California Dreamin'

MOMENTIOUS NEWS!!!

2011-11-14T13:49:00.001-08:00

Hi there blog fans!

You may have noticed that since returning from the UK this summer, our blog posts have been less newsy about what is happening in our lives right now and more of a recap on what we did this summer. This is partly because we wanted to fill you all in on our wonderful summer trip, but it has also been a convenient way to divert your attention... you see, we have some BIG news that we have not been able to post on the blog... until now!

Our BIG news?

You might want to sit down for this...

WE ARE MOVING BACK TO THE UK BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes, you read that right, we are COMING HOME - and we'll be back in about 5 weeks time!!!

While we were back in the UK this summer, we both felt very strongly that we both needed and wanted to move back to the UK. We want our son to be surrounded by his family as he grows up, and although California is wonderful and we will miss all the precious friends we have made out here, it is time for us to move home.

We prayed about it and then watched as the Lord maneuvered things within EA so that suddenly, having thought that it was unlikely that Ed would find employment within EA in the UK, they now had an attractive post for him, based in London and they need him to start as soon as possible! It really has been astounding!

We are likely to fly on about the 18^th December (still to be confirmed with the relocation people)… and we will probably base ourselves in Wimbledon in corporate accommodation for a few months until we find somewhere to live permanently. Our home in Arborfield is being rented out until April and we have decided that, although in many ways it would be lovely to move back to our familiar ‘hood’ (and our much-loved church!), the commute into Kensington (where Ed’s new job is based) would be a couple of hours each way and Ed would not get to see Daniel during the week. So we have decided to move to south west London, where lots of Ed’s family are based.

We are so sorry if this is the first you're hearing of this – but it has all happened so quickly, we have not had the chance to speak to each of you personally! And we couldn't blog about this sooner because Ed had to wait until everyone within EA who would be affected by his move knew before we went public...

We are SO excited to be coming home. LA is wonderful, but we can't wait to be back amongst our family and friends. Do pray for us. We have a lot on and a lot to organise before we leave. Many thanks and SEE YOU SOON!!!

UK Tour - 29th August - 8th September

2011-10-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Right, now back to filling you in on our UK trip...

The 29th August was our, wait for it, 13th wedding anniversary! Yes, we really are that old! Ed and I went out for dinner at the Wycombe Arms (the setting for many a happy celebratory feast in the past!) and we both concluded that the results of our annual wrinkle audit were favorable. Maybe it was the lighting?!

The rest of this portion of our trip, Ed was back at work and Daniel and I took things fairly easy. There were a few memorable highlights though... a lovely day with our good friends, the Packmans - such a treat to be able to get to know Lydia (another of our fabulous God-daughters) better and to catch up with lovely friends that we feel so at ease with.

A lovely, girly lunch with Liddie (a G at heart, although we know you now love being a C!) and a mad night out with the freeway boys... you're all loonies!

Two wonderful family-reunion days - one in Winchester with my Mum's sisters and their (ever-increasing!) families and Dad's sister & her husband...

...AND one in Wimbledon with Ed's Mum's side of the family. We are SO blessed to be part of such big, caring and Jesus-loving families! Our hearts ache to be back in the UK so that we can see MORE of you all!

2011-10-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

We have now officially been back in the USA for over a month! Life here is going well, we have been enjoying 'scorchio' weather conditions - which has been a real treat. Generally, we have just been slotting back into the comfortable familiarity of a predictable routine, but this weekend, we DID break the mould by going WHALE watching in long beach on Friday! Oh yes! Apparently they had been seeing blue whales on a daily basis for the week or so preceding our trip, so we set sail with hopeful hearts. Sadly, although we DID have the joy of seeing plenty of dolphins up close, the whales were obviously having some kind of deep sea convention... elsewhere. They didn't show us even the tip of a tail fin to satisfy our large-sea-dwelling-mammal appetites! But it was still lovely to be out on the ocean in glorious sunshine.

From long beach, we headed further east, into the LA mountains for our church retreat. We were told we were going to be staying in a 'basic cabin' and friends of ours who had been before had warned us that it was fairly primitive... but when we arrived, we were amazed to find that our cabin was GORGEOUS - honestly, we would have paid top dollar to stay there! It was a great weekend. Surrounded by breathtaking scenery, receiving challenging and uplifting teaching and getting to know our brothers and sisters out here better... a perfect way to spend a few days!

Daniel's vocabulary explosion is in full swing. Every day new words emerge that I had no idea he knew. His favorite word is 'hot'. He is very pleased with himself for learning how to say 'A,B,C' this week... and so says it ALL the time! His only other 'phrase' is 'have a giggle', which is simply adorable! He can now climb up the ladder on the climbing frame at our local park - something that other children his age are not attempting! NO sign of any developmental delay there then! Praise God! His absolute favorite thing to do? The cleaning! Yesterday I bought him a mini broom - and the delight on his face as he sweeps his way around the house is an absolute picture!

UK Tour - 20th - 28th August

2011-09-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

From St Margaret's Bay, we drove north, to our old neighborhood in Berkshire - did a drive-by of our home in Chamberlain Gardens and had a nostalgic moment before heading to the lovely home of our treasured friends, the Chapmans. BOTH of the gorgeous Chapman girlies are our Godchildren - what a treat!

On the Saturday, we loved catching up with the Bickersteths, for an (as ever) delicious lunch, full of fun and wonderful, soul-enriching conversation, followed by a lovely afternoon (and trip to the park!) with our precious friends, the Phillips.

Sunday was the date for our Berkshire picnic - no joke, I had invited most of the county! Thankfully, not everyone we had invited showed up, otherwise it would have been a real squeeze! What a joy to catch up with so many wonderful friends and introduce Daniel to everyone. We LOVED it.

Monday and Tuesday, I took on my alter-ego as international ROCKKKKKK sensation; Mrs 'Rock Chick' Nic Gilchrist! The Freeway boys (shout OUT!) had been hard at work during the months preceding our trip, rockording the music for our SECOND album (which is going to ROCCKKKK your World! Oh yes! THIS one is DEFINITELY better than 'Contraflow' - our first album - it might even be ready by Christmas, so start putting it on your Christmas list!), so all that remained was for me to add my voice to the mix! We skillfully combined a challenging rockording itinerary with giggles and fun, such that I absolutely LOVED these days. Hard work, but a great reminder of how fantastic (even if i do say so myself!) our music & lyrics are and how much FUN I have with these crazy ROCCKKKKKK boys!

While I was making sweet music, Ed spent Monday with his 'MUG' (Mad Uncle Guib) and Robert (his almost-as-mad son), watching England wrap up a 4 - 0 series win! What fun!

Wednesday and Thursday were precious days with the Chapmans - Ed got to play some golf and Caroline and I were released from child-care duties for a few hours to indulge in some retail therapy and morning tea + cake! WONDERFUL. Oh we are SO blessed to have friends that we can totally be ourselves with and relax and chat and just 'be' together. We love you!

It was while staying with the Chapmans that Daniel took his first steps! SO exciting! It would still be a few weeks before he would choose walking over crawling, but it was SUCH fun to know that he COULD WALK!!!

Friday we headed back to Winchester to do some washing (!) and re-packing before the drive down to the south coast to CAMP with Daniel's 3 Godparents (+ the lovely Emily & William!) in Ewelease! Although Jen and I had a sinking feeling as the boys put up tents in lashing rain, once that cloud had passed we had uninterrupted sunshine for the rest of the weekend. It was SUCH fun. Glorious views, lovely cliff walks, scrummy pub meals, warm campfires, Chinese lanterns, wine, toasted marsh-mallows, almond croissants, SOOOOO much laughter and deep, challenging and encouraging conversations. My idea of a PERFECT weekend! Amazingly, the children actually slept pretty well (although Daniel snuggled in my sleeping bag for most of both nights), which made the whole experience MUCH more enjoyable!

UK Tour - 8th-19th August

2011-09-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, Daniel and I were both well by the time our original August itinerary really kicked in. Our first stop? A lovely, restful few days with our precious friends, the Millers. The gorgeous Annabel (their eldest) is one of our God-daughters. What an absolute blessing and joy it is to be able to feel completely at ease with friends you haven't seen for a couple of years - we just picked up where we'd left off and remembered anew how blessed we are with the friends we have.

From there, we headed south again to Brentwood where we spent the best part of a week with the much-loved Grandpa G and Aunty Frim! It was the first time I had been back to Mitre House since Jane died and the tangible absence of her exuberant presence was heartbreaking. She will ALWAYS be missed. Ed's Dad is retiring next September and will be moving out of the house when he leaves. It may well be that we won't get to be there again, so we spent some time labeling and sorting Ed's things ready for the move.

On Saturday 13th, we attended the wedding of Ed's old friend, Ollie Brown. The Brown family have been very close friends for over 30 years, so it was lovely we could all be there together.

On the Sunday we all drove down to St Margaret's bay on the south coast, near Dover, to Granville Hope, the home that Jane poured her love into and which is such a haven, overlooking the channel. While we were there, Ed's grandmother and great-aunt also came to stay nearby, so we got to spend some very special time altogether. I think the highlight of the week was a trip on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch mini railway- SUCH fun! Daniel was absolutely in his element - as was his grandfather!!! It was also VERY special to spend a day with Ruth & Andrew Miller (the parents of our special friends we'd seen the week before). Dear Ruth, our thoughts and prayers are with you and the whole family.

UK tour - The first few weeks

2011-09-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ed's Grandfather's family funeral on the 11th July and the thanksgiving service that afternoon (attended by about 500 people) was a very emotional, but incredibly special day. All the grandchildren took part doing readings and prayers and Dunmar's 3 son's all gave tribute to different aspects of their Father's life. Ed and I couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of the family we are a part of - the wonderful legacy that Dunmar has left. I only hope we can live a life that emulates his example - full of fun, faith-filled, prioritizing family and friends! (Honestly, I didn't plan that!).

The weeks following the funeral were a great chance for Daniel to really get to know his grandparents.

We also got to know Ffion
(my brother's daughter, who we had not yet met apart from on Skype!) and we were around for granny's 94th (hey! hey!) birthday!

Sadly, Daniel also encountered his first English germs and his immune system needed to learn to fight some 'real' viruses - not these weedy Californian varieties! My blood sugar went out of control and I felt pretty rough too... So it was lovely to be based at my parents in Winchester with a fairly clear diary!

I managed to squeeze in a day with my eldest God-daughter and close friend, the Gorgeous Mrs Clay, which was a real treat. The long overdue first meeting with Daniel was a complete joy to behold!

We also had a day with our good friends, the Bonds - their oldest son, Sam, is one of our Godsons. Daniel absolutely LOVED hanging out with some older boys while we revelled in the joy of catching up with old friends.

Another real treat was the day that we decided to surprise everyone by turning up at HBC (Holiday Bible Club), the children's summer activity week run by our old church,

that Ed and I used to help at before we left. It was SO much fun to see the look of surprise on everyone's faces as we strolled in and a real joy to catch up with so many special people.

Sadly, a really nasty chest infection (which actually required a trip to A & E) meant that Daniel was not well enough to attend Ed's cousin, the stunning Katy Stileman's 21st birthday celebration on the 4th August. The same bug prevented us flying to Geneva to attend the Swiss marrage celebrations for another of Ed's cousins, the lovely MRS (how exciting!) Alex Cardwell. Ed went along solo to both of these events while I stayed home with a poorly Mr Beauto.

2011-09-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the blog (and email!) silence over the past few months - we decided to prioritise real face-to-face time with friends and family in the UK over e-communication! But, we are now back in LA (I can't quite bring myself to call it 'home' - that tells you where I am emotionally!) and so it is time for us to fill you in on what we've been up to!

Firstly, THANK YOU to all those of you who prayed for our journey home - it was surprisingly easy! Our original plan was to leave Cornwall early on Thursday morning, drive up to Oxshott to return Ed's grandfather's car (which we borrowed for the duration of our stay - VERY generous! THANK YOU!!!) and then take a taxi straight to Heathrow to catch our flight... that would have been an epically AWFUL day... thankfully, we realised this ahead of time and drove up to Winchester on Wednesday night while Belter slept and then headed to Oxshott after a lovely family morning together.

Once on the flight, Daniel entertained everyone by walking laps of the plane for a few hours. When I say 'everyone', I think MOST people were entertained, but there were a few people who clearly did NOT like babies, or appreciate chubby little (perhaps not entirely clean) fingers using their legs as a balancing aid! Oh well, they just had to live with it! The funniest thing was that Daniel was very taken with tattooed arms - there were a few highly decorated limbs on display - and, even though these limbs were attached to young men who I would not want to meet in a dark alley, Daniel beamed at them and they melted as he exclaimed with delight while tracing the patterns on their skin! Hilarious!

After feeding him, our meals arrived (SERIOUSLY good food in business class!) and we strapped him into his child seat. He protested for about half an hour before falling asleep... and folks, at the risk of sounding like a gloating parent, he STAYED asleep right up until about an hour before we landed! BRILLIANT! All the passengers around us kept congratulating us on having THE most wonderful baby in the universe (which, of course, he is!)

We arrived (gulp)... home (there, i've said it) at about 8pm, fed, bathed and gave him his milk. He fell asleep. We thought, we've got away with it, he thinks it's night time! All was peaceful in the Gilchrist house until about 2am, when Daniel decided it was time to start our day. Although we tried to persuade him otherwise, it soon became clear that our son had had enough sleep. So, the day began!

We thought we'd go and do our food shop, but could NOT find a 24 hour supermarket anywhere (I admit, more than one grumbling comment about how it would be easy to find a 24 hour Tesco's in the UK passed my lips!). In the end we found milk and bananas in a 7-11 (ironically, at 3 in the morning!) before heading to IHOP for breakfast (oh yes, THEY stay open 24 hours!). This was a bad idea (although fun) and Ed and I both fought back the urge to vomit afterwards. Quality cuisine it is not. Welcome back to the USA digestive system!

Yesterday was spent in a haze of unpacking, loads of washing, sorting through post and rapidly child-proofing our apartment for a now WALKING toddler!

Daniel woke at 1.30am thismorning but his wonderful Daddy managed to persuade him back to sleep and our day began at the more reasonable hour of 5am. Hopefully it won't take our son TOO long to get over his jet-lag!

2011-08-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hi there Blog fans!

We are loving our time here in the UK, spending time with friends and family - in fact, we're enjoying ourselves so much, we rarely feel the urge to turn on the computer to update the blog! I'm afraid you will have to wait another month or so before we get round to showing you some of the lovely photos we've been taking and fill you in on what we've been up to!

The main reason for walking away from my friends and glass of wine this evening is to announce to the World the exciting news that... wait for it...

MY SON TOOK HIS FIRST INDEPENDENT STEPS TODAY!!!

Oh yes! He seemed to be as shocked as we were! He was watching Grace and Bethia (2 of our lovely God-daughters) playing, I was holding his fingers and then subtly let him go... he stood for about a minute before realising he was going solo and then dropped to his knees. We tried again, the same thing happened and then, to our absolute amazement, he stood and WALKED about 3 paces! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Ed was at the Oval today watching England beat India (again) and so he was not present... once I realised that momentous events were occurring that his Daddy would like to share I scooped Daniel into my arms and have not attempted to engage him in standing/walking since...

He has a Daddy-day tomorrow, while I finish recording (or, ROCKording, as we like to call it!) the final tracks for 'Freeway album 2' (oh yes, fans, it IS on it's way and it is sounding GOOD!!!)... so hopefully tomorrow Ed will get to share the joy of our very-nearly-walking son!!!

