Pedaling for Preemies

Dear friends,

23 March 2011, Luka's first feed

It is very hard to believe that we are nearing the third anniversary of our lives with Luka, our favorite ex-prem.  For those not familiar with his story, you can poke around this blog to learn how we went from blissfully pregnant to emergency evacuated by air to welcome our first child into the world, 10 weeks early, on 22 March 2011.

This post however, is not to dwell on the past, but rather to talk about an event in the future.  To commemorate Luka's third year in our lives, Chris and I decided to attempt perhaps the only thing we could think of that would be harder than being in labor on an airplane - the 11th ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike stage race.  This 8-day torture fest occurs every year in March and traverses the mountains in and around Cape Town and the surrounding wine country.  The 2014 route will include nearly 750km of rugged off-road riding, where 1,200 riders, including Olympians, world cup winners, professionals - and weekend warriors like us, will test our endurance to the fullest.  For some, the prize money is a strong motivator, for others, like us, the mere honor of participating - and hope for being an "Epic Finisher" is glory enough.

Luka today - an avid biker

But why write about a cycling race on Luka's blog?  Because we decided to enter this race as a way to celebrate our life with Luka.  For months after his birth, the uncertainties of whether or not he would be 'normal', and healthy, plagued our minds, hearts and souls.  As time went on however, and we eased into the realization that we were one of the lucky ones - we started to understand just how fortunate and blessed we were.  In order to celebrate this blessing, and his first three years - we have decided to raise funds for premature babies in the wonderful country that we call home at the moment, Timor-Leste.  It is here, in Dili, that we went into labor in 2011, and here that we returned with our very small infant son later that year.  The Timorese have taken us in, loved us, cared for Luka, and been gracious in sharing their beautiful country with us.  This despite being the poorest nation in Asia, plagued by development challenges including some of the highest mortality rates for mothers and infants, lowest literacy rates, and extremely poor healthcare options.

While we were fortunate enough to access world-class neonatal care for our premature baby in Darwin, Australia - many, many people around the world are not that fortunate. According to an NGO dedicated to preterm births in Africa, an estimated 15 million babies are born too soon every year.  According to a recent report, premature birth kills 1 baby every 30 seconds!!  That is more than die of malaria, AIDS or diarrhea.  The worst part is that 75% of these deaths can be prevented without intensive care - through simple and inexpensive interventions like steroid injections (which I received prior to Luka's birth), proper hygiene, and warmth (the most valuable renewable energy source on the planet is a parent's skin-to-skin contact with a premature infant).  Yet scores of babies will die this year of preventable preterm births.

Of course, we do not anticipate that the two of us on our bicycles can make a difference in the world's premature birth statistics - however, we do believe we can make a small contribution to the situation for preemies born in Timor-Leste.  As such, we will be coordinating with healthcare professionals in Dili to seek opportunities to contribute to a low-tech intervention such as a 'Kangaroo Mothercare' room, or other similar intervention to assist parents of preemies to cope with, and adequately support their little miracles.

We are in the consultation process to find the most appropriate source to support, but with this letter, I am requesting those able to, please consider supporting our cause when the time comes.  You may choose to give a flat-fee, or an amount per kilometer (1c, 10c, $1?).  There will be no overhead, fee, or administration cost - just two very grateful parents, and one very boisterous ex-prem giving back to the world.  Every cent you choose to donate will go directly to benefiting these little angels.

Once we have our specific project finalized, I will share the information and procedure to donate with you. There is however absolutely NO expectation, NO obligation - just gratification for knowing that you may be able to touch the life of a very special person.

More soon, until then - yours sincerely

Susan, Chris and Luka

Luka's LA Premier

Well, turns out that we didn't pick the best weekend in LA, weather-wise.  Unless you prefer your weather Chicago-style.  Our initial plan of a simple beach gathering had to be slightly altered for fear of Luka and his balloons going airborne.  So we shifted the whole deal indoors to the Cheesecake Factory right next to the beach.  Despite the blustery weather, more than 30 of our close friends, professors, neighbors and kids showed up to see Luka (we know it had nothing to do with us).

