Gran goes home... panic sets in

On Saturday we three waved (and some of us sobbed) goodbye to Alexa's Gran (Kirsten's mum Lynne). She has been with us for 5 weeks and has been absolutely wonderful to all three of us. I'm sure she was quite pleased to give up the sleep interrupted nights & daily bed making activity in return for nice quiet peaceful (albeit busy) farm life.

In her last week here, and David's first week returning to work, we fitted in quite a few firsts. The first lunch & public breastfeeding session at the Boiled Egg & Soldiers in Clapham, our first trip to the baby clinic (kind of like plunket where health visitor's are there for advice and you can have your baby weighed), Alexa's first train ride (she wasn't impressed, it wasn't as bumpy and noisy as her pram rides) and a day trip to Kew Gardens. All this helped me build up confidence to be out and about with pram &, at times, screaming infant.

Meanwhile Gran's return means that 'normal' life has begun. This means only two of us on night duties, and then just me for the larger part of the day being an "at home mum". No more passing Alexa to Gran while I jump into the shower or have a snooze. I am learning what I can and can't do with Alexa (e.g. can't fold washing one handed while holding her, but can put away dishes), as well as what is realistic in terms of what I can achieve in one day. Day 1 (Monday) didn't get off to a good start with only a 4 hour sleep during the night & then refusing to sleep in her cot during the day. By the time David got home, I was very happy to hand over a fractious infant to him & cook dinner instead. However today is a good day - she got lots of sleep & is sleeping as we speak allowing me a small chance to write letters and this blog. This afternoon I am going to pop her in the front pack so I can water the garden/give Alexa some fresh air and then we'll wander up the road to do a few chores.

Alexa's various sleeping faces...

Talking shi*

Firstly my apologies to any faecesaphobes out there (or anyone taking a quick peek at the blog between courses) as herecommenceth a wee dollop of poo chat with the odd crapism thrown in for good measure. Now lots of our friends & family have joked in the lead up to Alexa being born that we would soon find ourselves "buried in it" if you know what I mean and frankly alot of you appeared to doubt our abilities to deal with the dreaded "nappy change". Well let me tell you... Kirsten and I have turned what you ladies and gents might consider (and some of you guaranteed would be) a fairly grim task, yes I am talking about the NC, into a precise military manoeuver. For Boothy's benefit, think F1 pit change with KH assuming pit manager role and DCS being relegated to the unenviable position of grease monkey. Suffice to say we have now got it so unbelievably sorted... Lynne will testify to that. Boothy, the pit times are outstanding mate. They have to be. Anything over 15 seconds and Alexa (think wee little unlicensed prima donna driver) sure as hell lets us know all about it! The real breakthrough for us came while pondering this blog and my use of a cheesy racing metaphor - it struck me that all half decent racing drivers (at least the ones in movies) like to listen to music while doing the business - take Tom Cruise burning rubber to Break Through The Barrier by Tina Turner in "Days of Thunder" (then passing the time of day with Nicole Kidman while Maria McKee belted out "Show Me Heaven"... but I digress). Now Alexa's music of choice whilst doting parents clinically execute Operation NC is, wait for it.... Dido. How apt.

If you ask me Kirsten (of Henderson milking stock) was always going to perform well when it came to cleaning up Alexa's No. 2s so, come to think of it, I was probably the true butt of all the poo jokes. Well I'm sorry to disappoint all of you funny funny people, but I can't get enough of it. I really don't mind mucking in. I must have inherited 1 or 2 of Grandad's farmer genes after all. In fact the only person I know who gets more excited about donning the overalls and hosing out the yellowy brown goo more than me is Stanko but he's a bit weird like that.

OK - I'm off to bed as I am well short on sleep and really starting to talk shi*. Just before I go I thought I'd leave you with THE POO SHOT... (I hope you can forgive me one day Alexa). Now if you are just in the process of lifting a tender morsel of medium rare eye fillet steak or Snapper pan fried to that glorious Anchor Butter golden brown or perhaps even a scallop or 2 fresh out of NZ's lovely waters to your lips, and maybe just maybe washing said morsel down with a glass of chilled Cloudy Bay Sav Blanc then PLEASE DON'T SEND ME EMAILS TELLING ME ALL ABOUT IT (I hope you are reading this Jonsey) and best you look away now...

Everyone can relax, the real Kirsten is back...

I heard Kirsten offering Alexa some "Tucka" at about 5.30 this morning...

Then again I guess tomorrow we may get "I must say Alexa, would you like some Tucka?".


Stay posted for the "poo shot"... coming soon to this blog site.

A day in the life of Alexa Grace C-S...

Morning...










(then think lots of milk and poo)









After lunch...




















A little bit later...







(then think lots of milk and poo)












Evening...

A few more photos...

Mark and Caroline
meet Alexa












Whatever it takes
to get her to sleep!

See it works.

Lynne's magic touch that is...

Someone has stolen my Kirsten!

Shock... Horror!! My girl from Te Kauwhata who until very recently (think yesterday recent) would incorporate the word "anyways" into the bulk of her daily discourse and try to use words like "jyzqv" in scrabble, woke up this morning and over a cup of my glorious coffee and a slice of toast uttered her first words of the day, wait for it...

"I must say..."

