tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35529759217775294202024-03-20T09:17:57.706-04:00Delhi Baby II: The Return of the Newborn(s)Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-87350210409296958192012-06-13T10:02:00.000-04:002012-06-13T10:02:34.644-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Life in Melbourne</span></h2>
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Well I guess that you can guess by my lack of recent posts that we have really gotten into our new life here in Melbourne, Australia. We have a wonderful home base, a schedule that we swear by, friends and family galore, excellent drinking water, a mini-van, full time twins and TV!! <br />
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We are two weeks in with two to go and I am already starting to stress about the plane ride home to New York, what life will be like with the twins once we get back and how we will cope on our own and in considerably less space. All good things to worry about but really nothing to be done from here - so I will try to let it go and just continue to enjoy our Melbourne days!<br />
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Below are some highlights of our Melbourne fun so far.<br />
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The Melbourne Aquarium - </h3>
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The Wild Animal was not at all phased by sharks.</div>
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The twins really enjoyed (ie slept through) the aquarium.</div>
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They have tons of super large sting rays!</div>
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Me and the Wild Animal in the largest shark ever's mouth!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">The Melbourne Zoo -</span></div>
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Feeding time at the orangutang exhibit.</div>
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Neve looking at apes.</div>
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More twin feeding.</div>
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Neve actually preferred the wooden orangutang carvings over the real thing. </div>
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For a Wild Animal, she has surprisingly little interest in her own kind.</div>
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One of our at home events with the family -</h3>
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Cousins Cameron and Ronan.</div>
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Cousin Matthew showing Neve how to read.</div>
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Aunt Di and Ronan.</div>
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Day trip to Myrniong -</h3>
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Brother James, cousin Lachie and cousin Eloise at the farm.</div>
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Neve was thrilled to wear her first real Australian hat!</div>
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She was thrilled to meet her first pony.</div>
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And she was thrilled to pull the hair of a cat named Mouse.</div>
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The James Berry family with Neve and twins on the side.</div>
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Gemma enjoying (ie sleeping during) the day trip.</div>
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The Melbourne Botanical Gardens -</h3>
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Jessica taking a break in Neve's stroller.</div>
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The twins enjoying (ie sleeping in) the fresh air.</div>
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Neve getting showered with leaves.</div>
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Neve and da da playing in the gardens.</div>
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Gemma snuggling up and enjoying (ie sleeping in) the gardens.</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-45587287702636980442012-06-05T13:09:00.001-04:002012-06-05T13:09:51.192-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Happy One Month Birthday Gemma & Ronan !!!</span></h2>
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The twins are now officially one month old in all time zones they have or will inhabit! It feels like they have been in our lives far more than a mere 30 days while at the same time it feels like a whole month could not have already passed. Time is a funny thing - running differently depending on what you are experiencing.<br />
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We are adoring the twins and their turtle ways. I like to say that Neve is the hare - always on the move, always into something, charming, gregarious and confident. The twins are slow and deliberate, personalities still mostly under wraps, but they are relentless and never ever stop. It always surprises me that these mostly sleepy little things could be so exhausting but as we all know, little turtles can cover some serious ground and they do! The twins are a 24 hour operation running at a deliberate pace and Neve is a 12 hour operation running on overdrive.<br />
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At any rate, a photo update below dedicated to the big one month birthday of our little turtle twins! <br />
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Happy one month birthday baby loves!!! <br />
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Ronan has crazy neck power for his age. </div>
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Can totally lift that big head in tummy time already!</div>
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It is all SO exhausting!</div>
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"I just had a thought - let's play!"</div>
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Gemma - playing with her hands and having a hard time </div>
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lifting her head which I think must be due to the poundage stored in those cheeks!</div>
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So pretty!!</div>
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So sleepy! </div>
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BTW - this is exactly how Neve used to sleep!!</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-73206057817607945632012-06-04T09:56:00.000-04:002012-06-04T09:56:28.799-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">It Really Does Take a Village </span></h2>
Please do not interpret my silence over the last couple days as our having fallen into a twin zombi coma. We have actually been doing pretty darn well if I do say so myself (but only with the help of friends and family and anyone else who happens to get within range - so watch out cause we are totally shameless!). The twins are back on the 3+ hour feeding schedule and we have instituted a mandatory simultaneous feeding system to ensure that no one gets out of synch ever, ever again. It's a little less lovey dovey bonding moments and a little more octopus arm training but the system is keeping us sane and well, right now that's the key to the survival of the Berry/Sharp household.<br />
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We even scooped up the whole brood and went to a party hosted Charles and Di (Hamish's brother and sister in law) for Granny Sue's birthday over the weekend. I fretted over the planning of how to get out of the house, but the deployment went pretty smoothly and it has given me the courage to go forth more with the entire brigade. I've just got to find a way to pack the diaper bag (which is really a gigantic canvas bag that you can shove endless amounts of crap into) in a way that you can actually find what you are looking for. Whatever it is that you seek, it is always on the bottom or hiding from you and you have to empty the entire thing out on the floor - usually while babies are crying and Hamish is looking at you skeptically and passing judgment on your packing skills. Not fun!<br />
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The party, on the other hand, was very fun and Neve, Gemma and Ronan all had a great time and laughed like little children all the way home they were so giddy. Neve got to explore yet another new home, she was allowed to pull pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets, had a bit of a jump on the trampoline, ate cookies, played with her cousins and Aunt and Uncle (and TONS of toys) and was in a total state of ecstasy. Neve seems a bit tamer in Australia, the country of her citizenship. Perhaps all we needed to do was to bring her to her homeland for a mental holiday! She's eating, sleeping, pooping (we need to diaper train SOON) and seems really genuinely joyous here. It's wonderful and let's say that so Neve's mood goes, goes the rest of the family! Hooray!!<br />
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Gemma and Ronan on the other hand were held by Grandparents, Great Aunts and Uncles, Aunts and Uncles and dear friends for the entire party and they were VERY pleased by this. So pleased in fact that Gemma decided that we should keep up the trend that night which I did until a real battle of the wills occurred. I'm not sure if someone actually won or we just agreed to an unspoken truce for the sake of the family, but we called it off around 4am and went back to our respective corners. Ronan decided to stay out of it which shows good judgment on his party - not good to side against your twin sister or your mother against the other! <br />
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The house continues to be a great source of comfort for us here. No real reason to ever leave and a great spot for people to drop in on us. There has been an inordinate amount of tea consumed in the kitchen and Sue keeps bringing over baked goods so we are all constantly caffeinated and sugared up to the max. It rained today and we did some serious in home rain watching sessions while also catching up on parts of the Queen's Jubilee celebration. Not sure how much the US is watching the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the throne, but here in Australia, it is a MAJOR thing (and goes nicely with tea and baked goods!). The daily events are shown live on TV at night and then they do recap shows during the day, followed by smaller recaps of the recaps in the evening. <br />
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So far they have had a big floating parade down the Thames. The Queen and Prince Charles were on one boat, other royals (Kate Middleton or whatever she goes by now) on a barge and then like 1000 other boats trailing behind and on the side. It looks pretty cool when shown from a sky cam view, but other than that once you've seen 5 minutes, it's pretty much the same thing - boats floating for hours down a river and the Queen smiling and doing the Queen wave. Sometimes the boats go under a bridge, as they do, and old steam trains roll by at the same time or they go by an art's complex and a little show is done - but that's really about it as far as I can tell. But if you're not watching closely and just sort of listening to it in the background (like if say you are tandem feeding twins and trying to keep Neve from grabbing up all the "ba ba's") you would think from the commentary that this was one of the most exciting live events ever shown on Earth. In fact one commentator said last night and I quote "in 150 years, people will still be talking about this historic event". That made me burst out laughing and accidentally pull the bottle right out of Ronan's mouth (and he did NOT think it was funny at all and let me know).<br />
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Anyway, one other funny cultural aside. There is a very nice grocery store very close to us and I have been doing daily visits (cause we always seem to need something). Anyway, on day one I was looking at the meat section and there were steaks and legs of lamb and these lamb and rice meatballs that looked pretty good and were well priced. I thought about getting the meatballs but already had too much to carry and left them. So, next day I went back to the store again and again found myself in the meat section and again saw those lamb meatballs and actually picked them up to go in the cart but this time I noticed that there's a picture of a dog on the front and I think to myself, "that's kind of bad advertising cause it makes it seem like these are dog food or something which is crazy cause dog food is NOT in the meat section of the supermarket." Then I started looking at the rest of the things at this particular end of the meat section and they all had either a cat or a dog on them and one read "only for feline consumption". So my fellow Americans, be forewarned, just cause it's right next to the steaks and there is no sign or distinguishable barrier, make sure you fully read the label before thinking you are getting a yummy meat bargain in Australia, cause you might just be picking up DOG FOOD!<br />
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On that note, take care!<br />
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Love,<br />
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G H & N R G<br />
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Granny Sue and Gemma at the party.</div>
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Ronan and Pete.</div>
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Neve loving the trampoline.</div>
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Neve restoring nutrients with her Uncle Charlie after the trampoline.</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-58102204866629087502012-05-31T18:25:00.001-04:002012-06-04T10:13:41.585-04:00!!!!!!!!11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Tale of the Twin Night Terrors</span></h2>
The good news is that we are not in jail for tossing the twins out the window on our first full night in Melbourne! A 24 hour trip from Delhi, little to no sleep, nausea (which we thought was from exhaustion and coffee but was something more), out of sorts Wild Animal, equally out of sorts twins, equipment spread over 9 suitcases and 5 rooms, chilly temperatures - let's just say that the deck was stacked against us on our first full night in Melbourne. <br />
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Yes, it was pretty obvious on an intellectual level that this was going to be difficult and painful and that adjustments would have to be made and routines would have to be set, but man, it's almost impossible to plan for the tricks your mind will play on you when you're heading into 48 hours of no good sleep, feeling sick and trying to comfort irrational nocturnal tiny babies! I hate to say it but I have new found sympathies for woman who drown their children (not really, but, last night, I could see off in the horizon a desperate dizzy world where that might seem like a solution). Now don't take me too seriously and start calling child services, this is a blog after all - but man that first night was bad and perspective is not something that seems to accompany sleep deprivation.<br />
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Our first mistake was putting the twins in our room. I was to be in charge of the twins, Jessica was on Neve watch and Hamish was to rest up so that he could jump back into work (but with the twins only a few feet away, Hamish paid the price as well). At 10pm, I fed the twins in tandem and put them down and thought, ok, not so bad, I can get two hours of sleep every three hours and after four rotations of this we will be well through the night and I should be feeling much better. This twin thing is a snap! SILLY SILLY MOMMY!!<br />
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As soon as the lights were out, the twins started grunting and moaning like a gaggle of piglets attacking a pile of slop. Shortly thereafter Gemma started crying bloody murder in her high pitched cat howl voice. By the light of the blackberry I tried to comfort them both, feed them more, feeling sure that this restless wakefulness was all due to lack of full tummies, burp them, change them, and finally I just began to beg them to GO THE F!@*# TO SLEEP! Then Hamish began to beg them to TO GO THE F*!?# TO SLEEP! We seriously considered using the cry it out method on 3 week old babies! By 8am, I turned to Hamish, who had now come down with whatever flu/nausea I had the day before and said, "Call your parents right now and get them over here, we need REINFORCEMENTS PRONTO!!!".<br />
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Mick and Sue gamely answered the call and arrived to a house of overwrought adults and exhausted babies, carrying a bag full of medicines to sooth our heads and tummies. They took charge of the twins and I fell back into bed until almost 2pm - heaven! I woke up in a panic and listened for crying, but all was peaceful! Sue was feeding twins, Mick was burping and diaper changing, Jessica was busily cleaning bottles and dishes and Neve, bless her heart, was working on sleeping up a storm (to make up from screaming the entire way from Singapore to Melbourne). In the meantime, Hamish had gone to work fixing some of the things we knew had gone wrong on that first night. He located a super pac n play from good friends in Melbourne so that the twins could be back together (they were in separate travel cots that first night) and provide each other some comfort and he bought a monitor so that the twins could live happily in the cozy living room far, far away from sleeping adults in beds (in hopes that those adults could, well, do some actual sleeping in those beds!). <br />
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The rest of the day was still more defense than offense but we managed to get everyone a bath with fresh water, meals were prepared and taken and all the children were all still alive, so I felt a tiny, tiny bit triumphant. We made a plan to spread the pain of twin night terrors between the 5 of us (me, Hamish, Jessica, Mick & Sue) and I was to take the midnight to 6am slot on night two. I went in more prepared but it was still VERY HARD! Even after my morning nap, I was feeling a little shaken. The twins had gotten completely out of synch on the second night which violates one of the cardinal rules of twin raising - always feed them at the same time or else suffer the consequences (which are spending all 24 hours of the day just feeding babies). They did much better but I nearly threw Hamish out of bed at 6am to take over! <br />
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It was a beautiful day today, our second day in Melbourne and it was hard to feel too down about things. We all took a walk to the park, the twins in their very fancy Mountain Buggy double stroller on loan to us and Neve in her lovely pink butterfly stroller, also on loan. Neve played like a mad person - this being the first time in a month that she was really permitted to run around outside. The weather was cool and refreshing and the sky was a perfect blue (something you never see in Delhi due to the pollution). Neve spent a good amount of time at the park chasing a magpie bird who seemed a little lame but kept safely out of her reach but not far enough to deter her from continuing the chase. The twins soaked in the fresh air and slept all cozy in the pram. When it was time to leave, Neve went into convulsions and refused to be strapped into her stroller - SHE WAS NOT LEAVING THAT PARK! We pried her away and I promised she could come back every day - even twice a day and she ok but please carry me, so I did.<br />
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Coming out of the fog of new jet lag, twin adjustments and illness, I finally looked around with fresh eyes and could not believe our good fortune. We are staying at the house of a very good friend of Mick & Sue's whow is currently visiting her son and his family in New York - it's a bit of a house swap which really made this part of the trip possible for us. Not only was is it a very generous and overly hospitable act of kindness to lend this crazy clan a house for a month - the house is absolutely wonderful. It's on a beautiful quiet street in a very nice part of Melbourne, we are a short walk to a nice grocery store (good for those of us challenged by driving on the wrong side of the road!), there are parks and running paths galore outside our door, the house itself is a lovely Edwardian style home full of beautiful antiques with more rooms that we can use and there is a wonderful garden/yard with flowering plants and trees and a vegetable garden. In short, we are going to be very happy in this lovely home for the next month and will cherish our time here. <br />
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Well, the sun is rising following our third night in Melbourne and I better sign off and crawl back into bed. Night number 3 was a great success if we are measuring (which I am). Twins are tandem feeding and making it 3+ hours between feeds, everyone is pitching in and we are starting to work like a well oiled machine. On top of being on top of Neve, Jessica is a baby whisperer and is wonderful with Gemma and Ronan and Mick and Sue have just arrived to take the 7am shift. They are providing wonderful support on every level and we could not do this without them - that's for sure. I slept almost 6 hours straight last night and I feel good, maybe even great!!<br />
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Take care and lots of love,<br />
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G H & N R G<br />
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Neve chasing the magpie.</div>
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Daddy and Grandpa Mick with Ronan.</div>
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Peaceful family at the park!</div>
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Grandpa Mick and the Wild Animal - her hair is growing in curls that go straight up!</div>
