To the hospital in a hurry

Silly of us to think that Luka would spare us yet another medically-necessitated rapid departure from Dili following our first episode.  Instead, we found ourselves, once again, scrambling to pack in 20 minutes flat, while praying the Internet connection holds to book plane tickets.

Now, now, fortunately this one is much more par for the course and not nearly as exciting and scary as the previous one.  Turns out Luka has Bronchiolitis which is an infection of the small air passages (as opposed to the larger air ways, or the bronchials as was explained to me today). Whatever it is, it makes for one miserable little trooper.  With a fever spike of 40C yesterday, we listened to the poor guy wheezing all night long. At the doctor's this morning his O2 saturation levels (sats) were down to 92%, which is below the 93% that the doctor says is acceptable.  After a few minutes on the torture device known as the nebulizer he responded well - so we were sent home with a home kit to administer ventilin.

All the while we were planning to send Chris and Luka to Darwin tomorrow as a precaution - then it dawned on me, hang on, they're headed to Singapore on Tuesday anyway on their way to South Africa - why not just change that ticket and head up that way - ah right, because the plane leaves in TWO HOURS!  Unfortunately it was also lunch time in Dili, which on an island, is taken very seriously. So we had to wait until after 13h00 before Chris could go back to see the doctor.  By the time he called me to say that she still thinks as a precaution we should take him out, I had under 2 hours to change a ticket and pack for both of them and get them to the airport.  Mind you, it's not just packing for 4 days in Singapore, no, it's packing all the winter clothes Luka and Chris has to take to South Africa for the trip we were originally scheduled to go on next week.

Thanks to Michelle and Judith, we managed to get it all sorted, and off we went to the airport where the Air Timor guys were absolutely amazing and just checked us in right in the office, no line, no counter, no nothing (that is after we showed them the 'fit to fly' medical certificate' of course).

I was devastated to watch the two of them get on the plane, but with my boss out of the country (yes, this always happens when I'm in charge), and the election observation mission I am overseeing arriving in 4 days for the upcoming parliamentary election, I had to stay behind :(

Fortunately we know this is simply precautionary - and soon Chris and Luka will be hanging out at the Singapore Zoo, eating fabulous street cuisine.  We'd just rather he be eating street cuisine down the road from a world class hospital, than wake up tomorrow morning and be out of departing flights for two days.  Just the cost of doing business in our line of work I suppose.

Still sucked putting them on the plane though :(

IKEA!

When you live in Dili, you learn to procure necessities any which way you can (remember our fresh organic turkey flown in and wrestled from the claws of customs for our Thanksgiving this year?)  So it was that we had a much-needed stop-over in Singapore to pick up a few critical items, including new towel and toilet roll holders, new eating utensils and a high chair (yes, seriously).  We stayed in a lovely hotel off Orchard Road, the main shopping and dining destination in Singapore - and hit the stores early on January 2nd.  I am happy to report that we survived both Toys R' Us (we had a very traumatic experience there last year when my dad tried to buy his pregnant kids a stroller and all we left with were latches for our fridge to keep the baboons out), and IKEA, in one day!  Luka was a trooper, riding along in his stroller, stopping every few hours for a breast or other feed.

Test-driving a sporty high chair in IKEA in Singapore.

While we were unable to find a mattress to fit his third-hand cot in Dili (who knew the Australian 'standard' cot size is different than just about everywhere else in the world?).  We did find a nice high chair though, which, thanks to bumping into Chris' former colleague in the check-in line, we managed to check without paying any overweight charges.

Now we just need to figure out who will bring us a mattress from Aus...  

Swanky New Years Eve Brunch

After a lovely evening at the wedding of our friends at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel in Colombo(and the whole reason for visiting Sri Lanka).  Chris and I rode a tuk-tuk back to the much less swanky hotel nearby where we stayed (also known as the only room left in the entire neighborhood on the 30th of December).  We booked into a hotel 1km from the wedding and hired a babysitter recommended by Susan's office in Colombo.  She is a marketing executive who babysits expat babies (Sri Lankans apparently do not have a culture of babysitting, and expats are apparently the only terrible parents who would leave our children unattended in the care of a non-family member) be that as it may, $7 an hour later, Chris and I set off to the wedding.  Chris did duck back to the hotel after the ceremony to feed and put Luka to sleep, meaning we pretty much paid the babysitter to watch TV and eat roomservice.

