, so I am still getting my 7 hours a night. I guess I can put that in the win column for this week.
Its almost 1 week since Luke came home and although the first 2 weeks are meant to be relatively easy, I must say that I am relieved to report that we are all healthy and happy at this stage. The dogs (2 very large Boerboels) accepted little Luke like one of their own and apart from 1 feed where he was fussy we have not had another glitch. I am sure that my life will change progressively over the next weeks and months as he becomes a little person, but for the time being I am trying to make use of good old fashioned common sense, some positive energy and being very selective on advice given by others to get us through it all.
My approach have been one of breaking it all down in 4 hour sessions (from feed to feed). At present I am responsible for 2 of the 4 hour sessions in the week and since he sleeps for most of the time, it really boils down to taking 2 hours out of my day to change, feed, burp and bath young Luke. It is really not a big ask and I sometimes feel that the 2 hours speeds by very quickly.
Lets see what the next week holds.
After an Epidural that was only partially successful followed by General Anesthetic the rest of the theatre process happened very quickly. A Caesarean is surprisingly brutal with quick well-trained hands cutting away through the layers and then there is some ripping, tearing and lots of blood followed by a heart stopping, moment when you hear that first cry. It touches the soul so deeply that words cannot describe it. Perhaps this is true love at first sight.
The lump in my throat subsided as they handed Luke to me. In 2 minutes he was examined, cleaned (well semi cleaned), weighed and I performed my first duty as a parent by cutting the Umbilical Chord. Its quite squishy!
While they were stitching my wife up again I had him in my arms and after a few minutes my voice returned. He would recognize it from they 9 months in the womb and hopefully it would calm him down.
After a few minutes he was placed in an incubator where is vital signs could be checked and I stripped out of the overalls. We waited in the nursery while the Pediatric medical staff monitored him and I was able to touch him and feel his soft skin.
The hospital was a few days of haze with visits, being back at work, information from everywhere and many visitors. I was determined to be involved from day 1 and gave him his bottle with confidence I did not truly feel. Burping, changing diapers, wrapping him up in blankets, etc was all new, but you pick it up quickly.
3 nights in hospital for mom and baby gave me time to think about how to approach this new chapter in my life. After working very hard to list a company on the JSE in 11 months, 2 overseas trips in 12 months and dealing with a close family member being diagnosed with Cancer I never had time to think about parenthood much.
Saturday was upon us and soon we were home after treating my wife to Prawn Curry. After a 9 month Prawn fast she was not going to pass up the opportunity. I was advised by a business colleague to consider a night nurse for a few evenings in a week to help us out for the first few weeks. The night nurse arrived at 7pm to get us through the first night at home, so the real test came on Sunday. We decided to invite friends and family over for tea on Sunday as there would not be time for us to visit friends and family in the coming weeks to meet our little one as I was due back at work by Wednesday.
I was on leave on Monday and Tuesday, and the night nurse is assisting 2 nights a week (Tuesday and Wednesday), so to date sleep has not been an issue (phew). I have to confess that the multitude of people asking with glee whether I am getting sleep and whether my life is now totally upside down make me want to put their heads through their own arses. I am out of 1 hour sleep a night and have countered that by going to bed earlier, so I am still getting my 7 hours a night. I guess I can put that in the win column for this week.
Its almost 1 week since Luke came home and although the first 2 weeks are meant to be relatively easy, I must say that I am relieved to report that we are all healthy and happy at this stage. The dogs (2 very large Boerboels) accepted little Luke like one of their own and apart from 1 feed where he was fussy we have not had another glitch. I am sure that my life will change progressively over the next weeks and months as he becomes a little person, but for the time being I am trying to make use of good old fashioned common sense, some positive energy and being very selective on advice given by others to get us through it all.
My approach have been one of breaking it all down in 4 hour sessions (from feed to feed). At present I am responsible for 2 of the 4 hour sessions in the week and since he sleeps for most of the time, it really boils down to taking 2 hours out of my day to change, feed, burp and bath young Luke. It is really not a big ask and I sometimes feel that the 2 hours speeds by very quickly.
Lets see what the next week holds.
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