Dili International School

Deep down inside we are VERY nervous....

Apparently there comes a time in everyone's life...when the eternal educational wheel starts turning.  For some it is brief, for others a rather extended walk through life (my mother got her PhD in her 50s)...but nonetheless - we all have to start somewhere.  And so, Master Luka started at the Dili International School Pre-school a few months ago (yes his mother is only now getting around to sharing this groundbreaking news with you).

Now, trying to get Luka to appreciate the notion of 'circle time'
will take some doing....

'now why would I sit in a stupid circle when there are
playground equipment to conquer??'

'...afterall, I have a perfectly good view of the "circle" from here'

Essentially there are a few international schools in Dili.  The one that Luka frequents is commonly referred to as the 'Australian school' for following the curriculum from our friends down under, and staffed mainly by Australian teachers; whereas there is also an American and Portuguese school in town.

And then of course, nothing makes you as hungry as
'learning'!

I visited the pre-school with my mother-in-law shortly before they left Timor in August to get an educated opinion (she is after all an educational psychologist) and she was very positive and impressed about the setup.  So Chris and I decided that, despite not necessarily wanting to send Luka to school before he was 18 months old, the combination of his energy, and exploratory desire to learn things - that he was in fact, ready to start a more structured form of stimulation.  He goes 3 mornings a week and gets to hang out with Ms. Glau and all the friends doing circle time, painting, singing (his favorite is the dancing!~)

We have been absolutely amazed at how fast he learns and makes associations.  He is really starting to listen to requests, and instructions - which in the case of such a passionate little person, is a good thing ;)

1st Day of School....okay, Playgroup but still.

There was a lot of uhming and ahing over whether Luka was too young to start 'school', and given the amount of stimulation he gets with neighbors and friends, whether he even needed a 'formalized' situation - well - I think this video sort of sums up what he thought of his trial at the Dili International School (DIS) playgroup today...

Dance white boy!

Officially toddling

It's official, we have a toddler.  Heaven help us.  While I have failed to adequately capture the latest feature on camera - let it be known that we are now stomping around.  Despite not being entirely proficient at the whole walking bit, it has seemingly not stopped us from trying to climb our way into, and out of many things.  This afternoon when daddy put down a wash basket filled with dive gear, Luka proceeded to climb into, on top of, and over the entire heap.  Then when he noticed Gus (the cat) on the dining table, he figured that if he steps on the cross bar of the chair, he gets an extra 4 inches of lift to carefully annoy the cat on the table.

For the purpose of practicing the stomping, mommy purchased a nifty pair of red Crocs sandals (the only size available in giant toddler in Bali) to which we apparently still need to be accustomed to...

Will try and capture and share evidence of the latest phenomenon.

Learning about this walking thing...

One small step for Luka, one giant headache for mamma and daddy...

Around a month ago, Luka started pulling himself up onto people and furniture around him.  That skill is pretty much firmly established now. To my horror, when I walked into his room the other night when he was crying, I came face to face with the little guy staring at me through the bed frame, while standing upright!

He likes to hang onto a small footstool in the kitchen while one of us drags it to 'practice' walking.  Obviously now he wants to 'practice' a lot more.  So here is a video of Luka practicing with his daddy at a beach side restaurant recently.

Mr. Mobile!

HELP!  Luka is ....*gulp* - mobile... not sure the world is ready for this....

Waning into weaning

While I am not yet quite ready to admit it, and my stubborn nature will insist I continue to try and reach the arbitrary goal of "1 year" which I set out for myself, I digress - it appears we may be inadvertently waning into a state of weaning.  The Oxford Dictionary defines wean as

"accustom (someone) to managing without something to which they have become accustomed to"

while Wiki is more specific in describing the process of weaning as:

the process of introducing a mammal infant to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk

Sound pretty harsh eh?  Well, yeah - and pretty sad too, considering where we started all those months ago.  Hours and hours of practicing, focus, trying, bleeding, crying and more trying.  Then we settled into a nice hum breastfeeding bliss where the feeder and feedie were generally on the same page, albeit the feedie could be somewhat demanding from time to time (the whole point in demand-breastfed I hear you say, so touche).