Thank you to each of you that braved the weather to come out and catch up, in many instances, it has been years, in all instances - it has been too long.

Despite his jet lag, Luka seemed to enjoy the party (and the various naps he took in people's arms).

Good times, good friends. Thank you all

(And apologies to those that could not find us, we made multiple trips to the beach to make sure we let everyone know that we moved indoors)

Here are a few photos from the party:

LA-babe

Hmmm cheesecake

Luka napping in aunt Sherril's arms

Birthday boy

Professor Bender - the instigator of it all!

With  uncle Eric and aunt Cinnamon.

Exhausted boy in the car afterwards.

Luka turns 1, Dili Style!

On Sunday morning, Chris and I hosted an early (seemed fitting) birthday party for Luka for all his Dili bub-friends.

As one does in the Tropics, the festivities took place on the beach.  While we considered catering the whole thing, it seemed important and fitting for us to bake for this momentous birthday, given our history with baked goods at special anniversaries.  Specifically, we decided to bake the same cupcakes for his first birthday as we did for his 1-week birthday.

An amazingly large contingent of our bub-club friends and bubs showed up to celebrate this wonderful milestone.  We are so incredibly grateful for our friends, who are really our family away from home.

As I said in my brief remarks, to think that this boisterous bubbling young boy once weighed 1.5kg still blows me away.  But here he was, playing with his buds, smashing a cupcake and enjoying the good weather, cheer and wonderful atmosphere.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from that day...many more to follow...

The birthday boy and his mommy....

Chris sampling the goods

Luka's personalized decorations which came in JUST
in time courtesy of Susan's colleague from San Francisco

Emotional Susan...

The little party-goers enjoying the animal print balloons

   

Marking 11 months today.

I suppose when you are a new parent, every new experience is exactly that, an experience.  But more than that really, it is also a milestone.  And so it is today that Luka celebrates his last birthday counted in 'months' (at least in so far as it is the last one prior to one being counted in year(s)).  If this does not quite make sense, today is Luka's 11 month birthday.

For his birthday today Luka got an extra 200g for the past month, which means that he officially (we double weighed to make sure) topped the scales at the big 1-0-k-g this morning.  That's right, our little bruiser is now officially freaking heavy!

To say that he is a joy in abundance, is to lack the words to describe the sheer pleasure we derive from his reaction when we walk into the house from being out for some or other reason.  More often than not we will come home and notice his play room door is slightly ajar, knowing that he is in there playing with books, musical toys, and other stimuli with his lovely nanny, Michelle.  Yet, when he hears one of our voices, he is like a bat out of hell, climbing over the local Timorese-made throw pillows, swings the door open, and leopard crawling at light-speed to get to one of us.

There is perhaps not a more incredible feeling at the end of a long, hard day at the office, than to have 10kg of adorable, smiling, cooing (squealing, really) baby boy come charging in your direction when you walk through the door, demanding to be picked up, cuddled, then promptly put back down so that he can resume the game of annoying the cat by endlessly chasing him around the dining room table.

Pouring the batter into what will be the final installment
of the 'months' cake series

For some reason this eleven-month mark has been quite emotional for me.  I found myself today thinking about our time in Darwin, about the baking, the long hours in hospital, and eventually about how Chris and I used to have to strap our (then still premature) baby to our chests, in bed, shortly after arriving in Cape Town, to ensure he is kept warm, secure and safe from slipping off.  Which, as you can imagine, meant that neither one of us slept for a good few months.  And, as per the tradition, I baked a cake.  This time a simple Vanilla Bean Pound Cake (hey, I'm a full-time mom that does not even have time to buy my own eggs - thanks honey!)  It was not so much for the cake, but for the act of baking that I simply had to be in the kitchen tonight.

