Four weeks old

No posts for a week? Well, getting used to being a full time parent is hard for both of us - we've had no little siblings or nephews and nieces to practise on. We've had plenty of long nights, not exactly sleepless, but certainly sleep deprived already, with no doubt many more to come. Here she is at 29 days - obviously a day time photo as she's fast asleep! Apart from that, we seem to be really busy with her appointments - midwife, Plunket Nurse (Health Visitor equivalent,) doctor for immunisations, specialist to look at her head.... Wouldn't miss it all for the world now though.

Happy Easter

It's been a manic few days. Here we are on 4th April, still in Wellington, doing our usual thing, dad beginning to get the hang of bath time. Then suddenly, on Thursday morning, they told us at 8.45 that out plane was leaving Christchurch at 9.30 to take us back. We had to hastily go and pack then wait around till about 12.00 when we finally left.

Same way back, with Amy in an incubator, and two nurses with us. Donna was given a room at the hospital so she could feed round the clock, so out came the feeding tube. She's gaining weight well, now well over 6lbs. Here she is on Easter Saturday - her last night in hospital. What a great Easter present.

Finally home in her own clothes and her own bed - well bassinette.

Flying to Wellington

For those of you who, like me, don't really want to look at endless baby photos, this is how we got to Wellington. Donna being transferred from air ambulance to ambulance, and below, our own private plane. Apart from the people in shot - the two pilots, technician and Donna, there was just me and a midwife also on board.

 

3rd April Still in Wellington

Amy continues to progress. Now rapidly gaining weight - almost up to 6lbs. Yesterday moved to a non-thermal cot - keeping herself warm all by herself, and umpteen layers of clothes. Still not fully mastered the art of feeding herself yet though. The 'neuro team' came through today though and said they would have a look at the shape of her head in 2.5 months, so that haas to be a good sign - it's just going to take longer than we thought.

30th March

Still steady progress, starting to take the bottle as well, but always runs out of energy before she's finished the full feed. Hopefully within a few days the tube will be gone. You never know we may even be heading back to Christchurch soon. It would be good to be home for Easter.

Tiny fingers hold onto dad. Below, clean nappy and a full stomache, what more could a girl want.

Two weeks old today

Looking a lot better, and beginning to get the hang of feeding. They will try to bottle feed tonight, and if successful, the feeding tube will soon be able to be removed.

28th March

We have had several bits of good news in the last two days - she has come off the CPAP again, her feeds have been reduced to four hourly from three, and the real biggy, she has finally surpassed her birth weight - they normally lose weight initially it seems.

Day 9 & 10

Back on the CPAP - it puts air under slight pressure into her nose. SHe's had a few episodes where her heart rate suddenly drops right down then comes back up almost immediately. It seems to be breathing related, and this helps. Her lungs shouldn't be breathing air for another 4 weeks yet. Below, after an exhausting attempt at trying to feed.

It appears we're not going back to Christchurch this week at least.

Amy's First Bath

Day eight, and looking so much better, time for her first bath. Feeding tube still up the nose. Finally dressed and looking like the Michelin man, and ready for her cot - no more incubator.

20th March

Our little baby girl Amy was born prematurely at 7.55 am Friday 16th March in Wellington Hospital (Christchurch was full,) weighing a mere 2.3 kg (about 5lb 1oz in old money.) Donna is being discharged today, but Amy will be in an incubator until she gets a bit bigger. Unfortunately due to a very traumatic and prolonged OP (wrong way round) delivery she has a bit of an elongated head. This will soon

go back to  normal we're told. In these first two shots she is just 20 minutes old

After 27 hours, she's looking better but is hooked up to monitors, a feeding tube through her nose and an IV drip in her arm (hence the bandage.)

These other three are taken on her 4th day, after her IV had been removed. Shortly afterwars she had a breathing tube inserted as she was tending to slow down a bit too much at times. This should be gone soon.

Quake Again?

Thankfully not. Time to get some of those insurance premiums back by getting quake damage sorted - now we can't use the drive for a month. We have passed a milestone though - over 10000 quakes  since Sept 2010. The last big ones, a 5.8 and a 6 were on 23rd December - the first as we were heading for the departure gate for our flight to Auckland. We did eventually manage to get out that day - seven hours late, after the airport was evacuated and closed for three and a half hours.

Cape Foulwind - near Westport, West Coast

February 2012, a trip to the coast to support friends doing the Buller Half marathon. I hadn't entered as I hadn't been doing any long runs, and Donna not for obvious reasons, but the six we were staying with were all in, and one even took out the male 51-55 first prize, and I made the mistake of running with him the following day thinking he'd be tired!

Waiheke Island - New Year

 We managed to get a bit of walking in despite the weather, and even got a few blue sky moments, however the swimming and beach moments were few.