Well, that was then, and now is now, and now more closely resembles a mid-air refueling of a very antsy F16 in the middle of a dogfight ...

Breastfeeding an eight month old boy, nothing

more than a mere 'refueling' for more jumping!

Gone are the days of blissful breastfeeding, like a snuggly momma dog with her delighted pup...

...no, these days, despite having only one suckling, with only one tooth, I definitely resemble this poor momma dog more closely...

I know, it could have something to do with the fact that our feedie has turned into a bit of a foodie and loves all things fish, chicken, beef, broccoli, spinach, breadsticks, cottage cheese, gosh - you name it, he'll probably eat it (including chili, garlic, onion, curry...) but when I rush home clear across town to make it for the lunch-time feed - I expect at least, well, a bit of a feed - instead, Luka thinks it is a swell idea for mommy to come home to play and jump around with him.  Which, I must admit, in the grand scheme of lunch hour dates, is not all that bad.  

But boy oh boy, I will miss the whole "but I'm breastfeeding" excuse for that last piece of chocolate...

So, while I'm not quite ready to give it up yet, the signs are there that our little man is moving on to greener (and spicier) pastures. 

IQ Blocks

Hm...get back here! 

And yes, he is this close to crawling - frightening I know!

I had the wisdom of buying a few toys before we came to Dili - for some reason these blocks caught my eye on Amazon - so happy to report that Master Luka loves them - and is becoming quite familiar with the notion of gravity as we tumble around these on our playmat.  It is them most incredible experience to watch their little brain develop - it's like you can hear the hamster on the wheel just running his little legs off.  And yes, for those who are wondering - I can report that Luka definitely has his mommy's lack of patience for failure...

Toes, tooth, treks and tonnage

It's been a bit hectic at work, so pardon the radio silence.  I know everyone is asking for recent Luka pics, which I promise to take, just as soon as I can find the camera charger in the last boxes from our recent move.  That's right, we figured that returning to a highly undeveloped country after an extended period away, without any preparation or setup ready, and me returning to work for the first time since March, just wasn't stressful enough, so we added a move into the mix just to keep it real.  Fortunately the move entailed a shift from an (albeit looooovely) hillside house far outside the hustle and bustle of Dili, to basically the equivalent of the 'burbs.  That's right people.  Your bleeding heart friends have now joined the dark side and moved into a semi-compound-like enclave of overpriced expatriate-occupied residences where the only Timorese around are those we employ in our houses.  Sounds awfully South Africa circa 1980 come to think of it.  And you know what, despite missing my hillside home where goats roam on my porch and Bon Jovi ballads wake me more frequently than a nursing infant does, it is rather pleasant to have 24-hour power (with more ACs than I can shake a stick at), enough water pressure (and water) to do more than one load of laundry every other day, and be within walking distance of multiple nannies.

So, 'oh, our baby, he will never change our life' rings extremely true (noooot), but hey - let me tell you, at least the move has merely encouraged us to maintain our life in that we are all packed to go up coast for two dives tomorrow, Chris ran Luka over to my office yesterday and we all ran him home in the super stroller (to the jaw-dropping awe of all the locals), we're walking out the door right now (borrowed baby monitor in hand) to go across the drive way to our friends' for after-dinner drinks, and have a nanny lined-up to sleep in tomorrow night so we can go to our first grown-up party since he joined our party nearly eight months ago.  So if that is what it takes to maintain fun and activity - then I would like to welcome us to the dark side ;)