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Can you believe how green and beautiful this place is!</div>
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Granny Sue and Aunt Marga</div>
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It's tough being a twin. You have to learn to feed yourself!</div>
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Hamish in his new grand office. Finally the beautiful desk he deserves!</div>
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Lovel kitchen where we spend most of our time.</div>
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View from the kitchen back to the yard with flowering plants everywhere!</div>
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This one reminds me of mountain laurel - my favorite flower! </div>
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View from the new baby suite.</div>
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Front of the house - beautiful right?!</div>
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Ronan and Gemma back together. </div>
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look at you until you apologize for leaving me alone."</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-23884564381373653822012-05-29T09:22:00.002-04:002012-05-29T09:24:50.057-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We are finally on the plane leaving Delhi - two babies asleep, one Wild Animal watching a movie - a rare moment of peace and quiet! The airport check in was pretty hideous and I caught a glimpse of what it's going to be like to deal with three melting down children while you are trying to do something else (ie checking in 9 huge bags, lugging another 9 carry on bags, discussing passport and bassinet issues with non-helpful check in ladies, tipping porters, filling out departure forms, etc.). We were able to get one bassinet and, with some finagling by the pushy mama (me!), we were able to get the rest of our group all in a row of four just behind the bassinet seat. So master Ronan (as he is known in India) is snuggled up in the bassinet and little Gemma is wrapped up tight in her own seat between Jessica and Neve (the plane is freezing - probably 30 degrees colder than these babies have ever experienced and they currently look less like babies and more like piles of blankets). This moment is not likely to last, so I must blog swiftly from here on out!</div>
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Over the past few days we have been trying to make the most of our final time in Delhi. Less mall, more other stuff. The highlight was an amazing rickshaw tour through Chandni Chowhk - the very, very busy open markets of Old Delhi. There are miles and miles and rows and rows of store fronts and hundreds of thousands of people buying, selling, hauling, motoring and hanging out. First a mile of colorful wedding saris, then a mile of spices piled high in barrels (that you can smell coming), all around people selling all sorts of food from carts that they have pulled in there by hand and weird home made street kitchens (showcasing that the New York "street food scene" has gotten way to cleaned up to really be considered from the street), row after row of jewelry, stationary, beading, fabrics and lots of other things I've forgotten or did not get to see. The area (at least as far as I can tell without a map) is encircled by a large road, and the center is made up of smaller roads and then smaller paths and then tiny alley ways (think the aorta, to arteries to capillaries, to whatever is smaller) pulsing around in a bustling, confusing maze of utter and complete commerce. </div>
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Our driver got us as close to the nucleus as he could and then negotiated with a rickshaw driver to take us the rest of the way in. We were nervous but we did as we were told and hopped aboard and off we went. I have to admit that at points I was thinking that our kidneys were at risk, but our strong, rugged and weathered little rickshaw driver peddled us all over that huge market, through bumper to bumper traffic and down alleys only just wide enough for us to pass - all quite adeptly and quite safely and without any mandatory organ donations. Most of the time you could reach out and touch the vehicle or the 10 + persons in the vehicle next to you. Decked out in cameras and well, being white in all respects, we were a spectacle in our very uncrowded rickshaw and we thought the whole thing was quite a spectacle! </div>
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It was evening but still close to 100 degrees and dusty with a side of pollution that burned our eyes by the end. And yes, I would say that this was one of the best tourist things I have EVER done! Hanging off the back of that rickshaw watching the mopeds and buses speed by on either side, close enough to smell the men pushing wooden wagons piled high with packages, admiring the beautiful sari dressed women waiting in line to get into the temples as the sounds of the call to prayer blared above the constant honking, giving a sly unbelieving smile to the macho men on mopeds who would zoom up behind us honking as if we could go faster and making them actually laugh at the absurdity - we soaked in the energy that is Delhi and were giddy from it. It was scary and intimidating and seemingly unruly but with many rules, just rules that we did not understand, and it was exhilarating and fun and made me like Delhi again!</div>
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After having spent almost 9 weeks total in Delhi over the past couple years, we are still very far from understanding the rules and probably always will be. In a city of over 19 million people and little to no governmental/police controls (lots of corruption but little law and order), society has had to make up its own rules and they are hard to decipher as a foreigner. I think this is probably one of the most difficult parts of negotiating India.</div>
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As we leave and Ronan lays sleeping so close to me, I sit here trying to muster up some emotional closure for the end of this chapter of our journey. Came back to Delhi, witnessed the birth of beautiful twins, spent a month and -- blah. Nothing is coming up easily. There were more hard times this go around, more whisperings that caused us concern, less quiet baby time than we wanted and needed. I think I need time to digest this trip before I can really write its ending.</div>
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We met many surrogacy parents this go around. The blog world seems to have gotten bigger and the communication between parents greater and we stepped out from behind the screens to meet each other for lunches and dinners. We all share this crazy experience - we come from different places and different backgrounds but we all wanted families badly enough to knowingly give ourselves to a doctor in far off India to make that family a reality. Many have regrets and misgivings but not about their babies. There is a lot of new parent anxiety and New Delhi anxiety in this purgatory of sorts - babies in hotel rooms, Indian night nurses with different ways of doing things, a hot tough city, various beaucratic mazes to be sorted through (it takes two months to get the citizenship and passports in countries like England and Norway - and we thought we had it bad!) and there are health issues that can keep your babies in foreign hospitals and leave you feeling helpless. Everyone is thrilled and everyone has a story and a background and pain to share, both current and past. As we are airborne, headed for decent drinking water and all things familiar, I think of my new friends in purgatory and wish them quick departures and long wonderful lives on the other side with their Delhi babies.</div>
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Ok, funny aside. I am just back after a 5 hour hiatus! We are now on the way to Melbourne from Singapore and we got the double bassinet in front, the menu for dinner looks awesome (beef and wine!) - all great, but we have been playing an endless game of whack a mole with the babies and Neve. Each time we think we have those silly moles licked, one of them pops back up with more demands - bottles, diapers, more blankets, etc. Such is the rest of our lives!!</div>
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It is time to get some sleep before our 5am arrival in Melbourne where we will introduce Ronan and Gemma to their Australian grandparents. It is Grandma Sue's birthday today and I have a feeling that we will be bringing the best presents to the party this year!!</div>
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Love to all and farewell India -</div>
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G H & N R G</div>
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Some pictures of Old Delhi below -</div>
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On the day we left, everyone who works at our apartment complex (cleaners, cook, security guards, managers) all stopped in to say goodbye to Neve. I have a full roll of film on just this topic!</div>
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Below with the cleaners.</div>
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Hamish and the security guard recreating their morning runs.</div>
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Taking Neve on a Tuk Tuk tour - she was not impressed.</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-58830712814305341842012-05-23T14:29:00.001-04:002012-05-23T14:29:34.331-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">How Far We Have Come With The Help of Strangers</span></h2>
After an exhausting morning on the phone with Qantas (I could wring that airline's neck), we headed over to our new favorite N Block Market to pick out a lovely sari (actually two) for our surrogate mother. We had very much wanted to meet the twins' surromama personally. We tried before the twins were born (but she was in the hospital and we were not allowed to visit) and after, but we learned yesterday that she has already returned to her village outside of Delhi. It's a tricky thing and I understand that many people have a very different viewpoint on whether to meet or not to meet the surromama - but we have always been firmly in the camp of inclusion. <br />
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Maybe it's all the adoption books I read while we were trying to adopt and how much they pounded away about the loss complex of the mother and the baby and how important it is to be open and to let everyone acknowledge and grieve the loss because it's there whether you choose to look it in the eye or not. We wanted to help our surromama get closer to closure and celebration and away from any latent feelings of denial. <br />
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It barely scratches the surface to say that carrying a child (or two) for nine months and giving birth is bound to be an emotionally connected act of love - paid or unpaid. We wanted to acknowledge that act of love in person, to thank our surromama, to let her see that the parents she carried these beautiful babies for are good people who will raise them with hearts full of undying love . . . and mostly to let her see the babies she carried so amazingly, at least that one time. But that will not be our history or hers.<br />
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We owe this woman who we have only seen in a photograph something like the equivalent of a hundred million thank you's. She has given us more than we could ever have imagined. More than you can pay for. More than there are words to describe. Our twins are alive and healthy and are now "ours" because of this woman who we will never meet. A thank you note and a couple of saris will never be enough - the small miracles asleep in the baby suit, the one's that she carried for us because we could not - are utterly priceless. Thank you Chandana and god bless you always.<br />
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In the meeting department, we were successful on one count today! We spent some time with Dr. Shivani this afternoon - our doctor and partner through this crazy surrogacy process. We talked about everything from raising kids (she has a 3 year old herself, so understands our Wild Animal) to the stresses of Delhi, to surrogacy, to the nitty gritty of the hospital (she's opening/partnering with a baby hospital of her own which she will control and let me tell you, I am certain that when it opens it will be a way different experience from Paras and Phoenix). Dr. Shivani is a beautiful woman and is successful beyond belief because of her own drive and real passion to help others create a family. She is kind, but tough and practical and always has a smile on her face. <br />
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As we were sitting there it hit me that we could never meet again. This woman who has been the guiding force behind the creation of our family and has been a constant part of our lives for the past 2 + years - now that our family has been created we won't be popping over to Delhi quite so often (or maybe ever) and this meeting may have been our last. There have obviously been many people involved, and our children are the result of multiple acts of kindness by strangers - but Dr. Shivani has been there with us the whole way. As we were sitting there in the beautiful lounge of her new center, with great a/c, white leather couches, cold water for everyone and pictures galore of all of the babies she has created (including Neve) - it really hit me what a true odyssey this has been. It is very easy to get caught up in the day to day in Delhi and miss the big picture and I am sorry that I have been guilty of this.<br />
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I will never forget meeting Dr. Shivani for the first time in a tiny, hot, somewhat dirty meeting room at Phoenix hospital at around 9pm at night having just arrived in Delhi. We waited almost an hour for this first meeting because she was still attending to patients (something I came to appreciate more once we were actual patients!). We were hungry, jetlagged and still carrying our American lawyer personalities with us (traits we now somewhat try to check at the Delhi door!). I wondered to myself "what the hell are we doing? this is totally insane!! dear god we have lost it for sure this time!!". But after all of the other crazy attempts at family creation we had enthusiastically thrown ourselves into over the prior 6 years, this one seemed just crazy to enough to work - and a few months later it did!<br />
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I have had the opportunity to speak to many people who are interested in surrogacy in India and they always ask about control over the process and medical this or that - and I always say that you have to trust Dr. Shivani and her judgment. She is looking out for your family and she will make the quick and sometimes hard calls that are necessary to get you there. You can't micromanage her or anything in Delhi - so this is not the place for you if that's what you want. Take a deep breath, let go, trust her, come to Delhi be annoyed, be overjoyed, go home as a family.<br />
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When we left Dr. Shivani's office today, I hugged her neck and started to cry. This really came out of nowhere and I was surprised by my emotions. We would love for Dr. Shivani to come to New York and do lectures and catch up - but realistically she will never be a part of our lives the way she has been. And, what we have because of her is so immeasurable. It all just hit me and the tears would not be contained. Again, a thank you and a hug do not seem like enough. We love and thank you Dr. Shivani for keeping us strong and keeping us going and orchestrating the creation of our amazing family. <br />
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Ok, enough good byes and thanks for this one post!!<br />
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This may be a good spot to explain how surrogacy works here in India and in most places around the world. I have been surprised by how many people have asked me this question so I think it's important to get the facts out there. In a surrogacy situation, you would almost never use the eggs of the surrogate mother. You typically implant an embryo unrelated to the surrogate so that there is no biological connection between the surrogate and the baby she is carrying. This is done for obvious legal reasons and for emotional reasons as well. So, just to be clear, neither of our surromama's is biologically related to our children. That being said, we would never ever underestimate the emotional bond, the connection and the unbelievable love and physical toll that it take to carry a baby, much less twins to term. Ok - that's it for surrogacy 101!!<br />
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We have four full days left in India and we mean to make most of them! <br />
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More later -<br />
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Love,<br />
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G H & N R G<br />
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No denying that these two are twins. </div>
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Whatever we do, they nudge closer to each other!!</div>
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They are going to make a terrific synchronized swimming duo one day!</div>
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Some Wild Animal photos in the baby suite.</div>
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Anila getting in a tickle.</div>
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Jessica getting in a tickle!</div>
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Running on the bed - yikes! </div>
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Great idea in general and even better with marble floors!</div>
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If the wild animal escapes India without a concussion it will be a complete miracle.</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-42719226530425312682012-05-21T12:56:00.001-04:002012-05-21T12:56:28.302-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Woke up to great news this morning - the DNA lab in California (Universal Genetics) worked over the weekend and had our results ready for open of business Delhi time! There's a 99.9% chance that Ronan and Gemma are Hamish's biological children and that's good enough to earn the little guys citizenship and the blessed golden tickets - US passports. We should have everything from the embassy tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest, then we do one visit to the FRRO for exit visas and we are free to go! We are scheduled to leave Delhi next Monday (exactly a week from today) and so the countdown to our Delhi departure begins. <br />
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This trip to Delhi has been so different from our last. It has felt more hurried and chaotic. Perhaps this is the result of revisionist history on my part or perhaps this is just the reality of life with three babies verses one. Perhaps it's the incredibly repetitive mall visits and all the caffeine that goes with them! We were in a bit of a new baby cocoon with Neve last year. I feel like I spent hours sitting around the apartment staring at Neve, photographing Neve, blogging about Neve, oohing and awing over every little thing Neve did. This time there has been little safe harbor baby time.<br />
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But cocoon or no, next Monday we sprout wings and part II of the sequel begins. We leave in the morning for Singapore, have a bit of a layover - then catch an overnight flight to Melbourne, Australia. Three adults, two infants and one Wild Animal - oh my! We will be assuming full control of the twins - thank god and OMG! The nurses are taking great care of Ronan and Gemma, but the little ones are showing signs of needing a full time Mommy and Daddy. Once we are in and settled in Melbourne I somehow HAVE to weave up some silk and create at least a part time twin cocoon for both their sake and mine! <br />
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Our weekend was great - had a very festive dinner out on Saturday night and then a lovely lunch with Douglas and Chad on Sunday. All so much fun that I did not manage a single photo! We will miss our Delhi friends although everyone seems to be in preparation to flee the heat of the summer.<br />
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It was Anila's birthday yesterday and we had a cake and I used it as a great excuse to go back to my new favorite shops at the N Block Market to pick up a gift for her. She was very sweet and shy about all of the attention - she smiled, giggled, grabbed the knife, cut the cake and then fed us each a bite - sort of like a wedding in the baby suite! We will miss Anila - that's for sure.<br />
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So, this last week in Delhi my goals include (1) making sure Jessica sees something more of Delhi than our apartment and the mall - she's going to the Taj Mahal tomorrow, so that's a pretty darn good start, (2) prepare for full time twin care (gulp!) and (3) shop a little more!!<br />
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Take care!<br />
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G, H & N R G<br />
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Anila cutting her birthday cake.</div>
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Anila feeding Hamish cake while Hamish is feeding Ronan.</div>
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The birthday girl!</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-21176818961851926552012-05-19T10:53:00.003-04:002012-05-19T10:53:59.353-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Good Times!</span></span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Some very excellent developments in this, our second journey to India to retrieve small humans: (1) terrific doctor's appointment for the twins at Paras Spring Meadows Hospital, (2) Jessica, our Wild Animal trainer, has arrived in Delhi fresh from Reno, Nevada, and (3) I finally found great shopping in Delhi!</span></div>