2011-06-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Life has suddenly become slightly crazy this week - whereas I thought I had over a month to prepare and plan for our trip to the UK (ordering extra insulin supplies, learning how to manage the time difference on my pump, stocking up with snacks and drinks for Daniel, washing & ironing...etc), I was suddenly faced with less than a week to get everything ready!

It is now Thursday evening (only TWO more sleeps to go!) and I think we're there. The house is clean, the snacks are bought, I have copious amounts of diabetes apparatus AND our clothes are clean and ironed (only those that REALLY needed it!). The only challenge now is how to fit it all into 4 bags! Yikes!

Tomorrow I have booked a babysitter for the afternoon and I am going to get my hair cut... I am taking my book and can't tell you how much I am looking forward to SITTING DOWN for a bit!

This week 'Belter' (short for Belteshazzar - Daniel's (the bible one!) Babylonian name and our son's main nickname) has done some pretty cute things (even cuter than normal!)...

1) He is now happy to hold onto one hand and walk onto the balcony - something that he thinks is exceptionally exciting, not least since he might catch a glimpse of Max - the 5 year old boy who lives next door and who Daniel thinks is super cool. Anyway, yesterday we were out there and Daniel bent down to put his fingers in some mud. I said 'No Daniel, that's dirty'. He looked up and, with exactly the intonation I had used, said 'Dirty' - clear as day! Then fell into fits of uncontrollable giggles - he was SO pleased with himself! The next 20 minutes were spent with us repeating 'dirty' at each other - each time followed by uncontrollable giggles on both our parts! Bliss! Should I be concerned that this is his first really clear word?!!!

2) Today all went silent as Ed and I sat down for our de-brief on the day. We looked round and saw that Daniel had managed to pull down the cloth that I had used to wipe his face after his dinner. He had an enormous grin on his face and was avidly wiping down the table legs, chairs and floor with great enthusiasm! A hopeful sign that 'dirty' might also enjoy 'clean'!

We are SO excited that all our UK readers will get to meet the little man in person SOON! It has been TOO long!

Oh When the Saints Go Marching In

2011-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Brig. David M. Stileman, OBE (9/4/24 - 24/6/11) died at 7.10am GMT on Friday morning. He was my grandfather and my hero. He was the archetypal patriarch of the family it was my privilege to be born into.

He taught me to drive (both behind the wheel and on the golf course). When I was a boy, his finger used to fly from 'airport' to 'airport' (mole to mole) over my arms and legs. He would get me marching round the big table in his room to military music. He would hand out smarties after each race at Wadhurst OCU holiday camps. He would come and watch me play sport. He got me signed up onto the MCC waiting list for my 18th Birthday (I'm still waiting!).

There is so much he did to make life full and fun, (not least: paying for my schooling!), but his greatest work and the thing for which I will be forever grateful, has been his faithful prayers for me and the whole family every day of our lives.

I am gutted I was over 6,000 miles away when he was 'promoted'. I am gutted my son never got to meet him. I can't begin to describe how greatly he will be missed.

However, just last week I had the opportunity to give a talk to the foster kids youth group I volunteer at in Inglewood and I spoke on the living hope that is ours, thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For my grandfather, that hope has now been realised. I am comforted to think that, although he didn't meet Daniel, he is now getting to know his firstborn great-grandson, Joshua and has been re-united with his daughter, my mum. But his greatest delight will be to look upon the face of his saviour, Jesus Christ, in whom he had put his trust and with whom he had walked all his life.

We are travelling back a little earlier than planned now for our long summer trip back to the UK, so as to be able to be there for his funeral on July 8th. While I miss my Dunmar already, I'm looking forward to seeing my grandmother, Barbie, and the rest of the family and introducing Daniel to them all. We touch down at Heathrow next Sunday morning.

2011-06-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

What a treat to eat my lunch just now while watching Andy Murray breeze through the 1st round of Wimbledon... although I hate to gloat, it does seem that I have the best of both worlds - Wimbledon on TV & SUNSHINE outside!!! There would be no need for that roof in California!!!

Apologies for the 2 week blog silence. May was a busy month. Ed has had short trips to Montreal, Boston & Redwood Shores for work, we've enjoyed the pleasure of a week with Mr Bruce aka 'The Colonel' (I hope you all enjoyed the Baywatch video - we're up to over 200 views on UTube - it's still not too late for us to become an Internet sensation - although my suspicion is that over 100 of those views has been Stevie... come on, be honest!).

I also had Caitlin (my good friend from the Bay area) down to stay while Ed was away last week - such fun to have some girly time together.

Caitlin took Daniel and I for our first 'Diddy Riece' ice cream-cookie-sandwich (http://www.diddyriese.com/home.php)! Oh my! Not a recommended part of a diabetic diet, but SO delicious!

AND we've squeezed in those trips to Kings Canyon and San Diego! Phew!

In amongst all the fun, my husband found the time to glance at his profile shape in the mirror. Rather than the chiseled specimen he thought he'd see reflected, instead he saw a 30 something man with a definite belly protrusion... and decided he needed to take control! For the first time in our married life, Ed is counting calories with discipline and I frequently wake up to find the bed vacated (pre-7am!) and Ed out on a early morning run! All very impressive.

Daniel is still not walking independently. He is taking his time, enjoying walking his little wagon up and down the apartment and I am enjoying the last few days/weeks before life gets truly exhausting! He has learnt how to open cupboards and delights in emptying the contents item-by-item, carefully inspecting and 'tasting' each object before discarding it on the floor around him. Sadly, he has not yet got the hang of putting things away! He has also learnt how to flush the loo and we now have the pleasure of hearing the loo flushing at frequent intervals throughout the day! Not very 'green', but highly entertaining! And he can now get up the climbing frame at our local park and go down the slide (with Mummy)! Such fun!

I skipped church yesterday and had some time with the Lord on my own in an empty, quiet, child-free apartment while the boys went to church! Bliss. I also had my first long soaky bath of 2011, painted my nails and shaved my legs (not for the first time in 2011!). I even put cucumber slices on my eyes! It was a much needed oasis of time... I love being a full-time Mum, but sometimes a little break is necessary! Throughout July Ed is taking Daniel for swimming lessons on a Saturday morning, so I am looking forward to a little bit of 'me' time each week while they're out!

I hear a little man stirring from his nap, so i'll have to sign off... if I get a moment, i'll try to add some photos later...

2011-06-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

We have just had a lovely long weekend away together in San Diego! We swam in the sea (well, the boys did!), went to the San Diego zoo and the aquarium AND managed to squeeze in a shopping trip too! Phew!

Daniel was absolutely in his element with Daddy around full-time. His 2 favorite things at the moment are:

1) squeezing himself into/through the smallest spaces he can find

2) standing up or kneeling and pushing things around the house

He is babbling away all the time and gives the impression that he feels he is making perfect sense! This parenting thing just keeps on getting more and more fun!

2011-05-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Christmas has come early. Daniel has his two front teeth!!

Baywatch revisited

2011-05-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Over the past week we have been enjoying the company of Colonel Bruce on a visit over from HQ. The silliness factor has multiplied one hundred fold. As testament to this, please enjoy the attached hommage to the 90s TV show that was set right here on the coastline where we now live, and was part of our childhood! David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson: eat your hearts out!

2011-05-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Now let me update you on the rest of last week...

We got to see most of our precious friends from the Bay area, which was an absolute treat and made us realise, yet again, how good God has been to us in providing such a wonderful group of friends in such a relatively short time.

On Tuesday Daniel had his audiology check-up. The appointment was at 1pm - right in the middle of his daily nap time - so he was a tired little boy before we even started. From my speech therapy training, I know that getting a reliable hearing assessment on a young child is notoriously difficult, since it requires them to a) sit still, b) concentrate on faint, random noises & c) turn their head towards these faint, random noises (which, once you've turned towards a few and nothing much has happened, looses it's appeal)... I was therefore unsurprised to hear that the results indicate that although it is very likely that Daniel has perfect hearing, they were unable to absolutely cancel out the possibility of mild hearing loss in one ear... which, if that is the case (and I am almost certain it's not), they wouldn't do anything about anyway. We're going to check it again in a year.

On Tuesday afternoon I went on a lovely walk + pray with Julia, my treasured friend and role-model. As always, it was a soul-refreshing time... amongst other things, I shared about how I was realising just how deeply I value and rely on my external appearance for my security & confidence... we prayed... the Lord heard &, as only He could, He provided a way to start hacking away at that confidence straight away. Just as the Lord provided a worm for Jonah, the Lord provided a mosquito for me! A mosquito that bit me just above my right eye.

Unbeknown to me, among my other post-30yrs auto-immune conditions, I have now developed a fairly severe allergic reaction to mosquito bites! Oh my! By Wednesday morning, my forehead and eye were the size of a cricket ball - VERY attractive! (this photo was taken on Thursday morning - believe it or not, it had gone down quite a lot by then!)

After a quick trip to the ER for strong anti-histamines, we ploughed on to our accommodation in Kings Canyon.

There, despite the swollen eye, we spent 2 1/2 fantastic days, bathed in glorious sunshine, enjoying the spectacular beauty of this section of God's breathtaking creation... it was fabulous.

My wonderful husband then drove us home on Friday night and we have spent a lovely weekend at home as a family, resting and getting the house ready to welcome our good friend, the 'Colonel Brooooooooster', Mr big Stevie himself, who arrives from the UK tomorrow lunchtime!

Who you gonna call?!

2011-05-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw perhaps the best thing I've seen since I've been in the United States.

Ghostbusters!!!

2011-05-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord! Oh my! The appointments for Daniel yesterday could not have been more positive!

First thing in the morning, he had his developmental review where a specialist developmental doctor tested him on all sorts of physical, cognitive and language tasks... she kept saying 'oh he is amazing!' (which of course, he is!). Yesterday he was 11 months and 5 days from his due date. He came out as being at a 12 month level for cognition and language and a solid 11 month level for physical development.

Initially I was a bit disappointed, thinking 'but he's 15 months old, shouldn't he be catching up?', but then the doctor explained that she is actually doing a PhD on this very issue. She said that the research that everyone uses to support the notion that premature babies 'catch up' within 2 years is based on data from babies born at 35 weeks - CLEARLY a 24 weeker has more ground to make up! She said that they are actually moving away from the expectation that these babies born really early will somehow speed through development at faster rate than a normal baby in order to 'catch up' with their birth date. Instead, she said that a more evidence based approach is to say that a baby has 'caught up' if they are in line with their DUE date age - judging by this standard, our son has completely 'caught up' and is, in fact excelling in most areas! Wahoo!

The doctor could not have been more positive. She had no real pointers for things we needed to be working on. She was absolutely thrilled with Daniel and in fact, she said that she couldn't remember meeting a more sociable, attentive and observant little boy - those skills are vital for learning and she said that you cant really 'teach' parents how to engender those skills in their children, but the fact that Daniel has them is wonderful and will hopefully mean he is able to concentrate and learn when he hits school! Yeah!

In the afternoon we had a respiratory appointment. The day just kept getting better! The doctor listened as I explained how Daniel had quickly fought off 2 chest infections recently. He asked about Daniel's energy levels and ability to be active (oh my! NO concerns there - in fact, do you know where his 'off' switch is?!)... he then listened to Daniel's lungs. At the end of the appointment he looked at me and said, "I know it's hard for you, because you have the memories of your little boy rigged up to all sorts of wires and tubes, but, as far as you can, I would encourage you to try and forget the start in life that your child had. In terms of his lungs, there is absolutely no sign that he has any degree of lung damage. There is no reason why his lungs should limit him in any way. If he wants to be a professional sportsman, he can. The fact he has fought off infection so quickly tells me that there is no underlying damage - most preemies take weeks to get back to full health after an infection has gone to their chest, but Daniel is fighting infection just like a normal baby"... STUNNED (and slightly emotional) SILENCE. Praise God!

I have just been SO thanking God and thinking about the story of Daniel in the Lion's den from the bible. Daniel is thrown into a pit of hungry lions but, come the morning, there is not a scratch on him because God has protected him. My little Daniel was thrown into his own Lion's den at 24 weeks... humanly speaking, he should have at least SOME 'scratches' - either mentally, physically or emotionally... but he has emerged completely unharmed.

Praise God! I mean, PRAISE GOD!!!

2011-05-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

Ed and I LOVED watching the Royal wedding - we probably enjoyed it more being out here since we've been on an enforced 2 year fast from all things English - so it was an absolute delight to see smartly dressed aristocracy, hear plummy English accents and see the historic buildings and streets of London...

In the pre-amble, the TV coverage filmed a group of the Irish guards marching in the full attire, complete with the ridiculous Busby hats... the American commentator explained that William was due to be wearing the traditional red jacket of the Irish guards and then, with fantastic comic timing, the other commentator chimed in "but will he be wearing that chapeau?"... we have both been collapsing in hysterical fits of giggles at the memory of this comment ever since! Brilliant! Just the thought of our future king walking down the aisle in that hat!

On other news... I am beginning to learn that babies are awesome at fighting off infections! Although he seemed very unwell on Thursday last week, by Friday he was already significantly better and on Saturday he hardly coughed at all! He is doing really well... the main highlight of this week is that he has started saying 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' really clearly - and often it seems that he IS actually aware that he is saying our names! Awww how to melt a parent's heart!

These are some of the photos we took this weekend - the highlight for Daniel was sharing Daddy's ICECREAM - what a TREAT! (you see the evidence all down his chin in the first photo!)

2011-04-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hi there faithful blog readers!

Sorry for leaving you with Christmas photos as the last update for so long! Life has been plodding on here in LA... we have been fighting the temptation to feel bitter and twisted about the fact that the UK has been enjoying better weather than we've been having over the past week or so... AND we've missed out on FOUR UK bank holidays over Easter and the royal wedding! Humph!

The coverage of the royal wedding is hilarious out here - "what WILL the Queen be wearing on the big day? Find out, at 11"... I have to confess to feeling slightly nostalgic about being so far away for such an historic national event... AND (even more importantly), I am missing my neice's first BIRTHDAY party! Humph! Happy Birthday, Ffion!

The main highlight of the last week was that last Saturday I brushed shoulders with John Lock from 'Lost' as I was walking down Main St in Venice - my first real celebrity spot since moving here! Of course, I played it cool - being a 'local' you have to act like this kind of thing happens all the time and appear to be entirely unimpressed by whichever star you happen to see!

The main lowlight is that Daniel has contracted ANOTHER cough - this time it has really gone to his chest and he is hacking away... even though his eyes are bloodshot and he's full of snot, he still manages to smile as often as he can between coughing fits... what a little trooper. Thankfully he is still managing to sleep fairly well, which is a major blessing. We're praying that his little body fights this off quickly...

One other update that you'll be pleased to hear is that Daniel HAS (at long last) learnt how to get down from standing (phew!). He is not yet standing independently or walking (although he pulls himself up and side steps alongside all our furniture) - but he did climb up into his push-chair (or 'stroller') today! I don't think it will be long before we have a fully mobile toddler on our hands! Yikes!

Enjoy the royal wedding - we're recording it (coverage starts at 1am our time)... God save the Queen!

2011-04-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

I know it's all out of sync, but Ed and I just 'found' a whole load of photos on one of our cameras from Daniel's first Christmas - we had forgotten all about them in the move! So, even though you're approaching summer back home (it's always summer here!), let me take you back to December... A very happy Christmas with Grandpa G & Aunty Frim!

