Budda Bellies

To my relief, last Tuesday Aysha weighed in at 4.44 kilos (about 9.8 pounds), which the doctor delaired to be a healthy weight gain (we'd been told she was not gaining fast enough on the last visit). With the added weight, her little belly bulges. I've started calling her my little budda-girl!

I have to say that there is not a great deal new and exciting to report in my life. At the moment everything seems to revolve around Aysha. Last week, along with the weight check, Aysha had her first injections - one on each cheek. Jamie took her to the public health office when he had a couple of periods in a row without classes. The office is only open from 9:00am till noon. This country is in no way designed for working people! Despite the inconvenient time, Jamie said the trip was relatively painless (for him!). There was little waiting time, the nurses were helpful and friendly, and the injections were free. Aysha cried when the needles went in, and then was crabby for most of the day (with a slight fever). Jamie told her that she was a lucky girl to have injections, but I don't think that she was buying it!

The other news regarding our little bundle, is that we have finally made progress on the passport front. We had her passport photos taken last weekend, and took in all the paperwork on Monday. The embassy says that she will have a passport and a certificate of Canadian citizenship in about two weeks. After that happens, she will still need to get a Kuwaiti civil ID in order to be legal here.

This week we have had some problems with breastfeeding. Aysha figureded out that it is easier to suck from a bottle than from a breast, and she started to reject my breast when I came home from work. I did some research and found a few suggestions on the web to combat this problem, so we have now put some of these into effect. We've taken away her pacifier, so that she does not get sucking satisfaction from it and hopefully will be more willing to suck from my breasts. We also instructed our nanny to only feed her in the kitchen while we are away, so that she will associate bottles with the kitchen, and the livingroom and bedroom with be for breastfeeding. One day last week we had Sylvia (our nanny) feed Aysha with a spoon. This was very effective in getting her to take my breast when I came home, but I think it was miserable for Sylvia and Aysha (slow and messy). Sylvia has gone back to bottle feeding, and Aysha seems to be breastfeeding alright for the moment. I feel as though I could write a book on the trials of breastfeeding!

Aysha has begun to smile! She doesn't do it often, but when she does, it is adorable. I have to admit that I think she is a really cute baby. I know I am biased, but a lot of people have told us that she is one of the prettiest babies they have ever seen. Jamie and I tease her and tell her that it is a good thing that she is so cute, because her diposition often leaves something to be desired. When Mom came to visit, she told Aysha that she shouldn't frown so much or she might have wrinkles by the time she gets to kindergarden! Jamie and I have decided that "cuteness" is a trait babies have to aid in their survival - it motivates parents and others to love their bundles, despite midnight feedings, poopy diapers, spit-up, and a lot of crying. Jamie has promised to post some more recent photos of Aysha as soon as I finish this entry, so you will be able to enjoy some of her "cuteness" along with us.

I have been meaning to get back to this thing for a long time, but it just hasn't turned out. Today, a few things fell into place so tonight I can relax and get caught up.

Today Aysha has a passport and certificate of citizenship officially being processed. I finally got everything together and got it in. We never managed to get a Kuwaiti birth certificate, but the embassy is going ahead with everything without one.

Second, Aysha went in to the ministry to get her immunizations. I has to leave work to take her in to the government clinic, the only place in Kuwait that gives immunizations. After the ordeal of the birth certificate, I was braced for the worst. It took us a few minutes to find the office (Sylvia came with me). The woman in the office informed me that I had come to the wrong office. It is the one closest to our home, but our ID still has our old address on it. But she did agree to give Aysha the shots. It took a minute or two to figure out the mix of Arabic Aysha with Hide.

We also took Aysha back to the doctor to check on her weight gain. She is weighted in at 4.44 kg (just shy of 10 pounds). She has been eating more - some days all breast milk and other days she gets an extra bottle of formula, and seems happier. The past few days she has been less interested in drinking from the breast. She get angry and frustrated now that she is used to how easy the bottle is to drink from. For the past two days she has not had her soother during the day. We tried one day of Sylvia not giving her the bottle during the day. Instead she spoon fed the baby (which, despite the saying, was difficult and messy). That day, Aysha was much more interested in breast feeding. Today, we withheld the soother, but went back to the bottle. Aysha wasn't as eager to feed as yesterday, so we might go back to spoon feeding.

In other news, it's 13 weeks tomorrow that we bid Kuwait goodbye. It sounds like it's soon, but it doesn't feel that way.