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On point one - </div>
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We took Ronan and Gemma back to the hospital yesterday for their two week check-ups. I can't believe they are already that old! The pediatrician at Paras examined the little ones and found them to be in excellent health - hearts are good, lungs are good and, wait for it . . . . . . . their weights are really up! </div>
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Ronan is now 2.9 kg (up from 2.3 kg at birth and 2.1 kg on discharge) and Gemma is now 2.6 kg (up from 2.0 kg at birth and 1.95kg on discharge). The rigorous stuffing by the baby nurses has paid off in scores and the twins have the milk blisters and the weight to prove it. I will eat my words from the last post and go out on a limb by agreeing that these two are downright chubby (sort of, except in the ankles)! </div>
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I have grown very fond of the pediatrician at Paras, Dr. Tandon, and have great faith in him and in Paras hospital in general. Please keep in mind that my post on the hospital experience was colored by heat and the Wild Animal's antics and in retrospect I was not as fair to them as I should have been and I am sorry for that. If we were to go for number 4, I would gladly have the baby born in Paras to the care of Dr. Tandon. I would just leave numbers 1, 2 and 3 at home . . . in New York . . . . and I would do it in January not May! Thanks Dr. T!!</div>
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Chubby Gemma cheeks!</div>
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On point two - </div>
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I popped in the car at 8pm last night to meet Jessica our new friend/nanny/godsend at the airport. She had been traveling for something close to 24 hours having come from Reno, Nevada and arrived perky and happy and ready to go. Jessica is going to help us for the rest of our stay in Delhi and then she will go on with us to Australia and all the way back to New York (and on all the flight adventures in between!). </div>
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Jessica is sweet and adorable and Neve took to her right away. I just don't think that Neve realizes that Jessica is something of a professional in this field having studied child development in school and having a fair amount of work experience which small children. Jessica is very kind with Neve, but she means business and we are beyond excited to have a professional in the house again. I think Jessica is going to teach us a thing or two about taming Wild Animals.</div>
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We are thrilled to have Jessica with us and she has already made a big difference in just one day!!</div>
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[I LET JESSICA OFF THE HOOK FOR PHOTOS ON THE BLOG UNTIL SHE'S BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH TO SHAKE THE JETLAG A BIT! THIS IS A PLACEHOLDER.]</div>
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On point three -</div>
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My new good friend in Delhi popped by this morning and took me out for a proper shopping trip. This is our third time in Delhi and frankly I had given up on ever finding proper shopping. I have been shuttled through all of the tourist trap centers and have practically lived at the mall, but have always been - well, left unimpressed. But, today, I finally found REAL shopping at the N Block Market. Beautiful fabrics and bed linens and towels and pillows and clothes and more! I did some damage, but now that I've got a taste, I will be back for MORE!! It's going to be raining India for Christmas this year so clean out your linen closets and get ready!</div>
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Loot from the shopping trip! Such beautiful things!</div>
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We are going out for a proper actual dinner outside the apartment at a real restaurant tonight without a Wild Animal tossing food and screeching at us. I am so giddy with excitement - it's like we just got our IDs and are being let loose in a beer hall! And this, to be followed up tomorrow by a fantastic family brunch in the beautiful embassy area of Delhi with our friends Chad and Douglas. </div>
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WE ARE HAVING SOME GOOD TIMES OVER HERE IN DELHI - FINALLY!</div>
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Much love,</div>
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G, H & N R G</div>
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Neve examining her new big girl duvet!</div>
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Gemma semi-enjoying a bath.</div>
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Ronan in his Star Belly t-shirt - thanks Allison!</div>
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Gemma's little toes!</div>
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Neve checking the price tags and agreeing that we should go back for more!</div>
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Get your orders in now!!</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-29129535182029197202012-05-17T14:12:00.000-04:002012-05-17T14:16:45.234-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">A Walk in the Park</span></h2>
First I want to thank everyone who reached out to us after my "Tough Day" post. It really does inspire us to keep fighting the fight knowing that we have so much support out there - and the kind words from those of you that have more than walked in our shoes (parents of Delhi triplets, you know who you are!) were very reassuring. The morning after the "tough day" we picked ourselves up off the bed, brushed off the Delhi dust (which just went to the floor to be picked up again by my feet and Neve's entire body!), examined the cuts and bruises and declared ourselves fit for another day!<br />
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Today we had plans to take Neve over to our new good friend's house in Delhi. She has twin boys and a daughter 13 months older (sound familiar?) and she was having some other friends with kids over for an afternoon play date and invited us to join them. That sounded perfect to me - a mall free day and the company of new fun friends (and possibly beer) - I was thrilled. I planned the Wild Animal's naps with care, washed my hair, almost called the car and then the e-mail came. One of her twins has a high fever - play date cancelled!!! Oh NOOOOOOO!!<br />
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Instead of a Delhi play date we muddled through the afternoon at home with the Wild Animal but I learned some good lessons.<br />
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(1) The Wild Animal is a grazer by nature even though she presents as more carnivore than herbivore. She needs a lot more snacks than I have been providing and is in a much better mood if fed almost constantly (which is tough to do in the mall where she's too distracted to focus on food). <br />
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(2) The Wild Animal does not need to be dead exhausted to sleep. If you want her to go to sleep earlier, you just give he a "ba ba", put her in the crib with Square (her pink security blanket which for some reason is a him not a her, ie "where is square Neve? Did you just put him in the trash can?"), close the door and just like magic, a little roaring, but then she goes to sleep. What an amazing circus trick!<br />
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(3) The Wild Animal is getting smarter. She now knows where her nose is, her toes are, can pick out the fish toy and the crab toy from the other toys when asked and says "boo, boo" when she wants to play the peek a boo game on the ipod touch. With language will eventually come reasoned and rational behavior!! Or at least I can hope!<br />
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(4) The Wild Animal is pretty darn adorable and I should give her a bit of break. She's one of a kind and I would not trade her for anything in the world!<br />
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The twins are doing their thing up in the baby suite. They eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop, get a sponge bath, eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop, repeat daily. That being said, with all the eating they do, they magically never seem to be eating while Neve is napping (and I could do some feeding). I think when Neve goes up to the baby suite and tries to climb over the edge of the crib (which she is getting dangerously close to being able to do) she bullies them with secret big sister baby code not to eat while I'm available. I swear that every time I get up there the nurse is just putting down a twin and pronouncing it's sleeping time - everyone is full up - and then scoots me out the door so as not to mess with the schedule! Oh well, I will just keep trying! I was able to sneak Ronan out for a quick photo shoot - see below (more on Grandparent's Corner).<br />
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Eyeing mr. crab!</div>
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He has the longest feet and toes and look at those skinny little ankles! </div>
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So cute!</div>
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We take the twins tomorrow morning to their two week doctor's appointment (so I'll at least get to hold a twin for a couple hours tomorrow!). This will, of course, include the big Weigh In we have all been waiting for. Bets are being taken and all the bookies are on it! Hamish is convinced they have both put on extreme amounts of weight and that Gemma is looking downright "chubby" in the face. He pronounced this earlier today as we were staring at the twins asleep in the crib and I thought "what baby are you looking at" and then I saw his face and he had this "I love my babies" look in his eyes which was totally sweet and I did not want to burst his bubble by disagreeing. I do think that weight has been gained and that the twins look healthy (skin wrinkles from lack of meat on the bones are mostly gone) but I'm not sure these guys will have any chance of being called "chubby" by anyone but a proud Daddy for a little while longer. At any rate, we are all carbo loading tonight so that in the morning we can put our fattest foot forward as a family! <br />
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This evening we took Neve out for a walk in the park. It was a balmy 90 degrees, the traffic was outrageous, the honking was deafening and Neve and her stroller were nearly run over several times, but she did not seem to notice and we all totally enjoyed the outing!<br />
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It's pretty green and lush in the park - they do a lot of watering!</div>
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Mean stray dog that was charging me as I took this photo! </div>
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Someone in the park warned us that the stray dogs in the park are "ferocious" and I totally believe it. </div>
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Pathways for jogging/walking.</div>
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Neve "making friends" in the park. </div>
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Neve rudely pointing at new friend in the park.</div>
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Neve trying to steal the coconut dog toy from very nice (thankfully) </div>
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golden retriever (not a stray) in the park. </div>
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Veg stand on the way home. </div>
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Neve looking bored and wondering were the mac n cheese stand is.</div>
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The walk home.</div>
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Security guards waiting for us outside of the gates. </div>
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I think they were getting worried - very sweet!</div>
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Best photo yet of Ronan and Gemma - all tangled up in twin love!!</div>
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That's about it! Take care and talk to you more later! </div>
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Love,</div>
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G, H & N R G</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-51665421120968853472012-05-15T13:28:00.001-04:002012-05-16T06:55:51.219-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">A Tough Day</span></h2>
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This morning we all arose early to head over to the US Embassy to start the citizenship process for the twins. Anila, our favorite baby nurse, came with us and we ordered up the big van/car from Rahul to fit the whole family. The ride over was a breeze, the babies slept, Neve sat happily in her car seat, the traffic was light - but that's about where the "breeze" part of this day ended. Suffice to say, it was a longer and more difficult day than we were prepared for. I will post details on the US embassy requirements once we get through the system and I can give a full account. For now, let's just say that my fellow Americans should feel very safe - not just any old infants born to two US citizens are getting US citizenship in India without a fight!</div>
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At the end of the day today, Hamish and I were finishing up dinner and basically talking seriously about all of the things we miscalculated to bring us to this point in this trying day and he said, "people said it would be a tough couple years and we just did not know how tough each day of that couple years would be until now." OMG - how right you are my dear husband! Please god let us survive the next couple years!</div>
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A narrative would take too long and would be too frustrating, so here's a list of some of the thing that went poorly today:</div>
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(1) The babies and Hamish were not allowed to eat or drink anything (that includes bottles) for at least an hour before we arrived at our embassy appointment because they had to do a mouth swab DNA test. The test was done at least an hour late - babies do not understand not being fed - I had to make a scene - you can imagine the rest.</div>
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(2) Neve came with us to the appointment and when it ran much later than we had expected and well into her nap time, her mood grew, well somewhere between angry and unbearable. At one point she was playing with two older boys (probably 5ish) at the lego table they had set up in the waiting room and she kept throwing legos, trying to eat legos, jumping up and trying to open the little faucets to the drinking water machine, pulling trash out of the 5 trash cans, etc. - and one of the little boys loudly announced to the room "SHE IS VERY NAUGHTY!". And absolutely everyone in the room laughed (except me).</div>
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(3) I am feeling like a failure at feeding the twins. I look at the chart that the baby nurses fill in with the time of each feeding and the amount taken and then I fire up a bottle and give it a go and . . . . I can never get either of them to take half of what the chart shows they had at the last feeding! I feel like I'm trying to choke the poor little things with food that they don't want and at the same time I feel like the baby nurses are looking at me like I'm a total feeding failure and now their job is going to be worse because whatever baby I've fed will be awake in another 20 minutes wanting more food! Ughh!</div>
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(4) Neve had what I could pinpoint as her first real baby tantrum today. It had been a day devoted to the twins, although I'm not sure how she knew that, and when she woke up from her nap we went up to the baby suite. I was feeding (or trying my best to feed) Gemma and Anila was playing with Neve - then Ronan woke up and demanded a bottle so Anila popped one in and Neve realized that she was no longer the center of attention. She screamed at my legs to no avail and then went straight to the biggest, nastiest power outlet in the room and started sticking her fingers in it and looking back at me. I screamed "NO" very loudly (cause power outlets here are extremely dangerous) and in a mean voice just like you would to a dog, but that did not phase her so I all but tossed Gemma on the bed, grabbed Neve, gave her a pop on the butt and put her in a time out. I can't tell if Anila was horrified or proud of me. </div>
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(5) Our cook is, well, sloppy at best, and dinner was pretty ordinary, again. Mr Mohank from our trip last year really spoiled us with his delicious meals and I really miss him and his company.</div>
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(6) I had to kill a bug on the kitchen counter top tonight right near where we dry the sterilized bottles - while holding Neve.</div>
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(7) The baby nurses won't stop giving the babies warmed bottles even though I've asked them many times not to. That's not going to happen at home so PLEASE STOP! </div>
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(8) EVERYONE JUST PLEASE, PLEASE STOP!</div>
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Is it possible to be postpartum over newborn twins and a child that was born 14 months ago - none of which you actually gave birth to? I'm in a funk and I'm admitting it here and now. I need to get more control over the Wild Animal and I need to edge out the baby nurses and get my hands on the twins. I'm frustrated, we are all frustrated!!!! </div>
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I've caught a few scenes of "Eat, Pray, Love" on HBO over the last few days and it has reminded me of the book and the message of the book - the whole neurotic, self absorbed woman who travels the world to fix herself. After today, I think it's a sign. I'm already half way through her journey sort of (she starts in Italy where she "Eats", then goes to India to "Pray" and ends up in Bali where she finds "Love"). India was her tough time and she had to dig deep just like I need to. I'm in India and I really need to find more resilience and patience and inner mothereness. I don't really have time to eat my way through Italy, but I can pray a lot in India and perhaps by the time we get to Australia I will bust out and find my inner balance with all of these children!! </div>
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No pictures today because, well, they would not be pretty and the US Embassy does not allow it!</div>
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Love,</div>
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G, H & N R G</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-16208129117924176242012-05-13T13:14:00.000-04:002012-05-14T02:22:38.431-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Happy Mother's Day</span></h2>
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A BIG happy Mother's Day to the mothers of the world! Not just to you conventional mothers but to all of you expecting mothers (LPS!!), you future mothers (keep trying, it will happen for you!) and to all of you who mother others with no title attached. This used to be one of my LEAST favorite days of the year (sorry Momo!), but it was a celebration that reminded me of the big childless hole in my life. That has certainly changed and now I am a mother 3 times over, but I still remember the sting. So, I want to open up Mother's Day to everyone who provides love and support to others - we are all real mothers and we all deserve to be celebrated today (and every day)!</div>
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I am personally celebrating Mother's Day by watching Spider Man in bed, eating chocolate and having my third tea of the day! Again, not conventional, but to each his or her own - this is my idea of a good celebration day! For the next hour, while the babies are all sleeping, I will happily indulge in this silly pleasure (even though, I have to admit that this movie is pretty atrocious thus the blogging!).</div>
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The weekend has been fun. We went to a new mall yesterday (right next door to our old mall - go figure!) which has a great open space indoor play area for Neve. It has lots of climbing apparatus and as a Wild Animal, Neve LOVES climbing, so she really enjoyed it. I liked the people a bit better at the open playground than the Plastic Playworld set, so I may be giving up my membership card and joining this new open air play forum. There's also a very nice (yes, I said nice, not just descent) food market in this mall and our refrigerator is now busting over - AND they deliver, for free, so I see a real future with this place! We topped this mall excursion off with a lunch at TGIF (chicken caesar salad, hamburger with fries, coke from a large red plastic cup - the works!). I assure you that we are still in fact in New Delhi, India not Suburb City, USA!</div>
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After the mall, we came home, as you do, and had a cocktail party with some friends, Douglas and Chad, who we met last time we were in Delhi! See pictures below of their 6 month old twin baby boys - these babies are ridiculously adorable and happy and smiley! Chad and Douglas gave Ronan and Gemma the thumbs up and it was really nice to catch up with them and to see that they are doing so well! It was also a trip to have newborn twins, 6 month old twins and the Wild Animal all in the same place -- such huge changes take place in the first year and it was like looking at some sort of discovery channel special. Plus, a cocktail party was so super fun!! We need more friends in Delhi to save us from the mall. I think alcohol may be the lesser of the two evils! </div>