2011-04-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Wahoooooooooooooooooooo! We have enjoyed TWO nights of uninterrupted sleep!

Ed and I decided to 'take control' and placed a veto on night time drives as a method of lulling our child to sleep. Instead we went back to 'controlled crying' - letting him cry for 10 minute intervals before going in to lie him down & encourage him to 'yield' to sleep! It is taking between 1/2 an hour and 1 hour before he eventually goes quiet, but it seems to be working!

We have also realised that Daniel sleeps much better if he has seen Daddy before being put down. So bedtime is being delayed until Daddy can come home, have a cuddle, read a bible story and pray with us... Daniel then seems more content to accept that the day has been closed off appropriately!

This was taken while Mummy & Daddy were having breakfast this morning... great squeals of delight preceded the feeling of little hands touching our knees under the table... our son has not yet understood the concept of 'stealth attacks'! Fortunately, these squeals of delight also precede any 'mischief' - so I know exactly when he has decided to crawl towards one of the forbidden plants or the computer, because he announces his intentions at the top of his lungs!

2011-04-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

It appears that I spoke too soon! Last night, the toxic combination of being unwell, coupled with the irresistible urge to stand up AND teething pain so possessed our son that even the night-time drive did not do the trick. We are losing this battle. Where HAS that child who used to go off to sleep so peacefully gone? We are telling ourselves that this is just a 'season' - but it's pretty exhausting! He's still gorgeous and I wouldn't take him back even if I had kept the receipt!

2011-04-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so who's been praying for our son to stop standing up at bedtime? Whoever you are, THANK YOU! Not only does the urge to stand seem less inticing, he is also learning to get back to a seated/lying down position from standing - making everyone's lives easier! The only snagaroo is that he has picked up a nasty cough/cold and so, although problem no. 1 is getting sorted, last night we did not sleep well because he kept waking himself up coughing (poor little sausage). He seems to be fighting it off fairly well - which is a great answer to prayer since we were unsure how well he'd cope with a chest infection after being on a ventilator for so long... but it's still horrid. He's an absolute trooper though and continues to persistently smile between coughs! He just LOVES interacting with people! The pediatrician was finding it hard to believe that he was actually unwell because he seemed so chirpy! In the midst of infection, he has also mastered some new skills - namely clapping (SO cute!) and giving 'high 5's' (a great delight!)... even snotty and under-par, he's amazing!

2011-04-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Ever since Ed wrote 'Mischief' under 'Full Time Occupation' on a medical form for Daniel, our son has been taking his vocation very seriously! This week he has developed the 'dropping things' game. This game involves dropping whatever toy, dummy or food item he has been handed. The game is only made more hilarious by Mummy's serious "No!" (get ready to be astounded by this praiseworthy example of firm but kind discipline - parents, take note, this is clearly the way to do it! Oh yikes! How DO you discipline someone as CUTE as this?!!!).
One morning, as I was brushing my teeth, I looked round to find Daniel standing up against the loo, splashing in the (thankfully, recently flushed) loo water. On another occasion, having left Daniel to play on his own for five minutes, I heard a crash followed by a wail and came rushing through to find our laptop computer (which he had been told not to touch) on the floor and Daniel was sporting the beginnings of a black eye! Thankfully it didn't develop into a full-blown 'shiner'. After the broken arm, a black eye might have got the neighbours worried! Another theme of the past week has been Daniel's refusal to go to sleep at night. We are grieving the loss of the baby who used to go down without a peep and sleep through until 7am. The cause of this unrest: his new-found ability to stand in his cot! He seems to get himself into a vicious cycle. The irresistible urge to stand overtakes him, even though he is incredibly tired. Then, once standing, he is currently unable to get himself back to a seated or lying position. Ed & I repeatedly go in and lie him back down, but the pattern continues until Daniel is so tired, and so upset that sleep becomes impossible. Usually Boobs do the trick in breaking the cycle, but on two occasions, we've had to resort to night drives with Mummy and Daddy in their 'jarmies! Until he learns to get back down from having stood up, we fear there may be more sleepless nights ahead of us.

2011-03-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

This is a blog post especially for those grandparents, great grandparents, aunties and uncles who are greatly missed (but we hope the rest of you enjoy it too!)... we wish you were here to share these wonderful moments with us!

2011-03-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night the fire alarm went off at 1.10am. We were not amused. Immediately, we sprung into action, frantic clothes-pulling-on, shoe finding, insulin-kit finding and then, gathering Daniel in our arms wrapped in a warm blanket we made our way down the stairs. For Daniel, this was THE most exciting event of his existence so far. Far from crying and complaining about being roused from his slumber, Daniel was thrilled to bits to be having an impromptu middle-of-the-night cuddle with Daddy - AND there was a whole crowd of people around who he could smile at! Bliss.

There were reports that smoke had been seen on the second floor, but there was no sign of any flames - and, to my amazement, in an apartment complex that must house over 2000 people, only about 30 of us actually came outside - unbelievable! Made me think about the warnings in the gospel about what will happen when we die if we're not trusting in Jesus... so few even look into Jesus' claims... we're shouting "FIRE! FIRE!" but most people seem to just want to keep on sleeping in their beds... not realising their house is on fire.

We hung around for about 15 minutes before the fire engine arrived. They quickly confirmed that pesky pranksters had used a fire extinguisher on the second floor, which had set off the alarm... we were allowed back in, but by now, Daniel thought the day had started - so it took us a good while before anyone got any sleep!

2011-03-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, just as Ed had left for work and I was preparing to leave for my women's bible study group, my phone went. It was my lovely neighbour, Nurgul. She asked whether I was watching the news. Since Ed and I are on a TV fast (as well as alcohol) for lent, I was not. She informed me that she was currently driving away from the ocean & told me that I ought to take Daniel, get in the car and drive as far from the coast as I could since a Tsunami was on the way. As you can imagine, my heartbeat picked up speed somewhat! I hastily turned on the computer and went to the BBC news website, where Obama calmly informed me that if I needed to be evacuated, I would be told in plenty of time. After a quick phone call with Ed & my parents to confirm the wisdom of my inaction, I went to my study group as usual. You will all be relieved to know that we have not been swept away - there were some large waves, but nothing dangerous happened locally.

Before I say any more, our hearts & prayers are very much with those in Japan who are dealing with the devastation & huge loss of life that this disaster has caused.

In my last post, I failed to update you all on another exciting development that our new LA existence has over life in the Bay area - and that, my friends, is CURRY! Thank you Colonel Curry for prompting this update! Yes, at long last, we have found a curry house that cooks authentic Indian cuisine. Now the sound of 'Ahhhh, sweet curry' can again be heard echoing in the hallways of the Gilchrist apartment block! I have not yet mastered 'carb counting' for curry - it always sends my blood sugar high - but I am not prepared to sacrifice this pleasure! My organs will just have to cope! (Mum, I am joking! I just take an extra dose of insulin to correct it later in the evening!)... on the subject of my diabetes, the blood sugar does seem to be under better regulation and I am thrilled with the new endocrinologist team I am being seen by.

2011-03-10T21:21:00.001-08:00

Hi there! I realise that I have not updated you for a while on how life is going for us here in LA, so let me amend my ways!

Church - we went to a small church that was meeting in someone's home for a few weeks. The people were lovely and in many ways we really liked the vision that the church had, but the time they met and the limited childcare just meant it was not a good 'fit' for us at our life stage. About 4 weeks ago we therefore started going to Pacific Crossroads Church in Santa Monica (http://www.pacificcrossroads.org/www). We are absolutely LOVING this church. It is very similar to the church we were going to in the Bay Area - fantastic teaching and lots going on mid-week. I (Nicci!) have joined a women's group on a Friday morning, which is wonderful - and Ed is currently out at a mentoring teenage kids who are in foster care evening - it's the first time he's gone, but it might end up being a regular commitment... we'll see.

Ed is enjoying his job and seems to be appreciated by his new team. He has also joined a local running club and intends to run every Weds evening & Sat morning (at least!).

We LOVE living here - it just feels SUCH a treat - 2 different beaches within a 2 minute walk, views of snow-capped mountains in the distance, lots of coffee shops overlooking the ocean & sun, sun, SUN!!! We will treasure the memories of living in such a heavenly location - I can't imagine many places in the World are as beautiful or as much fun to live in.

Friends - what an amazing answer to prayer! Dee & Tom are a lovely English couple who live in our apartment complex - I walk with Dee at least once a week and she has become a real friend. Peter & Rachel are Liverpudlians who live opposite us and are great fun. Tabitha & Chad go to our church and have a 13 month old daughter (Anna) - I meet up with Tabitha once a week for a walk too. Kate & Jonathan (and their 9 month old daughter, Jordan) live directly above us and we get on really well... all of the above came to our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Party this week - what fun! AND there are plenty of other people we've met who may develop into friends as time goes on (certainly I am sure a few of the women at the Friday women's group will become close friends)... certainly feels like the Lord has provided us richly in this area!

I think those are the highlights... Daniel is now crawling & he has also started 'singing' (basically yelling on one note, at the top of his voice, beaming from ear to ear & engaging eye contact & smiles with anyone who'll look at him ), whenever people are singing (and sometimes when it's a quiet moment too!) in church! It does say we should 'make a joyful noise unto the Lord!' - hopefully his 'noise' will become more tuneful as time goes on!

2011-03-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

Morning all! Ed here - with profound apologies for the lack of recent updates since Daniel's first birthday. The intervening weeks have been marked by two particular themes:

The first is that Daniel has become something of a ladies man. Having passed this monumental milestone, Daniel clearly believes himself to have come of age. Nicci has made friends with Kate (who lives directly above us) and her 9 month old daughter, Jordan. Daniel & Jordan clearly hit it off straight away - but rather embarrassingly, Daniel was intent on 'kissing' Jordan! Kate was very understanding as she rescued her daughter from our slobbering son!

Quite the Casanova, Daniel is also fostering a illicit romance with Anna, a sweet blond he met in the creche at Church. Daniel played it cool when he heard the two mum's arranging to have a play date, but when the day came round he was again quick to make his move and planted a big wet one on Anna's eye.

Rest assured, we will be closely monitoring these developments and will keep you posted.

The second theme of the last few weeks has been Nicci's Diabetes. For some unknown reason, she has been having real trouble keeping her blood sugars in check, often going 'Hyper' (with higher than acceptable blood sugar levels). We believe it is something to do with the settings on the pump, her 'Basil' rate and the insulin/carb ratio she uses when calculating her doses. There had been a long waiting list at the recommended Endocrinologist, but thankfully Nicci saw her new doctor on Thursday and is now really encouraged and hopeful that things will get back under control soon. Your prayers for this would be grateful appreciated.

I guess a third theme, which is hardly worth mentioning but I suppose may be music to the ears of those who would love to have us back home in England as soon as possible: it does also rain in LA. This has been getting in the way of my cycling to work. (However in truth, the rain didn't' last very long and it has left the mountains to the east looking beautifully snow-capped!). Sunshine is restored this morning, so all is well with the world!

AND, I guess a fourth development is that Daniel is now MOBILE! Like his grandfather on the slopes, he has a style "all of his own"! He is not yet using the conventional crawling motion but instead prefers to 'caterpillar' his way around. He is getting pretty speedy and no corner is now safe as he wriggles his way into any and every interesting-looking crevice! Wires, remote controls and shoes seem to be particularly alluring!

2011-02-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

Oh, and I forgot to say - on Monday afternoon Daniel's cast came off - so he had BOTH arms free for his birthday! Wahoo! The doctor says that the arm has healed really well, which is great news.

One thing that made Mum and I smile was that, while waiting for the lift at the doctors office, a nurse stopped to admire Daniel... she innocently commented "oh, and doesn't he look JUST like his SISTER!!!" - far from being insulted, Mum and I were both delighted - which shows that we must really be getting old!

2011-02-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Daniel has had a VERY happy FIRST Birthday!

We had breakfast at the Ritz...

..Enjoyed home-made, Lion Birthday Cake...

(which, as you can see, Daniel wasn't too sure about); opened LOTS of exciting presents (although we have to say, the wrapping paper seemed to be the most exciting part!) AND we've tried out his gift from his Mummy & Daddy (a baby bike seat & helmet) by going on a BIKE ride! What FUN!!!

Thank you so much for all the cards, presents and emails. We all feel very loved! While thoughts today have, at times, turned to our little Joshua - more than anything we are filled with joy and gratitude to our great God who has carried us through this year and given us the joy of being parents to such a fantastic son.

2011-02-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

AND (finally! - although, I realise now, you will be reading this post first!) Daniel is LOVING having his Granny to stay! Smiles and cuddles abound - although we are missing Grandpa (who had to stay home for various reasons), we are having a lovely time!

2011-02-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

One thing that made us smile was that Daniel had his first 'date' when he met 10 month old 'Rose' at the pool last weekend... there were coy smiles, swapping of toys to suck and the occasional squawk of excitement... all very romantic! Who would have thought that romance could bloom in his new wagon at the pool!

2011-02-05T09:40:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we enjoyed having God-Daddy Dan to stay - he was an immediate hit with Daniel - and it was a great joy for us to click back into the ease of conversation that can only be enjoyed with the best of friends!

Here we are enjoying the beauty of the Venice Canals - just a few minutes walk from our door!

2011-02-05T08:58:00.001-08:00

Then, let me show you some photos we've taken over the past few weeks as we have enjoyed the LA sunshine and our fantastic new neighbourhood!

Daniel and I have developed a bit of a daily ritual of watching the sun set over Venice beach - what a TREAT!

2011-02-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

All is well with the World... Granny Russell arrived safely on Thursday afternoon, England beat Wales (much to my Welsh Mum's disgust!) yesterday and Ireland beat Italy (much to my Irish Dad's delight!) this morning! Wahoo! We are now enjoying a brief respite from Rugby - and while my husband and Mother shower (separately!), I thought I'd post some blog updates before France v. Scotland!

First of all, let me (at long last) share some photos of our new home...

2011-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Daniel is now on his 3rd cast in a week. One of his nurses back in the NICU once suggested that we call him 'Houdini' as he had an uncanny knack of locating his monitor attachments, pulling them loose and breaking free. Well, he's figured out how to get out of a plaster-cast too.

He is back to his ususal, cheeky-chappy self: toothless grins and chuckles. He's also quite the ladies' man. He and I were waiting outside this ice-cream shop this evening while Nicci was inside and he managed to get two 'honnies' into conversation, one of which offered him some of her ice cream. He politely, but nonchalantly declined. He of course had a better offer, his preferred dairy product - Mummy's milk.

It really seems now that Daniel is 'at home' at home. It took him a while to get used to his new surroundings, but now we have finally unpacked all the boxes his arms are flapping as wildly as they always used to when he gets excited (yes, both of them - we need to watch out we don't get clobbered by the rock-solid one) AND (most exciting of all), he is sleeping through the night again!

2011-01-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

Shhhhh!! It's Daniel here, and Mummy and Daddy have gone to bed... They still don't know how I broke my arm (and PLEASE don't tell them), but I thought I'd fill the blog-readers in on what REALLY happened...

Well, it was last Monday during 'nap time'. You see, that's the ONLY space in the day when Mum leaves me on my own in my room - she thinks I'm sleeping, but THAT's the time in the day that I sneak out...