In addition to the move, and perhaps much more importantly has been the progress and general coolness surrounding the little man.  I have come to realize why it is in fact possible to write a baby book espousing all manner of development and other goals.  Without having read one in a while (work's been a bit hectic) I am constantly asked whether Luka is doing A or B yet - and I can happily report to all interested parties, that yes - he has in fact discovered his toes - only now he won't let go of them, making nappy changes and bath time a lot more complicated than it used to be!  He is also an avid roller - preferring to cut tummy time as short as humanly possible by immediately rolling over and giggling profusely.  He is also very close to sitting, managing to balance himself (toes in hand) quite well, but seems to still be a little top-heavy - I am thinking it is imminent though.  And then, of course, the big news this week - the tooth!  I will try my best to get a photo of it tomorrow, it is soooooooo cute, little bottom left center toothy, all poking through.  Frankly doesn't seem to be bugging him all that much, though I am sure his tiny tots sunflower rattle who has been taking the brunt of the chewing will gladly disagree.

So we're off for a dive trip tomorrow, just Chris and I with Luka and his new nanny, a lovely young woman named Michelle.  Let's hope this one sticks around, or I might have to get the hint and quit my job.

Lastly, for those asking, he clocked in at 8.4kg or 18.5lbs this morning - unbelievable that he now weighs more than allowable hand luggage on Emirates airlines - when he started out as a big T-bone.

More (and photos I promise) soon!

New arrival!

We were reminded again today that Luka really does not cry or fuss without good reason.  I have recently been complaining about a new past-time for our little booby leech - biting!  While he seems to think it is quite amusing, I can tell you as the one on the receiving end, I am less than thrilled.  Then came the slightly more fussy behavior over the past few days, an extra wake at night, and some other nigglies uncharacteristic of our happy boy.  The mystery was finally solved this afternoon when Luka stuck both his and my thumb in his mouth during our kitchen dancing session over lunch - and sure enough, there was a tiny little new tooth!  

The little pearly white is so tiny that I must admit I was not yet able to catch it on film, but I'll give it my best shot over the weekend.  I guess this heralds yet another new phase for us - with the way he eats solids these days, this might mean he could have turkey or ham for Christmas!

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

All the amazing discoveries...

This reaction from a cow! Imagine what he will do when
gets his first car!

Despite the odd 2-hourly feeding schedule at night resulting in a fabulously sleep-deprived mommy, I cannot help but look forward to our morning sessions in bed.  Early mornings overlooking the sun rising on Scarborough beach have become quite the discovery of all the new and exciting things this world has to offer.  And so it is that Master Luka recently found black and white graphics when I flipped through a book of animals and he became enamored with the picture of the cow.  I thought I would see whether this was a fluke, or if he was truly that stimulated and excited by it - so I downloaded a set of free black and white graphics for infants.  I pasted one by his changing station, and in the car where he can see it from his car seat, and sure enough - he loves it!  To the point where he audibly laughs when he looks at them!  Who knew, black and white blobs are all the rage if you're <three weeks>* old.

* In line with the majority of literature on premature births, we have started referring to Luka in his corrected age, i.e., if someone in a restaurant inquires about his age, for the purpose of explaining his size and development, he is three weeks old, not three months. 

New favorite thing, the big T!

Step 1: Approach mouth with thumb

 As far as cool discoveries go for someone that is supposed to be two weeks old this week - the big T - for THUMB ranks right up there!  We watched with great amusement as Luka practiced finding and sucking on his very own thumb.  Watching the concentration provided quite the entertaining afternoon for us....

Step 2:  Insert into this thing they call mouth

Step 3: Suck away!

Delightful Daily Discoveries

At a risk of sounding like a massive cliché, allow me to just say that of all the crazy things I've done in my utterly fulfilled life, holding a gurgling, cooing, happy, healthy (and now full-term) newborn has to be one of the most amazing experiences in the world. Watching his little movements and intense concentration on something, only to switch momentarily to something else...is one of the most peaceful emotions I have ever experienced (much much more peaceful than the sporadic bouts of yelling indicating some level of frustration with his inexperienced parents!)