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This morning Hamish went on his morning run with the security guard. Yes, this has become a bit of a morning ritual. The security guard now puts on his shorts and shoes after his night shift and waits for Hamish to emerge. He gets disappointed when Hamish does not show up, so Hamish now gets up for his regular 7am run and off they go - like it or not! </div>
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I went out next for a run this morning and did my regular laps around the park. On the way back, running along the road, I came up behind a man carrying a small girl. She was Neve's size but thinner. Her eyes were lined in dark mark-up and her expression was mature beyond her years. She stared at me as I passed by and I could not take my eyes off of her. She looked like a doll that was relinquished to her purpose - no fight in her, just a dead look of acceptance to her fate, whatever that may be. I wanted to scoop her up and take her home with me, apply for an exit visa, wash off the make-up and let her revert to being a little wild animal herself. </div>
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She has haunted me this Mother's Day - this possibly motherless child. </div>
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So today, my heart and love go out to all of the mothers out there and to all of those in need of some mothering. May you all be raised up by the glow of a mother's love. May life be kind to you and when it is not, may you find a mother to scoop you up, save you, and provide you hope for a better future.</div>
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Much love,</div>
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Neve trying to "pet" Gemma.</div>
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In the moment prior to this photo, Neve ripped the pink blanket that used to be hers right off poor Gemma. These twins better toughen up quick - it's dangerous living with a Wild Animal!</div>
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Ronan likes to hit poor little Gemma in the head. </div>
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Neve with one of her fans.</div>
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Ezra and Cedric - adorable 6 month old twin boys!</div>
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The Wild Animal after a successful kill!</div>
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The cleaners love to arrange Neve's toys!</div>
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Gemma asleep under the covers.</div>
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Daddy and Ronan!</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-67501668438452691012012-05-10T08:27:00.001-04:002012-05-10T08:27:33.117-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Secret Affair</span></h2>
That's it - I have a confession to make and what better place to do it than out in the open public blog space for all so see! I am seeing someone, well actually, two someone's on the side. There, I've said it and I feel SO much better! With Neve upping the attention ante and the baby nurses taking full control of the twins, I have taken to sneaking into the baby suite while no one is looking and stealing away with a baby or two. We share secret moments together in my room in the afternoon plotting life with nanny help for Neve and without baby nurses and we have made wonderful plans for our futures together. So that's it, I am having a secret affair with my twins and we are planning on running away together (and of course taking Hamish and Neve with us)!<br />
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This sounds like a joke, but is closer to the truth than I would like. The twins are home and doing very well, but I have not gotten to really dig in and be their primary care taker and it's getting me down. We came all this way to finally meet the twins and become a big family and now they are captive in the baby suite and I am running after the Wild Animal. The baby nurses are doing a great job - don't get me wrong. The current feeding routine is quite a undertaking and frankly they can get the twins to take twice the formula that I can. They have magic feeding skills, I swear.<br />
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It's just all very murky waters with Neve being so needy and not having help for her just yet. Luckily help is on the horizon! We have the cousin of one of my besties coming over to help us with the rest of our trip and all the traveling and I am hoping that she can distract Neve long enough for me to really get my hands on the twins. Hamish keeps reminding me that this will happen soon enough and to be patient and so I will try. In the meantime I will have to be satisfied with stolen moments here and there with the twins and bide by time until our love can be out in the open for all to see.<br />
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Love,<br />
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G, H & N R G<br />
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Ronan telling Gemma about our BIG plans!</div>
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First bath for Ronan. Safe to say he did not enjoy anything about it!</div>
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Gemma concurred.</div>
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My stolen afternoon with Ronan!! </div>
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How adorable is he?!</div>
<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-19587265866467038132012-05-09T08:39:00.001-04:002012-05-09T08:39:35.198-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Hitting Our Stride</span><br />
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We took the babies back to the hospital for a checkup and some blood tests yesterday morning and I am happy to report that after only 2 days home they are back up to their birth weights! Yay! With the amount of fatty fat formula being pumped into those two they are sure to double themselves in no time (which would mean they would still only be the size of roasting chickens but seeing as they are more the size of small guinea hens at the moment, that would be a big improvement!). Something about small babies reminds me of fowl - what can I say!<br />
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The doctor's appointment went surprisingly well. It's like everything here, just when you think you have something categorized and sorted out, it often goes in the opposite direction. The doctor's office for appointments is in the basement of the hospital (ie cool all year round!!) and there were no people waiting so we were whisked in and out. The doctor was very good (this is a different guy to the Sunday discharge doctor) and I am starting to really like him. He did a very thorough exam of the twins and was very happy with their health. And in case anyone was concerned, after inspecting Ronan's diaper region, the doctor loudly pronounced that Ronan's "jewels" were in "EXCELLENT" condition!!! This being important of course, as he told me, because men need to be able to carry on their lineage and it looked to him like Ronan has all the right parts to carry on and on! <br />
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After the babies were safely back at home, we took the Wild Animal (this is what I have taken to calling Neve these days) to her favorite place - the Mall! Neve gets terribly bored in the apartment (even though it's twice the size of our apartment back in NYC) but in the Mall she turns on the charms. We had what would have been a lovely lunch at an Asian fusion place in the Mall but the Wild Animal was restless and screechy and tossing food everywhere. So on we went to the Plastic Playroom to let the Wild Animal romp a bit in her native environment (see photos evidence below). I actually bought the value card for the Plastic Playroom so we can go at least another 10 times before we leave!! How did this happen? Delhi has turned me into a Mall Rat Momma!!<br />
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So what else - ok, yes, we are now starting the exit document process for the twins. I, of course, am like "we have three weeks, what's the rush?" and Hamish is like "I don't want to have any issues so let's push to get it done." And so the push as begun. We had the photographers over to take the babies photos last night and that was a great improvement over last time with Neve. They came to our house and had a very professional routine. With a great show, they slathered themselves in hand sanitizer (a very thoughtful touch, I thought) and one acted as the baby handler, while the other snapped the pictures. It was quick and easy and by 8pm last night we had a fist full of small passport photos. They did a great job and in fact I am thinking of having them back to do a family portrait before we leave Delhi. I swear Gemma's passport photo is the best picture we have of her so far!<br />
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Next in the process is to complete the US citizenship papers, the passport application and the Social Security application and take all of that with the birth certificates (when we get them) to the US embassy. This time around it's a one stop shop at the embassy! We do the DNA test at the same time as we lodge ALL the documents which saves several steps in the process (ie last time we had to do DNA, then citizenship, then passport, then the rest of it). By my estimate, we should have citizenship and passports by the end of next week. Only glitch could be the timing with getting the DNA testing back from the US. We are not planning to leave until the 28th so I'm pretty hopeful that we have enough cushion built in for a few bumps which you have to expect here. I hope have not jinxed us by just writing that out loud!<br />
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OMG - Neve JUST went down for a nap and is crying like she wants to get up!! WILD ANIMALS NEED THEIR SLEEP OR THEY ARE VERY DANGEROUS!! I'm going to choose to ignore that for a minute . . . . . ., ok, there we go, all's quiet! It's about time for the cleaners to come in to wake her up, so moment of calm is not going to last - I better speed this up!<br />
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I am LOVING our baby nurse - Anila. She is wonderful with the babies and patient and sweet. She just has this lovely manner and when she gets near a baby she starts talking in this little sing song voice that the babies LOVE. This woman is in the right profession! The Wild Animal has also taken to her as well and Anila finds the Wild Animal to be a fascinating creature. Anila pretends to chase the Wild Animal and the Wild Animal scurries about, giggling and looking over her shoulder to make sure that Anila is still after her. The Wild Animal likes to crawl up the marble stairs to the baby suite and hang out up there with Anila, grabbing creams and spurting them on the floor, taking Anila's beautiful sari wrap in her mouth, pulling dirty diapers out of the trash can, pointing at the crib and saying "baby", you know, the regular stuff. <br />
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The baby suite is the only room we have with a view - granted it's to the road and front gate, but it's still activity and the Wild Animal likes to bang her fists against the windows and watch the busy world go by outside. There's a bridge that goes over the road just in front of us and people are constantly up and down it and the Wild Animal has actually gotten a few people to wave her - she's exceedingly adorable when she wants to be!<br />
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We have settled into a bit of a running routine in the early mornings now. There is a very large park pretty close to us that we had been deterred from using because it's about half a mile away along two very busy roads (lot's of crossing - seemed too intimidating). But, thanks to the ipad, we found a cut through road that is smaller with some markets and it goes almost from our apartment right to the back of the park (having an ipad has serious advantages here by the way!). This park is like 3 times the size of the one we used to run in last year and it has hills (not a selling point for me, but still). It is an absolute traffic jam of human walkers and the path is pretty small so we are really honing our passing skills, but it feels great to get out their and be a part of the life of the city. I noticed a small children's playground in the middle covered with trees, so I may stroll down there with the Wild Animal one evening at dusk to check out the scene. <br />
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I went out first this morning and Hamish went next. When he came back he stayed outside talking to the guards for a long time. Neve heard him and was fussing by the front door, so I carried her out to see what was going on. Hamish and one of the guards were sharing a glass of water and swapping running stories and I thought - how nice. The guards (there are like 3 of them), as they always do, tried to get Neve to let them hold her - which has become something of a game to her. They reach their hands out to her and say "come, baby, come, baby, come baby" in high pitched voices and she gives them a big smile like she might just let them take her and then she grabs me tightly and buries her face in my neck and everyone laughs, including the Wild Animal.<br />
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Turns out that when Hamish went to go running this morning he jokingly said to the security guard that he should come with him and, well, what do you know -- HE DID! All dressed up in his long sleeved blue shirt, dress pants and flip flop/sandals, the night time security guard joined (and kept up with which is not easy) Hamish on his run around the park! Now that must have been a sight!! I have this image of people clearing the path as the Presidential candidate jogs by with his security detail! We are starting to get to know the different personalities in our little apartment world and I hope we are on the verge of making some new friends.<br />
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I feel that we are finally hitting our stride here in Delhi and now we are off to the races!!<br />
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Love to all -<br />
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G, H & N R G <br />
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The Wild Animal in her natural habitat (ie enjoying Plastic Playworld).</div>
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Neve is really missing her baths. She has to suffer through being </div>
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Views of the street and overhead walkway from the baby suite.</div>
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View of front gate from baby suite.</div>
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-32484373547655502532012-05-07T13:01:00.001-04:002012-05-07T13:01:05.337-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Homecoming</span></h2>
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The twins are now home with us and I can't say it's a minute too soon. I went yesterday morning with our day baby nurse, Anila (love that name), to take charge of the discharge of the twins. Hamish stayed home with the little wild animal who of course slept the entire time I was gone! The hospital was it's regular hot self and we had to wait in the hot lounge (with some little friends - not babies - see picture below) for the doctor to finish his "breakfast" before he would do the examination and let us be on the way (it was 11am by the way - "breakfast" must have gotten lost in translation). </div>
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Once the doctor pronounced Gemma and Ronan healthy enough to leave, he sat me down in the hot lounge with other new parents awaiting his attention (privacy is not big thing here) and went through a baby 101 seminar. We need to feed them often (really?), no massage (cause it's hot), no powder (again cause it's hot), no baths for awhile (mention of my possibly drowning them if I as much as sprinkle water over their heads), something about a rectal thermometer (ouch!), general cord care (my alcohol wipes are not good enough and I have to buy special "spirits" down in the pharmacy), and some other sage advice. Then he went on and on about the correct temperature for babies which in his estimate is between 24 C (75 F) and 26 C (79 F). How strange I thought as I sat in a puddle of my own sweat seeing as it's got to be much closer to 100 F in here now! You might want to take some of your own advice doc - no wonder my babies are wilting.</div>
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Bottom line on the hospital - I should have taken those babies out on day one. Ronan's red face splotches were looking really bad and little Gemma's head was soaked in sweat. Even though the babies are on a weight gain formula (that stinks something awful because it's so rich!) and were supposed to have been fed every 2 hours, they have both lost weight since birth - ugh! Gemma is down 5% and Ronan is down 8%. Anything above 10% is troubling and with pure formula fed babies on fatty fat formula, the scales should be moving in the other direction. What have you people been doing to my precious babies in this "hosptial"!</div>
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So the nurse bundled them up (not sure why) and Anila and I each grabbed a baby and bid the hospital a curt farewell. When we got home, we took the babies up to their grand suite which had been cleaned and cooled down that morning and put them together in their fancy crib. Anila made them little pillows and then set about readying to feed them. Neve was up at this point and ran around the baby suite pulling whatever she could reach off of the top of dressers, trying to climb up the side of the crib and then settled on playing with the phone (ie wrapping the cord around her neck and smacking the receiver on the glass table). I took Neve down for lunch and left Anila to it.</div>
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When Neve went down for her nap I came back up and Anila said (sort of in a surprised way) that the babies had each taken 50 ml of formula. In the hospital, they had been feeding them only 30 ml per feed. Ok, well, it does not take a baby rocket scientist to see where things have gotten off course. The twins are a little slow in the eating department at this time (I mean really painfully slow!) and I think the nice hospital people sort of must have lost patience after about the 30 ml mark. Anila and the night nurse, Marianna, are thankfully very patient and sit for about 45 minutes per baby stuffing them full of fatty fat formula! Sometimes a feel a bit like they are force feeding little twin ducks for a very special foie gras - yuck - but in the long run this is what's going to pack on the pounds!! </div>
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Turns out that in the last 24 hours the twins have consistently taken over 50 ml per feed! Yay!! We have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow and we'll see what a few days with good home cooked meals has done for their waist lines! 24 hours in, I am also happy to report that Ronan's red blotches are almost gone and Gemma is really enjoying sleeping right under the a/c! Home has been great - for all of us! The twins are still frightfully small by my appraisal, but if we can pump them up on lots of fatty fat formula over the next couple weeks, we will surely get some meat on their bones before we travel! </div>
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Things feel overall - well, really GREAT! We are done with the birth anxiety and the horrid hospital visits and are all home as a big ole family! I am LOVING it! Neve slept an actual 12 hours last night (her regular at home) and has had two naps today, giving me some time with the babies. I took Neve to the Mall after breakfast this morning and we had a romp in the big plastic playroom, a bottle and a caffe late, respectively, and a visit to the Food Bazar! Hamish is getting stuck in to a bit of work and the office seems to be running smoothly. We have now been out for not one, but two actual jogs in two different parks that are near us and that has been great (although best if done before 6am). Hamish taught the cook to make pancakes this morning which he had never made before. The first one was ok, the second better and the third was downright delicious - and he was so proud of himself that I had to sort of start liking him a bit more (and Neve is really taking to him, which means I really have to start liking him more)!</div>
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We are really blessed is all I can say. There was a sick little baby in the nursery when the twins were first born and we spent some time with the parents in the hot lounge talking and waiting. They had not named the baby yet because there was "too much tension". It's a little tricky to be introduced to your newborns in the same small room where people are so worried about their own little baby hooked up to machines across the window that they have not even named him after a week. We heard the doctor tell them the next day that the baby had a 98% chance of being perfectly fine - which sure made me feel a whole lot better, but that mother sure did not look like she believed it. It's her job to worry and until her little baby is released from that hospital and is home with her, I seriously doubt the tears in her eyes are going to dry up. </div>