Last Monday I thought I'd go and make friends with some of the local pre-school crowd - so I rolled my way down to the park - these LA kids are a tough bunch - we hung out for a bit and then a dispute broke out about who was cooler: my Daddy or superman... the other kids were saying superman was the coolest - I couldn't let that go, so, I'm sorry to admit it, but we had a bit of a punch-up... I ended up falling off the climbing frame and had to sneak back into bed and try to disguise my broken arm for as long as I could so that Mum wouldn't get suspicious.

All I can say is this: you should see the other guy! Let's just say that no-one is going to be disputing that MY Dad is the coolest from now on!

I'm sneaking back to bed now. Mumm's the word.

2011-01-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

So, here are the pictures of my little chick with a broken wing...

The first was taken on Saturday - the emergency room put a 1/2 cast on to keep the arm straight over the weekend before he got to see the specialist pediatric orthopedist today...

This second photo was taken today. They took some high-def x-rays and those images clearly showed that Daniel has completely broken one of the bones in his left forearm - it's not a little fracture, the bone has completely broken. I still can't believe it. How did we miss THAT happening? Thankfully, the bones are still in alignment - but he is going to have to be in this HUGE cast for 3 weeks. He's still smiley and good-natured as always - but we are all having very disturbed nights, since I think the bulky cast wakes him up whenever he moves in his sleep... I have a feeling these next 3 weeks could go SLOWLY!

2011-01-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I didn't mention it before, but this last week, our lovely friend Jude has been in LA on a work trip and has spent the weekends either side with us... she has been absolutely brilliant, just going with the flow and being completely un-fazed by Daniel's unsettled state (which we now know was due to him having a broken arm - what awful parents!).

However, Jude's grace and patience were tested to the MAX on Saturday - we had planned a day sight-seeing, relaxing by the pool, eating fish and chips on the beach while we watched the sunset before she took a shower at ours and caught her flight home... instead, we spent the entire day at the emergency room and had to take her to the airport straight from the hospital - MISERABLE - AND they wouldn't even let her sit with us for most of the day because only parents were allowed through to the clinical area... we thank God for the lovely friends he has given us!

2011-01-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hi there… I'm afraid I still have not got around to taking any photos of our new home - this last week has not been easy, but I want you to know before I go any further that we are all OK!

However... we took Daniel to A&E yesterday because since Tuesday he had seemed to be protecting his left arm – wincing when we put his arm through clothing, crying occasionally when we touched it and not using it as much when playing… he has generally been quite unsettled this week as well…

Yesterday morning we noticed that he seemed not to have very much strength in his left grasp – he needed to use his right arm to help him pick up toys – so we decided to take him to the emergency clinic at our pediatricians… they did x-rays and then sent us to A&E for a second opinion since there was a shadow on his left radius (forearm bone) which might indicate a fracture… having got to the pediatric clinic at 10am, we did not leave A&E until 6pm - so it was a LONG day - and the outcome is that Daniel DOES have a very small fracture in one of the bones in his left forearm – apparently the fracture only goes part of the way across the bone, so it is not very serious – but he has come home with his arm splinted and in a cast…

He is amazing. All day at the hospital he was smiling and laughing – charming all the nurses and being completely wonderful. Even this week, although he has cried more than usual, he has still been totally lovely for a lot of the time – and he’s been coping with the pain of a broken arm… I just can’t believe what a lovely character he has! MUCH nicer than me!

We have absolutely NO idea how he managed to fracture his arm – he slipped in the bath the other day and I had to grab him to stop him banging his head… but he didn’t cry and it didn’t seem a big thing… he also fell the other day when he slipped sideways when he was standing at the sofa – but again, no tears and we didn’t think anything of it… we are both totally stumped to explain it… but it has happened…

We’re seeing the specialist pediatric orthopedist on Monday and he’ll tell us what’s what in terms of recovery – but it might be that he is in a cast for 6 weeks… we’ll see.

We are continuing to preach to ourselves that this is all part of God’s good plan for our little boy – but I am struggling to hang on to that truth if I’m honest – it just feels as though he’s already been through SO much in his little life – I don’t understand why something ELSE had to happen… and looking after a baby with a hot, uncomfortable and heavy cast on his arm, which we must not get wet, is going to be challenging – I am feeling a bit sorry for myself having to cope with this in a new place where I don’t know anyone…

God IS good… He IS. Please do pray for us all – and especially for that precious little boy as he copes with the uncomfortable and confusing reality of having his arm in a bulky cast… although actually, he seems absolutely FINE this morning - I think he's loving the attention - it's his parents that are struggling with it!

One thing that has made me smile is that whenever anyone sees Daniel & Ed together, they all say that Daniel is the spitting image of his Father. I have been slightly stumped to know what genetic material I have contributed to the mix... well, as many of you will know, I broke MY left arm THREE times before I hit my teens. It seems that Daniel has inherited his Father’s good looks and chilled personality but the ONLY thing I can see that he’s inherited from ME so far is WEAK BONES in his LEFT arm!!! At this rate, he’ll beat my left-arm-breakage total before he hits school!

Daniel is down for his nap right now, but when he wakes up, I'll take a photo of the wounded soldier for you and upload it... you never know, I might just take those photos of our new home too! Watch this space!

2011-01-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

Dearest friends and family!

So, this is our FIRST post from our NEW home in LA! And, although we are still surrounded by boxes, it is really starting to feel like home... I think we're going to be really happy here.

We arrived on the afternoon of the 29th and, after a cursory look at our empty new home, headed straight for Hollywood! We had drinks overlooking the city and then walked down Hollywood boulevard before driving back to a local Italian restaurant near our home. David and Emily stayed at a hotel near the airport and left very early on the morning of the 30th, leaving the Gilchrist family to live minimalisticly until Monday, when our stuff arrived!

Although it was frustrating to have a few days in an empty apartment, it meant that we had time to explore the local neighbourhood. In one direction, we are a 2 minute walk from the Marina - and around the Marina there is a lovely 1/2 hour walk to our local shops - and then, in the other direction, we are a 2 minute walk from the quieter end of Venice beach and the gorgeous Venice canals! It feels like a really fun area, with lots of life and things to do... simply perfect for an 18 month stint in the sunshine!

We tried out 2 churches on Sunday - and although both of them are good, we did not have a sure sense that either of them was the one the Lord wants us to settle in during our time here. We are trying one more local church this Sunday and then we'll travel the 1/2 hour south to Rick Warren's church the following week... we're praying that the Lord will make it clear which one He wants us to join!

Although I am coping admirably (!), it seems that the stresses of moving do not suit the Gilchrist men! Ed has come down with a nasty man cold (although he is feeling much better today) and Daniel has decided that sleeping through the night has gone out of fashion. He seems fine throughout the day, but he has been crying in his sleep quite often and is waking every few hours wanting a cuddle. I guess all the change we've been through over the past few weeks is quite a lot for the little fella to cope with... isn't it great to know that, just as this move is part of the perfect plan that our Heavenly Father has mapped out for Ed and I, so we can trust that this is all part of preparing our son for a constantly changing and uncertain world where the ONLY firm ground to stand is Jesus!

I haven't found the camera yet, so no photos this time (sorry!) - once I find it (!) I will try to take some pictures of our new home so that you can get a taste for the new Gilchrist pad!

One last thing - apologies if you have sent us an email in the past few weeks - we only got Internet set up a couple of days ago and have a mountain of emails to wade through - we're doing our best! Please don't think we're ignoring you!

2010-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

So, the car was NOT ready before Christmas - which means we drove a hire car home. Although irritating, we did not let this setback dampen our Christmas cheer... it's not been an easy holiday period, with all the memories of last year and all of us desperately missing Jane, but, we have made the best of it and it has actually been a very happy Christmas - Daniel's FIRST!

The packers arrived at 9am this morning and the house was clear by 3pm - it's outrageous to see the entirety of one's worldly possessions packed into boxes - it doesn't amount to very much - a very sobering thought! Daniel has coped admirably as his universe has been dismantled and invaded by sweaty Mexicans... he is now sleeping soundly, I am pleased to report!

Sadly, it looks as though the Lord is continuing to refine Ed and my patience (it needs a LOT of work!) - this morning, the packers informed us that they are unlikely to even SET OFF from the bay area with our van-full of possessions until NEXT MONDAY... which would mean we'd be unlikely to get our stuff until the middle of next week at the earliest. Yikes. We are praying that it doesn't end up taking that long, but, after a number of phone calls today, it is not looking very hopeful... oh well, it looks like Daniel will get his first taste of camping - IN our new apartment!

Ed will leave tomorrow morning to collect our car while 'DIY Dave' (as my father-in-law is affectionately known) and I set to work painting over any scuff marks and generally getting the house back to it's pre-Gilchrist condition!

We head down to San Luis Obispo (no idea if that's how it's written and I'm too pooped to check on the Internet!) tomorrow, once Ed arrives with the car. We have booked one night's stay there and then we head on down to LA the following day... we plan to take the scenic and enjoyable route along highway 1, through Malibu... Emily and David will be with us that evening and then fly back to SFO to catch their flight home on the morning of the 30th... I hope we've done the right thing... it seemed like a fun idea at the time, to do the move altogether, but now we're faced with the prospect, we're worried that perhaps it will not feel as much fun as we'd envisaged! We'll see!

2010-12-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Dearest friends and family,

In many ways we are having a wonderful time - it is lovely to be all together with Ed's Dad and sister - we all miss Jane very much, but the delicious smiles and cuddles with Daniel have kept our spirits from sinking too low... he is SUCH a scrumptious little man!

The cabin we are staying in is luxurious - warm, comfortable, spacious and spotlessly clean - so it is not too much of a hardship for Daniel and I, who are spending most of our time indoors. The reason for our being home-bound is twofold:

1) Baby it's cold outside! It has been snowing, blizzard-style since we got here - actually, I tell a lie, it stopped snowing and the sun came out yesterday morning - the ONE morning that we had arranged for me to have a go on the slopes - so my wonderful father and sister in law, having spent the previous 2 days skiing in horizontal, icy blizzard & wind, watched the blue skies from indoors as they looked after Daniel... meanwhile Ed and I skied in fabulous conditions - only to see the snow roll in again as we were having lunch! How guilty do I feel?!!!

2) Our car broke down on Saturday morning... this is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare actually. So, it broke down and, because it's still under warranty it has to be repaired at an Audi dealership. The nearest one is in Reno (50 miles away). The car was towed away on Saturday and then sat in the local towing station until this morning, because the weather was too hazardous for them to set out. We have therefore arranged for the car to go to Sacramento - which is further away, but at least it is on our way home. I just spoke to the Audi dealership in Sacramento and they close for Christmas, tomorrow evening at 6pm... they are 'doing their best' to get our car roadworthy before the holidays, but they can't promise, since there are already quite a few vehicles ahead of ours... Thankfully, part of our warranty agreement allows for us to have a hire car for 5 days in the event that our car breaks down when we are more than 100 miles from home - we only found that out yesterday, so at least we are no longer stranded, and we can drive the hire car to Sacramento... BUT if our car is not fixed by 6pm tomorrow evening, then we will have to drive the hire car home and then Ed will have to drive all the way to Sacramento (about a 4 hour round-trip) on Boxing day (otherwise known as 'my birthday') to pick up our car... as if we didn't have enough going on in these 2 weeks!

A few prayers on that subject would be appreciated!

The icing on the cake came this morning as Daniel and I drove home from dropping the Gilchrist skio-trio at the Gondola... I left Daniel in the car as I opened the front door, then locked it behind me and went downstairs to open the garage. I then drove the car into the garage, picked up my son and tried to re-enter the house... but the door had locked behind me... so there was no way for me to get back into the house! Daniel was already late for his nap and was therefore ever-so-slightly-not-so-nice-to-know, I didn't have the number for the cabin company and Ed was only intermittently in cell-phone range... after about 10 minutes, I managed to communicate what had happened to Ed, who thankfully had the number for the cabin company - he phoned them and they arranged to send someone out immediately. 1/2 an hour later (!) a ski-bum arrived and said (in Bill-and-Ted-esque drawl) 'oh yeah, sorry mate, I kinda forgot the address I was supposed to go to, bummer, yeah, it's freaky that garage locking mechanism, yeah, people get locked out all the time...' - needless to say, I found it hard to remain polite!

Anyway, Daniel is sleeping soundly and I have had lunch, so the World is looking slightly more rosy than it did an hour ago!

Sadly, we are still going to have to cut the holiday short to get to Sacramento for the car (PLEASE let it be ready!), but, despite these set-backs, we ARE actually having a lovely time together... and Daniel has learnt a new trick - yesterday he found out that he can suck his toes! By the looks of things, they are very tasty!

2010-12-15T15:05:00.001-08:00

What with planning our move to LA and preparing for Christmas, I am afraid blog posts have slipped down our list of priorities recently! And this post is to prepare you for a few weeks of blog silence...

Ed's Dad and sister arrive TONIGHT (yeah!). We can't wait to see them.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Jane's death. We can't believe it has been a year already, since in many ways we still feel we're only just coming to terms with the reality that she's gone. I am glad we will all be together. I am sure there will be lots of tears - but I'm hoping we can also remember all the ways Jane brought such joy to our lives with her sunny personality and ability to bring laughter into whatever situation she found herself - Ed read 1 Thessalonians 4 this morning and reminded us that we do not grieve as others grieve because we have the sure and certain hope that Jane is alive and well beyond the grave - what an amazing joy it is to know that although we miss her terribly now, we WILL see her again one day!

We leave to go skiing in Tahoe on Friday and will get back here on Christmas eve. We then spend Christmas and Boxing day (otherwise known as 'my birthday'!) together here before the packers come on the 27th! The hope is that they will be able to pack everything into the van on the 27th, travel down to LA on the 28th and then unpack on the 29th... they are currently saying that they can't guarantee delivery of our stuff until the 3rd January (which seems a mighty long time for a 7 hour drive!) - but we're praying it doesn't take that long! Camping in an empty apartment with a 10 month old does not sound a whole heap of fun!

It may well be that we do not manage to post again until we get to LA... although I might try and post a sneaky update from Tahoe... we'll see!

So, let me satiate your Daniel appetites before the likely post-famine with a few of the photos from the professional photo shoot we did as a family recently... get ready for a severe cute attack!

We hope you all have a very happy Christmas!

2010-12-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

I have just spent the last 20 minutes with tears rolling down my face with laughter as my son initiated his first joke! He had what could only be described as a 'smirk' on his face and a twinkle in his eye as he repeatedly turned his head to avoid looking at me - the more I laughed and tried to meet eyes, the more he was clearly having to stop himself from bursting into giggles - but managed to maintain a mock serious expression throughout until, at long last, I managed to make our eyes meet - and then his face creased into the most enormous grin. He's incredible. And here he is in his new hat and mitts set...

2010-11-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and family. Thank you to those of you who have been praying. The last two days have been significantly better! Not only have we seen some lovely homes, but Daniel has also been in an inexplicably better mood!

This morning we had breakfast on the terrace overlooking the marina, bathed in morning sunshine. I read my book while Ed was on a conference call. We then went to view some properties in the morning and then decided that the best place for lunch and for us to mull over our decisions was in the Hotel's pool and hot-tub! After lunch we saw a couple more possible places, but by 6pm we'd made our decision.

So, the BIG news is: we have signed an extendable 12 month lease on an apartment in Marina del Rey - footsteps from a pool, tennis courts and a gym as well as being just 2 minutes walk to the beach! We think we might JUST be able to cope with living here in Los Angeles! We're really excited and grateful to God for his provision.