The following morning we took a stroll back to the Mt. Lavinia to say farewell to all the friends and the lovely couple who set off on a tour of Sri Lanka.  Work commitments unfortunately meant that we could not join them.  We did however partake of the nice poolside brunch at the wedding hotel before heading back to our friend's home where we spent the day by the pool and new years eve ducking and covering.

Back to brunch... we were overjoyed that the hotel had high chairs, meaning we could actually not play 'defense' for once as Luka was somewhat safely strapped in.  Here's what he had to say about the fare on offer.

Look at my dexterity mommy, I can see the bread stick,
reach for it...

...and pick it up to show you...

...EXACTLY how I feel about eating breadsticks at a
swanky brunch!...

..now move that plate of food closer to me!

Camp Christmas Eve at Changi

Camp Christmas Eve (post spit-up, hence the additional
laundry in the background).

While most of you will be snug in your homes around a warm fire and Christmas tree, surrounded by presents and family - the three of us are in fact someplace much cooler - in TRANSIT.  That's right.  We presently find ourselves in the 'Rainforest' Lounge (so called for the green painted trees on the white walls) in Changi (or SIN or if you really don't get around much, Singapore International) airport.

We have had to adapt our 'strictly one bag each' travel motto slightly since adding a new addition, leading to the rather 'IDP-camp looking setup' in the lounge area.  We have learned that when you travel with an infant, trying to stick as closely as possible to a 'normal' schedule is key.  So we pick flights that coincide with nap times (whenever possible) and have become quite skilled at bathing him in airport lounge sinks.  Yes, this also means we will favor one airport (SIN) over another (DPS), for instance.  We've also learned to pick our gear carefully.  For this trip, we opted for the Chicco Capri Stroller in 'Tangerine' and pitched before you is our little man's home away from home, his Peapod travel bed from KidCo.  In preparation for this trip, we have been napping him in here every day to make sure he is comfortable with it.

Today's travel started with a pre-flight trip to the airport where Susan managed to convince the Air Timor staff to check us in hours before the gate opens - securing not only the bulkhead, but also weighing and tagging the luggage - meaning that we got to avoid the line when we showed up 45mins before the flight departed.  The flight coincided with what should have been Luka's nap - but hey - if you're 9.4kg and have to sit in mom or dad's lap, WHO wants to nap when you can JUMP for 3.5 hours.  So Chris and I pretty much played defense for the entire flight (yes I know my father is smiling as he reads this).

At Changi, our stroller was handed to us exactly as we walked past the door on the ramp (again, why we fly through SIN and not DPS), and we headed straight for the lounge with our Priority Pass cards (we are afterall only Silver on Emirates, can't wait to make Gold one day when I grow up).  It was about an hour past Luka's bedtime, so time was of the essence.  Mommy and Luka took a shower (interesting endeavor in a small space let me tell you) while daddy erected Camp Christmas Eve outside.

Tucked in for a nice nap.

Following his shower and bottle, all snug in his PJs, Luka went down for (what we hope) will be at least a four hour nap before we very gently try and transfer him to one of our shoulders and onto the flight.  What an awful time to be flying on Christmas, to arrive at 0140 in Colombo on Christmas morning - but with only three weekly flights between DIL-SIN, so be it.

Anyway, from all three of us, we wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE.

Expat Babies

I'm often reminded that our lives are not considered the 'norm'.  Where we live, it is completely normal for one household to boast three nannies for three babies under the age of fifteen months.  It is also quite par for the course for three boys from three different families, none older than seven months, to collectively boast seven different nationalities and be learning as many languages.

My first stroller ride!

Weeeeeeee!!

Since Luka's parents are either too cheap (or scared of the 43 steps to their house) - Luka has had to do without a stroller for the first six months of his life while friends and cousins ride around in an array of Rolls Royce-like comfort.  Instead of the wheeled approach to transportation, Luka has been exclusively carried in a plethora of carrying devices including the popular Moby Wrap and an alternate to the Baby Bjorn called the Ergo Baby.

So it was a whole new experience for our little man when he was pushed in his first stroller ride while in transit in Dubai International airport in route to Timor-Leste.  Fortunately for him, what he didn't know yet - is there were two strollers (including one almost just like the Emirates stroller) also in route to Timor.

Luka goes to Oxford - July 2011

Luka traveled to Oxford with mommy, daddy and the whole extended family in July for mommy's graduation.  We had a fun-filled trip full of hikes, punts, pubs and other activities.  Luka spent the majority of his days in his Ergo baby carrier, or arms of eager friends.