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So we have been given not one, but three little miracles! All very different and all a wonder. To be here now, the mother of a big family of babies is a serious thing to contemplate given our history. It's insane - an insane amount of responsibility, an insane amount of logistics, an insane amount of patience, and an insane amount of love. When Neve was born people said that things in our lives would change and would never be the same. They were right but only by a degree. This time around, I can say with certainty that life as we know it WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!! We are outnumbered and out gunned and have to give over to being at the mercy of a merry band of babes!!!! </div>
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Love to all -</div>
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G, H & N R G<br />
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Exterior Hospital</div>
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Exterior Hospital Entrance</div>
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This lovely creature was about 6 feet above my head while I received the baby lecture. </div>
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Luckily he did not have, "keep lizards away from the babies" on the list or </div>
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I totally would have called him on it!</div>
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Gemma at home with mama</div>
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Ronan at home snuggling into his new pillow/puke rag!</div>
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Together again!! </div>
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Ronan: "Where have you been these last few days? I'm so mad that I can't even look at you."</div>
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Gemma: "Thank god I can stretch my arms up now that you're not hogging all the space."</div>
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Gemma enjoying being a little princess!</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-43388400786413333602012-05-06T12:58:00.000-04:002012-05-06T12:58:09.546-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's 3am and I'm up cause Neve decided at 2am it would be fun to hang some, so we did, and now she's back in bed and I'm up. So I thought it might be fun to hang out with you all some!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Mall: So Awesome</span></div>
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Well I never thought I would be writing this, but I am in big love with the big City Walk Mall! It is about 10 minutes away and is just like something out of Dallas, Texas (except no blonds with big . . . . well, you know what I mean (and it's missing a Neman Marcus)). The Mall has these things going for it: (1) air conditioning, (2) nice baby store with mosquito wipes, netting and toys that Neve can play with, (3) a descent food market with some western treats and fresh bread, (4) Illy brand caffe lattes (in case you want one, you have to say the full "caffe latte" and not just "latte" when you order and forget about decaf), and (4) a huge plastic infused indoor children's play area called "Hang Out" (totally tacky, loud over the top play area for little monsters like Neve).<br />
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We took Neve to the Mall after our baby visit today to let her have some fun and to buy yet more small forgotten items for tiny twins. On the first floor they had big loud speakers going and a stage and a crowd. We avoided the mess by going up a level and then peering over the rails to see what all the fuss was about. Two extremely well built American men were on stage being weighed and the crowd was going wild. A weight loss contest? Nope - a pre-boxing event weigh in event, of course! I was expecting more Justin Bieber than Gladiator, but ok, and even in America I've never seen one of these weigh in things other than in the movies live. I have to say that I felt a little bad for the boxer gentlemen - the whole thing was a little "Hunger Games" if you ask me!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Exercise Update</span><br />
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We've been debating whether to forge out and try a jog at a park that is not too far from us and that we pass often when on the way to the hospital. One person has to stay back with Neve and we must be done by 8am or the heat will be unbearable. So with all that as a deterrent to running, we've been instead working through our stable of workout tapes. Hamish has drawn the line on Tracy Anderson, so I have to sneak those in alone if I want one but he'll happily do Yogalates and Boot Camp with southern Allison who talks about our "guns" during the bicep portion (but we don't have any weights so my guns will likely stay as is)! <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">New Friends</span><br />
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Before we left, a very good friend of mine in NY pre-introduced me to another good friend of hers who's sister lives in Delhi (complicated, but anyway let's just call it a friend of a friend). I got in touch with her when we arrived and she immediately had us all over for a play date and dinner. She has a 4 year old daughter and 3 year old twins - so exactly like us (but the twins are boys and they are a little older, obviously). She gave us great advice on twin raising and Neve was having the time of her life - their living room is like a preschool and Neve could not get enough! And then we put her to bed in one of their cribs and had an adult meal with champagne and everything! We really needed that boost and they were so generous that we brought home a car load of baby gear to use while we are here. I am suddenly feeling very modern and spoiled with a state of the art pac n play and a stroller in Delhi!!<br />
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We also have upstairs neighbors who have just a twins (a boy and a girl) through surrogacy with our same doctor and it turns out they also live in New York. What a small world! They will be probably be out of Delhi in the next week so we must make some plans for a house party before they go.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Weather</span><br />
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Hot, hot and getting HOTTER! Hamish reported this morning that in the next week it is going to get much hotter than it has been since we arrived. I gave him a look like how could that be possible and he cheerfully told me that the average highs will be well above 100 degrees. What wonderful news as I have been feeling a bit chilled since I arrived in Delhi!!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The TV Situation</span><br />
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Our apartment has excellent cable. We get the news stations we like (CNN international and the BBC), HBO and a few other movie channels, cartoons and MTV and several other music stations. I've gotten really into MTV and VHI which is not my normal cup of tea but they play a lot of Bollywood style music videos (shocking, right?). Neve is mesmerized by Indian music in general and watches the screen and points at the dancers, then crouches down in a low squat and pumps her legs up in down with her little butt sticking out (this is Neve's form of dancing!) - all with a with a big smile on her face! Adorable!!<br />
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Now that I've seen a fair share of these music videos, there is a definite pattern. Macho man sees beautiful girl, beautiful girl plays hard to get, macho man and team of man friends do a man dance to win over beautiful girl and finally, beautiful girl and team of girl friends do a dance back to show that beautiful girl is not just all show, etc. etc. - and then they all end up in a big dance together and presumably fall in love!! <br />
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The main character man is always over the top macho - large untucked button down almost lumber jack shirt, chest hair, baggy jeans and boot type shoes (cowboy or grunge style). His build is always on the larger/chunky side for men (especially the Indian men I've run into here) and there is just this general toughness that he exudes - at least until the dancing starts. The dancing is so amazingly un-macho that it makes me giggle every time. Macho man has gone to such trouble to be a toughy and then totally blows it with his dance moves. They really are some of the silliest least macho dance moves you can imagine! I kinda like it cause the macho guy thing has never done much for me, so I like to think that he's actually showing his inner comedic side with the dance but not sure that's the message I'm supposed to be getting. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Sign Off</span><br />
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Babies come home in the morning, so I better get some rest! Next post will full of twin information and photos and I'm sure peppered with Neve insanity!<br />
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Love,<br />
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G, H and N, R, G</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-39581153939628174402012-05-05T11:24:00.002-04:002012-05-05T18:02:46.113-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Twins</span></h2>
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I am thrilled to report that the twins are doing wonderfully!! So much so that the doctor wanted us to take them home yesterday afternoon - less than 24 hours after they were born! Really? Remembering the reaction of my sister Jennifer, the pediatrician, when this option was give to us with Neve (she basically said under no circumstances should you take newborns home from the hospital until at least 48 hours after birth!), we smiled and said that we would rather pick them up on Sunday morning, if that was ok. The doctor gave us the Indian head bobble which in this case I believe meant, "if you have weekend plans and don't want to be weighed down by your new babies we will keep them until you irresponsible parents are ready to take charge of YOUR children!" Ok then, I thought, we are all set!!</div>
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We have had limited time with the twins and all joking aside I am actually very, VERY, <b>VERY</b> anxious to get them home to our apartment where I can spend some real time with them. Probably a mistake in retrospect, but we are on our own with Neve at this point and well, she's been cranky, not sleeping, difficult, manic, etc. and not at all cooperative when we are at the hospital trying to bond with the new babies. It does not help that it's over 100 degrees in the hospital which makes Neve (and me) grouchy and that there are stairs everywhere and lots of trash cans to get into and perhaps a little jealousy has already sunk in. She is fascinated by the twins and points and says "baby" which is terribly cute - but she would really like to do some holding (ie man handling) of the twins herself. If you happen to have a twin in your hands, she stands with her chest pressing against your legs, arms extended, screeching and trying to lurch her body upward to mangle, I mean, touch the baby. </div>
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So the visits have gone something like this: (1) take hot car with Neve strapped to Hamish in the Baby Bjorn to hospital (bad for him cause she kicks a lot while in any sort of restraint and he has sustained some "damages" from the kicking if you know what I mean ), (2) climb 3 flights of stairs (there is no doubt about the science that hot air rises, by the way), (3) take shoes off to keep baby area "sterile" and get feet extremely dirty (mind you there is no hand sanitizer to be found and all sorts of people are in and out, but them's the rules!), (4) get the attention of the nurse who brings both babies to us all wrapped up and sweating, (5) try to manage Neve from killing herself, killing the babies and finally from us killing her, (6) get frustrated and overheated, and (7) repeat twice daily. You can see why perhaps bonding under these circumstances would be difficult - right? I am going to have to be patient with this process (and with Neve) and know that soon enough I will have all the time in the world to get to know the twins.</div>
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All that being said, we have been able to glean some information on the personalities of the twins between Neve distractions and heat stroke. Gemma is pronounced with a soft "g", so say the word gem and then add a "ma" at the end. Gemma is latin and means, as you might have guessed, jewel or gem and I believe she has been very aptly named! Gemma's middle name, Wynne, is a modern take on Winifred, my Mother's name, and is meant to honor her (my Mother is also a twin herself!). So far Gemma has Neve's baby personality - quiet, sleepy, prefers eyes closed, just likes to chill out and be held. She is tiny (just 4 pounds) and does feel very much like a little jewel! Her eyes so far look like Neves, but her lips are more heart shaped and her head is less round than Neve's and you can actually see that she has a little chin.</div>
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Ronan is a Gaelic name and one that has topped our list for a long time - it means "little seal". Ronan's middle name is Clark which is Hamish's Mother's maiden name and is meant to honor her. We had been planning to use Clark as a middle name long before we ever met Ronan - and as it turns out, he so far actually looks like a Clark according to Hamish and the Australians who have seen his pictures. He has a prominent forehead, a strong jaw and Clark shaped eyes. His nose and mouth look very much like Neve. He already keeps his eyes open a lot and seems to be searching for people - it can't be at this age, but he will actually look you in the eye or stare directly at a camera. It's a little unnerving for a one day old baby! Hamish calls him the "little Observer" for those of you who watch Fringe. He seems intense and he was quite put out just after he was born - all red and thrashing about in his baby hospital bassinet. He makes little noises and settles down when you rub his little head which he love and tries to cuddle up into your hand. You get the feeling that he really wants out of that hot hospital! </div>
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Neve is making up for lost time by having a wonderful long sleep this morning which has given me the chance to workout, wash my hair, have a cup of tea that no one is trying to grab and to blog!! What a fantastic morning! </div>
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All our love, </div>
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G, H & N R G</div>
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ps - A friend from work commented on how funny it was that the initials of our children put together spell NRG and she noted that we will need a lot of it the next few years!! Very true!!!</div>
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Little Gemma!</div>
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Ronan - he got a little splotchy over night. </div>
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Might need a facial once we get him home.</div>
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Neve attempting a swipe at the twins.</div>
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We fed the babies in front of Neve (big mistake) </div>
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and she INSISTED upon having her own "ba ba". </div>
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That's Gemma looking like a baby doll next to us.</div>
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Gemma with Daddy</div>
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See what I mean about Ronan's eyes! </div>
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Mama and the twins! </div>
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As another friend noted, I need to work on my double holding technique!</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-15035411863675488662012-05-03T17:55:00.002-04:002012-05-04T23:33:24.985-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">The Twins Have Been Born!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We are thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter, Gemma Wynne Berry and our son, Ronan Clark Berry!!</span></div>
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Gemma was born first and weighed in at 2.015kg/4lbs 6oz and her brother Ronan followed weighing in at 2.3kg/5lb. Time of birth was approximately 1am on May 4, 2012. Our surrogate is resting and doing well and we are forever grateful to her for these amazing gifts.<br />
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We were not able to hold them tonight but will be back first thing in the morning to get our hands on our gorgeous new babies (wow - now that sounds good)!!</div>
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Love to all -</div>
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G, H, N, G & R</div>
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Gemma from afar. </div>
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We can't wait to meet her in the morning!!</div>
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Neve pointing at Ronan and saying "baby". </div>
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She's just starting to say words and we were pretty stunned </div>
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when she kept pointing at Ronan and saying "baby", "baby", "baby"!!</div>
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Ronan was right by the window and he put on quite a show!</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-47907123987969191082012-05-03T12:45:00.000-04:002012-05-03T12:45:41.699-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Cranky </span></h2>
Jet lag has sunken its nasty teeth into my sweet baby girl and today has been, well . . . long and painful for everyone involved. I went to bed at around midnight, Hamish turned in at 2am after putting in a day at the office (which woke me up) and then Neve was up at 2:45am, 3:30am, 4:30am and finally at 5am I gave up and took Neve into one of the unoccupied bedrooms to watch cartoons and CNN. Unfortunately it was not the warm and fuzzy mother and daughter time I had hoped for - all tired and snuggly watching the tv and playing with blocks. Instead Neve swung from "out of sorts whiney baby" to "maximum crying baby" to "sweet happy baby" like someone with a split personality disorder. WELCOME TO TODDLER CRANKSVILLE!!<br />
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When Neve finally decided it was ok to have a nap later that morning, I crawled back in bed and felt certain that she would sleep several hours (and I would sleep several hours) and we would both wake up back to our old selves. WELL I WAS WRONG!! She slept less than an hour and again woke up on the wrong side of the crib. This pattern repeated itself through the day and we never gained any ground.<br />
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I was EXHAUSTED. 2 hours sleep and a couple 45 minute naps were not cutting it on top of my own jet lag and frankly my nerves were frayed from dealing with the Neve mood swings (um, how am I supposed to manage with twins on top of this?? Let's not think about that right now!). Hamish was trying to help with Neve and trying to work and he too had grown weary. I realized too late that we had not made a plan for the day and before I knew it, we were destined to be house bound with a monster child. So add crazy jet lag and lack of sleep to cranky and then toss in filthy floors and boredom and you get ONE CRAPPY DAY. <br />
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In retrospect there must have been some big Cricket match today as the cook ran out just after fixing breakfast with orders that we were to leave the dishes on the table because he would take care of it when he got back (this was at 10am and I don't mind clearing the dishes but it seemed like a big deal to him that we not touch them) and the cleaners who usually show up at around 11 were also a no show. At around 4:30 pm everyone mysteriously reappeared - game must have ended. <br />
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By then the Delhi dust was thick in the house and we had long ago cleared the breakfast dishes. There is a weird phenomenon here where even if you don't have a single window open and the a/c is using recycled air - after about 12 hours, the floors and every other surface (including your blackberry) will be covered in a light film of Delhi dirt. You can literally feel it on your feet on the floor and in your hair (and see it all over the clothes and body of your toddler who has been scooting about!). <br />
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Well, with the lack of sleep and cranky Neve and feeling like a shut in, the dirt factor put me right over the edge! I have decided to write this day off entirely and after this post, will try very hard to forget all about it. I will also try very hard to find some beer today, as I don't think I have EVER needed a drink as badly as I did after Neve finally put us out of her misery by going to sleep last night!!<br />
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The one funny thing that did happen today was that Hamish found an app on his ipad that translates English into Hindi. You say to the ipad "make me spinach paneer" and it types in what it thinks you said and then you press a button and like magic it says your phrase back in Hindi. Genius - right? Hamish has been dying for pappodoms since we got here but our new cook can't seem to understand his requests at all. So we're at the table having dinner and Hamish says to the ipad - "cook me some pappodoms" and the app says back "cook me some panda bears"! And at that point in this not funny day, I started laughing uncontrollably and Hamish started laughing uncontrollably and then Neve finally cracked a smile and started giggling at us - which made us all laugh even more. I think we might be doing without the pappodoms this time around!<br />