2010-11-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

Hi there! As I write, the LA sunshine is streaming through the hotel window and I can look out over the Marina and Pacific ocean beyond... it is NOVEMBER and yet I was out in a strappy top (complete with vomit splatterings - my new every-day fashion accessory!) this morning!

We drove down as far as Bakersfield on Friday night and then made the final push to LA on Saturday morning - it was pouring with RAIN for most of the way down, which felt very bizarre - but the sun has shone ever since!

On Sunday morning we went to Del Rey Church (www.DelReyChurch.com), which was GREAT and may well end up being our church home once we move!

We were invited to the home of Ed's new boss on Sunday afternoon, which was lovely - although slightly stressful since Daniel was NOT in a good mood! Being in one hotel room is a nightmare for successful napping - and the triple-whammy combination of being in a new place, in-and-out of the car seat all the time (as we view various properties) and his usual routine being messed up have meant that Daniel is in melt-down mode - I don't blame him - but it doesn't make for the best of first impressions!

Ed is at work today and Daniel and I are trying to have a bit more of a peaceful routine day - although we have squeezed in a few home-viewings... no one property stands out yet, but there are a few that we could live in - one is right on the beach-front! Now THAT would feel like we were living the LA dream!

Tomorrow, Daniel and I are getting driven around the area by the relocation consultant that EA has arranged - she is going to show us up to 6 properties that she feels are the best on offer at the moment in our price range - so I'm hopeful that maybe one of those will be a winner!

I have to keep reminding myself that the Lord already knows where we are going to live and He has prepared it for us, so I don't need to panic or give in to fear - but the pendulum between peace and panic has been in full gear! Especially when my little boy has been screaming more than usual so my nerves are feeling slightly frayed!

This is NOT easy - we LOVE our current home in the bay area - and we love our church - and our friends... although this move to LA is exciting, the reality of making a brand new start has made me feel like I want to burst into tears at times - BUT my Father KNOWS what is BEST for us to mature us and stretch us - but stretching is not always very comfortable!

Do pray for us! It would be wonderful if we had a forwarding address to give to people before Christmas - but even that I have to trust Him on!

2010-11-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

Before I go to bed I absolutely MUST write a quick blog post! I have been meaning to write one for days but I always think of it when I'm in the middle of an activity that doesn't mix well with blog writing!

The ONLY down side to life in the Gilchrist family having settled down, is that our blog has become a lot less interesting to read! I am pleased to report that there continues to be no new drama!

Daniel is in a schedule, so an average day looks like this: - waking at 6.30am, feeding, playing, sleeping at 8.30am until 10.30am, then puree, feed, story time, play, sleep at 12.30pm until about 3pm, feed, play, walk, then puree at about 5.30pm, then bath time (Daniel's favorite time of the day - he is an expert splasher and takes great delight in emptying the contents of his bath all over me with violent flapping of his arms - I have to wash him quickly while there is still water to wash in before it all gets splashed away! Great fun - although I am thinking of investing in a set of full-length waterproofs!), then feed before bed at about 6.30pm... he then SLEEPS through until morning! Wahoo!

The only snag was that the hour went back last weekend - so for a few days we were waking at 5.30am (that's just not funny) - but I am pleased to report that this morning he slept until 6.30am - so I think we're back on track! Phew!

We had a lovely time away in Point Reyes - the weather wasn't great, but we still managed to enjoy some beautiful walks - and LOTS of much-needed rest!

Ed is in the UK for a 10 day work trip (combined with friends and family time at the weekends and most evenings). Daniel and I are missing him lots - but we're thankful for the IPhone 4 'face time' option & Skype - so we get to see Daddy every day! Yeah! I am using the time (when Daniel is asleep!) without my man around to catch up with some precious girl friends out here, fill our freezer full of puree for Daniel, do a spot of sewing and even a wee bit of song writing!

We have decided to try and find a home in LA before Christmas, so that we can then move in in January - so the weekend after next, we are driving down to LA for the week to house hunt! As part of the relocation package, EA is arranging for someone to book a schedule of home viewings for us - so all I have to do is turn up and choose! Your prayers for that would be really appreciated!

I am really trying not to think too much about the move at the moment - seeking to stay invested with the friends and things we're involved with here - I have made the mistake of mentally 'moving' too early in the past and have missed out on enjoying the last few months of living in a place because I'm already planning the next stage... I suppose it will all feel more 'real' once we have decided on where we are going to live...

I think that's enough of an update for now! I'm off to bed! I guess most of you are just about to get up (it's 6am in the UK!) - so enjoy your day!

2010-10-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am currently breaking my own rule: "No communication with the outside World while on holiday"... but Daniel is having his nap and I have permission from Ed (who is happy playing 'Angry Birds' on his iPhone!) to do a sneaky post...

We travelled up Highway 1 yesterday lunchtime and are staying in Point Reyes for a few days (we get back on Sunday afternoon). The view, as I type, is stunning. It has rained all night and all day so far, so, the view is ALL we have seen of Point Reyes! But we could not be happier - enforced rest was what we needed today! In fact, the rain has stopped in the last half hour, so, once Daniel wakes up, we're going to head out for a walk... can't wait!

Actually, we did venture out for a short walk yesterday afternoon - we just walked down the road from our cottage - but, short though it was, we managed to see Daniel's first DOG, COWS, HORSES and, wait for it... LLAMAS!!! Daniel was all wide-eyed amazement. Oh that we would see this World more through the eyes of a baby - the wonder and amazement at the beauty and order of this earth - as I look at Daniel's appreciation of all the things I so often take for granted I see anew (and praise Him for!) the fingerprints of my Father all over the World He has made!

This past week has been really good. On Monday, as you know, my insulin pump started running insulin (rather than saline). Apparently it can take weeks to get to the correct settings - but thanks be to God - it seems we have hit on the correct settings first time! My diabetes nurse says this has only happened ONCE in all her years of starting people on pumps - so I definitely see God's hand at work in causing this transition to be so easy. I feel SO well. My sugars are really stable and I am not getting shaky at all - even when I missed breakfast yesterday (part of the trial they wanted me to do to check the levels). So the pump is turning out to be absolutely brilliant.

The other great thing that happened this week is that Ed bought me an iPhone :) - I LOVE it! Not only is it LOTS of fun, but I have also found a carb counting application which makes working out how many carbohydrates I am about to eat for my meal SO easy - it does ALL the maths for me! Thank you Lord!

I hear a little person stirring... so I'm off to concentrate on my boys!

More embarrasing details from the Gilchrist lives...

2010-10-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were invited round to the home of a family whose twin daughters were in the NICU at the same time as Daniel. We had spoken once while we were at the hospital (they were put in touch with us because their daughter needed the PDA surgery just a few weeks after Daniel had been through it) and had not seen each other since.

They invited us round for 4pm - so I thought we were going round for afternoon tea...

Their home was immaculate - it looked like a show home. So, the embarrassment started when Daniel chose THIS afternoon to have an attack of the projectile vomiting! Oh yes! It was AWFUL! All over their designer rug, splashed all over their hardwood floors and (worst of all), we put him down briefly in one of their play pens for a photo - and he vomited all over this child's soft, pink blanket - I couldn't help but notice the lightning reactions of the Mum as she grabbed her daughter to avoid her being covered in sick!

Ed is secretly rather proud of the vomit on the pink blanket - what else did I expect? He feels this was a justifiable protest vomit - a PINK blanket? Honestly...

At 5.30pm, having only had nibbles, I realised that this was NOT afternoon tea... and, judging by the frantic activity going on in the kitchen, it became clear they were expecting us to stay for dinner...

Daniel was covered in vomit by this stage and his internal body clock was telling him (and he, in turn, was telling us!) that it was almost dinner, bath and bed time...

I had no changes of clothes for him - and I just didn't think it was fair to try and ask him to go to sleep while we ate (by now it was 6.15pm and the food was not yet even cooking!) and then wake him up for food, bath and change of clothes when we got home... I never wanted to be a fussy Mum, but yesterday, I just couldn't see a way to be 'chilled' and 'go with the flow' and still be fair to my son!

So, to our extreme embarrassment, we had to ask them not to cook the pork chops that were intended for us, because we were going to have to leave without eating!

Cringe! I don't think we'll be invited back!

Tooth-hurtie (part 2)

2010-10-24T07:35:00.001-07:00

OK, so perhaps I didn't tell you everything about the wisdom teeth extraction. I had thought that the details to follow would be on more of a 'need-to-know' basis, but Nicci insists that this sort of information is exactly what the public wants...

I have never before had so much as a filling, let alone had a tooth extracted, so I didn't really know what to expect - although having just 30 days before gone under general anaesthetic for the shoulder surgery, that part I wasn't too concerned about.

So the nurse took all the vital signs: blood pressure, pulse etc. and inserted the IV line (she said I had nice veins). All this I had anticipated. What I did not anticipate was having my arm put in a brace to stop it from bending and then being strapped down to the chair, both arms and legs. One of the assistant nurses pointed out that my heart rate had spiked when I was being tied down, as if that was surprising. They said this was necessary because, just because I was being put to sleep would not stop me from moving around, like in real sleep. I was beginning to get nervous for the ordeal my sub-conscious self was soon to be going through.

Before they hooked up the IV line to the good-night juice, they needed to give me some sort of drug, the reason for which I forget. Anyway, as it was administered, the nurse told me that this particular drug had a brief side effect, which could manifest itself either as a headache, or an intense itching sensation in the 'groin area'. She asked me to tell her when I felt something. It was the groin area. It felt as if she had emptied an entire packet of itching powder down my pants. And with my hands tied down to the chair there was to be no relief by scratching! Happily, the sensation soon passed - and then next thing I knew I was awake in the next room being asked to bite down on a wedge of gauze to soak up the blood, and being prep'd to go home.

The rest you know. It is now the third day since the op, and I'm doing surprisingly well - although the stitches in the back of my jaw are a bit annoying. I do apologise for omitting these vital facts first time round. I hope they blessed your day.

Tooth-hurtie

2010-10-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Classic - the time of my appointment with the dentist to get my wisdom teeth extracted was... 2.30pm. Very appropriate. Although, in truth, I'm not feeling too bad with it: Not too much swelling (although as I type I am wearing an ice-pack to minimise the potential for that), not too much pain (although perhaps the vicodin has something to do with that?!).

Eating, however, is an interesting experience. I went and bought all sorts of soft fruit and I plan to use Nicci's puree maker to whizz up some smoothies!

2010-10-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Where have the last few weeks gone? I am so sorry for the blog silence - we are still here - and we're doing well!

However, in the past 2 weeks, we have had a lot to discuss and decide... and I think that while we have been praying and seeking God's will for us, we have not known what to write on the blog!

As many of you know, up until recently our plan was to come back to the UK next summer.

Since moving out here, we have been praying that the Lord would make our next step clear – I was hoping that would mean a move back to the UK. Up until 2 weeks ago, there was no sign of any promotion within the UK, but Ed could have simply moved his current job back into the UK office… so we were free to move home whenever we wanted… BUT 2 weeks ago, Ed was told that his current job is being split in two – one half (the smaller, less exciting part) is being moved back to the UK and the other half is being incorporated into a new, more senior role, based in the (wait for it…) LA office!

Why not just quit EA and move home now? I hear you asking!

Well, we ourselves have asked that same question and a number of factors make that a less than ideal option for us:

1) Ed earns his 7 year sabbatical in April next year – that’s 7 weeks full-pay holiday on top of his regular 5 weeks annual leave – something we have ALL been looking forward to!
2) Moving ourselves and all our furniture etc home would be fairly expensive!
3) Ed is excited about this role and opportunity – there is no guarantee that he would find a job that he’d enjoy as much if we moved back – and it would be really hard if he was constantly thinking ‘what if…’
4) The role in LA is a significant promotion, within an exciting business unit, with real applications outside of EA (should there not be any obvious move within EA at the end of this job) AND it would increase the breadth of his experience significantly
5) Daniel is plugged into a specialist developmental follow-up program in California – in Nov 2011 he will have an important review – if we stuck with our intention of moving home next Sept, he would miss this.

That’s probably more detail than you needed – but I wanted you to see that we HAVE thought it through!

On the plus side:

1) It’s LA (!) – not the worst place to have to spend some time!
2) Ed’s new boss has said that would like Ed to be in the role for 18 months – so it’s not a life sentence!
3) Ed has made it clear that his next move is going to be back to the UK and EA have written into Ed’s contract that they will move us home!

So, weighing it all up, we’ve decided to move to LA for 18 months – starting in January! This means that we are planning to move home during the summer of 2012!

BUT do not fear! Because we have the sabbatical to take next year, we are planning to spend the best part of August and Sept in the UK next summer – and we also hoping to be home for Christmas 2011 too! So those of you who are itching to meet Daniel will NOT have to wait until we move home permanently to be introduced and have a cuddle!

AND for our precious SFO friends - we WILL be coming back to this area fairly regularly for Daniel's follow-up appointments!

AND let me also mention that LA is a LOVELY holiday destination – lots to do and gorgeous weather – we’re hoping to get a place with a guest room – so do consider coming to visit us – we’d absolutely LOVE to see you!

This has not been an easy decision – with all we’ve been through we are keener than ever to be living close to our precious family and friends – but, having prayed about it, it seems that the Lord has made our route home (at least in the short term), more difficult – and there are lots of things that point to the move to LA being the right thing for us…

Yikes!

Our other news is that I have been fitted with an insulin pump... sorry for the display of my midriff, but I wanted you to see it!

I still feel a bit wobbly about being attached to something full time - but I have been researching on the Internet and there are some clever products out there that can hide the pump discretely about my person - I have ordered one - so the game will be for people to see if they can guess where i'm wearing it on any given day!

On the plus side, it's pink! AND it is absolutely brilliant at calculating how much insulin I need - so I think, long term, it will make living with diabetes much easier.

I had a bit of a melt down the night before it was fitted - just wanting the diabetes to go away. But generally I am doing ok with it.

Daniel is doing great - although he is constipated! I am learning infant massage in the hopes that a bit of manipulation will help to push things through! (sorry, too much detail!)

AND Ed is going under general anaesthetic today - for the 2nd time in 2 months! He's fine - they just need to take 2 of his wisdom teeth out - and, unlike in the UK where they just give you a bit of local anaesthetic, so that you are awake for all the heaving and drilling and yanking and stress (I have had ALL my wisdom teeth out in the UK) - the kind dentists in the USA put you under! So I will be feeding both of the Gilchrist men on puree for the next few days!

Thanks for wading through this monster post! I will try to go back to more regular, managable posts from now on!

2010-10-04T13:27:00.001-07:00

Brace yourselves people, i'm going to attempt a comprehensive update on all things Gilchrist!

Firstly, Ed - his shoulder is healing amazingly well. He no longer has to take pain meds and is out of the sling for large portions of the day. It is still painful and stiff, but he is re-gaining movement and, once he starts physio, we are confident that he will make a full recovery.

This week, some changes have come to light within EA that will impact Ed's job. There is no immediate risk of redundancy (praise God!), but the changes might mean that rather than being able to come home in Sept next year (as we had been planning), we might need to adjust things and plan for a return to the UK the following Summer...it’s still not clear and we are praying hard about it… we SO long to be home, but equally we want to be wise about the next move for Ed and want to make sure that when we come home there is actually a job for Ed to go to! Your ongoing prayers would be appreciated!