The whole family outside our rented house in Oxford
15 July 2011

A trip to Oxford would not be complete without a visit
to "Kings Arms! Kings Arms!"

Luka enjoying the Turf Tavern during daylight hours,after
being tossed out the night before...silly laws. 

Loving the train ride to Edinburgh!

About an hour before the Graduation Ceremony at Kellogg
College 16 July 2011

View of the graduation ceremony to which Luka was
not allowed, fortunately aunts and uncles are wonderful
things who took care of him at the pub!

The night after graduation at the New College formal

Academic Nap

11 July 2011 - Luka practicing his new napping skills

After 10 days in Pretoria with family, and nearly as many large social gatherings (including a family wedding, a 60th, a 30th, and almost a Christening (long story), we are back in Cape Town for only 2 days before departing to the UK on Wednesday. I know Luka's fans are starving for news on his progress.  Well, his weight as of today is now a whopping 4.48kg (nearly 10 lbs!), and he is 58cm long.

Here is a photo I took of him today as he kept us company in the dining room.  While I worked on a lecture I have to give at Oxford university next week, and Chris caught up on his MA studies for SOAS, Luka joined us for a bit of serious napping-in-training.

We are marching to Pretoria...

Or flying at least.  Night before our first flight since arriving in Cape Town from Darwin with Luka on May 4th.  It is absolutely insane to even begin to think how we managed that trip with more than twice the luggage (including a printer, newly arrived car seat, and clothes for two seasons), and only half the infant...

Luka currently weighs roughly 4.2kg, to think when we came here, it was only just over 2.5kg...amazing.  More amazing is that he packs nearly as much luggage as we do - hm, how does that happen?

In other news, we were sad to see Grandma and Grandpa Serjak depart yesterday.  What a splendid trip we all had together, certainly one for the books.  We'll have to work on the next time they get to see Luka - the way he's going, he might be walking by Christmas ;)

BREAKING NEWS: We are finally...dare I say, home.

After more than 36-hours of flawless travel on the part of Luka (less so for his parents, Chris definitely fussed more, and Susan most certainly cried more), we climbed the 43 steps to our lovely home in the quaint seaside village of Scarborough south of Cape Town tonight.

The emotions are indescribable as we once again realize how futile our attempts at planning something as amazing as the birth of a child was.  We are grateful to so many people for so many things which we will be writing about in the coming days as we settle in.

For now, just a simple newsflash to let everybody know that after six (sometimes scary, sometimes frustrating, mostly exhausting) weeks, we are finally home, we are together, and we are safe. To celebrate, Chris fired up a 2008 Lanzarac Pinotage - like he says 'nothing says 'we're home' like a good South African Pinotage'

Much more to come, we promise.  For now, Luka is tucked into the bed installed and beautifully made up by dear friends.  Chris is heating soup left in the freezer by the same couple. And I want to let everyone know that we are doing well.

Stay tuned for the trials and tribulations of travels with a not-supposes-to-have-been-here-yet baby.

Luka's long way home Part II: Singapore-Dubai-Cape Town

At Darwin airport before our first flight to Singapore -
incidentally the photo was taken by one of the
Special Care Nurses traveling to Singapore with her family

Once we made it past the first flight, I could finally calm my nerves that Luka would survive the dreaded take-off and landing. It is amazing how illogical one can become in a situation as unknown as that of traveling with a newborn...thoughts rushed through my mind that I might somehow lose my milk on the flight (air pressure perhaps?) or that Luka would suddenly stop eating regularly, to name but a few of the million things that rush through your mind.

Luka's first flight - Jetstar from Darwin to Singapore

Fortunately, none of the fears materialized and he was a wonderful traveler. Apart from a few baffled immigration officers (including the same one I remember checking my passport in Darwin in November when we went for our 14-week Nuchal Fold Scan) we made it to Singapore without any hassles.  Luka slept for the majority of the flight waking a fairly regular intervals for feeds. Just to be safe, I kept my watch on Darwin time and logged all the feeds in Luka's journal to make sure that we kept a good schedule and do not risk losing any weight.

We had a four-hour layover in Singapore, where Luka and Chris settled in for an old favorite past-time...napping.

Having a little snooze in Singapore...

And finally, after 36-hours of flying, we arrived in Cape Town, in one piece.....we were greeted by a lovely sunset over Table Mountain.