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Twin news: When we were at the Mall the day before cranky day, we got a text from the Dr that our surrogate had been admitted to the hospital with labor pains! "Oh wow - this is really happening", we thought, and got all nervous and started rushing about to finish up the shopping. But, as these things go, the labor pains stopped and now our surrogate is in the hospital but all is stable. They are doing a planned c-section on Monday if nature has not taken its course before then. So there you have it - we have an outside date - May 7 may be the big day! <br />
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Love,<br />
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G, H & N + 2<br />
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<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-41658408050034370952012-05-02T12:37:00.000-04:002012-05-02T12:37:04.852-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Setting Expectations When You're Re-Expecting (in Delhi)</span></h2>
We've settled in quite nicely here in our new home in Delhi. The trip over from New York was surprisingly easy. For emphasis so as you really get it, saying that a 14+ hour plane ride with a rowdy 13 month old was "easy" is saying A LOT! <br />
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The timing worked in our favor and Neve, with a little outside help (if you know what I mean), slept a good 8 hours on the plane. For the journey, we traded in Neve's baby car seat for one of those Britax monster big girl car seats and when lodged into the window seat of the plane, she was sitting up in a big comfy first class seat with side impact pillows at the ready and just at the perfect height for maximum movie watching! She does not watch much TV at home so having her own personal touch screen entertainment center was like a dream come true. As a side note, and not sure what this says about Neve, but she had no interest in the Muppets or Cars 2 - but put on The Fantastic Mr. Fox and she was mesmerized - pointing at the screen and chatting to that old Mr. Fox - she watched it twice through and just loved it and we REALLY LOVED IT!<br />
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Plane arrived an hour early, no line at customs, Rahul the driver picked us up in a brand new mini-van/SUV with excellent a/c, traffic was a breeze, I didn't notice any smoke in the air, no cows to be seen, it was hot but not too bad really -- WHERE THE HECK ARE WE PEOPLE? THIS CAN'T BE DELHI!<br />
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Our apartment is just off the busy highway (I'm going to think of that as convenient until proven otherwise) with a nice modern looking gate and about 10 helpful men who greeted us and all wanted to hold Neve. Neve is at that "I don't trust strangers age" and well, we've just been through a big day with the flight and all, but she did not seem to mind all the attention so long as the nice men did not mind her pulling their hair, ears, noses, attacking pens in pockets, etc. We are in less of a residential setting so far as I can tell as compared to our last visit. This is a five story building -- all with long term and short term apartments/rooms. We are on the first floor and greedily took all four bedrooms. It seems a bit over the top at the moment as we are only occupying 2 but I have to remind myself that very soon this will NOT seem like a lot of space!<br />
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Anyway, each bedroom is spacious and nicely decked out with it's own bathroom. We have a mini-living room as you walk in that has been converted to Hamish's office and a diaper changing area - an excellent combination! There is a large separate room with a dining room table for 10 (plus Neve on the end in her attached high chair, so really 11) and couches and a tv. Every room has a flat screen tv - and our new house boy friends love to turn them all on and blare the Cricket while Neve tries to nap. We have some kinks to work out! The kitchen is very big and clean and they have some fancy water filter that Hamish thinks is wonderful. I agree that it's wonderful as long as the water has also been boiled once taken from said water filter station before entering my body or Neve's!<br />
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In short, I am pleasantly surprised by Home II in Delhi! We had received a bad report about our apartment just before we left on our trip and I was seriously worried, but I think we are going to be more than ok here. See Hamish, there are actually people out there who have higher expectations than I do!!!<br />
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So while we are on the topic of expectations, I'm just going to get some stuff off my chest. I HAVE THEM GALORE ABOUT THIS TRIP AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THEM!! We are essentially doing over what was a "once in a lifetime" experience and you can't really do that (ie, that's why they are called "once in a lifetime experiences" after all). There is this natural, impulsive need to compare what we did before in Delhi and where we stayed before and what we ate before and where we shopped before, with what we are doing this time around. Man it's getting on my nerves! <br />
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I want to bust through and get back to the pure firstness or newness or originalness or whatever of our first trip to Delhi to become parents and to meet Neve. I was eating up the world with such an intensity - the emotional experience brought out a heightened delight in all that we came upon. This experience, well, feels different. I'm over the top excited to meet the twins, don't get me wrong, but in a different way than I was about Neve. <br />
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With Neve, we had wanted children for so long that there was a real build up when we came across to get her. We were waiting in a foreign land to be initiated into the secret Order of the Parents - and trust me, that threw off a certain amount of emotional baggage all in itself. And now that we are members of that Order (and quite happy to be!) and the secrets have been revealed, things are well, differnt in this waiting period. <br />
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This is a long and circular path to the point that I think I'm trying to make - it's ok that I feel different and that I have expectations about what the experience of becoming a parent via surrogacy in India is supposed to be like the second time around. But, I need to JUST LET IT GO . . . This time is going to be DIFFERENT and these little twins are going to be DIFFERENT and that's the way it's supposed to be!<br />
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Just before we came across I was talking to a cousin of mine who has two boys of her own. I was saying that I can't imagine loving anything as much as I love Neve and she said, "oh you will be amazed - two other whole chambers of your heart will open up when those twins are born and you won't believe that you ever thought there might not be more space." Of course I know this to be true. I am, after all, one of 4 girls and as far I as I can tell, my parents (and parents everywhere) found plenty of space for numbers 2, 3 and 4. I guess I'm just a pre-newbie second time parent playing right into all the regular anxieties!<br />
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So back to the new home and so as we can get the comparison thing done and I'm just going to say this once. I MISS DELLIP AND MR. MOHANK SOMETHING TERRIBLE!!!! Because this is a bigger place, we don't have our own Dellip and instead have cleaners who come in once a day. There are three of them, they are very nice, they do a good job, they want to pick up Neve (Neve wants to play with their trash bins and buckets of water) - but I can tell that we are not going to be sitting around watching cricket and eating pizza together any time soon I don't think. Our cook is lovely and young with a big smile, but so far Mr. Mohank has nothing to worry about. He is really trying and I like him but we've had some funny experiences (like Hamish having to show him how to scramble eggs and actually cook the toast to the point where it is not just luke warm bread but has some crusty brown bits). <br />
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There, it's out there, enough. <br />
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We are heading to the big Mall this afternoon to buy some additional baby stuff (still need a bassinet for the twins and a baby tub) and to let Neve have some fun running wild in a large air conditioned space. It now makes me laugh to think back about the last time we set foot in that Mall, running out of bottles, Neve going nuts - this is certainly one experience that we can improve upon with little effort!!<br />
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All is well on the twin front. We are heading into week 36 and our surrogate is on bed rest as a precaution but doing well. If she makes it to week 37, they will do a planned c-section, so I think the latest the twins will be born is May 9! We have really been debating the names and working much harder on the whole naming thing than we did with Neve and I am happy to report that if we have one boy and one girl, we are in great shape. The other two combinations will result in some last minute scrambling, debating, horse-trading - something to look forward to!!<br />
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That's all for now, Hamish just came in to ask for the 20th time if I'm still blogging so I think that means he wants me to STOP IT AND GET OUT OF BED!<br />
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Love to all -<br />
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G, H & N + 2 <br />
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Neve with our wonderful Nanny, Saba, just before leaving for the airport. </div>
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Man do we miss her SOOOO much already, as does Neve!!</div>
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Luggage for this trip, including tiny human.</div>
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As a point of comparison, this is what we took last year. </div>
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Bedroom of new apartment.</div>
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Poor Neve had to sleep on a mattress in the corner on the floor our first night here. We've left it there as it makes for a nice play space/day bed in our room. Owners think we are nuts!</div>
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Hamish's new office in the hallway/small living room. </div>
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We pulled desks out of the bedrooms and it works well. Again, owners think we are nuts.</div>
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Super deluxe changing station (used to be bar table with stools). Big </div>
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enough for Neve to squirm around on without falling off - cushy enough for baby twins.</div>
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Dining room table with Neve's chair attached to one end. </div>
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Ketchup is always on the table just in case you need it!</div>
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Living room.</div>
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Britax car seat (ie first class seat on plane for Neve)</div>
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Our cook - Lelat</div>
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There are nice marble stairs leading up to the master suite and Neve is intoxicated by them. Given the choice, she would go up and down these dang stairs ALL DAY LONG! This why lovely chairs have been strategically placed in front of said stairs and we parents are giving up master suite to the twins. </div>
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The sacrifices we make! </div>
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When we arrived each bed was adorned with a special animal sculpture made from towels. Yes, this is an elephant!! We had swans as well which reminded me of my Disney World roots!</div>
<br /></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-87271489972885064132012-05-01T12:52:00.000-04:002012-05-01T12:52:00.414-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Epilogue</div>
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We arrived in Orlando, exhausted from our trip, concerned about the state of my Dad's health but excited to share Neve with the Florida family. My Mom picked us up from the airport and I had Neve all dressed up in a cute little pink dress much to Hamish's dismay (he has a thing about not wanting to dress her too "girly" which I don't really get cause after all she is a GIRL!).</div>
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It was at this first meeting of Grandmother and Granddaughter that I realized how bad the family was holding up. We had been getting all the medical facts and heard the concern in the voices over the phone, but to read the truth in the body language of my Mother made it much more real and much more terrifying. There was a cloud over her face, the light was gone and there was a heaviness about her (and I don't mean her weight because she also looked like she was wasting away). She greeted us in the way one would expect but something was not quite right; she was not quite there. Her heart and mind were in another place and with another person. I knew then that we would not get her back unless and until we also got my Dad back. After 50 years of marriage the two were really one.</div>
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The next morning I readied to make my first trip to the ICU to see my Dad. Hamish set up his traveling office in my parent's home library and my sister Jen's nanny Pearl took charge of little Neve. Pearl is a wonderful caretaker who adores babies and having her standing ready to help out with Neve made it possible for me to be with my Dad (and at Publix). That first morning I dropped off Neve and Jen's three dogs curiously sniffed at the new arrival all swaddled up in her bassinet - then they all snuggled in - each trying to be the closest to the little breathing creature.</div>
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Over the course of the time we spent in Orlando, I would often come to pick up Neve and find her surrounded by her cousins and the dogs and the birds and Pearl. Everyone on the one couch in the family room together, hovering over a sleeping or eating or awake little Neve. Neve became their center of attention - a tiny magnet with incredible pull!</div>
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I braced myself as I drove to the hospital that first day - not really knowing what to expect. Having been told things were bad, I was determined to keep a stiff upper lip and remain positive no matter what I was feeling on the inside. My being in Florida it turns out was as much about being there for my Dad as it was about being there to support my Mom and sisters, so I vowed not to show fear or doubts but to remain positive. I understood the dynamic enough to know that negative only brings on more negative and increasing the negative was not going to get my Dad any better. </div>
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The nurse took me back to the ICU and instructed me on putting on the proper infectious disease gear. My Dad had picked up some very bad infections from being in the hospital for so long so to enter his room you had to wear yellow gowns over your clothes and plastic gloves. He was completely unconscious when I got there, but moving his body in a convulsive, repetitive motion. It started like a wave that rolled from his head, shoulders and hips to his feet and back. Two seconds of calm and then it started again - over and over and over and over again. He was sweating from the exertion but would not or could not stop. </div>
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Nurses would come and go, yelling commands loudly -- but no response other than the repetitive motion. The wounds on his face and neck due to the surgery that originally put him in the hospital were swollen and not healing well due to all of the movement. He was on a ventilator through a trache in his throat and had a feeding tube coming out of his nose. His hands were tied down to keep him from doing more damage. The room was loud with strange beeps and lights blinking and lots of machines with tubes coming out of them and going into him.</div>
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Right, ok, deep breath, keep your cool -- I could feel my Mom and sister Rebecca looking at me to read my reaction. The newbie again so soon - this time the ICU newbie! I walked over and took my Dad's hand and said hello in the loud ICU voice - "IT'S GAELY, I'M FINALLY HERE!". I wish I could say that he reacted to me, that he woke up, but no, that would not be until much later.</div>
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Days bled into weeks and the routine was set. Mornings with Neve, go to the hospital and relieve first round visitors, have lunch with my Mom at the hospital cafeteria (complain because they charge for crackers), spend more time with my Dad, then off to Publix to grocery shop then pick up Neve, then start dinner, baths, bottles, clean up, repeat. We ate dinner most nights at Jen & Rob's house but shared in the responsibilities - almost a communal lifestyle. It was all really a blur only delineated by the progress my Dad was making or not making - which was the constant conversation point. </div>
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We became a big presence in the daily routine in Orlando and I like to think that it helped to have us around. My Mom had been mostly staying alone in that big house and now she had a daughter, a baby and an office all set up in her house. She had taken over the running of the house (a REAL lady of the manor!) which was my father's traditional duty and I marveled at how she grew more confident in the role and showed such pride in the fact that she had not killed one single fish or peacock!</div>
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Neve worked her magic with her good natured ways. There was always someone wanting to hold her (or a dog wanting to lick her!) and she perfected the role of the distractionist. When Neve was around, the conversation could turn away from the sadness and towards hope. I don't think another person could have done more to raise the spirits of the embattled family. With Neve around it was ok to reminisce about childhood stories or to talk about innane things like bottles and poopy diapers. She even worked her therapeutic ways on Uncle Rob - she somehow always ended up in his arms at the end of his work day and the two were happy as clams while the ladies did a major wrap of "One Life to Live in General Hospital - the Orlando Edition". Really quite the soap opera!</div>
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After my Dad's surgery, when his neck had swollen up too much for him to breath on his own and the infections set in and his heart decided it was all a little much for it to deal with, the doctors had put him on a number of powerful narcotics. His body was in constant motion with this involuntary convulsion thing and that caused the doctors to prescribe more and more drugs. We had very experienced ICU nurses tell us they had never seen anything like his constant movements and when an ICU nurse seems scared, you pay attention. These were dark days.</div>
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Turns out one of his heart medications was behind the involuntary movements. This was something my sister Jennifer had raised with his medical team just as the movements started. But the big ICU docs and surgical teams thought they had it all figured out and dismissed her outright. It was only after we fought (and I mean fought) to have a neurologist check him that the neurologist focused in on the same heart medication that Jennifer had identified as a problem weeks before and ordered that it be reduced and ordered that my Dad be weaned off the narcotics. </div>
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The progress was slow going but eventually the movements lessened and he began having waking and talking periods. He was in his own little world (and could actually be quite funny and quite sweet) and in time came all the way back to us - just like some darn miracle.</div>
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My Dad has made a full recovery and we feel like we have been given a second chance as a family. At certain points during his time in the hospital I can tell you that no one thought that was going to happen. We were in Florida for almost five weeks, three or so of which he was conscious but he only remembers the last day or two we were there. For the rest, he was in a fog of drugs.</div>
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There were so many moments and memories during this time that I won't soon forget. The ICU nurse we did not like, yelling at my Dad "Mr. Sparks, Mr. Sparks, Joey Sparks open your eyes if you can hear me" and no response! The multiple feeding tube disasters that almost always seemed to happen on the weekends when no one was around who could actually put the darn thing back in. I spent most of my first Mother's Day in the hospital on just such a Sunday with Jennifer, Rebecca and my Mom. All the Mom's together fighting for the patriarch. There was the time that Rebecca taught my Dad to use the nurse call button before he had really regained all his mental capacities and he spent the day calling in the nurses every five minutes (and because she was our least favorite, we let him go at it!). Classical music and Greensleeves (my Dad's favorites) being played over and over for hours at high volume until we were all driven insane by it and then when my Dad did wake up, him telling us to turn it OFF!</div>
