4 months today !

tonight Zack and I celebrated his 4 month birthday with a trip into town - sweat sweat - to go and meet an old friend of mine, Jo. We haven't seen one another in almost a year, so it was introductions all 'round, and then Z kept himself entertained while Jo and I caught up on one another's news. He has discovered his hands, and I think he's got teeth on the way as he is chewing both hands simultaneously and drooling incessantly.

Zack has been sleeping quite well, despite the awfully hot weather. He's managing to do 6 hours with a little persuasion, and has even gone to 7 on one occasion. All hail the father tho', as the mother is too knackered to bother and is just as happy to get up and feed as to get up and replace dummy. Keith's latest suggestion is that we try and get him to sleep from 11pm until 7pm. This would be very, very nice. I don't know if it's possible - one can only try.

He seems to have grown again suddenly. His little head seems bigger, and his body seems longer in the torso. Every now and then I have moments when I think, "Oh wow, he's changed again." It's all happening at such a pace right now. Another thing he does alot of is wave one hand up and down, as if seeking to find something by bumping into it. He isn't too sure about clasping, but prefers to 'rake' and drag whatever he has managed to clasp towards his mouth. This is seldom successful, as he drops it en-route, or it isn't the right way 'round and bumps him in the head. So frustrating, but he perseveres with delightful heavy breathing - the sign of true concentration.


On Saturday Granny arrived from Johannesburg and we all drove out to the airport to meet her. Lots of excitement!

Sunday was aunty Elly's birthday party in Victoria Park, and it was great for Keith to meet little Ruby and little Anokye, as he'd missed the reunion being in NY on business. He and Matt got talking cameras, but not before firing off a good number of shots. We are STILL waiting for the fabulous lens - who knows how many more months ? !

little Anokye fast asleep

Kwame & Anokye, Keith & Zack (what's with the face dude ?)

farewells and welcomes

I join a group of mum's for bible study every Thursday morning in the Canary Wharf area. It has only been running for about 6 months but we've all benefited immeasurably from the group. Sadly one of the girls is moving back to Australia with her husband and little girl. Last Thursday was their last time with us, so we had a picnic in the park. As tends to happen, Cindy and Kelvin were at the doctor on the morning of the picnic because Esther was running a temperature. You wouldn't guess so from the photos...


cindy and little esther at their farewell picnic


the gaggle of mums and tots in Limehouse Park

Zack's great uncle Derk Jansen was passing through London on Saturday morning, en route back to Vancouver, so we drove out at dawn to meet him. We spent a good 4 hours just hanging out and talking about his trip to SA with the family (who are still there for another week or so). He also showed us his grandfather's passport which he'd got from Keith's mum while in Johannesburg - this is Keith's great-grandfather, so Zack's great-great-grandfather. He was born in Rijsenburg which is just outside (south-east) Utrecht. We were interested to see the vital statistics - height, eye colour, etc. I must confess that it's the first time I've seen a strong resemblance in the eyebrows... Keith and grandpa have an eyebrow thing going on.


a piece of family history


Uncle Derk and Z get acquainted

successszzzzzzzz

Saturday was Annabel's First Birthday Party and off we went for a big family lunch. Pete had fired up his BBQ and true to South African culture cooked enough meat to feed a small army. Annabel was the belle of the ball, with a gorgeous dress and pink fairy wings to match - too cute !


Peter, Helen, Annabel and my aunt and step uncle - Ilona and Vaughan - visiting from Johannesburg.

Zack is sleeping MUCH better now. He did 6 hours all by himself last night. We put him down after his 10pm feed and he 'rang' at 4am. Now that's more like it! I think Keith's commitment to the cause has really helped. I was concerned that more sleep would affect my milk supply but I've been expressing in the mornings and trying to get Zack to feed on both sides, so all seems to be in order.


Zack had a whale of a time at Annabel's party. Lots of attention - what babies love.

He's growing a pace and we went for our first weigh-in since birth yesterday. He is a robust 7.7kgs. Not bad going for a 3.5 month old boy. You're wondering why I haven't had him weighed before ? well, it's a schlepp (A) and our GP's scale has been broken (B) and getting ourselves out of the house on a Friday, the right Friday too as it's only on alternating weeks, is a bit of a task (C). Does that suffice ? In any case, he has been getting heavier and heavier and there has been no concern from our side with regards to his 'thriving' or not. There is no doubt - he is.

Bathtime is becoming a bit of a noisy event. For some reason, Zee thinks it's best to shout ALOT when Keith tries to dress or undress him. Not sure what it is, but if mummy does it, there is no fuss. I wonder how you break these funny little habits ? It's not as if Keith is doing anything different - I've watched and it's all the same. Kids man ! Sheesh.
At least he enjoys the actual bathing. I've decided that I'm terrible at it - the times I've put him in the tub, my back feels like it's going to crumble (worse than gardening) and he's SO slippery too. I guess that's what comes from division of labour - I don't feel confident doing someone else's job. Keith is the bath meister and the boys have bonding time doing it.

We're getting into a bit of a rhythm:
7pm - feed and then when dad gets home we have a bath and go to bed
10pm - wake him for a feed
>>> hopefully he sleeps for around 5 or 6 hours (maybe 7 one day!)
7am - hungry and time for more food, if not, then
10am - wake him for food, and then onto a 3 hour cycle.
I've tried to get him to take to a 3.5 hour cycle, but he resists, so we'll continue like this for now.

Circumcision report:
Completely healed and all looking well. No more icky bits hiding in the folds.

Bathtime with Dad last night

All change please

Zack was sleeping up to 5 hours at a stretch until 10 days ago... then the trip to Utrecht threw him right out. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week he was waking every 2,5 hours and mummy was a wreck. Enter Super-Dad aka Keithster with handy book - Baby Wise - and we're starting to re-write our child's sleep patterns. Wednesday night, Thursday night he only got water at his 1am feed, and on Friday night, Dad gave him just his dummy and some soothing words to tide him over. Saturday night he was stretched to 7 hours. Our book says that at this age - 15 weeks + and his weight 8kgs + - he should really be able to sleep through. So we're attempting to convince his little tummy and his metabolismic clock that it's OK to not eat at 1am and 4am. It's pretty tough going for both parents, but if you're feeling strong - and Keith seems to be - you can do it !

Here's hoping we'll be sleeping like logs in the next week or so. It will be such a blessing to my psyche.

Keith's mum, niece and sister arrive for 10 days in London, in just ten days time. We needed to get ourselves sorted out as Sienna (our niece of 8 months) is going to need a bed to sleep in and a car seat to travel in ! So off we went to Mothercare this morning and bought one on the sale. Hooray and good timing. Now all we need to do is find a travel cot and that's that. Roll on the visitors.

Congratulations to Maria & Barnaby on the birth of their baby boy last Saturday

Utrecht hoorah

zack, mum and dad on Saturday at the 'beach in the forest'


sadie makes quick work of brocolli florets

Zack and I went off to Utrecht together on Friday morning... Oooo, what a job it was. But we arrived safely and in one piece (my bleeding toe doesn't count). We were welcomed by Jeany (on a work deadline), Clint and Sadie. Keith came straight from work in the evening. We spent three lovely days together, cycling, drinking beer, enjoying the sunshine and one another's company. We wish it was even closer so we could do that every weekend in the summer.


lunchtime with Jeany and Sadie


About to depart with Sadie on the bike kiddie seat

Circumcision update:
Zack's plastibell came off at Schipol airport on Monday evening. He is just as cheerful and smiley as ever, though Keith and I still look at the wound with trepidation. I'm hoping it'll dry out and heal more and more, as it still looks red and angry. These things take time I guess.