The final product 

Chris said tonight that if we did this again, he would surely need amnesia - but I thought it comes with that automatically, hence why I don't remember the 1.5-hourly breastfeeds, or the entire month of October at all for that matter.  And as we enter the last month of his first year, I cannot help but feel incredibly sentimental about our time together in Darwin, Cape Town, Oxford, Scotland, Sri Lanka...and soon to be California, Arizona and elsewhere.  How blessed we are to have been given the privilege of guarding over this little person for a few precious years, how I wish the next few won't go quite as quickly...

Countdown to Luka's 1st birthday family extravaganza starts now....

Seven Month Success

Luka turned seven months last week and five-months corrected (as in supposed-to-be) today.  Incidentally he had a visit to a pediatrician this week.  While we originally planned a visit to Darwin to catch up with all the lovely NICU nurses (and do some Thanksgiving shopping while there) we were fortunate to have a world-class pediatrician right here in Dili offer to see him instead.  And not just anyone, as far as 'small world' goes - she is also the owner of the lovely house we rented close to the Royal Darwin Hospital all those months ago for nearly five weeks - and just happen to actually run the NICU at RDH before moving back to Dili where she works in the local hospital now.

So we weren't really super concerned about anything today, instead we just wanted a pediatrician to look him over and tell us that Luka is progressing fine and there are no issues to be concerned about, and I think we got just that.  First of all seems our boy's penchant for all things tropical has bumped our boy from the 3rd centile for his age to above the 70th percentile for size and weight for a five-month old (which, if you know his parents, is a lot closer to expected than 3rd!)  He weighed in at nearly 7.5kg (16.5lbs) and measured 65.5cm (25.7inches) tall.  Developmentally he is right up there where he needs to be and we suspect he will be sitting any day now.  We discussed matters pertaining specifically to living in Timor-Leste, like the fact that he will probably get two measles vaccinations (even though it is not done in Australia for instance) due to the high prevalence of measles here.

He still has somewhat of a light heart murmur - but apparently it is very localized and not something to be concerned enough about to get a scan for.  We're scheduled to see Dr. Ingrid again in three months time, and I must say, I am rather relieved to think there is a highly qualified pediatrician just down the road ;) (even though of course we don't suspect and certainly hope, we won't have any real need for her).

So lucky us, we saved all that money by not having to fly all the way to Darwin to have a doctor tell us Luka is doing great - at the same time, I think I have had enough excitement and drama in the past few weeks to not have to walk the gangplank off the plane where I found myself in labor the last time I rushed through immigration, and to take the elevator up to the sixth floor at RDH.  Maybe next time.

Kitty Pool

Swimming with an audience

For Luka's seven month birthday party (yes, hard to believe you have been reading about the bowel movements and sleep patterns of an infant that is likely not related to you in any way!) we thought we'd erect his kiddie pool on the porch, just in time for the stifling afternoon heat.  As ouma and I gathered on the porch with Luka, daddy diligently carried the water to fill his $8.99 pool we bought on Amazon.  He was just settling in for a nice swim when a certain furry friend decided the spectacle was too much and had to investigate for himself.  So just in case any of our friends from PETA were still concerned that Gus has not recovered from his recent diet of cat litter and wet food, rest assured - he is alive and well, well.

Kitty kitty!!

Luka, how we love thee - six months on

Luka the Legend today, six months on

We have come a long way from here - Luka at 4 weeks

Today, 22 September 2011, is Luka's six month birthday.  Yes, every cliche is true about how I can't imagine my life before him any longer (though a sleep-in on a Sunday every now and then won't hurt!), and how much he has changed my outlook on life (shopping for clothes has taken on a whole new race-like quality) and taught me patience and understanding (who doesn't love a shoulder full of regurgitated milk?).  Our path over the past half-a-year has led us (quite speedily) to Darwin, Australia; eventually (quite terrifyingly) around the world back home to Cape Town, South Africa; followed by a quick trip (quite jauntingly) to Oxford and Edinburgh in the UK;  and now finally (quite imminently) back to Dili, Timor-Leste in Asia.