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There were many mornings that I was sent in to the hospital with orders from Jennifer on demands to be made and doctors to be paged and diagnosis to be questioned - which I carried out with great "bad cop" flare. I organized a book to keep track of everything related to my Dad's patient care so everyone would know what was going on. I got the reputation as the "attorney" daughter and was treated with caution by the hospital staff. You've got to do what you got to do to keep your Dad alive so no regrets here!</div>
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All in all a difficult and stressful situation, but all in all a family strengthening experience. We came together and used our different skills to become medical care experts and health care advocates and family therapists. We were demanding, pushy, and fought like mad dogs -- and it worked. We took care of each other, we gave each other hope, we laughed because some times you just had to and we ate cafeteria salad for months straight and survived!</div>
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WE ALL SURVIVED!!</div>
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With Great Love,</div>
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G, H & N</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb3000; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 30px;">The End</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eb3000; font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 30px;"><br /></span></span>And now we come to the end of this strange, wonderful, heartbreaking and magical story. </div>
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It took great will and determination to make a family and it took great will and determination to keep a family together. We fought for years to create a family of our own and at the end of this journey we have a wonderful daughter. She travelled the world from India to Australia where she charmed her Aussie family and then moved on to Orlando where she provided just the hope that was needed. </div>
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When called upon this same family mustered all of its powers to fight for a life on the line. And the someone so sick pushed through it all to come back because he wanted to be in his rightful spot at the head of his family. </div>
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A life created and a life saved. And so the world keeps turning . . . . </div>
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Love to you all -- </div>
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G, H & N</div>
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-33987951007308273942012-04-30T02:49:00.002-04:002012-05-01T13:36:46.650-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Sequel</h2>
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I don't really know how to begin this whole thing again - I feel terribly rusty! But . . . I find myself back in eerily familiar territory. Sitting under the covers in a bed half the way around the world, full glass of coke on the bedside table, tapping away on the computer while others sleep. You see, a little over a year ago my husband, Hamish, and I had a beautiful baby girl born through surrogacy in New Delhi, India. It was a wild and magical journey and I blogged ALL ABOUT IT! A once in a lifetime adventure that resulted in the best thing that ever happened to us - having our daughter, Neve, and watching her grow and experiencing all of her firsts, becoming parents and all the wonderful (and occasionally not so wonderful) things that go along with that and getting to share it all with our friends and family. <br />
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It was SUCH an amazing experience that like some hollywood box office success, before we even left Delhi we began plotting the sequel. Nature took it's course (with a little help from science, a deep freezer and some other nice ladies, in our case!) and about 9 months ago we got the news that our new surrogate was pregnant. And just like some hollywood sequel, this time around we are going to make it BIGGER and add some crazy unrealistic plot twists and a few new over the top side characters. Neve will have not just one sibling, but two - yes, THIS TIME AROUND WE ARE HAVING TWINS!!!!<br />
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So, here we are in Delhi, with our 13 month old daughter and awaiting the birth of our twins (gender unknown at this time). The magnitude of what we are taking on has quite honestly not sunken in for me. We've done the basic planning of course and have cribs and all sorts of new baby crap (along with all the old baby crap) - but what I really mean is the mental part of being READY FOR TWINS (on top of a 13 month old). One of the luxuries (or detriments depending on how you look at things) of not carrying a baby yourself is that you go about your normal everyday life for the gestational period and then - BOOM - you're a parent. I worry about this a bit, but only a bit, because with keeping Neve from eating electrical cords and falling down marble stairs and trying to put away all of our clothes and things, I really don't have time. Forgive me baby unborn children of mine - I have a feeling that mentally ready or not, here you come!<br />
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Before we get all deep in to twin territory, I think I should "end" the prior blog. (I understand that blogs are traditionally continuous things, but that's just not how I roll. I blog while in India picking up children, then I fade back into my non-blogging life, end of story.)<br />
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After picking up Neve in India, we went to Australia to see Hamish's family and then were called back to the US early because my Dad was very ill and was in the ICU. We took a flight from Melbourne just after Easter 2011, a quick stop in Sydney, on to LA and then Orlando, Florida - where we took up residency for almost 6 weeks. All with an infant and a traveling office (Hamish was working and busy all that time). Once we made it to Orlando, my time was sucked up with hospital visits and baby care and blogging fell off the radar. But, I feel I owe you an explanation of how things turned out, so stay tuned for the next post that sums it all up. <br />
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Once the past has been put to rest, we can ALL start preparing for this new story and how delightful and disastrous (in a good way) it will all play out! <br />
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Love (and it's nice to be back!),<br />
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G, H & N + 2<br />
</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-52685584194431827762011-05-03T23:05:00.000-04:002011-05-03T23:05:54.651-04:00Port Fairy (Finally!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hello all! We are now on the other side of the world and settled in Orlando. <br />
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The trip was a shocker in terms of time spent traveling - something like 35+ hours. But Neve was a trooper. And, given her sleep to eat to sleep habits she really has not noticed the jet lag (unlike her parents!). United is most certainly not the airline of choice on the long haul from AUS to LA, for those considering this trip with a tiny baby. No personal entertainment centers on United, so movies were shown on the large screens for the entire 14 hour flight. So what, you say? Well, babies, like large wingless moths, find the light from tv screens to be, well, mesmerizing - which makes sleeping a BIG challenge! Anyway, we made it in one piece and that's what counts!!<br />
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Before leaving Australia, we spent a lovely long weekend with Hamish's family in Port Fairy. I wanted to share the beautiful beach with you and some of the fun family photos. I've been trying to balance hospital visits with Neve care and dinner prep, so my blogging has (as you may have noticed) taken a nose dive. Will try to keep up at least periodically!<br />
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Happy trails --<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ3UsGUtGh2a1utequDtzpTzjiLXjksP8rhhxcivCdLFeGkZFDqQVqRiz8XeA8DsYfLFY_mtPu2e4ONAwGKqMcG9tLNxfIjEpP_0kdR34NMKXfkpP4vg0HIEdochX4XDf0ExpLUOJ9-yt/s1600/P1020403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ3UsGUtGh2a1utequDtzpTzjiLXjksP8rhhxcivCdLFeGkZFDqQVqRiz8XeA8DsYfLFY_mtPu2e4ONAwGKqMcG9tLNxfIjEpP_0kdR34NMKXfkpP4vg0HIEdochX4XDf0ExpLUOJ9-yt/s320/P1020403.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cousins in love!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI7L-gtOsCwdBcQ0AP-hBui_OrHwuPmBLrKqDk1Tk7Z_fg3D3SUzg4Kmm7yeN9-V-qDQBuyuitDLNJ61KwnGucFk7Yhwy7yKLlpu2acHdHlgshcEaOqrErZS4-oiXvL7jXnaAcGw3LEAU/s1600/P1020415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI7L-gtOsCwdBcQ0AP-hBui_OrHwuPmBLrKqDk1Tk7Z_fg3D3SUzg4Kmm7yeN9-V-qDQBuyuitDLNJ61KwnGucFk7Yhwy7yKLlpu2acHdHlgshcEaOqrErZS4-oiXvL7jXnaAcGw3LEAU/s320/P1020415.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Berry family women.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfBC7_oCTfpz2_WL4xfladHvQ2fw6cov8oPut4Ol_g9EafW8_eLwc26lnAf0YLFcE9p8_efjHVG-qaXOq_wBqp5RwRGYJtPYiiiLJ3Hjcto1TLlb-TDSuSuyD5P00L9uG33TnvMQsdgIR/s1600/P1020421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfBC7_oCTfpz2_WL4xfladHvQ2fw6cov8oPut4Ol_g9EafW8_eLwc26lnAf0YLFcE9p8_efjHVG-qaXOq_wBqp5RwRGYJtPYiiiLJ3Hjcto1TLlb-TDSuSuyD5P00L9uG33TnvMQsdgIR/s320/P1020421.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Berry cousins.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJfT-x9MMb8wM7hhsKJNrJ4LMS3x-vcCUKHOoAtsz1vjEQIuuMr9y06ruSJDWqt0crhELHIi6FlVlZ_uPfv9cWe49dR5lXgD2Tt-RlW5vO-X7NtiFp1jmQYD2GtTBuLa1s2hLGYD67QAv/s1600/P1020434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJfT-x9MMb8wM7hhsKJNrJ4LMS3x-vcCUKHOoAtsz1vjEQIuuMr9y06ruSJDWqt0crhELHIi6FlVlZ_uPfv9cWe49dR5lXgD2Tt-RlW5vO-X7NtiFp1jmQYD2GtTBuLa1s2hLGYD67QAv/s320/P1020434.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Port Fairy (look at that beach!!)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o90EPRfB9JmgW4puB2vV39LdEOpiHybJWyG_LKeAvKigm9I50Y6K502QYSx6GlxF8LK9Hy7MSP486ApOhci6B-iJaYdUK4g-2pyiHRc0iJX76iPnG9Ttl75Tpe4wFHX659SYdyV1IetC/s1600/P1020435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o90EPRfB9JmgW4puB2vV39LdEOpiHybJWyG_LKeAvKigm9I50Y6K502QYSx6GlxF8LK9Hy7MSP486ApOhci6B-iJaYdUK4g-2pyiHRc0iJX76iPnG9Ttl75Tpe4wFHX659SYdyV1IetC/s320/P1020435.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Berry family out for a surf.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN4bJpJTwVxLhyEnBrry3imf7l5ppjfPmDr044dnw2M2Z_Boc7k0Mf4kKQw5rt4BPerkPDYyCYI0SMaq2UMVX-BX_CsGI25C06EpaZqeEuXFYyNQVePkOGXfa1h3rm0OelFYw6SwqB7v2/s1600/P1020447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN4bJpJTwVxLhyEnBrry3imf7l5ppjfPmDr044dnw2M2Z_Boc7k0Mf4kKQw5rt4BPerkPDYyCYI0SMaq2UMVX-BX_CsGI25C06EpaZqeEuXFYyNQVePkOGXfa1h3rm0OelFYw6SwqB7v2/s320/P1020447.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hamish coming in from getting his butt kicked by the surf!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tbnFzVygeoBLlQmDpHbZYdXn_0FOjpIEq660yiF48DmXnnetIz1L5aRhhRSpmuhLn8pOu_75nwLWgt0eZP5B34OvUfv8VWrv0iPVwhOom9063j-mdEV0udzox_tlf8b8NmuT436u8wkE/s1600/DSC_0524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tbnFzVygeoBLlQmDpHbZYdXn_0FOjpIEq660yiF48DmXnnetIz1L5aRhhRSpmuhLn8pOu_75nwLWgt0eZP5B34OvUfv8VWrv0iPVwhOom9063j-mdEV0udzox_tlf8b8NmuT436u8wkE/s320/DSC_0524.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Neve staring intensely at her Uncle James.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncw9Q5c7xv-YZa0cuVRKM-n4KJrFTHAHg-s9rVjYU_WD5QeHsbdz4uBShTXygGrnm20tmHfeW2IyVx-VBEZ67dGSAYyPSJHLb2mYaYgL3GuSWYDzhy3269dzZWdmgubuaUZTjDw-i5kvY/s1600/DSC_0525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncw9Q5c7xv-YZa0cuVRKM-n4KJrFTHAHg-s9rVjYU_WD5QeHsbdz4uBShTXygGrnm20tmHfeW2IyVx-VBEZ67dGSAYyPSJHLb2mYaYgL3GuSWYDzhy3269dzZWdmgubuaUZTjDw-i5kvY/s320/DSC_0525.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Uncle James in heaven being starred at!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixM7L5Cp2K_c3PuaNq6bMV5VcscZ-qDq18hEHXT2gHpTANvtugsJVN2Dbg5e0n-CFMwAkQ2gcfcx1fnJl46M0b6SkLpFlnZqYlaIoafHU_rT3g8hLKtjyuggjQYHgjtrrVFErRgs0B0XHT/s1600/DSC_0589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixM7L5Cp2K_c3PuaNq6bMV5VcscZ-qDq18hEHXT2gHpTANvtugsJVN2Dbg5e0n-CFMwAkQ2gcfcx1fnJl46M0b6SkLpFlnZqYlaIoafHU_rT3g8hLKtjyuggjQYHgjtrrVFErRgs0B0XHT/s320/DSC_0589.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Berry Family Easter Portrait.</div><br />
</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-61519959513335009812011-04-23T09:51:00.000-04:002011-04-23T09:51:28.895-04:00Melbourne Days Are Numbered -<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hello all! We are now on our way to Port Fairy - a little beach town about three hours south west of Melbourne. Hamish's parents have a house in Port Fairy where the Berry boys spent holidays and weekends growing up. The family has been going to Port Fairy for the last 40 years. So safe to say that they have lots of friends and share wonderful memories from surfing on the beach (sharks and freezing water - why not?), eating fish & chips (fried delight!) and going to the local pub called "The Stump" (stick to beer by the pitcher and watch yourself cause the local boys are aggressive!). Hamish lists Port Fairy as amongst his favorite places in the world so it's always a treat to be in Port Fairy with him. All in all, we are going to spend Easter weekend with the Berry clan - eating, drinking, egg hunting, walking on the beach - your general Easter festivities!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Things in Florida are holding steady but after the Easter weekend we are pulling the plug on the world tour. We are leaving Australia to head back to the US on Tuesday and will be in The Doe (ie, Orlando) on Wednesday. It will be good to lend our support and to be close - but I know it will be a hard transition for all of us. Neve has new relatives to meet and new cribs to sleep in. It's hard to leave, of course, but we need to be Florida right now and we will be back in the land of Oz soon.</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Some highlights of our last week in Melbourne:</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Talgai</b></div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hamish's grandmother lived on a beautiful farm about 60 miles North of Melbourne in an area called Seymour. It is an area of rolling hills and horse farms. Two of Hamish's Uncles still own Talgai - one taking the old family home and the other building a super cool modern home down near the river (it's something right out of Dwell)! Hamish's parents were married at Talgai - so needless to say, this place is a big part of the fabric of the family. We went up to Talgai with Hamish's cousin Pete and his wife Wendy and there two little ones - Hamish (my H's god son) and Charlotte. The place is really gorgeous - a rushing river, large rambling family homestead, tennis court, lovely gardens. It's really special. Pete and Wendy fed us delicious beef and we drank some very nice red wine (maybe a little too much my head was telling me at 3am that morning when Neve stirred!). </div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">We were trying to be good people and brought chocolate bunnies for little Hamish and Charlotte, which I now realize is a total newbie, bad parent move. Sort of like giving large plastic loud noise making things as birthday presents to toddlers! Anyway, Hamish and Charlotte dove right into the chocolate and Wendy was doing a good job of monitoring the amounts. But little Hamish puked up most of his lunch and was sick the next day and, well, I'm afraid the bad bunny decision played a major role in the yaking outcome. Little Hamish is totally charming - even sick - and after his puke session he announced that he was not really sick, but was just "kidding about being sick" and could certainly have more chocolate! Hilarious! You got to REALLY love something to want to eat it after losing your lunch! Poor little guy! Sorry Peter & Wendy and thanks so much for a truly enchanting time at Talgai!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJ5gEN_qOJuk_gz2hPtoDlDSkiGj7HltbWMCmjqkaGL4hu6LDd9he6QK_DBwHYIJpT8sQeahZCN6saSiQPV1LGv43VLpE7KBZY_YDBZAFDkgndrgvnI7glE4mUyDUTcxWLqRtwsjLwSmc/s1600/P1020194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJ5gEN_qOJuk_gz2hPtoDlDSkiGj7HltbWMCmjqkaGL4hu6LDd9he6QK_DBwHYIJpT8sQeahZCN6saSiQPV1LGv43VLpE7KBZY_YDBZAFDkgndrgvnI7glE4mUyDUTcxWLqRtwsjLwSmc/s320/P1020194.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Beautiful spot for lunch at Talgai!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZou0jLgc0n9VeUYbejtj9ObA39qCc-O5PYjLdNc2Qc_Rc_Xx4j-KQIlI07DGe5NcTJditd3wmYbUkliRPyO2TDDWXI2OTCe6G5aoYQm-JhPpgx47MqC27xbtwMwspNIqryFqC8KhFzR/s1600/P1020209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZou0jLgc0n9VeUYbejtj9ObA39qCc-O5PYjLdNc2Qc_Rc_Xx4j-KQIlI07DGe5NcTJditd3wmYbUkliRPyO2TDDWXI2OTCe6G5aoYQm-JhPpgx47MqC27xbtwMwspNIqryFqC8KhFzR/s320/P1020209.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cousin Pete and H with Neve on our walk around the manor.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7ZEptqBn6xJKLPS903y08JRuqqww4GvI2hP85KPmEcZa_k8GNJ_OlmpU4doJRuRkp7QeloJswkjXw_TnVSUC9niNJfK_nXUjaqooeysru67uqXcVzt9MRqJSHh3aP9yqyn3BABZEAb41/s1600/P1020212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7ZEptqBn6xJKLPS903y08JRuqqww4GvI2hP85KPmEcZa_k8GNJ_OlmpU4doJRuRkp7QeloJswkjXw_TnVSUC9niNJfK_nXUjaqooeysru67uqXcVzt9MRqJSHh3aP9yqyn3BABZEAb41/s320/P1020212.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Little Hamish - he is the cutest thing!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCKF21kgl9CWsvPugVjoTg-zVWQ_aglAk7lgSQL-QmpNniu1zb4nMP62jLzKPD7B76wB-zTWw0t2lhyngoLW4a3143TKkFeYjzNbPRAEEfWmfDyw_lenJ2ftk3AI3wtVpS7CbKeMwzsyq/s1600/P1020215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCKF21kgl9CWsvPugVjoTg-zVWQ_aglAk7lgSQL-QmpNniu1zb4nMP62jLzKPD7B76wB-zTWw0t2lhyngoLW4a3143TKkFeYjzNbPRAEEfWmfDyw_lenJ2ftk3AI3wtVpS7CbKeMwzsyq/s320/P1020215.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">H and Neve by the river which is still swollen with all the rain.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IU7AWPZCTpWASbLL5HN_6v9T161LEz-4j36k_uNTJsNiQ_pGXZz_kw5M55iNTRPJ1MleFcxPO710rS4jL0GFb4K591oe2CyhhkBIWDtI5HrFneYyH3MW2Mff1i7nNpfwIt2Ajk17A07r/s1600/P1020216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IU7AWPZCTpWASbLL5HN_6v9T161LEz-4j36k_uNTJsNiQ_pGXZz_kw5M55iNTRPJ1MleFcxPO710rS4jL0GFb4K591oe2CyhhkBIWDtI5HrFneYyH3MW2Mff1i7nNpfwIt2Ajk17A07r/s320/P1020216.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On our walk we happened by Uncle Sandy's where we were offered some champers! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Port Melbourne</b></div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">We have dragged numerous friends and family down to Port Melbourne to spend time with us while we have been here. On our first day I ran by this place called the Sand Bar - which is right on the beach -- that I thought looked very inviting. Large tables opening on the beach, big deck - food, wine! We enjoyed catching up with folks there a few times and at some of the other places in Port Melbourne. </div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5rgQ8JP6fSENJrTZiVa_Iqc3llOdVCL666KZkG9Jj2teDfUs-ipmHTIoxk2RxxEUHKpr8CFWXgExMOq7fQy_gOzvTBopJqQELw0UFogkdNkQNQAymznqbhjf5-DGDcYxr6QJBox-Rk7Z/s1600/P1020180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5rgQ8JP6fSENJrTZiVa_Iqc3llOdVCL666KZkG9Jj2teDfUs-ipmHTIoxk2RxxEUHKpr8CFWXgExMOq7fQy_gOzvTBopJqQELw0UFogkdNkQNQAymznqbhjf5-DGDcYxr6QJBox-Rk7Z/s320/P1020180.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Matt and Nat with Jamie and Max. They insisted on walking on the rock walls the whole way!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZh5OjQLrKkLfcClSQ0ruWhszmY3IdkIg4cZx4dTk2iNcJELO5sV25rXUn0F6lZ6pVdAevocY4jSGmcOT-rm4chO-fw5I840ns4GO49htAxwXK1K37neo0lXV_gHgP8fknSqMrdhpWucWu/s1600/P1020222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZh5OjQLrKkLfcClSQ0ruWhszmY3IdkIg4cZx4dTk2iNcJELO5sV25rXUn0F6lZ6pVdAevocY4jSGmcOT-rm4chO-fw5I840ns4GO49htAxwXK1K37neo0lXV_gHgP8fknSqMrdhpWucWu/s320/P1020222.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Stuart and Sarah with little Neve -- they are the best EPs!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaz7gwPUZHew-q4wLAaeoUxnfMSkL8z4UfHUoVDyRTbNN8KRaPdsgSduc0iT6YppMpnAAw2BDx2i3eIFewc3uv_6PAg6dH4qDHk171uNaTpXylTy6NsCQW7GZkT5gATiAlFl9DXYSq0V5/s1600/P1020223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaz7gwPUZHew-q4wLAaeoUxnfMSkL8z4UfHUoVDyRTbNN8KRaPdsgSduc0iT6YppMpnAAw2BDx2i3eIFewc3uv_6PAg6dH4qDHk171uNaTpXylTy6NsCQW7GZkT5gATiAlFl9DXYSq0V5/s320/P1020223.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Friends at the Sand Bar.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJSS2AMzKPYSZwxw9fNhD7PJ18SweBrQVyb_tCVynCaqBKKU4k5CUGoZPx2U9DvbpIdmFDGJvwyPudkoNt5D1SrivAUZPh2FZe_Sk9AMgI4su_r2xl_JOwYRXgjDgmvttBf2h48NDeHDE/s1600/P1020227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJSS2AMzKPYSZwxw9fNhD7PJ18SweBrQVyb_tCVynCaqBKKU4k5CUGoZPx2U9DvbpIdmFDGJvwyPudkoNt5D1SrivAUZPh2FZe_Sk9AMgI4su_r2xl_JOwYRXgjDgmvttBf2h48NDeHDE/s320/P1020227.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Girls!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrXpJpN47ujviv_OOPMgwBpLkTPKxs9NpRiFUtlJYg1092L3ac5bjwZ6ukwA7z8qbWFLBxJU8NaZIsHCdg5EevrmYaOi45_SzrMOiXYsdZ0FiBFDNQ4MO0pnygJxR3glQDzIIZ6xYwsXz/s1600/P1020228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrXpJpN47ujviv_OOPMgwBpLkTPKxs9NpRiFUtlJYg1092L3ac5bjwZ6ukwA7z8qbWFLBxJU8NaZIsHCdg5EevrmYaOi45_SzrMOiXYsdZ0FiBFDNQ4MO0pnygJxR3glQDzIIZ6xYwsXz/s320/P1020228.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Another Hamish and his lovely daughter!