Finally, we touched down in Cape Town...

 

Luka's long way home Part I: Darwin-Singapore

Susan decorating Luka's final cake  - "Luka 'heart' SCN"

Chris literally closing the gate on
our stay in Darwin 

Traveling from Darwin to Cape Town is not an easy feat on a good day unless you are a swanky businessman with nothing but carry-on, flying first-class.  Traveling there with a brand new infant that you have never even been to the supermarket with, for an extended maternity leave, is to say the least, not for the faint-of-heart.

Pre-departure shower with
daddy

As such we have tried our best to be as prepared as absolutely possible.  We have amassed most of what we thought we needed before this whole adventure happened through friends kind enough to carry baby car seats, academic books, and other necessities back and forth from Darwin to Dili (and back).  We carefully checked all luggage allowances and pre-purchased excess luggage to Singapore.  Chris even came to the airport yesterday to carefully weigh all our luggage to assist in the packing strategy.

Hanging out with dad

We called the nursery this morning to confirm when the doctor would be able to see Luka for his final check-out and weigh-in, then showered all three and kept Luka in one of the air conditioned rooms in the warm Darwin afternoon while we finalized the last packing.

Luka's hand luggage, changing pad, individually packed
outfits and enough blankets and burp cloths for a
family of Eskimos. 

So how exactly does one pack for a brand-new infant traveling for 36-hours across three continents to get home?  No bloody idea.  So just to be safe, I am pretty sure we packed enough nappies and changes of clothes for all the babies flying on Emirates today.  And because I am the organizing maniac that I am, and a general sucker for ziplocks, just to be safe, I ziplocked each of his clean outfits with a clean nappy and a nappy trash baggy for 'easy' use on the flight.  This way (the theory goes) all we need to do is grab the handy travel changing pad that contains his bum cream and wet wipes, and one of the pre-packed ziplocks when we go on one of the many changing runs we anticipate during the long voyage home.

And finally we're on our way.

Something I will probably never get used to, completing
departure (and other) forms for both my boys', with
the same date of birth!

How it all happened...Part I

Alright, after all the comments we received from people begging us not to stop the blog now that Luka is home, and also the dozens of requests for the story of how it all happened, I thought I would use my new-found freedom from the confines of the nursery to jot down how it all happened. After all, how does a South African and an American who currently live in Timor-Leste, expecting their first baby at the end of May, end up delivering in Australia in the middle of March?  Seems logical no?

It all started on the 20th of March, incidentally also my father's 60th birthday which we sadly had to miss due to our impending trip to South Africa for our extended maternity leave.  In order to uphold a long-standing tradition of trying to throw Chris a surprise birthday party every year (any of our Iraq friends remember the one I arranged for Chris' 30th in Baghdad, while I was in Pretoria; who here went to U2 for his 23rd in Johannesburg; and the SMRC gang, who can forget the fabulous Big Bear weekend where we all met Stu's girlfriend (now wife) for the first time) I arranged the first-ever charter of the new boat of the dive shop in Timor where Chris is a part-time instructor.  With twelve divers and two pregnant girls on board, we set off for the island of Atauro for a day of diving, lunch and birthday fun.  The trip was a huge success (despite an auspicious second dive) and some fun snorkeling for those of us no longer 'fit' to dive.

When we got home, Chris made dinner and I sat at the kitchen table. I noticed mild 'cramping' and told him that it must mean I was experiencing 'practice labor' also known as Braxton Hicks contractions.  These mild contractions are common in the second and third trimesters and prepare you and your uterus for the real deal. At 30 weeks gestation, I was quite excited to experience them, thinking that my uterus must be working just fine.

I became somewhat concerned when the cramping did not go away overnight, since these generally disappear when you change positions or whatever activity you are doing, however mine persisted throughout the night.  The following morning I phoned one of the midwives who conducted a birthing class for all the pregnant couples in Dili that Chris and I attended. and asked her whether she thought this was something I should be concerned about. She said probably not, but to be safe, I should call the doctor I had been seeing at the Australian Embassy.  I did so and was informed she was at a meeting until 10am, I told the friendly receptionist to please tell her I was experiencing mild cramps, to please call me back. Promptly at 10am I received a call asking me to come in at 11am when she had a cancellation. In the absence of the Country Representative of my organization in Timor, as the Deputy Country Representative, I was currently in charge of almost sixty staff members and in the middle of a host of programmatic and logistical tasks.  I momentarily considered not going to the doctor, when I thought better of it, so I excused myself from my 10:30am meeting, and told my colleagues I would be back in an hour to finalize our discussion, I never returned to the office.