Standing this morning over his preemie clothes we are packing away in anticipation of our move back to Dili, both Chris and I could not help but shed a tear at the sight of the outfit that we brought him home from hospital in.  The tiny 'onesie' with the monkey feet we were so fond of, now dwarfed in Chris' hand - it was hard to imagine that this outfit was way too big for him and required us rolling up the sleeves on his tiny body.

Today, Luka weighs (finally) over 6kg, that is more than three times his birth weight.  He is the happiest little boy with chubby cheeks and a feisty personality that will surely help him survive this family!

How far indeed we have come.  During the past six months we have been terrified at the prospect of Luka coming so early, filled with fear upon returning to hospital for an emergency inguinal hernia operation and a host of other overwhelming emotions.  Fortunately, we have also been overjoyed with his progress, humbled by the enormity of finally taking him home from hospital - and incredibly grateful for all the support from staff and friends alike.  We have both learned a lot about each other and to say that the experience of having Luka in this manner has brought us closer together, is an understatement.

But most importantly, we have come to know and love a littler person with an incredible spirit.  People will tell you that preemies are special, and I think they are right.  To see a tiny 1.7kg/3+lbs person fight for every millimeter, milliliter and gram of his life for the first few weeks is an experience that one can hardly describe.  Thank you Luka for grounding us in the firm knowledge that someone bigger than us all takes care of us, and that the unending spirit of love can see you through some pretty hairy things in life.

You are the light in our lives and we love you for teaching us how to relinquish more control of our lives to you every single day.

Happy 'un'birthday Peanut!

Luka at Six months

Photos:  All photo credits to Brenda Wardall of Hearts in a Shutter - she is an amazing photographer in Noordhoek, visit her website here:  www.hearts.co.za .  If you want to see more of our shoot at our home in Scarborough, please visit:  http://www.hearts.co.za/blog/luka-family/ - for a trip down memory lane, see the previous photo shoot with Brenda when Luka was still 4 weeks premature here.

Flashback - Little Luka at -4 weeks.
See photos from this shoot here

Luka turns five months old!

21 Aug - Luka en 'boetie' Sebastian who likes to say "MY Luka"

Indeed, I look at Luka this morning as we do our ritual 'breastfeeding with a view' from the bedroom we still share here in Scarborough in the Western Cape, and I ask myself....where has the time gone?  Our little man is actually five months old today (though to keep things complicated is still only considered a 3-month old).

In his short life he has traveled through Australia, South Africa, England, Dubai, Singapore and Scotland by air, train, bus, punt, car and infant carrier . He has acquired an Australian birth certificate, South African and American passports; flown more than 50 hours; been thrown out of a bar; visited by a police officer; had emergency surgery; acquired multiple $1,000 + a piece vaccinations; was baptized next to a Springbok rugby player, and most importantly quit his dummy cold turkey for his five-month birthday, in lieu of the newly discovered phenomenon *the fist*!  Way to go little guy!

We love you and we love everyone in the world who has loved you, cared for you, sent you presents, and most importantly, prayed for you.

Luka turns 3 months

Luka models a knitted cap that his great grandmother Ouma
Susan knitted for his mommy more than thirty years ago.
Like him and his daddy, mommy and Ouma also shared a
birthday...30 September.

Luka is three months old today, and tips the scales at 4.12kg/9lbs 1 oz which means he has caught up to a normal weight for his corrected age (3.5 weeks old), despite his premature birth. Happy birthday little guy!

Happy eleven weeks!

Luka in the nature reserve behind our house.
Photo by Brenda Wardall from 'Hearts in a Shutter'

On this lovely wintery Tuesday in Cape Town, we are delighted to celebrate Luka's 11 week birthday today, and even more thrilled to welcome his grandma and grandpa from California tomorrow.

