I've got sunshine.....

Today was a beautiful day so we went to the beach. James had an absolute ball and loved every minute of it. He has also become a tea boy. He loves rooibos tea, and drinks about a 9oz bottle of it a day. And the good thing is that the rooibos tea is good for him too. Yay! Here are some of the photos my Sister in Law took with her mobile phone.

Drinking my bottle of Tea!!!

Football player in the making.....

The sand tastes yummy....

Daddy and James sharing a moment

39 weeks and 4 days

Thats how long I was pregnant for and thats how long I have been a parent for. 39 weeks and 4 days ago I was in labour now, and James was born at 11:55pm. The last 39 weeks and 4 days of my life have been terrifying, exhausting and rewarding. I would not change them for the world. I am trying to work out which felt longer, my long pregnancy that had me visiting the hospital for constant issues, and not knowing if it is a boy or girl or not knowing when I was going to go pop. Not knowing what the baby is going to look like or if it is going to be healthy. Not knowing how I was going to deal with sleepless nights and breastfeeding or teething or weaning or bathing or or or..... But then maybe his life has felt longer, learning to deal with long nights, and breastfeeding, seeing his teeth break the skin, watching him eat his first meal, experience him only accepting finger foods and enjoying him enjoying his nightly baths. He has generally been healthy, we have had our ups and downs, but I can't really complain. He has had prolonged jaundice, 3 colds, balantitis, an UTI and on Friday gastroenteritis. We have had only one hospital trip, thankfully. He has learnt so much, From being a newborn that just lay there, to smiling, to laughing, to rolling over, to putting his feet in his mouth, to sitting, to crawling, to pulling himself up and walking around the furniture. He has grown in leaps and bounds. He now likes to act up for us and make us laugh. He likes to copy us. He loves grapes, but is not so keen on parsnips. He is such a character now..... he is James now and not just baby. Oh, and while today is the day that he is 39 weeks and 4 days I started a new chapter in my life, I got a phone call to go for an interview for a job on Wednesday.... A first interview in years........

The Good, The Bad, but not the Ugly......

I always like getting the bad news first, so here it goes:
James went back to the doctor on Wednesday to have his urine checked that he did not have an infection anymore, and the good news is that it was gone, but he has send it off to be tested anyway. But!, James has been referred to the paediatrician and for an ultrasound. The doctor wants to check what is causing his UTI and if there has been any damage to his kidneys. He wants to check that its not been caused by a reflux in the tubes by the bladder and sending the urine back up to the kidneys. If this is the case, depending on how bad it is, James will either be kept on a mild dose of antibiotics until around 3 years old or they will do an operation to fix the valve causing the problem, but we are not stressing about that until we know more. He is also been referred because on Monday when we had him weighed they have decided that he is not gaining enough weight (only 2 ounces in 4 weeks), he has dropped from the 50th centile, at birth, to the 2nd centile, now. I know that those charts are for formula fed babies, but we just want to make sure that there is not an underlying reason for it. The GP thinks that it could be related to the UTI. So now we just wait until we get our letters from the hospital for the scan and the paed.
So, now the good news:
Well, first, instead of having to catch 2 buses to go to the South African Food Shop now, I found one opening today in a little shopping center that is about a 6 minute walk away from me.
Second, Gareth got his increase from his promotion yesterday and it was slightly higher than we were expecting.
And third, well, we have been wanting to change James over to reusable nappies for a while now, but to cough up all that money was painful so I have really been doing my research into it. Well, last week I was chatting to my health visitor and I asked her if there was one she would recommend, etc. When she told me that she had some at home in the loft that don't fit her son, and if I want then she will bring them to me to use. So, today she brought the nappies and they are Tot Bots Nappies (http://www.totsbots.com/nappies/range/original-tots/), all almost brand new. There are 10 nappies, with 8 differant wraps. 3 Motherease wraps, 2 Kushies wraps, 1 Greenbaby, 1 Boots, 1 Cotton Bottoms one. The last one is too small, but I can't believe how lucky we are. She said that we should give it a try and if they fit then great, she is glad someone is getting use out of them, if they don't then I should pass them on to someone else. If they fit, then we are going to offer to pay her for it, at the worst we will give her a box of chocolates, she has just saved us more than 100 pounds in just set up costs, and these nappies should fit James until he is about 3, and can be used for our next child, as they can be folded to fit from 8lbs. We also got given home safety things for free at the Childrens Center, so now James should not be able to bang his fingers in the door or put Gareth's tooth brush down the toilet.....lol.
Ok, I am going to go and price reusable fleece liners now for the nappies.......