Secondly, me (that's Nicci - Daniel is not able to type updates yet! I know, he is a miracle baby, but that would just be silly!) - i'm not sure whether I have blogged my decision to be fitted with an insulin pump... the deciding factor was that they come in pink - I felt that was guidance! Just as I was typing, the doorbell went and it was a delivery man who handed me the box containing all my pump equipment! So I now have it! I'll be trained on how to use it and run it with saline during the week of the 18th and then i'll start using it with insulin on the 25th. I am still not sure how I feel about it - I hate the idea of being attached to it 24/7, but I feel it would be silly not to try it, since everyone says that it is a life-transforming way to manage diabetes... so we'll see how it goes... day to day, I am coping pretty well with being diabetic - no major hypos or hypers to report - I just have to monitor what i'm eating and how i'm feeling fairly closely...

I am loving being a ladies bible study leader and have been blessed with a lovely group of women who all seem really hungry to grow. It's great to have that as a slightly different focus during the week rather than being 100% Mummy!

And finally, Daniel! - We had his first developmental check up today. I had been looking forward to this appointment for quite some time. The appointment lasted 2 hours - a developmental specialist and a physio put him through his paces - testing him against cognition and physical development milestones. I was hoping that on every assessment Daniel would be ahead of the curve and would be judged to have caught up with his birth date age. However, although the overwhelming take-home message was that Daniel is doing exceptionally well, he still has quite some way to go before he has caught up with his peers. Apparently, for a baby born at 24 weeks, they would be happy if he was tracking with his birth date milestones (so, at about a 4 month old level). Daniel is tracking at about 6 months cognitively and at about a 5 month old physically. So, there is LOTS to praise and thank God for!

For those of you who are continuing to pray for him (thank you!), arm strength and co-ordination are the things I have been sent home to work on with him - specifically, bringing his arms into the mid-line to reach for things when he is lying on his back. They also expect him to start babbling (rather than the cooing he is doing currently) in the next month or so.

In terms of his measurements, all those prayers 'that he would grow big and strong' are paying off! He has caught up to his birth date in terms of his length and head circumference and I was warned that I need to make sure I am not over-feeding him since he is a wee bit TOO chubby! They are not concerned, but they said that it might delay him starting to crawl if his tummy gets too heavy to lift off the ground! He might just be building up to another growth spurt!

So, all in all, we're doing well! Over and out!

2010-09-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that Daniel has started solids?

We started him on 2 meals a day of baby oatmeal on Friday - and he's loving it! The only downside is that it seems to be creating a bit of a digestive log jam for him, poor little chap! As I type, he is sitting on my lap making effortful grunting noises, grimacing and farting audibly! Oh the joys of motherhood! Yesterday he made us all laugh at housegroup where, in a silent moment of prayer, Daniel let off the longest, loudest and most stinky flatulent episode I have ever witnessed! Brilliant! Ed was so proud!

As if he hasn't got enough to deal with, just look what I put him through earlier! He loved it!

2010-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

All you Freeway fans out there will be glad to hear that I have not completely stopped song-writing since becoming a Mum - Oh no! The creative juices are still flowing! Yesterday, I came up with this lyrical delight:

"I've got sick in my hair -
Daniel put it there.
I'm close to despair
Coz I've got sick in my hair"

Other ditties that get regularly sung around the Gilchrist house include:

"You're incredible, you're cheeks are edible"

"Somebody smells of poo (oh baby!), I think it might be you (oh baby!)"

Freeway boys - this gives you something to be working on while I'm away (!) - I think everyone will be feeling very excited about the new lyrical direction for the band in 2011!

2010-09-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

As you may remember, back in Feb Ed busted his shoulder in a snow-boarding accident... we were advised to wait and see whether he'd need surgery or not. Well, in the past few weeks, Ed decided that the limitations the injury were causing him were significant enough to warrant going under the knife and so he scheduled himself for surgery on Weds afternoon. It was his first time under general anaesthetic - and his first ever surgery!

Before he went in, Ed's main concern was that they'd wheel him into the wrong operating room and he'd end up being discharged having had a sex-change - you'll be glad to know that this did NOT happen! Phew! But they DID shave one side of his chest - so now the dilemma is whether we should shave the other side so he has symmetrical re-growth!

The operation went well and Ed now has 3 'dead-man's ligaments' holding his shoulder together! He is on some pretty ballsy pain-meds, so on Weds and Thursday he was completely out of it. Yesterday he managed to come for a walk and be up and about a bit, but he's still fairly spaced out - and still in quite a lot of pain - but he's doing OK and we're enjoying having a few days at home as a family.

2010-09-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

We've just had a lovely family weekend together... I thought you might like to have a taste of what the weekend included for Daniel...

Although hiding our son in a box might look like child-abuse, we assure you, he smiled and giggled his way through the weekend - clearly loving having Mummy and Daddy all to himself!
Post-script from Ed:
Note that in each of these photos he is either in a new outfit, or in the bath. Explosive movements were, as ever, a theme of the weekend. Also, those blue dungarees... I used to wear those!!

2010-09-16T13:20:00.001-07:00

We got to take some pretty cute photos of our little man this week too... so here are a few just to keep you all happy!

2010-09-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Good morning blog fans! I know that you have had to cope with a severe post-famine over the past week or so... our apologies! You will be pleased to know that the reason for the lack of updates has NOT been due to any further Gilchrist tragedy (phew!), instead, to make a welcome change, we have been having just too much FUN to get round to sitting down to blog!

Let me fill you in on what we've been up to...

A week ago last Saturday we drove (with my parents) up to Lake Tahoe. We had booked a cabin which said it had 'lake views' - now, one sad consequence of the past year is that Ed and I have become slightly cautious about expecting things to go well, so, when we read 'Lake views' we envisaged that we might be able to glimpse the lake out of the bathroom window if we stood on the loo and leant out... BUT to our absolute delight and surprise the cabin FAR surpassed our expectations - we were literally separated from the lake only by a meadow - we could enjoy a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains from our sitting room, our bedroom and decking area AND (most importantly) from the HOT tub! To top it all off, there was also a giant moose-head stuck on the wall over the fireplace - BRILLIANT!

It was a magical week - lazy days by the beach, a lunch cruise to Emerald bay, awesome walks in desolation wilderness and by the lake, hot tubs, the US open tennis, bottles of wine on the beach watching the sun set, happy cuddles with Daniel, golf, fantastic BBQ meals and lots of great conversations and happy family times together... it really could not have been better! My parents even saw a BEAR one night from their bedroom window! How exciting!

The only slight sadness was that Daniel started teething while we were away, which meant that he was a bit more demanding than usual because he was in pain - but even that was special, because it meant he needed more cuddles - and one thing grand-parents seem MORE than happy to do is CUDDLE their grandson! So it was win-win!

We got home on Saturday evening in time for Daniel's dedication service in Sunday morning. Because of the teething, we were a bit anxious that Daniel might scream the entire way through - but he was as good as gold throughout - the only thing that made us giggle was that just before the dedication was about to happen, in the quiet moment as Mark (the lead pastor) was going up to the front there was an almighty audible explosion in Daniel's nether regions! The people in the rows around us ALL heard it and were laughing - there was nothing we could do - Daniel was dedicated with a nappy FULL of poo! What a relief that it stayed IN the nappy and didn't end up all over Mark! Can you imagine?!!!

It was a very special occasion. Mark mentioned a bit about the start that Daniel has had in life and what we've been through and then prayed for us and Daniel. At one point Mark said that Daniel is a 'miracle baby' - and Ed, in a lion-king-esque moment, lifted Daniel up above his head for everyone to see - the entire church cheered - it was very special... we can't quite believe the love and support we have been shown by our brothers and sisters in Christ out here - is really has been overwhelming and a huge example of the miraculous love that God gives His people...

On Sunday afternoon there was the annual 'NICU graduates' party at Stanford hospital - a lovely opportunity to go back and see many of the doctors and nurses who cared for Daniel during his first 3 1/2 months in hospital. Everyone was amazed at how chubby, smiley and healthy Daniel is! One real highlight for Daniel was having a cuddle with Julianna - his primary (and favorite!) nurse from the NICU - we can't be sure that he does remember her, but he certainly seemed happy to see her!

To top off an overwhelmingly happy day, we all went out for a really happy dinner on Sunday evening. As we were getting ready to go out I found myself humming the song 'He's turned my mourning into dancing again, He's lifted my sorrow...' - it really felt as though the week in Tahoe and then the celebrations of Sunday were a 'full-stop' to the suffering we have had to walk through... I may be wrong and I will trust Him if there is more sadness to come, but I pray that we can now have some months tragedy-free to enjoy our wonderful son!

Mum and Dad went home yesterday and the house feels very empty today without them here. They have both been so generous and giving in dropping everything to care for us - it will be good to have time just as the 3 of us again, but we are missing having them here!

The summer break is now over and things are starting up again at church this week. I have agreed to be a women's bible study leader on Wednesday evenings and last night was the first meeting - Wednesday nights will be 'Daddy-date-night' - although, by the slightly frazzled expression on Ed's face when I walked through the door last night, the evening had not quite turned out as he had hoped! We pray that Daniel learns to be more settled in the evenings soon! I am really excited to be having the opportunity to lead a group of women in bible study - it feels 'right' to be serving others after all that I have received in the past months...

Ed and I are also doing a 10 week 'biblical counselling' course on Monday nights - we are bringing Daniel along and the idea is that he will sleep through it - that didn't quite happen last Monday - although he DID stay quiet - we'll have to see whether that is feasible long term or not! If he starts to be disruptive we'll do a re-think!

The only other things we've got on are that Ed is meeting with some other guys every other Thursday evening for bible-study and prayer in a local bar and we're probably going to go to a local church fellowship group that meets once a month on Sunday afternoon... all that might seem a lot, but we're excited about it all and (don't worry!), if it feels too much, I can always strip things back and only do the women's bible study... it just feels great to be actually able to get involved at last!

Phew! I think that's all the updates for now! We hope you're all doing well! We love you all HEAPS!!!

2010-09-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Oh yikes! I have just realised that I have not told you about last weekend - when Ed and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary!

Before we left to come out to California, our dear (and hugely generous) friends from our church back home in Arborfield gave us a gift of money that we were instructed to use for something fun... well, the opportunities for 'fun' have been few and far between over the past year or so, so we thought it was about time we cashed in on our fun fund! Ed booked us onto a dinner cruise in San Fransisco bay - it was fantastic - beautiful views of the bay, Alcatraz and the city, delicious cuisine and live music AND dancing! After our last attempt at a date night (!), we decided to take Daniel with us - which was absolutely lovely. He was really well-behaved and it felt right to be celebrating our wedding anniversary with our son for the first time. While all the other couples were slow dancing together, Ed, Daniel and I were dancing as a threesome! Such fun!

So a HUGE 'THANK YOU' to all of our lovely friends back home who contributed towards the generous gift that enabled us to enjoy such a treat evening as a family! We love you all and we miss you like crazy!

2010-09-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Having my parents out here with us is SUCH a joy! Dad arrived on Wednesday and there is a sense of completeness now that Daniel has met all his living grandparents. Dad and Daniel hit it off straight away and have been enjoying cuddles ever since!

I realised that I have been remiss at updating our faithful blog followers on some things - so let me amend my ways and fill you in on the latest...

Diabetes:

It has been confirmed that I am type 1. Day-to-day I am coping pretty well and the specialist I am seeing is really pleased with how quickly we have managed to get my sugars under control. I have the occasional 'hypo', which is not very nice - but thankfully I am recognising and treating them before I go too low.

Daniel:

Sleeping through the night that one time was obviously a freak accident - he has not done it since! Oh well, it is encouraging to know he CAN sleep through and, in faith, we believe he WILL sleep through consistently one day! Our little man continues to thrive - he is completely off oxygen and is passing every medical investigation (his 6 month check up/audiology/respiratory etc) with flying colours! Wahooooooooooooooooo! Yesterday he giggled for the first time - a sudden gurgling, uninhibited expression of sheer joy that brought tears to my eyes! As a silly Mother, I frantically tried to re-create the exact circumstances that had lead to the giggle, but, despite my best efforts, it was a one-off... we are hoping that, just like sleeping through the night, these one-offs will become more a part of life!

Tomorrow we are heading off to Lake Tahoe for a week, so we will be off-line until next weekend. We are hoping for a relaxing week filled with natural beauty and fun-time together... We get back on Saturday and then, on Sunday Daniel is getting dedicated at church (for the un-churched, that just means we get up the front and the church officially 'welcomes' him into the family and we say publicly that we want to bring him up to know and love Jesus). We are thrilled that Mum and Dad will be here to share that special occasion with us - every day I thank God for my miracle son, who really, by human standards, should never have made it!

2010-08-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

Ed got back yesterday from a week in the UK. While he was away, we both suffered from a touch of the 'grass is greener'... As Ed coped with the drizzle of an English summer (!), he felt sad that he was missing the mini heat-wave we were experiencing in California... and I felt sad that I was missing out on seeing all our precious family and friends back home!

I seem to often struggle with this 'grass is greener' syndrome - looking over my shoulder at what others have/experience and wishing things were different for me... I have been really challenged recently as I have been thinking about Psalm 23 where it says that the Lord leads us in green pastures... that means that if I am one of His sheep, I am IN the green pasture He has for me... other 'pastures' might look more lush and green to me, but I need to trust my good shepherd that THIS pasture has the nutrients and goodness that I need - THIS is the 'green pasture' he has for me right now...

And actually, this pasture IS pretty darn green! Daniel is an absolute delight and, although I don't want to gloat, I do want to say a massive 'Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiba!' because last night Daniel SLEPT through for the first time!! Whoop! Whoop! The only irony was that, because Ed was still on England time, even though Daniel slept through, Ed did not! Humph. It's still exciting though!

2010-08-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

The girls got back from their road trip on Weds night - it sounds as though they had a great time and packed more into 9 days than we have managed in our entire time out here!

Yesterday we managed to squeeze in a trip to the 'mall' for some mandatory American shopping and also spent some time at the pool - although both Wellie and Ann are the archetypal 'English Rose' and therefore had to plaster themselves with factor 40 suncream before sitting in the SHADE - all very non-Californian behaviour! They also laughed at me for swimming in such a way as to not get my hair wet (!) - my excuse was that I was trying to preserve it for my 'date' with Ed that night (more about THAT in a minute!)

As they left, I remembered to take a photo of their ridiculous hire car - apparently it wasn't a Cadillac, but it was still ridiculous! It was SUCH fun seeing them - more visitors from home are very welcome!

So, about that date I mentioned...

Ed is leaving today for a week in the UK and so we thought we'd capitalise on having a baby-sitter on hand and go for our first 'date' since Daniel got home from hospital...

We walked down to a restaurant that is about 2 miles away - a beautiful walk along the coast with the sun setting - all very romantic and just the thing to get up a good appetite! We then shared a starter and enjoyed our main dishes - relaxed conversation, good food, some wine - we were having a lovely time... but then my phone went...

My poor frazzled Mum had been coping with a baby screaming blue murder for over an hour... she had tried everything (she has quite a repertoire of baby-soothing antics), but nothing was working - all my son wanted was my boobs! Nothing else would suffice! He is an absolute breast snob!

We quickly got the bill and then RAN the 2 miles up the hill to get home! Oh my! Running on a full stomach is not a good idea! I was just about OK, but my poor husband (who had eaten more than me!) only just managed to hold his food down - by the time we got home, Ed was looking green and had to take some indigestion medicine before putting himself into the recovery position on our bathroom floor! Not exactly the end I had envisaged to our date night!