Grandma Germaine left last night at midnight. We are a little sleepy today, but I am waiting to talk to my whole family tonight. Jenny and Dave are headed to Fernie for the weekend to see an old Fernie resident, Marc Charon, play in town. This weekend, we discovered Skype. Well, maybe discovered is self-aggrandizing. We tried it. It's a internet telephone service that was created by the same people who created Kazaa, the file sharing system. I read a review of Skype on CNet and encouraged my family to download it and try it out. It works like instant messaging, except instead of typing, you talk into a microphone. The sound quality is very clear. There is a slight tinniness to the voices and a bit more of a lag, but not much more than our regular long distance. We were using a cable connection on one end and a modem connection on the other I'd like to think that two high speed connections would work a little faster, but am just optimistically speculating. And it's free. You can talk for as long as you want.

Aysha went to the doctor. She weighed in at 9 pounds. The doctor said that she has not been gaining weight fast enough. Since then, we have been feeding her more regularly. Karla has been pumping at the end of feedings too to make sure that all the breast milk produced goes to good use. Today while we were at school Aysha got an extra bottle of formula on top of what she regularly ate. She has been very content since we got home from school. She has even squeezed out a few little baby smiles.

Aysha is taking advantage of the three sets of hands ready to hold
her. In between (and sometimes during, we have been trying to show
Eileen the highlights of Kuwait. This past weekend was the national
holiday. Gulf Road, a road that runs the length of the city alongside
the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, get plugged with cars covered in Kuwaiti
flags and posters of the Amir. Kids runs alongside traffic, and often
among it, to cover cars and each other with spray foam and spray
string. Often it gets out of hand. Karla's student said her famly
forgot to lock their car doors and returned to find the car full of
foam.

Aysha almost has her birtH certificate. I went down to the Ministry
of Health yesterday to get it only to learn that there were more hoops
to jump through. In my frustration (I can only get out to the
ministry once every 6 days), I went to the school office. Luckily,
Mohammed was sympathetic and put one of the school expiditers on it.
Yesterday, he had to take our marriage certificate to the Canadian
embassy, then to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Maybe today
or tomorrow, he can get the birth certificate.

Here you have the first photos of Aysha (who is participating in this post stapped to my chest in the BabyBjorn) from the new camera. These were a few of the highlights. The camera works great. I could crank the ISO setting up to 1600 and take these indoors during the day with no flash. The camera is easy to use and sync with the computer.

Mom is resting right now, and Grandma Germaine is down in the exercise room. Aysha and I are posting to the internet and re-organizing music files. I switched from MusicMatch to iTunes since I ordered an iPod yesterday. Ever since Lianne was here with hers, my curiosity about them has been stoked. I had been watching them on eBay for a week since Valentine's Day, but then Apple introduced a new line with better battery life, the ability to link directly to digital cameras and a lower price.

Yesterday we visited the Tareq Rajab museum, a private collection that a dedicated Kuwaiti keeps in his basement. He has amassed a huge collection of Islamic art, jewelery, clothing, instruments and weapons. It is the largest collection of art in the country. During the Iraqi invasion, he protected it by building a false wall while the National Museum was being emptied.

Here are the photos. Happy viewing! Honourable mention goes to the Hide family for providing Aysha her assortment of moose-themed clothing.


Moosegirl to the rescue!


Waaaah!


Aysha and Grandma Germaine


Aysha with windows in her eyes.

Karla had her first week back at work. It all eneded with the national day celebration on Wednesday. It is usually a day of hectic supervision of students as they tour the school. My little grade 6's were very well behaved and I had a great time this year (as opposed to two years ago, when it was no fun). Karla has been adapting to making time at school to pump between her classes so Aysha has enough milk at home to keep her fed during the day. We have a four day weekend, so hopefully Karla can get a bit of a reserve built up for next week.

Eileen (aka Grandma Germaine) arrived last night. And so we are headed for a big first day in Kuwait.

Eileen brought a new digital camera for us that we got so there is a chance that there might be some new photos soon. We ordered a digital body that matches our good camera. We can use the lenses we already have. It was a Christmas present that we were waiting to buy until we knew what was going to happen next year.

Here is one more photo of Aysha for you.

Who is that baby?

Yesterday was Karla's first day back at work. We got up, Karla fed Aysha, I made lunches. Sylvia arrived and we got out the door on time. It was a miracle. Work sped by and we were home again. Both Aysha and Sylvia survived the day.