Our home from home for three nights, there were also lovely gardens, a walk to the beach, a communal kitchen and a conservatory where we could sit and read and listen to the rain. And no telephone or cellphone reception, but only ten minutes walk to Oneroa village

And Again

About six weeks later at Shakespeare Regional Park, Whangaporoa, Just north of Auckland. We spent two weeks for the Christmas break in Auckland, with a few days on Waiheke Island over New Year. It rained most days, but then it's been that kind of summer.



Donna in a dress?

At 18 weeks they're the only clothes that fit, apart from the cycling shorts she's wearing underneath!

November 2011

Central Christchurch, nine months on.  Piles of rubble and empty lots where some of the 1500 buildings to be demolished have already gone, and eerily quiet on a Sunday with the cranes and diggers mostly silent, and the area still closed to the public, with a constant danger of falling masonry, particualrly with regular aftershocks still happening. The latest count

is over 7500. We took a bus tour through the 'red zone'. We weren't allowed off the bus, which stopped just three times - outside the sites of the PGC, and CTV buidings where the biggest number of casualties were, and by the Anglican Cathedral. It was like a game trying to guess which buildings were where. To cheer ourselves up afterwards, we went to the new 'Container

Mall' for a coffee. This 'temporary' shopping area has been built out of shipping containers on cleared land either side of Cashel Mall, right on the edge of the remaining red zone. Judging by the standard of finish, landscaping etc, this temporary mall looks set to stay for a while.

September 2011

The Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, during our visit for the England v Georgia rugby world cup game. The game should have been played in Christchurch along with several others, but was moved, a short five hours drive away due to a certain seismic event. I also went down there for the England v Argentina game the week before, with Paul who was over from Milton Keynes for the whole tournament.

  

July 2011

Lake Pegasus after the first snowfall - the first I'd seen in about five years. The second, in August, was the worst for 30 years, but I happened to be in England at the time for a brief visit.

It's Christchurch but not as we know it

 The remains of the Roman Catholic Cathedral.

 Looking north on Columbo Street - the main road through the middle of the city, on Easter Saturday. Two months since the 6.3 magnitude aftershock. This is looking into the police cordon which still covers maybe a square km of the city centre. When the quake hit, Martin was driving through Auckland with friends from England, Donna was having lunch on 5th floor of her new office in Central Christchurch - it was to be her second full day! The first thing she saw when she got out on the street was the ruined Anglican cathedral. The car was stuck in the city for three weeks. After an enforced break of about three weeks, she's been working from home.

The old Civic Centre buildings.

February/March 2011

The latest earthquake on 22nd February unexpectedly gave us chance to get away again, and happened to coincide with Dave & Chris visiting from MIlton Keynes.

 Overlooking Doubtful Sound, south-west South Island.

 Fox Glacier with Chris & Dave.

Pegasus Bay Winery - just up the road from home, guess who's driving!

New Year 2010/11

After our Christmas guests left, we went away for a week to Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds. This ison the Nydia track.

Martin's 50th

Hard to believe I know - for me especially. Anyway, instead of a party we decided to get away from it all. Five days and four nights travelling by canoe down the Whanganui River in the North Island. Brilliant. Didn't even see anyone else all day on my birthday, and we only capsized three times - twice in the first hour of the first day and almost within sight of the end on day five!

Earthquake!

On 4th September 2010, the Christchurch area was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake - the same magnitude as the one that destroyed Haiti in January. Perhaps fortunately we were still in England. These photos, taken almost three months on, show some of the destruction in Kaiapoi, roughly 6km as the crow flies from our unscathed house.

UK

First week in UK we stayed with Wayne & Jen in London. This is the million dollar view from their lounge!

Asia almost over

Fly out of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia tomorrow 22nd July to Singapore and following day to London Heathrow. To get here in time for the flight we had to cross Brunei by mini van and get a ferry to Labuan Island - back in Malaysia. Stuck there for the night then another ferry here, giving us one free day to do some snorkeling offshore. So the cycling part is over after almost 2700 km.

Miri Northern Sarawak

Ok so we took the bus from Sarikei - there was a stretch of 200 km from Sibu to Bintulu with no hotels which we couldn't cycle and an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Sibu so we decided to skip that too. Only 250 km ish. Cycled on from there via 3 National Parks and another 236 km to Miri. Now we have to be in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah in 3 days and have to cross Brunei. Gonna have to get a bus or fly, or miss our flight out.

Sarikei, Sarawak, Malaysia - 12th July

Nine nights in Kuching and one or 2 beers and even wines - some decent red provided at Interhash and chilled to a decent room temperature. Good to catch up with everyone and see Orang Utans, wild boars and monkeys, but good to be away from the city, tourists and hashers again. Back to being in towns where we're the only tourists.

Just done 400 km in last 5 days on 'undulating' roads. Pretty tired especially after getting up at 2.30 to watch the World Cup Final. Not long to go now. Looking forward to UK & catching up with everyone. 10 weeks in Asia tomorrow.