Daniel had actually cried himself to sleep in the time it took us to get home - but he woke up about 10 minutes after we got in and guzzled milk contentedly in my arms before falling asleep... hopeless! I think we'll have to take him with us on date nights for the time being!

2010-08-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is the 4th post in 2 days! I am doing well!

Today, I decided to treat my amazing Mother to a pedicure! Despite our best efforts to get her to sit down, she seems to spend a good proportion of her time tidying or cooking in the kitchen - so we have nicknamed her 'Cinders'! My Mum delights in feeling useful - but it was time to ensure she sat down and got some relaxation time!

It was WONDERFUL! - not only did our feet and nails get exfoliated, moisturised and our nails tidied and painted, but on top of all that, we enjoyed a chair massage throughout and then a foot massage at the end! Heaven!

We were both in danger of dosing off, but thankfully we managed to hold it together just enough to avoid dribbling in public! Phew!

We decided to take a photo of our happy feet when we got home! The neighbours think we're bonkers!

2010-08-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Every day we do some 'tummy time' with Daniel to build neck and back strength - Daniel has been lifting his head for a few days now, but this morning, instead of just staring down at the mat, he was able to lift his head sufficiently to look around - and here is the photographic proof!

Then, just to show off, he managed to roll from his front to his back - both to the left and then to the right! It won't be long before he's mobile! Yikes!

2010-08-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some more delicious photos of little Mr incredible...

2010-08-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

This week, not only have I had the joy of my Mum being here, but my lovely friends - Clare "Wellie" Wells and Ann O'Flynn have come out to visit! :)

They flew in on Tuesday afternoon, picked up their hire car, booked in at their Motel and then arrived at ours at about 5pm - the first indication that they were here was hearing the low rumble of a powerful engine - I went to the window to look, and sure enough, the girls have hired THE most ridiculous, sporty 2-seater Cadillac - although at first I took the enormous grins on their faces to mean they were pleased to see me, I think they were actually slightly delirious about the enormous engine they had been given the keys to for the duration of their stay! I failed to take a photo of said vehicle, but fear not! Although the girls have now headed off for a road trip to LA, Vegas and Yosemite, they will be back next Weds and I will provide photographic evidence of their ridiculous American ride then!

Joking aside, it was an absolute joy to see them both. It made me realise how much I am missing my wonderful friends from back home - don't get me wrong, the Lord has blessed us with fantastic friends out here, but there is something special about friends you've known for years - it was just so easy to slot back in to chatting and laughing - SUCH fun!

On Wednesday the 5 of us (Me, Mum and Daniel - and Wellie and Ann) went down to Capitola (a pretty seaside town south on highway 1). We had lunch overlooking the ocean, then managed a nappy change on the beach (without getting covered in poo - reeeeesult!) before doing tag-team shopping (one of us would stay outside with the buggy while the others tried on shoes/dresses and then we'd tag in and out for the much-needed 2nd opinions!). The only purchase was made by Wellie - who needed some flip-flops... it wasn't until she was at the till that she realised just HOW cool the ones she had chosen are - get this: in the sole of these flip flops is hidden a BEER BOTTLE OPENER! Yes lads, you read that right! Wellie is now able to open beer bottles with her flip flops! Oh Yeah!

Before heading out to 'Town' (a local favorite restaurant), we had time to watch some rugby Ed had recorded - Daniel was happily kicking away on his play mat and is usually completely disinterested whenever the TV goes on - but not this time! Oh no! All kicking ceased, he became silently transfixed, his Mother's smiles were no longer captivating... he had found a new love... RUGBY! Ed was absolutely delighted to see that his son is a man of taste and is clearly showing interest in the game already! It was hilarious - he literally watched the match with us unblinkingly!

Dinner was a fun time, although I realise I need to work out how to 'do' eating out with diabetes... last night I took my insulin before joining in with the shared starters we'd ordered, but then the main meal took quite a while to come... and I felt my blood sugar plummeting... it was OK, but I was nervous enough to ask the waiter how long our meals would be. He obviously told his supervisor that we'd asked and the result? FREE PUDDINGS!!! Reeeeeeeeeeesult! Luckily my main dish had not had sufficient carbs for the insulin I'd taken, so I had about 60g worth of carbs still to eat - I very much enjoyed consuming my remaining carb limit! Yum! There are some plus sides to being diabetic after all! (oh, and while I'm on the subject of diabetes - my eyesight has completely returned to 20:20 normality, so thanks for all the prayers! The glasses have been consigned to the drawer and I am back to looking like a thicky! Oh well! I also seem to have stabilised my sugars and have not had any significant hypos or hypers since last Weds!)

The other main event of this week is that I have decided to get Daniel into a daytime routine... he seemed ready for a bit more structure and I was beginning to feel that just feeding him on demand was not really working... we started on Monday afternoon and I have to say that it is going really well! He is SUCH a good baby! And I am loving knowing when I'm going to feed next and feeling more in control of my day - definitely helps with planning my insulin/eating requirements to have a structured day too... Daniel continues to smile liberally and has started gurgling communicatively - to everyone's delight!

More good news: we had confirmation yesterday that Daniel does not need to be on oxygen at all any more, not even at night - so, at long last, we are enjoying the freedom of a tube-free baby! Wahooooooooooooooo!

Thank you for all the prayers that I know are going up for us as a family - we really are doing amazingly well! Praise God!

2010-08-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

Although Daniel has been smiling occasionally for quite a few weeks now, in the past week he seems to have mastered the ability to smile on demand and is using his new skill liberally with anyone that will give him some attention! It is THE most delicious, heart-melting, gummy, dribbly, joy-inducing facial expression that ever there has been...

We have been trying to capture it on camera for the last few days, but generally, at the sight of a camera, Daniel assumes a serious frown and refuses to smile - even when his parents and grand-mother exert themselves with their most amusing and enthusiastic efforts... the end result: exhausted parents and grand-mother, camera returned to it's case and then, almost without fail... a few moments later, Daniel's face yet again breaks into a wide, gummy grin from ear to ear! If it wasn't so cute, we might be tempted to get frustrated - but the sight of that little elated face melts all of our hearts and makes it all worth while!

Anyway, this morning I managed to capture it... it is often even bigger and more enthusiastic than this, but here it is... get ready for the ultimate 'cute-attack'... Daniel's smile...

2010-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wahoooo!

Daniel had his LAST eye examination today. After weekly appointments during which his eyes have been pinned back and prodded around with, under bright lights, at LONG last - today we heard the words: "His eyes are mature, you don't need to come again"!!

Wahoooo!

Now we just need to get rid of the need for Oxygen overnight and then he'll be ready for pre-season training for England's Rugby team.

2010-07-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Dear friends and family...

Thank you all SO much for all the messages of love and support that you have sent over the past week or so - we are sorry that we have not been very good at responding to emails - but my sugar-high has left me with blurred vision (which should resolve when my sugars stabilise), so I have not been able to read or use the computer...

Yesterday I went and bought some cheap glasses, so I can now see - although I would prefer to have my 20:20 vision back, I am quite enjoying the novelty of my new 'intellectual' look!

So let me update you on what's been going on...

We had a lovely time with Grandpa G staying - again we can see God's grace in the timing of his stay... if he had not been here, Ed would have found it very hard to come and visit me in hospital...

Daniel loved getting to know his Grandpa... they became firm friends and Daniel loved the ridiculous songs his Grandpa made up about him!

Grandpa G left on Sunday - and my Mum arrived! They crossed for a few hours, which was fun.

We are SO grateful and glad that Mum is here. She HAS to get the 'Best Mum in the World' award - we have worked out that the ONLY month she has not been in San Francisco since October last year is February!

It is a big sacrifice, being away from my Dad and all her friends and 'life' back home - not to mention the fact that she's missing the summer holiday she and Dad had booked... all for her little girl - I am a very lucky daughter to have her as my Mummy!

So, Daniel is now getting the chance to get to know another of his wonderful grand-parents! Smiles abound! And I am getting the help and support I need in getting meals on the table, having someone to watch Daniel when I need a rest and generally getting my head round the implications of my diagnosis...

I am feeling slightly less overwhelmed by it all. Diabetes stinks, and I have to constantly battle the temptation to give in to fear... but, miraculously, I am feeling OK. Nurses and doctors keep asking me whether I want/need counselling as a result of all I've been through - and really, I SHOULD need it, but, incomprehensibly (humanly speaking), I really am feeling OK... low at times, but generally OK! Praise God!

Daniel continues to astound everyone with how strong he is. We had an appointment with the respiratory doctor yesterday and she kept saying 'he looks really good'! She has agreed to let him come off the oxygen throughout the day, which is wonderful. This weekend we are getting a 'saturation monitor' which we will use during the night to check whether Daniel's O2 sats stay OK on room air when he's sleeping deeply. If the results of that trial look fine, then we might be able to say goodbye to all tubes and canisters!!! Finally, I might just have a tube-free baby!

He is an absolute joy. I'm sure he's the best looking, most gorgeous, talented, funny, cute, well-behaved and good-natured little boy that has EVER been born... of course, I am totally objective in my assessment of him!!!

2010-07-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

The other day the verse where Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to 'sift him like wheat' but that Jesus has prayed for him 'that his faith would not fail' kept running through my mind... it feels as though the Gilchrists are being 'sifted'!

However, despite the fact that this year has royally SUCKED, I keep being blown away by the evidence of God's grace and His restraining mercy throughout all we've been through...

Some examples:

1) In the car crash last June, I walked away unharmed when the police said I should have died.

2) My Dad's heart attack was caught just in time so that his heart was not permanently damaged and he didn't die.

3) Ed got home to see his Mum on the day she died.

4) Joshua's heart kept beating until week 24 - the earliest the boys could have been born and stand any chance of survival.

5) The more we find out about my pregnancy (now knowing that I had diabetes as well as everything else), the more we realise what an absolute miracle it is that we have a healthy, 'normal', beautiful baby... really, humanly speaking, neither of our babies should have made it.

6) Being born in his 25th week, Daniel had only a 50% chance of survival - there were SO many things that could have gone wrong and yet, even though we had some rocky moments, he has come through it all unscathed - the pediatrician is amazed how strong and healthy he is!

7) When we saw my GP on Weds, she said "there is definitely someone looking after you" because she apparently NEVER checks her work emails over the weekend - but just as she was going to bed she had a sudden urge to check - if she hadn't, I would have gone to bed and may well have been unconscious by the morning, my blood sugar was that high!

... there are many more examples I could give where the Lord has limited the evil that could have happened. We are still walking through the toughest year of our lives, but I believe that God is with us and is using all this to refine and strengthen us - and to help us fix our eyes and our confidence on things unseen...

2010-07-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Praise God! I'm HOME!!!!!!

I am diabetic. Yikes! They will do all the blood work later this week when I see the endocrinologist to find out whether I am type 1 or 2. Currently, their best guess is that I am a type 1.5! (i.e I am still producing some insulin, but not enough...)

It is all slightly overwhelming. I have to finger prick to check my blood sugar and inject insulin before every meal and before bed (and any other time I feel strange) and (biggest bummer of all), I have to count and restrict my carbohydrate intake... it's pretty depressing how small my portion sizes of anything that tastes good will now have to be! But at least they are not saying I have to cut fun foods out altogether!

My last blood sugar reading was 126 - which is great. I am still feeling the effects of my roller-coaster blood sugar ride - fatigue, blurred vision and tingling in my feet and fingers, but apparently these symptoms will improve over the next few days.

My Mum is (yet again!) jumping on a plane to come out and look after her little girl. She arrives on Sunday - so will overlap for a few hours with Ed's Dad - and will stay for at least 6 weeks. I am SO grateful to her and my wonderful Dad for being prepared to drop everything and come out. I really need her now since the work of monitoring and stabilising my blood sugar will take a while - on top of caring for my delicious (but demanding!) newborn son!

God is good. Amazingly, through this I have been able to trust Him and not get angry that yet another thing has 'gone wrong'. Maybe I am (at long last) learning to accept HIS will, even if it doesn't agree with my own!

Annus Horribilis, Chapter 6: Diabetes

2010-07-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so, Nicci had been thirstier than she had ever been before. She would be drinking about 7 litres of fluid a day and still be thirsty. She had also lost about 20 lbs in weight in 2/3 weeks. We had put this down to breastfeeding, and fatigue, and the hot weather... but as Nicci was discussing it with some friends on Wednesday evening, Taylor Buzzard (soon-to-be-mother-of-three) said perhaps a visit to the doctor would be wise: some weight loss might be expected when breastfeeding, but not 20 lbs!

While the doctor agreed the symptoms were concerning, she didn't think it was anything overly serious but did order a precautionary 'fasting' blood test to check blood sugar levels. Nicci took the test on Saturday morning as Dad and I waited in the car with Daniel before she dropped us off at the train station for our day trip into San Francisco and Alcatraz!

(Dad arrived on Tuesday evening last week and is with us for about 2 weeks. It is great for him to be able to meet Daniel for the first time, and for three generations of Gilchrist men to hang out together).

While Dad and I were in the city all day, Nicci went off with Daniel to our friends Vic and Briana Ishida's baby shower, (their daughter is due in a couple of months), which was up in San Bruno (about 14 miles north of us up the freeway), and then later to a girls' hang-out (where Daniel showed himself to be a true ladies man in the making) at Caitlin Arnold's house in Mountain View, which is 19 miles south of us down the freeway). There were times during the day when Nicci felt a bit dizzy - but pushed on through, spending quite a bit of time at the wheel alone in the car with Daniel in the back.

We all met up back at home again at about 9.30pm and settled Daniel down and were getting ready for bed ourselves when at 11pm our doctor called, having got the results of Nicci's earlier blood work. Her fasting blood sugar levels were at 320mg (normal being more like 100-120mg). She said we should get her to A&E and that it was a miracle she hadn't passed out behind the wheel during the day.

So I took Nicci back down to Stanford where she had her blood tested again. Her initial reading was off the scale of the litle pin-prick machine they used (it just said > 500mg), so they drew some more blood and found her to be at 920mg!! They hooked her up to an IV drip to re-hydrate her. One doctor said that it was likely she was 6 or 7 litres low on fluids (no wonder she had been so thirsty) and again, everyone couldn't believe that she had WALKED into the emergency room given her astronomically high blood sugar levels. This was all happening between midnight and 2am on Saturday night / Sunday morning.

Brief interlude here to say that, while it's natural to keep score of the catalogue of things that 'gone wrong' in the last 12 months, it is a better discipline to count our blessings. What amazing timing that this should happen while Dad was staying with us so he could stay at home with Daniel! Just like it was amazing timing that Nicci's parents were with us when she had that heavy bleed during pregnancy and was put on strict bed-rest. God is good, not only that we had a keen and able baby-sitter on hand - but also for keeping Nicci from passing out during a busy day when I was not with her, (and also just because he IS!!). Anyway, back to the small hours of Sunday morning....

Nicci had been hooked into the IV line and lying on a bed out in the corridor as it was fairly busy in A&E. Being a Saturday night, added to the those coming in with more 'domestic' complaints were people being treated for wounds sustained during pub brawls etc! One guy walked past us who looked like he had come off worst in his particular punch-up...

By the time Nicci was being hooked up to her third bag of fluids we were wheeled out of the corridor and into a room between an elderly lady who had had a fall and someone else whose complaint I don't recall.

