Chil's Point of View….

Big guy had his first taste of solid food.

My 1 month Paternity/Parental leave ended today, and it also meant the first day of Daycare for Andre. We (Nelly and I) had been hoping this can be pushed out some more – “Is he ready for Daycare yet?”.
This was the time my mum was going to supplement for a few months so that Andre would go/start Daycare when he was at least 7or8 months. But the passing of my mum  in early in January had us looking at an earlier start date.
I think Andre will do fine, and he should be able to adjust to the new environment.

Andre will also be on a new schedule that will be different than the one he was on with his daddy. For one month, Andre and I had worked out a daily pattern. We usually chilled upstairs during the morning, and then we moved downstairs for the afternoon. We of course did not stick to this schedule religiously as there were a few times we left the house – notably when I met up with Godwell, PK, and Joe for lunch; when I had to pick up my new car tab at the DMV; to the Pediatrician for his 4 month checkup …. and of course the trip to his Nelly’s office. Andre and I also went downstairs one morning when we had to watch the Manchester United (ManU) vs. Chelsea midweek soccer match.

Yep. Already 4 months!

Last time, I had shared how Nelly and I split the baby duties at night [click here to see old post about this].
She is in-charge in the evenings through 3AM and I am in-charge from 3AM.

Last night (this morning), I woke up as soon as I heard Andre crying.
I did the usual routine, turned light on, started warming up his milk, and prepared the feeding bib and the burp cloth.
Nelly woke up too; half asleep.
As I was doing this routine, Nelly was just staring in a werid way. She was staring with a “What are you doing look” and I was staring back with “Doh. I am feeding the baby. Remember. We have a son.”
I carried on with the feeding (and yes, both Nelly and I were awake; Nelly was lying in bed staring at Andre and I). During the feeding, it then hit me.
I looked at the time – IT WAS STILL AROUND 2 FREAKIN AM. IT WAS NOT YET 3AM WHEN I WOULD BE ON BABY DUTY.

Nelly just laughed at me.
She tricked me. Never at any point did she alert me that it was not my shift yet. She was just enjoying seeing me wide awake deep in the night, when I could be getting my beauty sleep. Ofcourse this also meant that if Andre woke up 2 more times before 7AM, I would again wake up. Pretty mean .

I wonder why she let me go on without even asking me if I was just being nice covering her shift!
I am still thinking about payback!

But the good thing through all this, the baby still got fed!

Just like last month, there were new pictures of Andre this month.

More of Andre’s March pictures are posted here.

Other February pictures are posted here

New thing – Andre has been trying to talk.

A few times this week, he would wake up around his usual rise time, and then he would start having a conversation with himself. It is pretty cute.

Below is a video I took to try and catch him trying to talk. But every time he sees the camera, he stops!
[ You Tube Video link ]

Other random videos of Andre are posted here . Enjoy!

[Paternity/Parental Leave]

I started my Paternity leave, and Andre and I have started having fun.
I have been keeping track of his feeding times, and how much he ate at that time; his sleeping and wake up times.

I have started noticing a pattern in his feeding consumption.

On Thursday though, he threw me a curve ball – he ate more frequently, but much less in every feeding. This was true for his sleeping pattern. But at the end of the day, all the day totals pretty much added up to the regular daily intakes. So although there were some outliers in the data, the values collected made sense. Nature is amazing!

My resolutions this year will be the same as last year. There is no point of working up a completely new set. Since they are the same resolutions, the getting done with MBA is no longer applicable since I finished/graduated. But I also need to account for 2 changes that have happened recently – I lost my mum and I am now a father to a baby boy.

The adjustment for my resolutions thus involve –
- Building a stronger relationship with my dad
I am not sure what is exactly involved with that. But we will figure out something.

- Being the best dad Andre can have
I will need to figure out that one too. Right now, I need to bond with him again. Since I came back (being away in Zambia), he has forgotten our secret handshake, and I feel like I am having to build a relationship with him again. But I am looking forward to my Paternity Leave (parental leave) at work, when I will have one month off. My leave dates are February 14TH through March 14TH, 2011. I am looking forward to that.

- Be a really good husband
I learnt a lot about the relationship my mum & dad had, and I was inspired. I am definitely motivated to match (or even be better).

- Everything else is secondary
If I am happy inside, I should be able to channel that energy to everything around me.

Recovering/Jet lagged/Still digesting my mum’s loss.
I had friends and family support while back home. I also spoke to Marasi and Ola while in Zambia.
Mogaka made it from Kenya.

[Back post – typed locally on computer, but never posted the day of]

I arrived in Lusaka yesterday. It was  long flight as expected, but the toughest trip I have ever taken.
Mum’s funeral was today.

There was a lot of support from friends & family members, the church my parents attend (United Church of Zambia, Trinity Congregation), various organization my mum was part of, various organization my dad is part of. She had a good send-off with so many people. The church was filled up, that some people had to stay outside; I was touched.

It has been tough. But right now as I morn, I also feel really-really-really sorry and sad for my dad!!!
Some pictures from mum’s funeral are posted here.

[Back post – typed locally on computer, but never posted the day of]

I got a phone call from my dad and his friend Mr. Nyathando.
My mum died this afternoon (GMT+2) Zambian time in Lusaka.
When I was getting her progress from my family, I had been told that she had been getting better; but I guess the improvements were not good enough.

I am devastated, and I didn’t not imagine this day happening so soon.
My mum’s birthday would have been in 9 days (January 13 TH).
I am making a trip which leaves for Zambia tonight!

Keep her in your prayers.

This is a hard holiday season to celebrate. My mum is still in hospital.
I have been keeping in touch with my dad about everyday where I am getting progress on mum’s condition.

I woke up to find many-many missed calls from Zambia.
I found I had a few voicemails.

I got a voicemail message from my dad who wanted me to call him immediately I got the phone message.

 I also got a message from my aunt who told me to call her or my dad’s phone.

The news my family wanted to share was that my mum had a stroke last Wednesday, and she is in hospital. The stroke so far has affected her speak (lost speech), and has paralyzed her right hand side.

Pretty sad.
My xmas, is not as festive as I thought it would be.