As luck would have it though, our little man celebrated his birthday with a little 'gut assistance' in the form of a glycerin tablet deposited somewhat uncomfortably (for both of us) for the lack of well, 'activity' for a week.  Might explain why his Aries horoscope this week is all about  'pushing harder for what you want' or something of this nature - I was still too traumatized to really pay attention.

Still hoping he'll have one hell of a sense of humor to make it in this family...

Our little favorite little featherweight!

Luka turns two months!

Luka in his cute "100% pure Baby" outfit
on 22 May, 2011 - his 2 month birthday
(a gift from Nicole and Phil in Senegal)

hmmmm....

And so, with almost a week left before his due date, Luka celebrated his 2-month birthday on Sunday, 22 May with the Marx family in attendance. Fortunately for him the rapture did not impede on the celebrations, and mommy even managed to complete the challenging Lemon Meringue Pie ordered by Luka's Oupa to double as the birthday cake.*


To try and describe the past two months in a post seems almost impossible, but suffice it to say that in two months Luka has lived on two continents, nearly doubled his weight, applied for two passports, and made two people incredibly proud and happy to be his parents.

With ouma and oupa in the backyard

* The pie combined the Lemon Curd and 3-2-1 Flaky Pie Crust recipes from the book "The Secret of Baking" by Sherry Yard, and the meringue topping from Irma S. Rombauer's 1970's classic edition "The Joy of Cooking"   

Luka's first (non-family) visitors

Heather and Alex stop by to say hi to Luka on his
1-month birthday!

To coincide nicely with Luka's one month birthday on 22 April, we were thrilled to welcome three visitors from Dili.  Friends and fellow-divers Heather and Alex stopped by on their way to Bali.  We also had a visit by Hayley, the midwife who was called by my doctor when we thought I was going into labor to make a decision on the right course of action.  Needless to say we are eternally grateful for the way things worked out. 

Luka turns 4 Weeks!

In keeping with the tradition of celebrating each small milestone Luka achieve, (and to some small degree to keep up the nurse bribery scheme we have going) we baked a 4-week birthday cake for our boy.  It is hard to believe that we have been 'parents' for four weeks, albeit in a completely controlled environment that sees us leave the old hospital building empty-handed at the end of every long day.  We are nonetheless aware that this little person is from here on out, completely dependent on us, and we hope that we can live up to his expectations and needs.

Happy birthday little man!  Mommy promises to stop the 'Disco' themed cakes as soon as I run out of blue and green sprinkles!

19 April 2011 - Luka celebrates 4 weeks in style with his daddy
and his Ouma 

For the event, we chose a deliciously moist and easy to make Carrot Cake. Despite the recipe calling for a 'sheet cake' the lack of a 9x13 inch baking dish made us revert to our round cake pan (yes we bought a cake pan).  Our schizophrenic oven meant we baked it for about 1.5 hours instead of the 40 minutes in the recipe... so all the power to you to figure out the right baking time. 

1x Baby; 2x Kilos; 3x weeks

Our family on Luka's 3-week birthday, April 12, 2011.

Well, it is that time again - celebrating another week of Luka entering our lives.  Indeed, it is hard to believe that it is a whole three weeks since Chris and I unsuspectingly went to work on a Monday morning, only to end up spending the night in a Darwin hospital.

While we would much rather be lounging in our lovely house in Cape Town, still 'preparing' for this wondrous thing called child birth -  our motto of 'it is what it is' rings true.  As such, we choose to celebrate every milestone along the way - even if it only means looking for an excuse to bake something fattening and sweet.  Seemed like reaching the 2 kilo mark on his 3 week birthday was an excellent excuse for a fittingly named Lemony 1-2-3 cake.  (Tacky disco decoration not included, that was all Susan's idea (fault?).

(The nursing team leader asked me why we baked, I said it was to 'de-stress' - now every time she sees me she asked me if I 'de-stressed' again last night...)