In the car on the way to the doctor I first felt something wet. I desperately hoped it was the heat and humidity causing me to sweat profusely in my old car with the broken aircon.  However I cannot deny I was secretly terrified that my amniotic fluid might be leaking. At the doctor's office she took my vitals and we discussed the symptoms, but she was unable to check the fluid because she does not have testing kits for amniotic fluid. I was instructed not to return to work, rather to go home and rest, that she would call me in an hour to check on me.  She also asked me to start timing my 'cramps'.  I started writing down the times and duration of the cramps in a notebook. When the doctor called and I mentioned these 'cramps' had moved from being 10 minutes apart, to roughly 5 minutes apart.  I would say that this is when I first heard the concern in her voice. She asked where Chris was, I mentioned he was on his way home from work - she said we needed to get to Australia ASAP.  The only problem was, it was Monday afternoon at 1pm, and the next flight left at 5pm - or so we thought.  Turns out the last flight for the next two days was scheduled to leave Dili for Darwin at 3:30pm.

When Chris got home he grabbed my passport and rushed off to the Australian Embassy to process the emergency visa I am required to have in order to receive medical treatment in Australia.  In the meantime, I continued to time my cramps, while jumping online to buy plane tickets, and pack for who knows what!  I remember standing in my dressing room thinking, what do I pack?  I mean, I could come back a mom, I could just come back a few days later, I might never come back, or I might come back in six months?  What exactly does one pack in these circumstances?  In my case, turns out to be my iPod, a camera, all my books on natural childbirth, and running gear for Chris (I was smart enough to think he might need to blow off some steam at some point), and the locket my dad gave me for my 21st birthday before I moved to the US with Chris.

A driver from my office picked me up and took me back to the doctor who had since been in touch with a doctor at the Royal Darwin Hospital. Based on the instructions from a specialist there, she administered a dose of nifedipine to try and slow the contractions down (and hopefully avoid pre-term labor), as well as a dose of steroids to assist in lung development of the baby in the event I did deliver early.

Thanks to the doctor and the Australian Embassy in Dili, Chris managed to get the emergency visa within the hour and met me at the doctor's office at 3pm, where he took the reigns of the vehicle and rushed us to the airport for the 3:30pm flight (note: as with most first-time dads one of his biggest fears was some mad rush to the hospital with me in labor).  At the airport we checked in, then spotted the midwife and doctor charging into the terminal, there to make sure I was still stable, and to check my vitals one last time before I boarded the flight.  

With my hopes up and my heart in my throat we boarded the 70 minuted Air North flight TL519 from Dili to Darwin.  While still experiencing the 'cramps' I clutched Chris' hand as I desperately paged through my books trying to find something comforting about pre-term labor...details were sparse.  Instead, we prayed that everything would be okay and that the trip only meant being out a few hundred dollars in plane tickets and a few days spent in Darwin....

to be continued....

Citizen Luka!

Luka's First Passport

Ten out of ten to the South African High Commission in Canberra!  They approved, processed, and shipped Luka's temporary South African Passport in 3 working days!  Now we know that we can get Luka home to South Africa at least.  Next step, US Consulate in Cape Town for his US passport without which I will miss my Oxford graduation in July - time to call in some favors me thinks.

Our adorable passport photo!

Citizen of the World

We have constantly been asked by nurses, family, friends and other well-wishers, since Luka was born in Darwin 'does this mean he is an Ozzie?'  The answer is no.  Children born in Australia only qualify for citizenship if at least one of their parents is a citizen or permanent resident.  But since Luka has not yet been recognized through a 'foreign birth registration' by either the US or South African governments, that essentially means that he is 'without citizenship' - which, as a human rights lawyer raises the question - is his basic human rights presently being violated?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states in Article 15:

"You have the right to be treated as a citizen of the country you come from.  No one can take away your citizenship, or prevent you from changing your country, without good reason."  

Which begs the question - exactly where does Luka 'come from' and how can his citizenship be taken away, if he doesn't have a citizenship?  Further to that, the Article states that you cannot be prevented from 'changing your country' - does that include trying to change to your desired country of eventual citizenship from the wholly arbitrary and unintentional third country in which you found yourself accidentally born?

Let the passport paroxysms commence!