We are full time parents on the weekend. Aysha was good this morning. I took her out in the little baby-pack for a walk while Karla was tutoring in the apartment, and we are going out again soon for groceries.

Aysha is having a nap right now, which is unusual for the day. She likes to be up, or to rest in your arms. But, on the advice of our friends Mark and Nancy, who just adopted a baby, we swadddled her up tight and put her down. They said that the tight swaddle keeps baby from waving those little arms around and distracting itself from rest. It seems to be working. She has been quiet for more almost two hours.

Here are a few more photos for her fans all over the world:


That's a wrap, folks


Mobile over Canada baby


Waaaaaaaah!


Aysha takes over

Here is one more photo of Aysha that Karla wanted me to put up. Yesterday Aysha had a practice day for when Karla goes back to work. She was bottle fed all day and then breast fed in the evening again. She was very happy all day. The bottle must be easier for her to eat from. She was relatively happy in the evening too, but she ate more frequently and in shorter shifts.

It's hard to believe that Karla goes back to work tomorrow. Personally, I don't know why the school didn't give Karla the extra day and have her come back after the weekend. They have covered for her by moving the teacher out of Writer's Workshop, so they're not even having to pay for a substitute. And Writer's Workshop isn't going to get started again until after the weekend. The schools seems to think that rules have to be enforced to the letter when it comes to the staff.

Aysha has been reluctant to sleep in her crib. She would cry whenever she was put down in it, especially during the day. At night, Karla will sometimes put her in the bed with us, where she is much happier to sleep. We have been letting her cry a little more before we pick her up and using a CD with the sound of waves crashing on the beach. She has been better in her crib lately.

We are getting excited about Eileen's visit next week. I'd better get to work.

Ready to face the world

So, Here I Am!

Soooo, here I am, after months of family nagging and prograstinating on my part. Jamie has made posts to the internet more user friendly in an attempt to encourage more involvement from his better half.

I have been remiss not only in posts to the web, but in almost all commications this year. The pregnancy and birth of Aysha, as well as teaching a new grade level, have left me with little time for anything extra. I nievely thought I would have a lot of time once I was on maternity leave to catch up, but to my surprise, Aysha requires so much attention, time, and energy, that even finding a few minutes to myself to grab a snack is a challenge.

I go back to work this week Wednesday. I know I'm not ready, but then I'm not sure if even another five weeks off would prepare me. Our nanny/maid has been coming for a few hours each day during the week ever since I came home from the hospital, so I know that she is used to our house-hold routines and Aysha. I can't imagine how I would go back to work without feeling so confident that Sylvia will take good care of Aysha.

When I was in high-school and doing a lot of babysitting, I once told my Mom that if I ever had children, I would like to farm them out until about age two. I was not a baby person! And although I love Aysha beyond words, I am still not a baby person. I will be relieved when she gains a little more independence (can walk) and communicate more effectively. Babies are cute and fun to hold for a few minutes or even hours, but they require all of your time and energy, and aren't nearly as interesting as when they can express their own thoughts. So what I'm saying is that I already can't wait for Aysha to become two! Does that make me a bad mother? I can't help it if it does.

I got back from Iowa late Monday night and Lianne left on Tuesday. I survived Tuesday and Wednesday at school, and made it to the weekend. There was a pile of work waiting for me when I got back to school, which I have used this weekend to almost catch up on.

We went to a little salsa party on Thursday evening, mostly to see our friends who we haven't seen since we stopped going to classes before Aysha was born. We did a couple dances but spent most of our time standing aound being proud parents and watching everyone coo over the baby. Aysha was content to be held by lots of different people even with the music and party sounds (The party sounds were kept to a baby-friendly level until after we left).

Last night we watched Garden State, which was fine. It was written and directed by its young star. It was recommended in the same vein as The Station Agent. Even though I didn't think it was as good, it still was a very watchable movie.

Here are a couple more photos for the family. They are from Lianne's visit.


Family by the gulf


Bathtime!

Karla and have signed a contract for next year (actually I signed them both). We are going to teach at George Washington School in Cartagena, Colombia. Before you get too concerned that Kuwait to Colombia is an out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire move, the Canadian travel warning says: Canadians should not travel to Colombia until further notice, with the exception of the city of Cartagena and the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. (you can follow the link to check it out for yourself).