Frankly the rest of the sentence is irrelevant as I was gobsmacked/rolling around the ground in fits of laughter. It has finally happened. After 4.5 years in London Kirsten Henderson has become "Truly British". Well, either that or she's decided that Alexa is going to speak the "Queen's English of Queen's English"... frightening.

I am so sorry that this has happened Hamish. I apologise sincerely and am off now to the travel agent to book our flight home to Te Kauwhata.

Damn!! I forgot, Te K doesn't have an airport. Poor Alexa...

Coffee

Kevin, I just thought you'd like to know that my coffee making skills have definitely improved alot over the last 12 days of paternity leave...

As you can see I am also finding some time between nappy changes to play around with photoshop.

Visiting hours are open

With Alexa over a week old, and David, Lynne and I starting to establish a routine of sorts we'd like to announce the ward is open for visiting. Just call in advance so we know when to expect you.

Is three donuts a day too many?

David, Lynne and I have really appreciated the food parcels delivered to our door over the last week. Still I do think we were pushed to our limit recently when Shaun and Kirsty arrived bearing a large box of Krispy Kreme donuts. They are of course best eaten fresh, and with Lynne being intolerant to wheat and gluten, it was up to David and I to tackle. I think a donut for morning tea, afternoon tea and dessert is probably the most I can manage in one day.

We'd like to thank all of you for the lovely gifts we have received. Alexa is a very lucky girl and now has some brighter colours (yes including pink!) in her wardrobe to choose from. In fact she now needs to invest in a larger wardrobe as her chest of drawers are currently full. She's also the proud owner of NINE pairs of shoes (Imelda in the making???!!!).

Jenny and Simon - the lullaby CD is being put to good use. This has been incorporated into her evening bedtime routine and saved David or I humming Frere Jacques over and over again. Alexa may not appreciate this repetition, but it was driving David nuts!

Sweepstake winner - Peta

I have been remiss at publishing the winner of our baby sweepstake. No-one was 100% accurate - however Peta did exceptionally well guessing correctly the date and sex, with her guess of weight only a little high at 8 oz (Alexa was 7.2). So Peta gets to take home a bottle of bubbly. Congratulations Peta! The catch is that you have to visit to collect your prize, but as we're holding your casserole dish ransom, I think we'll see you soon.

Alexa's first stroll around Clapham Common...

Dad and daughter

Reflective mood after nappy change...

Kirsten's got the magic touch!

Dad's favourite shot so far...

She does sleep occasionally...

A not insignificant challenge...

Today dawned bright and clear and bone chillingly cold (-4 deg overnight), not that you'd realise this inside the Turtle House Sauna. Our small but perfectly formed flat in Clapham Old Town would be the perfect venue for ITV's "Celebrity Weight Loss" reality tv show right now - the entire place has been intentionally heated up to between 19 and 22 degrees, with central heating on non-stop throughout these last few weeks of winter (he says hopefully). I am struggling a bit with this I have to say. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the heat provided it comes with white beaches, clear ocean, scuba gear, a few scallops and the prospect of a large fish on the end of a line. Anyway Alexa seems to enjoy this Sahara like warmth so that is the main thing... mmm.

Alexa is nearly a week old today. She is even more gorgeous today than she was yesterday, shocking I know. It was always going to be a week of firsts, both for Alexa and her virgin parents. With this week came my first nappy change and believe it or not I quite enjoy "mucking in". If only you could see the wonderous spray art patterns little Alexa creates on her Pampers canvas - my only criticism would be that her colour palette is quite limited (think chocolate dairy food yoghurt on days 1 through 3 before a quickchange to a bright yellow wholegrain mustard). I thought about exhibiting some of her work on the blog but...

Then there was the first time Alexa peed on my hands just as I was finishing up clearing up the fallout from her last painting session (and after I had already set up a new Pampers canvas for her!). Gotta love it.

Keep the blog comments rolling in folks. Kirsten and I don't have a whole lot of time to ourselves right now but it is fun to stop for 5 minutes every now and again and check out what pearls may have been added... particular thanks to Dawko for his query as to when I can next manage a round of golf! Actually on the subject of golf I am looking for investors for my latest business idea - golf creches, bound to be a massive hit with home husbands.

Oh and a quick update on how Kirsten and Alexa are doing just in case you were wondering... Kirsten is a fantastic mum and coping unbelievably well given the physical and mental challenges that motherhood brings. I'd be lying if I said we were getting enough sleep. I'd also be lying if I said we instantly know why little Alexa cries from time to time (sometimes with heartbreaking enthusiasm). Those of you who are parents will know the anxious debates you and your partner have at times when your child is distressed, is it wind? is it hunger? is she overtired? The list of questions goes on and on, trust me, and navigating your way to the answer is really not that easy. We are finding it quite hard at the moment but we are getting better at it day by day. In spite of all this, Kirsten is doing amazingly. I can tell that she worries that she isn't. I try to reassure her but hopefully reading this will drill the point home.

Alexa is taking each day as it comes. Pooing every now and again. Maybe the odd pee. Plenty of feeding but not enough sleep. All of this is adding up to a little girl who is growing more and more beautiful (check out the pics) and more and more loved (take my word for it) by her parents each day.

Ok I had better sign off now. Lynne (Kirsten's mum) is just serving up another feast - tonight's gourmet offering comprises Moen & Sons' (our local butcher) award winning chicken sausages plus leeks, carrots and taties... Lynne you are a legend!!