Take the past two days for instance...as far as discoveries go, they must be right up there as best ones in the world I would say (not to mention from the perspective of a should be 1-week old baby), first of - yesterday: The Tongue.  I mean, imagine what he must think..."hm, what is the delightful, squishy, totally awesome device I find here in my mouth...not entirely sure how to use it yet, but seems it belongs to me, and when I open my little mouth, I can magically make it go in and out, and out, and in and, well, mostly out.  But I mean really, how cool is that!"

Followed today on this lovely Friday in Cape Town by the first serious practice session of the most melt-your-heartable SMILE! And no, I do not mean the 'oh that? that's a wind/cramp/accident' - I mean the kind of smile that he beams at his mommy's voice or a gentle tickle on the cheek.

So, as far as Luka's week is concerned - I'd say pretty impressive, and with the bonus that no one had a scalpel anywhere near his shorts in over a week!

Kangaroo Care 2.0

Now that we are home with Luka, in our familiar environment, finally doing so many of the things we envisioned we would once our baby came - fix-its around the house, enjoying our first cool weather in over a year, and yes, lots of cooking - we can't help but realize Luka is not quite the vital newborn we anticipated two active, fit, and yes, big parents would have.  Instead, we are reminded by Luka, and experts in the field alike, that our little bundle of joy continues to require just that extra bit of attention, sensitivity and patience.

In researching the best ways to nurture and care for Luka, still three-weeks short of his due date, we are reminded of the importance of continuing the skin-to-skin or kangaroo care.  Renowned UCLA paediatrician and child development expert Dr. Harvey Karp, M.D, long-term researcher of colic in infants and subsequent purveyor of The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer,* argues that babies are really cheated out of a 'fourth trimester' and should therefore really be granted the same level of security, warmth and yes, touch and cuddling as they would normally enjoy in the womb - 'womb service' as he calls it. In his opinion, a newborn undergoes such dramatic development in the first three months of their life, evident in the marked difference between a fussy, crying, jerky newborn and a smiling, cute, engaging three-month old.  In reading this, I am once again reminded that the parents of preemies, even healthy ones, must beware to adjust expectations accordingly.  After all, Dr. Karp suggests that parents of 40-weekers beware and sensitive to the need for a womb-like environment, all the more so for the little ones who are still weeks away from their due date, such as Luka.

Aaah, enters that dreaded notion of spoiling the baby.  This concept so present in our western society where parents who pick up crying infants or otherwise see to their needs are quickly labeled as spoiling the infant.  As if someone that is not yet supposed to even be here has the critical thinking skills to come up with a cause-and-effect equation that favors his desires.  Even advocates for strict routine such as Tracy Hogg agrees that you should not try to treat your preemie as a normal (sic) baby until at least its due date.  Indeed, in her book Secrets of the Baby Whisperer:  How to Calm, Connect and Communicate with your Baby she claims that this is the only type of baby that should be allowed to demand feed and enjoy constant cuddling  What is interesting is that Dr. Karp  argues that even the term baby should be nurtured and not subjected to a strict routine until four months.

In our day-to-day dealings with Luka, and in getting to know his likes and dislikes, despite his amazing progress, it is still evident that he not simply wants, but needs closeness, warmth, security and yes, noisiness of the womb. To best accomplish this, we carry him in one of the many pouches we were gifted by our friends and family.  The lovely thing about these pouches are not only the comfort, but that the meters of fabric negates the need for wearing a shirt, and since Luka is only in a nappy, I figure that drastically cuts down on laundry!

Thanks to everyone who has sent us pouches, Amy & Darren, Rita, and Leana.  We really appreciate it, as does Luka!

Luka smiling from inside the organic "Sleepy Wrap"

* Also see Dr. Karp's website:  The Happiest Baby on the Block at: www.happiestbaby.com