I don't like NHS Direct!

It is now 12:39am and I know that I still have a long night ahead of me. James has a temperature of 39.4 C, and it just keeps climbing. Tepid water clothes and paracetamol just don't seem to bring his fever down. He has been in his nappy and vest since 2pm this afternoon when I first discovered that he had a temperature of 37.5 C. I am too scared to go and sleep in case James starts having convulsions, he has never had a temp this high before. I am busy freaking out, but trying not to show it, I am just happy when he is awake. He woke up this morning constipated and has been trying to poo all day, evenually at about 4pm he managed, but it was all runny and mucousy. He also has a slight cold that is making his breathing horrible, he sounds very asthmatic. At about 8:30pm I phoned NHS direct because his temp had risen to 38.2 C and I was worried, he has also been very drowsy all day, and goes flopsy every now and then. Well they made me feel like a complete idiot, a silly first time mom and told me that it sounded like he was teething, but would get the local emergency doctor to phone me. I know what my child is like when he is teething, we have lived through 2 teeth already!!! There is something wrong! The doctor then phoned me and said that his temp was not too bad and by the sounds of things he might be getting an upper resporary tract infection because he is blocked up as well. I don't know. I think he is constipated because we are trying to get him to take a formula bottle a day for when he goes to nursery in November, so since Tuesday we have been trying a differant brand every day. SMA white seems to be the winner. We never tried any formula today, in fact he has gone off his solids, not even interested in his Ella's Kitchen, so I am just giving him drinks of water and sips of pure apple juice. He is also breastfeeding when ever he wants.

I have sent Gareth to bed, as one of us has to be awake in the morning and we have set up a bed in the lounge for James and I, so I can watch TV and play on the laptop. The only problem with watching TV this time of the day? Its all about SEX!!!!

Antibiotics

Yesterday the doctor phoned to say that the urine sample that they tested last week showed that James has a bladder infection. So, he is on another bout of antibiotics and then he has another doctors appointment next week for more tests. If it shows that the infection has not cleared up with this second antibiotic then he is going to refer us to a specialist to see that there is no damage to his kidneys. He might also be referring James to be circumsized, as there could be problems with is foreskin, but only time will tell. I don't mind if they refer him to be circumsized as that is what we orignally wanted, but if they do then we want them to do it now while I am still breastfeeding, as I can just breastfeed his pain away.

Look Ma, no hands!

Look, I can stand.....

You weren't looking properly?

Tag

I was tagged by Holly, so here are my answers.
1. My uncle once: played imaginery balloons weith me.
2. Never in my life: will I touch a snake.
3. When I was five: I got bubblegum stuck in my hair, and my dad took it out with peanut butter
4. High school was: fun.
5. I will never forget: the first time I saw James
6. Once I met: Chris 'O Donnel
7. There’s this girl I know: who only found out she was pregnant at 23 weeks.
8. Once, at a bar: I won a competition for dancing sexy........
9. By noon, I’m usually: trying to convince myself to get dressed
10. Last night: I cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom.... its shiny!
11. If only I had: the ability to teleport myself.
12. Next time I go to church: I will hopefully like it.
13. What worries me most: is my family.
14. When I turn my head left I see: a high chair.
15. When I turn my head right I see: James sleeping on a pillow.
16. You know I’m lying when: I can't ly.....
17. What I miss most about the Eighties is: being a kid
18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: rather confused.
19. By this time next year: I will hopefully be finishing studying to be a Breastfeeding Counsellor
20. A better name for me would be: untidy.
21. I have a hard time understanding: the South African government
22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: concentrate more.
23. You know I like you if: I tell Gareth about you without moaning.
24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: Gareth and my family
25. Take my advice, never: mix chocolate liquor and peppermint schnapps together
26. My ideal breakfast is: Spanish Omelette
27. A song I love but do not have is: We will all stand together by Paul McCartney
28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: taken your camera with, it beautiful.
29. Why won’t people: stop judging each other
30. If you spend a night at my house: I would cook you a dinner to remember
31. I’d stop my wedding for: Hugh Grant.
32. The world could do without: Robert Mugabe.
33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: eat it.
34. My favorite blonde(s) is/are: Roxi, Bicara and Jody
35. Paper clips are more useful than: most men.
36. If I do anything well it’s: cook.
37. And by the way: I tag Jelena, Sarah and Lorry