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Myrniong Part II</b></div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">On Thursday we packed ourselves up (no easy task given our luggage explosion and Hamish's constant conference calls) and headed back up to Jane & James farm in Myrniong to spend the night. We went on a long hike, ate at the local pub and spent some time jumping on the trampoline and climbing in the haystacks with the kids. All a total hoot! </div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Jane & James gave us their bedroom which over looks several large paddocks and on down to the Lerdederg Park. It's exactly the view you think of when someone says "big sky country". The horses were out in the paddock and it's quite a big space but they like to stand right up against the fence closest to the bedroom window. Throughout the night, we would wake with Neve and watch them walking around or sleeping - which was really comforting is some funny way. </div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">When Neve woke up for her 6am feed, the sky was just starting to get light and we could actually see kangaroos hoping around in the far paddock (as promised by Jane!)!!! AMAZING!! There were about 10 of them - babies and larger ones - eating grass and drinking from the damn. Just hanging around like it was totally normal that large bouncy creatures emerge at dawn from nowhere and escape back into the gum tree forest just after sunrise like an alarm has sounded.</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The sky was a beautiful purple color with large misty grey clouds and where the sun was breaking through it was a dark reddish pink. So much color! What a lovely morning! Giving your sweet baby girl a bottle while looking out at kangaroos and horses and colorful birds crossing endless skies. It was all JUST PERFECTION!! Then Neve and I fell back into a coma like sleep!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpkN1MYbPf5QR3oMbYuN5qjCker2_SgctW4N_kq_zCAN3m36l4GLXwJKyarXxyGABsoVuYVfOBoQPT_RQzWLfAYZIyeD3-BzH3mgh6C_dEJH6gVSfPi7G3hNoPtKXer5a7IrXt-9EPDPO/s1600/P1020364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpkN1MYbPf5QR3oMbYuN5qjCker2_SgctW4N_kq_zCAN3m36l4GLXwJKyarXxyGABsoVuYVfOBoQPT_RQzWLfAYZIyeD3-BzH3mgh6C_dEJH6gVSfPi7G3hNoPtKXer5a7IrXt-9EPDPO/s320/P1020364.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">James & Hamish at the pub with Neve looking like she's had one to many bottles!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSRqIaWQ6YcXs1HTFWL53yUEQe14_Tvm2c1RPNeL_meMztLqkrSgU4So6QSrHWdLy3_hWK81Ad_DxT-UX-hvNFPQktWRCIruCk_RF6ZrjKmeWUZBXN9YF6FYzKYESiRHKf81u6JlJx078/s1600/P1020372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSRqIaWQ6YcXs1HTFWL53yUEQe14_Tvm2c1RPNeL_meMztLqkrSgU4So6QSrHWdLy3_hWK81Ad_DxT-UX-hvNFPQktWRCIruCk_RF6ZrjKmeWUZBXN9YF6FYzKYESiRHKf81u6JlJx078/s320/P1020372.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Berry Boys!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0pV6_4ZZwMUT5rvqObBsocwaQltQZpkPnwok7LbBcvaK6T06xRj9A79iTgkKTtnC1S2rSBlich8IZKjQ_Mqvc8i55TO5aQrnjOimA-trZWW2RtngcCI8A4S1Q0NzoHVBty6XHjiLwHaJ/s1600/P1020374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0pV6_4ZZwMUT5rvqObBsocwaQltQZpkPnwok7LbBcvaK6T06xRj9A79iTgkKTtnC1S2rSBlich8IZKjQ_Mqvc8i55TO5aQrnjOimA-trZWW2RtngcCI8A4S1Q0NzoHVBty6XHjiLwHaJ/s320/P1020374.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Enchanted Forrest.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdRle2YQVenVK6_EObepj3t0ytcgPa4TLanhvnVWiw1tfc01AgNMaeHb9I8wyGCOOyWY96l985Q5-JfCYfBwr6UDfszHvOvW-yBqWJLVqhFYa5AVI4F8HWtyjy2MGcxf2LcFDuyqmljuy/s1600/P1020376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdRle2YQVenVK6_EObepj3t0ytcgPa4TLanhvnVWiw1tfc01AgNMaeHb9I8wyGCOOyWY96l985Q5-JfCYfBwr6UDfszHvOvW-yBqWJLVqhFYa5AVI4F8HWtyjy2MGcxf2LcFDuyqmljuy/s320/P1020376.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hiking along the creek.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8l3R8CptXzO5PS1azkF_wBGf7e2epJaqeVGRnrxx4-Pr94aeULNvHQ3NpYO_GJt8Ey2ggh66tZLFSyGuMI9dwbSZtZqwNeWxKGFn8-06f8awuwc_3_t5yliOTNjz6Kr8H5N09ITB-0fGT/s1600/P1020379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8l3R8CptXzO5PS1azkF_wBGf7e2epJaqeVGRnrxx4-Pr94aeULNvHQ3NpYO_GJt8Ey2ggh66tZLFSyGuMI9dwbSZtZqwNeWxKGFn8-06f8awuwc_3_t5yliOTNjz6Kr8H5N09ITB-0fGT/s320/P1020379.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Such cute cows. Look America - they are eating grass in fields!! Amazing!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U94Ah1GoU-hqxAsouwJfkpBq2kOKpFpxSPbCFI7z1v0vYoalcsg2QftWKLmwpvHsfqrvjMRYKklqKf2gNbyvyIYhMoLvoX1fluraaNV1V1r_cf-qVzCNboD-54vaptqjb4xSXgCIUhgt/s1600/P1020380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U94Ah1GoU-hqxAsouwJfkpBq2kOKpFpxSPbCFI7z1v0vYoalcsg2QftWKLmwpvHsfqrvjMRYKklqKf2gNbyvyIYhMoLvoX1fluraaNV1V1r_cf-qVzCNboD-54vaptqjb4xSXgCIUhgt/s320/P1020380.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Haystacks are a blast to climb in. Highly suggested if you ever get the chance!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7NA6HRqvZDoYJTGC8JxMFAD69sTL1hTtPN6Y_sUsuBVzPMKRRVY96adobsK-V35E_WPlFlX8pJ198FrP_2m06swh2suw_8scpz1jSoz4aXU0jNx9XISyNr6AouCoRwMhaXgmr_t7KgKd/s1600/P1020399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7NA6HRqvZDoYJTGC8JxMFAD69sTL1hTtPN6Y_sUsuBVzPMKRRVY96adobsK-V35E_WPlFlX8pJ198FrP_2m06swh2suw_8scpz1jSoz4aXU0jNx9XISyNr6AouCoRwMhaXgmr_t7KgKd/s320/P1020399.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Myrniong</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">So, spending the past few weeks in Melbourne was - as you can see - really great. Other than, of course, the weak US dollar! Australia is pretty painfully expensive so no shopping for us (not that we have the space anyway!!). I had also been doing some work trying to find a perfect (and affordable) pinot noir since we've been in Melbourne, but sadly, I am giving up. Everything I purchased was disappointing and when we left our apartment in Port Melbourne we poured out several bottles that had been abandoned after the first sad glass (or two for good measure). I think I'm going to move on to another grape. I know, I know -- pinot has always been my favorite but frankly I'm pretty discouraged. H and I discussed it and I think we are going to try some blends. Will let you all know how that goes!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Neve is thriving absolutely. She can whip that bobble head around now showing off her new found neck muscles, makes so much eye contact that it's unnerving, has an occasional smile (especially at her Uncle James who she has a big crush on), has fat rolls on her thighs and many chins and is just generally being an adorable baby. Her Australian cousins fight over holding her and feeding her and she loves to be amongst them -- kicking arms and legs around and chirping as she tries to be a part of it all. Her cousin Eloise is particularly taken by Neve. She was holding her while we were packing up today and I overheard a conversation where she was discussing how great it was that Neve is so much more adorable than most babies -- how adorable is that! Eloise even helped me out with a couple nasty pesto diapers and that my friends, is true love!! Neve is an Aussie and has loved being here and being doted on by her family!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G8dvMbyIXpxBhIbSnYrrgMneFAcanafNKDYJ9OfIqWzaLevdY6oLfV2h1dK9FcXwv3lc0Kr_kWkkl4LFAsjIY_Wy2FbLp8gakm7VDVhp4AO1_PBKjvbMTCvBlIstUZ6SI7Y2L-XysNbG/s1600/P1020269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G8dvMbyIXpxBhIbSnYrrgMneFAcanafNKDYJ9OfIqWzaLevdY6oLfV2h1dK9FcXwv3lc0Kr_kWkkl4LFAsjIY_Wy2FbLp8gakm7VDVhp4AO1_PBKjvbMTCvBlIstUZ6SI7Y2L-XysNbG/s320/P1020269.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My little peacock girl!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaTA88cwVsoj2i9ZdFEKILPY0VN01PBn5-n8NnIFYkgX3YRIh4cQuUrJdYlKWT6TK-ERmIcqODsamB1NdkUQ4Bo7mZGDTNRSk48tN1TavESLz0ZT8pXnQVhkGqr3lMmXOMrJ4yhGH2K_u/s1600/P1020342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaTA88cwVsoj2i9ZdFEKILPY0VN01PBn5-n8NnIFYkgX3YRIh4cQuUrJdYlKWT6TK-ERmIcqODsamB1NdkUQ4Bo7mZGDTNRSk48tN1TavESLz0ZT8pXnQVhkGqr3lMmXOMrJ4yhGH2K_u/s320/P1020342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So beautiful!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF6p8XKx_1dZhXCxfnNE41KziZtuiwU-fd8Yp-_JBaWt_7I9697a_SvD9mRH3jIoIzURRXV5-JDFXinWnFfgOy4UvmhFw459nuaB9g9mOjNS1jpg4ewFPvLaq02ez5UMsOcx2n26WR0Bg/s1600/P1020350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF6p8XKx_1dZhXCxfnNE41KziZtuiwU-fd8Yp-_JBaWt_7I9697a_SvD9mRH3jIoIzURRXV5-JDFXinWnFfgOy4UvmhFw459nuaB9g9mOjNS1jpg4ewFPvLaq02ez5UMsOcx2n26WR0Bg/s320/P1020350.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, Mr. Rattle Puppy, what do you say we bust out of this place!</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">More on Port Fairy and our trip back to the US later -</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Love to all,</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 34.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 28.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">G, H & N</div></div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-76807020054426493132011-04-18T09:57:00.000-04:002011-04-18T09:57:39.079-04:00Some Stability<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Just a quick one to say thank you to all of you who have been hoping and praying and thinking of us and our family. We have been really overwhelmed by the love and it seems to be doing some real good - so please keep it up! We've been monitoring the situation in Florida closely and although we can't report a miraculous recovery - we can report that the vitals are finally "stable". And, in the real world, in situations like this, "stable" really should be considered miraculous! With a bit more long term "stable" we may have an actual miracle on our hands! No high fives yet and it will be a long recovery, but we are starting to talk recovery which is well -- a relief and good. <br />
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We are in Melbourne and will (unless stable turns to unstable) be here through Easter. Then, we will cut outNew Zealand and LA (maybe a quick stop over to relieve the traveling) and will head directly to the Doe (this is what Hamish calls Orlando) to be with my family. <br />
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So not for nothing but we did manage to spend some time ourselves in the hospital today. I think this is one new parents (IPs) might be interested in as you might face it as well. In India they give a TB shot a couple days after birth. They actually do not vaccinate for TB in Australia anymore - so many of you may not even need to worry about this. It is not uncommon for babies to have a reaction to the TB shot like 4 to 6 weeks after it is administered. We, as newbies, did not know this and when a large pustule like boil appeared on Neve's arm a couple days ago -- well, we were concerned and went to higher sources. <br />
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People who saw photos said we should go to a pediatrician because it could be infected. And, after tripping through a healthcare system that we are unfamiliar with, we ended up in the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne in the immunization specialization unit (we really owe this stroke of genius to my sister in law Di who has friends in the right places). So a super sweet pediatrician had a look at the Neve boil and pronounced that it was all "within the range of normal" for a TB reaction and that no puss removal or antibiotics would be necessary. Awesome - as I was really not looking forward to explaining to Neve why I was helping to hold her down while a stranger dug the puss out of her painful Neve boil!<br />
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Anyway, lesson here is that you baby could have a negative reaction to a TB shot a month or so after it's given and you have to be careful that the reaction is not an infection that's a serious infection verses Neve's type. If you are a Newbie, you will certainly seek outside help for that determination. But, either way, it would have been nice to know to look out for it in the first place. My first reaction was that one of those crazy Australian spiders had gotten a chunk out of the Neve Berry arm!<br />
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Hospitals are also such a reality check. We saw little Neve sized creatures with prams (strollers) with extra holders for IV units and other tubes coming out. And little ones covered in netting to prevent germs from getting in. A little Neve boil is nothing in the scheme of things, so we left all happy. But there are certainly many families in that hospital that need to see better days and all we can do it hope for them.<br />
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The trip did lead to Neve's first official weighing since birth. She is now 4.045 kg, up from her birth weight of 2.6 kg. This is great and the doctor listened to her heart and was happy when Neve socked her hard in stomach with those little weight lifter legs. In India, Neve's birth weight was middle of the road. In Australia, we learned today that Neve was under 5% on the charts for her birth weight. She is gaining fast however, and in just 5 short weeks has worked her way up to the high 30% range! I can personally attest to the amount of milk being consumed around here and to the fact that my back is literally in constant pain -- so I was not surprised by the good news on the weight gain!<br />
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Going to go to sleep now. We have had another full weekend in Melbourne and will I send around photos tomorrowish.<br />
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Love to all -- and thank you for your support.<br />
<br />
G, H & N<br />
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552975921777529420.post-25425650594811262442011-04-14T10:28:00.000-04:002011-04-14T10:28:36.724-04:00Torn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Have you ever wished that you could be in two places at one time? More than wishing really (not like you wish you could be in Hawaii for the day and Paris for dinner) - being really, really needed on a primal emotional level in two places at one time? Well, that is becoming my reality and I must say - PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!!! Now that we have Neve, my life is supposed to be all perfect and rose smelling (save for the diapers of course), but clearly someone upstairs did not get the memo. <br />
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About since Neve's birth, one of my closest family members has been dealing with a bad diagnosis and a bad surgical outcome back in Florida. We have been monitoring the situation as best we can from across the globe and have been praying for good days. But, we've mostly gotten small waves of worse days instead and two nights ago I had a bag packed ready to get on a 9:30am flight out of Melbourne to LA and then on to Orlando. Me, by myself, no Hamish, no Neve. The news at 4am that morning was as promising as it had been in days and although the bag remains packed, I remain on this side of the world for now. For which I feel relieved. For which I feel guilty.<br />
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When I was just 3 years old my family came to Australia for a holiday. Pretty amazing stuff so long ago and to bring a child so young, so far - that was likely insanity. That holiday was called up short when news reached us that my grandmother's cancer had progressed and she was very ill. She passed away a short time after we got back to Florida from Australia. History simply cannot repeat itself. <br />
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I must say that the build up to the almost decision to go back alone was heartbreaking (and unfortunately still remains at the forefront of possibilities). If you had told me a year ago that leaving a 4 week old child (that keeps me up all night without so much as a thank you) would have caused me any difficulties in light of the current situation at home - I would not have believed it. Well, sometimes you have to live something to really understand it. <br />
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Neve, just that day, started making serious eye contact. When you feed her now, she locks on your eyes -- does not blink and does not look away. Maybe she is still learning to focus and all, but it's a pretty intense thing. And, I was going to leave her and know that with her baby sized brain, there was a pretty good chance that she would not recognize me when we were together again. Would she think I had abandoned her? I felt like she was begging me to stay each time she locked on my eyes that day and each time my eyes filled with tears and she looked at me with even bigger eyes. Love is a funny thing. You might know it's there, but when it's about to be taken away from you - the physical pain leaves no doubt.<br />
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But the situation in Florida is bad. Poor Dr. Jen has gone from pediatrician to full time medical manager plus full time reporter to those of us not in the vicinity. The stress on my Mom and sisters is unimaginable. Words of ICU and atrial fibrullation and central lines and puss and infections and skin grafts and ventilators and lymph nodes - this is what we get each day in the reports. But it's what's behind the words that has me more concerned. There is a tiredness now. An underpinning of acceptance that this new world of terrible possibilities is the new reality on the ground. And ground, that we are far, far from at the moment. I am helpless to help.<br />
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I want to be home in Florida to support my family. I want to be here in Melbourne with my daughter and husband - spending more time in Australia than my husband has spent in the country of his birth since he left for what was supposed to be a couple years abroad almost 10 years ago. Neve lights up the faces of her Australian Grandparents and relatives and I want to give them this gift of being together and relaxed at such an amazing time. And, Neve can't leave Australia just yet.<br />
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When we applied for Neve's passport in Delhi, we knew that we would be coming to Australia and so opted for the quicker "emergency passport" instead of waiting for the full passport which we would get once here and settled. In Australia, you don't have to go to the consular's office or some passport agency to get a passport - you just apply at the Post Office -- really! So we did the forms, had a friend (non-family member) sign documents attesting to who Neve is, etc. (a requirement in AUS) and went into the Post Office in Port Melbourne to turn in our application. The woman at the counter was more than ruffled by our application. The child was born in Delhi? Yes. You don't have an Australian residence address? No. Your wife is not an Australia passport holder? No. After several phone calls to central authority, she finally rejected us because of a slight shadow on the left cheek of Neve's passport photos. You remember it, the one we had taken on the first day of Neve's birth?!<br />
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I tried to reason with the nice Post Office lady that people in the consulates office in Delhi (who seemed to me to trump postal workers) were more than happy to use this very photo for a permanent passport (and actually used it for an emergency passport) - to which she replied, "maybe in India, but not here." I hope this is not a mantra we have to live with for the rest of our lives. So, we went to the local Kodak store to have the photos retaken (she looks way better!) and got kind friends we were meeting for dinner that night to sign everything and reapplied the next day. I let Hamish handle the Post Office lady and the application was accepted. Turns out bureaucracies the world over have a great deal in common!<br />
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But the long and short of it is that Neve can't leave Australia until we get that permanent passport. And if things get worse, I will have to leave without her because the gravitational pull of the possibility of such a loss is undeniable. All we can do is pray, hope, beg, reason -- that things take a turn for the better in Florida. Neve must have an opportunity to have a full family back in America and all of that family must have the opportunity to be locked in her stare and charmed into loving her. After all that we have been through to get to this point -- it just can't turn out this way.<br />
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All our love,<br />
<br />
G, H & N<br />
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Some photos to lighten this up a bit -<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxrB6yeDzZVMQ4qBd24iOWxKumEzKUiNRfsHCKIJO8aSswixipGnsHuCbaK4_obN6BaXcVpfvpjLjdy619mWKqhP3GTvVx8XEJA1FleFUEc_4O78ilCjqLtkubbCy5jikoqnMMrIssBlH/s1600/P1020173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxrB6yeDzZVMQ4qBd24iOWxKumEzKUiNRfsHCKIJO8aSswixipGnsHuCbaK4_obN6BaXcVpfvpjLjdy619mWKqhP3GTvVx8XEJA1FleFUEc_4O78ilCjqLtkubbCy5jikoqnMMrIssBlH/s320/P1020173.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All I can say is WOW! Jabba the Hut Jolie!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SFOYA7saKgGAjRQe4dvKZumy4IjBwZ-7WBInECCY05U1dwSBKfOoDZTBmHBZ1hpgE8CYyWJtV991OmObWo8kE-NPrg69hVEYc1aj7iTuopNWgKaDEkqDd-EVdQAemCfFOUldE793j1FG/s1600/P1020176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SFOYA7saKgGAjRQe4dvKZumy4IjBwZ-7WBInECCY05U1dwSBKfOoDZTBmHBZ1hpgE8CYyWJtV991OmObWo8kE-NPrg69hVEYc1aj7iTuopNWgKaDEkqDd-EVdQAemCfFOUldE793j1FG/s320/P1020176.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hamish's parents put on a beautiful luncheon in honor of Neve this week. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She was an angel and looked beautiful in her first non-pajama proper outfit - white tights and all!</div><br />
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</div>Delhi Babyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05924022335106314669noreply@blogger.com4