We will be teaching grade 7 and 8 English and Social Studies. The positions will be a lot like what we are doing now - we will each have two groups of students which is the same as in Kuwait. What is differente is that we will be the only English teachers for our level, instead of one of two or three. We will see both classes once a day for a 95 minute block where we will do both English and SS. The school is near the beach, in the touristy part of town. Here's a photo:

Cartagena, Colombia

At the bottom of this photo the area with the red roofs is the old colonial part of town. You can see the old city wall pretty clearly at the bottom right side near the water. Looking up, you see a very narrow crossing that leads toward the tall buildings. Just past that, about where the peninsula is widest, before it narrows again, is where the school is. Many teachers live in that area where they can walk to work, basic services, restaurants and, of course, the beach. We get a generous housing allowance that will cover rent, utilities (including high speed internet), the maid/child care, and even food. We just turn in our bills and the school pays them off (unfortunately, we can't reclaim the part we don't spend).

We will have three weeks holiday at Christmas, when we will be home to show off our tans! We do have to show up earlier than usual though. School starts on August 10th, and since it is our first year, we need to be there for orientation and to find an apartment on the 1st.

Here is a site with some photos of Cartagena, which is on the north coast of Colombia, in the Caribbean. And another good one of the old city.

We are both happy about the school. There was another another school in Colombia that offered us jobs, but it was in Medellin. We would have earned a little more, and one of us would have been the head of the department, but safety, number of students and positions made us choose Cartagena.

We have a six day weekend ahead of us. Hopefully, we can take it easy and relax. I was back at work full time this week. Karla does most of the baby care at night (except for the occasional hand off). When I get up at 5, she is usually wither just getting up or going back to bed. Aysha is up twice a night otherwise. Karla is still worried that she isn't getting enough to eat. She is a bit of a lazy eater. She sucks for a few minutes (or less), then takes a break or nods off. Tonight, we stripper her down to her diaper and she fed a little better. Hopefully if we keep her from getting too comfy, she will feed a more consistently and rest less.

Sylvia has been coming in half days (she has another job to go to unitl the end of January). She gets all the housework done and Karla looks after Aysha.

We have registered for the UNI overseas fair. We were hoping to find jobs in Fernie, but it doesn't look very promising for this year. We are looking at places in Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Eastern Europe. We have been busy sending off resumes and letters to several schools.



Here is another picture of Aysha. She was looking a little yellow, so the doctor told us to expose her to some sunlight.



Here is one of the crazy flower bouquet that Karla received from Katherine, our friend and deputy principal.

Aysha came home yesterday evening. She is getting the hang of breast feeding, and Karla is pumping to help the milk come in. Aysha is getting a bit of extra food from the colostum (the pre-milk) that Karla pumps, but it will sure be nice when rthe milk arrives and baby can do her feeding all by herself. I know that everything is progressing normally, but I know Karla is worried, and I can't help but worry that Aysha isn't getting enough food or liquids.

We tried out the cloth diapers and they are working well so far, even though they look a little big on the tiny baby.

Here are a couple more photos:

Aysha in the hospital.

Aysha in her car seat

She's only been here 12 hours!

Alright, it's time to go to work. Love to you all...

Good morning! Baby has a name. She is Aysha Morgan Hide. Yesterday, I arrived back at the hospital at 8:30. Karla was asleep and Aysha was down in the nursery. We spent the day relaxing together as a new family. Karla and I deciding on the name, doing a bit of reading (we had been focusing on the labour parts of books lately, not the newborn parts), and cuddling the baby. Asyha slept soundly, really only waking when diapers were changed and Karla tried to feed her. By the evening, they both were having more success working together, and I could come home a little more relaxed. Today, I think we will repeat the same. I think Karla will stay in the hospital (at least) one more day and night. She is feeling and looking much better. She is about to get up and move around by herself, but she is still a little too sore to sit properly. Karla had two students stop by at the hospital last night to say hello and see the baby. If it keeps up today, we'll have enough chocolate to open our own little shop. Everyone says that we'll need chocolate since so many people are dropping by. However, everyone brings a box and eats a little square leaving us with considerably more than when they arrived. I resized the pictures below (1600x1200 down to 800x600). I know that some people were getting an error message since so many people were looking at them. This should avoid that situation.

Today Karla delivered a baby girl at 5:45 pm local time. She weighed 4.03kg (6lbs, 11oz) and measured 51cm (just shy of 20 1/2 inches). She has yet to be named. The whole story of the delivery will come later (I'm aching to get to bed).

Here are a few pictures for all of you abroad.

Push! Karla hard at work.

Baby is catching her breath, but still looks a little blue.

Three is the magic number

Aysha sleeping off the day's ordeal