Luka in the City of Angels

Luka finally set foot on his other homeland today.  As usual, it was interesting explaining to customs the purpose for our trip to the US was to 'visit' family - when we are all traveling on US passports, and Luka has about five other countries, other than the US in his passport, with no US exit stamps.  Customs notwithstanding, I am happy to report that we arrived in Los Angeles in one piece, and that Luka was an absolute superstar. The 3.5 hour flight from Dili-Singapore was uneventful, the plastic cover on the mattress in the Ambassador Transit hotel was unfortunate (meaning none of us got any sleep) and the 03:45 wake-up call brutal - but our upgrade on Delta came through!  So it was the Luka flew lie-flat from SIN-NRT, and in Seat 1B (for 1 B-day thank you very much) on the flight from SIN-LAX.  Out of nearly 24 hours flying (not counting transit times) he fussed for exactly 20 minutes, and after a change of scenery, he was back up and running.

We are at our dear friends home in Marina del Rey where Luka finally got to meet his other cousin, Riley.  To amuse our little jet-lagged peanut we took a stroll to a lovely local park in the Venice canals where Luka got to ride in a swing for the first time and pretend to steal a car (thanks in part to the borrowed hoody from Kaito).

Here are a first few shots of Luka in LA...

Chris and his 'twin', Doug with his little girl Riley

First swing ride...

'Ride it like you stole it!' Luka sporting
it LA gangsta style in his hoodie (thanks
to Kaito)

Our little jetlagged man.

Remembering...

...where we were almost one year ago on Darwin, and how far we have come....

First portrait of our brave little soldier, approx 1 hr after
birth - 22 March, 2011

Practicing in the pool

We were very thrilled with Luka's first swim lesson last week, and tried practicing some of the new skills in Nicole and Fiona's pool over the weekend.  Luka has always been a natural in the water, which may or may not be a good thing for us I realize, and so have little issues really with getting his face wet.  Here is a cute short video of Luka with daddy in the pool.  One of the things the swim trainer does with them is to use a kickboard to encourage kicking, and then to throw things in front of them out of their reach to encourage the use of their arms.  Here is a short video of Luka practicing kicking with his new $2.40 Timor Plaza kickboard.

We'll be attending the weekly swim class for six weeks until we depart for the US, and hopefully resume with the next level when we get back.  In the meantime, nothing like living in the tropics to ensure plenty of practice time in a swimming pool!

Luka's First Photos

The following few posts are letters written to family immediately following the arrival of our dear Luka. 


March 24, 2011
Dear Family,

My first photo in the Isolette

As promised, here are the first photos of our precious little Luka.  As you all know by now, he decided that he wanted to be his daddy's surprise birthday present, so rather unexpectedly made his appearance at exactly 15:00 on 22 March 2011, in the Royal Darwin Hospital, Australia.  Not exactly how we had it planned, but seems he is already trending to being as unpredictable as his parents.  

Mommy's first visit

Briefly: Luka Martin Serjak (the name was chosen to reflect his paternal grandfather's initials, L.M. Serjak, as well as his given first name (Martin) that is also his great grandfather's middle name).  "Luka" was chosen for its Slavic roots to match the Serjak name, and yes - was just 'us'.  Luka was born at an estimated 30 weeks and 5 days, measured 40.5cm (16.2inches) long, weighed 1,777kg (3lbs14oz) and came out screaming.  He was delivered naturally by two midwives (and a whole lot of doctors hiding behind a curtain) - more on the whole process later.

My first cuddle

Here are some of his first photos.  Most importantly, he breathed on his own from the start, and never required ventilation.  The pipe you see in his nose is called a CPAP - Continuous Positive Airway Pressure , which simply helps a little guy like him keep his lungs open and clear to allow his brave breaths in.  Good news is that he was completely removed from the CPAP within 24 hours and is doing fantastic on his own.  Further good news is that he seemed to have come with his dad's appetite as all he wants to do is suck on something, which we understand is a very positive sign for this gestational age. Susan has been expressing milk, and Luka received his first taste of the liquid gold administered by his daddy on a swab early on the 2nd day.  By 11pm on the 23rd, the nurse believed it was time to try our first breastfeed.  Not sure who has the most to learn, but pretty sure it is I.  We are not quite there yet, as a little preemie of 31 weeks is not yet able to coordinate breathing, sucking and swallowing at the same time - but he is giving it his best and we will try again this morning.

Soothed with a 'hand womb'

Attached a few photos, they are small files to allow me to do this quickly, will make an online album soon.  Request that you please continue to respect our privacy at this time with no Facebook posts or other types of public announcements as we have not even begun to think of where to start announcing this - but my work for instance does not even know yet.

As from mom and dad, we are doing great.  Susan spent only one night in hospital after the birth to watch for bleeding, and has been up and around since 30 minutes after the birth.  We had a nice steak dinner last night, and slept in a hotel, until we settle into more permanent accommodation for the next weeks.  We anticipate to be here at least 5-6 weeks, as the requirement is to be at 'Term' and 2.5kg before Luka can go home.  We still intend to travel to South Africa as soon as feasible, and will keep you posted more regularly.

First taste of breast milk on a swab

For now, please enjoy some of the photos, remember, he is a little guy, but we have already watched him improve by leaps and bounds in under 48-hours.

Lots of love, and our sincere apologies for making you all worry during this time.  Our numbers in Aus are:

+61-424-325-491 (Susan) and +61-424-084-315.  We ask that you please check the time zone carefully and not send texts or call during the night, as we have to keep our phones on at all times.  Note the differences for South Africa is +7hours and for CA is +17 hours. 

Thank you for your prayers and support, please keep them coming, this is only the beginning of our journey.

Being treated for jaundice, but already interested in sucking

Love

Susan, Chris and Luka