By now, they knew it was Diabetes and they started giving her insulin, and constant fluid replenishment. I left Nicci in their capable hands and got home at about 3.15am to find Daniel sleeping peacefully. He woke up for a feed at 4am and then slept through until about 9-ish. We had been led to expect that Nicci would be discharged on Sunday morning, so I insisted Dad should continue with his plan to go on from his visit to some Russian Orthodox friends in Modesto and head out to see Yosemite. Having seen our photos, Dad was keen to see the awesome landscape for himself...

Nicci had suggested that I call the pediatrician to inform them of Nicci's diabetes and to ask whether it was of any relevance, or hand any knock-on implications for Daniel.... Daniel looked fine, but the nurse on the other end of the phone said I should bring him in as I'd said he'd been pretty sleepy. I needn't have bothered. In the doctor's surgery he was Mr. Perky-perky, all smiles and flatulence and the doctor said he looked and sounded great. They weighed him, and he's now 13 lb 8 oz - just half a pound away from the 1 stone threshold! What a Belter!

From there I went and picked up Heather Lux, a friend of ours who had very kindly offered to help me fix some things together for Nicci, whose stay in hospital we now realised was going to be longer than we had first anticipated, and to look after Daniel while I went in and delivered them. Nicci was able to leave her room and come down to an outdoor patio area in the hospital and meet us all there. It was a lovely tearful reunion of mother and child. Nicci was able to relieve some breast-pressure and give Daniel a good ol' fresh-from-the-source feed. (While Nicci has been in hospital I've been using some of the frozen stuff we'd collected over the last couple of months, which he's been taking without too much fuss - but he does prefer the fresh-stuff.)

The doctors had been having a hard time stabilising Nicci's blood sugar - she had responded well to the insulin, but her levels went the other way such that she became 'hypoglycemic' with low blood sugar levels. So they needed to give her some sugar, which then sent her high again... I trust we are zero'ing in on the right doses etc as we come to land on the right balance with the accuracy of a lazy mosquito.

With these wildly fluctuating levels (but mostly still high at around 400mg), the walk to the patio area and the breastfeed kind of took it out of Nicci, so Heather took Daniel back to the car and I took Nicci back to her room and bed. As I was walking back I got a text from Dad, who had just got himself a mobile phone-on-the-go so he could be in contact. When he heard that Nicci was to be staying longer in hospital he immediately ditched his plans, turned the car around and away from the direction of Yosemite and came straight back. What a great man! It has been amazing having him here.

When I got home, having dropped Heather back to her place, I put Daniel down and tied up a bit before he woke up for another feed. The doorbell rang and it was Caitlin who, unexpectedly, had been to a Thai take-out place and had got us dinner. What a great friend! Once again, the arms of God's love are being extended to us through those of his people. God is good. And we are hugely grateful to those dear friends back home in Arborfield and Barkham who have been praying since they heard the news via Colonel Bruce.

When Dad arrived home we went in convoy to the car rental office to return his car, and then came home to eat the delicious Thai food that the Arnolds had generously provided. And then to bed....

Daniel is awesome. He fed before we all turned in at about 10.30pm, and slept through until 4am when gladly took a good amount from the bottle and didn't make a fuss in being put down again, whereby he slept through again until 7.15am. Having had a lot of close-up time feeding him in the last couple of days I am seeing that he really has Nicci's eyes - which makes me love him even more, if that were possible!

Having fed him, I left him with Dad and went to check in on Nicci at the hospital. I arrived as the Doctor was explaining various bits and pieces about what's next etc, and how they hope to discharge her later this afternoon :-) Then the Diabetes specialist arrived and presented Nicci with her new toy: a blood sugar measurer. Nicci immediately warmed to this woman when she saw that she had picked her out a pink one. So finger-pricking is to be a feature of at least the next few weeks, if not the rest of her life!

Nicci remains in amazingly high spirits, although is still feeling the dizzy-ing effects of her continuingly fluctuating blood levels. We were both encouraged by what had been reading in the Bible this morning: Nicci was in Psalm 73: "25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." I was in 2 Corinthians 1: "For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." In God we trust! And we are so grateful for the help of your prayers!

It remains to be seen whether Nicci will indeed be released this evening, but it's great to have Dad to look after Daniel while I do all the stuff that's going on at work - it's our big financial reporting day, following our most recent internal financial re-forecast. From what I hear, all is well at home. I'm heading back there now to check in on things, and hope to have some good news from the hospital soon....

2010-07-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had another eye check-up. Daniel was very brave (as usual) as the nasty doctor prodded and shone bright lights in his eyes. He's such a trooper (Daniel, that is, not the doctor!).

The good news is that Daniel's right eye is almost completely 'mature', with only a small area of 'immature', and his left eye is about 1/2 immature/mature... no retinopathy! All good news!

So we are starting the weaning process on the oxygen! Yesterday he spent about 3 hours in total off the cannula - which he absolutely LOVED!

So, here is the first photo of our boy with a naked face (it was towards the end of his time off the cannula - he had been smiling, but by the time I thought to take a photo he'd had enough and would only give me a grumpy face!) Now you can appreciate those chubby cheeks in their full splendour! Roll on the day when we can free him from facial stickers for good!

2010-07-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

Daniel, at the end of a hard days hiking in Yosemite!

2010-07-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

We have just had THE most LOVELY few days away as a family in Yosemite! The FIRST Gilchrist family holiday!!! The sun was shining, the scenery was breath-taking and (the only down-side), the mosquitos were biting! (I counted 55 bites this morning and Ed had over 30 just below the knee! Yikes!). Thankfully, the bears weren't around to try...

Daniel is now hardly coughing at all. He has fought off his first cold admirably - AND, because he was slightly under the weather, he was sleepier than usual, meaning he was perfectly content to be snuggled close to his Daddy in our 'Ergo carrier' for most of the day while we enjoyed the awesome scenery of Yosemite! It could not have worked out better - if he'd been his usual, perky self, we would not have been able to do half the walks we were able to do AND it means his immune system has had a bit of a work out - The Lord knows better than we do what we need! We just need to learn to trust!

We travelled up late on Thursday and arrived after dark. Friday morning we had a lazy morning and then headed into the Yosemite valley for a delicious lunch at the famous Ahwahnee hotel, followed by a short walk up to see the lower Yosemite falls... an easy day to start us off...

On Saturday, we enjoyed a lovely lie-in and then headed into the valley again for a 10 mile walk around the Yosemite valley. The sheer cliffs rising vertically all around, the cascading waterfalls, the wide meandering rivers and the lush green meadows were an absolute treat to see. The only significant bummer was that the mosquitos were enjoying the scenery too and obviously had not fed in quite some time! The Gilchrists provided them with breakfast, lunch and dinner (thankfully, they did not seem interested in eating Daniel - a mystery, since he's clearly the tastiest of the 3 of us!). There are some pretty fat mozzis in the Yosemite valley right now! We ended the day in the hot tub at our accommodation while Daniel had a nap - SUCH a treat to ease aching muscles!

On Sunday, we caught the early bus up to Glacier point and from there (at an altitude of 8000ft) we were able to look down on the valley and all the magnificent rock formations... we then spent the day hiking down into the valley - an 8.5 mile trek. Hot, hard but TOTALLY worth it! The scenery was absolutely breath-taking. As we passed other walkers, people kept exclaiming "it's a baby!" - they couldn't believe that we had been able to bring Daniel with us all that way - but he was as good as gold. He only cried when he got hungry - and then we stopped and found a shady spot for a breast-feed. For the rest of the time, he mostly slept or looked around, taking everything in from the safety of his pouch next to Daddy's chest - baby bliss! It was a magical day.

When we reached the valley, we realised that the rest of the world had come to Yosemite (it was the July 4th weekend!) and decided that travelling back today (which is what we had planned) would be horrific. So we packed up and left at about 9pm. Daniel slept the whole way home. We had a clear run home and we are now enjoying a lazy family day at home - catching up on the Wimbledon Semis and finals... poor old Murray!

2010-07-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

God is good! Although Daniel's cough did get worse yesterday, it improved overnight and has never gone down to his chest. The doctors have checked his saturation levels and he's sat-ing at 98%. Although a little bit snuffly, his nose has never got blocked - so he's been able to breath; and he seems to be fighting this cold admirably!

This morning we were given the go-ahead to go to Yosemite by the pediatrician.

Thank you for your prayers. It's been a lesson in trusting even when things haven't gone exactly as planned. Now pray that he doesn't get eaten by a bear in Yosemite!

2010-06-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know how (since I've not really been anywhere in public), but I have caught a cold. I felt exhausted all weekend, but put it down to cumulative sleep deprivation... then on Monday I started feeling ill and it developed into a full blown cold yesterday.

As soon as I realised I was getting sick, I started praying without ceasing that Daniel would be protected... but during last night he started coughing...

Protecting him from infection is THE one thing we were told we needed to do... so we are feeling pretty desperate... he doesn't have a fever and the coughing is intermittent, but we would really value prayer right now...

Also, we had booked to go away for a long weekend to Yosemite this weekend... we're going to seek the pediatrician's advice this morning - but we're preparing ourselves since we are guessing it is likely they will not think it's a good idea to take Daniel too far away if he's coming down with something...

It's a challenge to trust. I'm not sure we're managing it.

2010-06-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Ooooh - and an exciting update (for me!)... Daniel has now done 4 nights in a row where he has only woken up ONCE during the night! Wahhhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Here are some more cute photos of our uber-hunk-in-the-making!

2010-06-23T11:30:00.001-07:00

It's taken a while for me to get round to posting it, but this what Saturday morning lie-ins now look like...

Things are going well... at the pediatricians on Tuesday, we discovered that Daniel is now tracking on the low end of normal for his weight compared to FULL TERM babies born on Feb 8th! He's growing fantastically well and is already catching up with his full-term peers!

He coped for 1/2 an hour yesterday, at the respiratory clinic, without oxygen. He kept his saturation level between 93 and 98%, which means that his lungs are doing great - if it wasn't for his eyes needing almost 100% oxygen, we could start to wean straight away... as it is, it's likely he'll be on oxygen for another month or so... humph.

We've had the joy of some great friends of ours visiting over this past weekend. The Carters are old friends from University days who now live in New Zealand. We're God-parents for Tim (their oldest son) and they arranged to stop off in SFO for a few days on their way home to England for a Europe trip... it was LOVELY seeing them all!

2010-06-12T08:47:00.001-07:00

Apologies for the paucity of blog posts over the past week or so, we have been having fun with Ed's sister, Emily staying with us!

Daniel is LOVING getting to know his Aunty Frim. He's been to the beach and a restaurant for the first time, which he seemed to enjoy, and he has been thriving on all the extra cuddles! It's all been so exciting for him - he's been awake a lot more during the day and (to his Mummy's utter delight), he has been SLEEPING better during the night! Wahoooooooooo!

In honour of England's first World cup match against the USA, Daniel has been proudly sporting his 'Daddy's little dribbler' top! So sweet!

2010-05-31T17:07:00.001-07:00

Daniel and I are loving having Ed back with us (he had to be away in the UK for a very brief visit with work last week, but got back yesterday)... although, for Daniel, the excitement of having Daddy back was just too much and he consequently decided he'd rather scream than sleep last night - oh the joys of parenthood!

Anyway, the camera is now back in the country and so I thought I'd upload some cute photos we took while waiting for the pediatrician last Monday...

Isn't he GORGEOUS?!!!

2010-05-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

We are LOVING being parents! And Daniel is doing really well... he weighed 8lb 8oz at the pediatricien appointment on Monday - so he gained 10oz in his first week! Pretty good going!

His eyes looked as though they had improved at the appointment on Tuesday, so hopefully that improvement will continue in the weeks ahead... it is looking more and more likely that he will not need the laser surgery to correct them! Wahoo!

And he is SLEEPING really well!

Ed is back in the UK for a 4 day trip with work, so we are both missing him lots - Daniel has consistently slept 10.30 - 3.30am and then 3.30 - 6.30am since he got home from hospital... but on the first night Ed was away, Daniel did not go to sleep until 1am! (grrrr!) Proof positive that he was missing his Daddy! I am glad to say that last night he seemed to have gotten used to his Daddy being away and was back to his old sleeping pattern!

Ed has taken the camera with all the recent photos on it with him back to England, so i'm afraid you'll have to wait for more photos of our little man... rest assured though, he is STILL completely GORGEOUS!!!

2010-05-19T14:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we're into our 4th day of being full-time parents... and so far, we are LOVING it!!!

We have had projectile sick (it literally travelled 1.5 metres, soaking everything in it's path - pretty impressive!), fountain-esk pee and explosive poo in the bath (my wonderful husband did the clean up after that one - he's fantastic), and the sound of wind from either end is constantly with us... but it's WONDERFUL!!!

The Gilchrist's, having done getting pregnant, pregnancy and the first 3 months in about the most difficult way we could, seem at last to have hit a stage that seems easier than expected. He really is the most perfect baby. He sleeps for 4 - 5 hours between feedings - even through the night, and he really only cries when there is genuinely something wrong... He is a complete joy and he seems to be loving being home!

Hope you enjoy a few photos from his first few days living with his doting parents!

Homecoming - Part 3

2010-05-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

Daniel has moved out of the hospital and his new address is at home with us! So much thanks to all of you who have prayed with us for this momentous event!

As you can see, he's still needing some oxygen and will do for probably 2-3 months. But he no longer has wires stuck to him, and we no longer have the comfort of those machines telling us all is well. It's parental instinct from now on!

We've had our first car journey as a family, which Daniel slept through. We've had our first family lunch, which Daniel slept through. We've had our first Skype call with his maternal grandparents and then it was his first feed at home. And next it will be his first nappy change at home. It's all new and totally wonderful. And I have a week off work to enjoy it all. Our plan this week is to look at him. We'll be happy with that - no chance of getting bored. He's amazing!

Why am I typing when I could be looking at him? I'm off - catch you later!

Homecoming - Part 2

2010-05-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

Daniel is indahouse!!

Homecoming - Part 1

2010-05-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

May 15th, 2010. Unless something unforeseen should prevent it, today is the day we get to bring our boy home!! We'll be going in shortly, and then we'll be driving away with our Belter in the back seat of the car! We can't wait - we'll update later with photos!

2010-05-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

My son now weighs a whopping 7lbs, and he has multiple chins to prove it. Unfortunately I've been kept from seeing him for the last couple of days as I've had a cough. I'm off to Salt Lake City for work today and return late on Thursday, and Nicci is going to spend a full 48hrs at the hospital to be on-hand for feeding. Yesterday morning Charlie, the boy in the next crib along from Daniel, moved from scheduled feeding to 'ad-lib' feeding. On overhearing this news, Daniel promptly pulled out the gavage tube from his nose, and so the nurses decided to let Daniel have a go at ad-lib feeding too. THAT's my boy...!! Hopefully he does well. Oh, and today we get the results of his (routine) MRI scan that he had last night. There's nothing in his behaviour that suggests he has anything at all wrong with his brain, and hopefully these results will underline that. Daniel is very excited that his aunt has booked to come out to see him in just 3 1/2 weeks. Hooray!!

2010-05-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

It was Mother's day, or 'Mom/Mommy's' day' in the USA yesterday... I have nothing against the American 'Mom/Mommy' - it's kinda cute, but it's just not me... I am a 'Mum/Mummy' at heart(although I don't mind the occasional cute item of clothing for my son with a 'Mommy' message on the front!) - and so Daniel had to work pretty hard to try and ensure his Mummy got a card with the correct (!) spelling on it!

He did BRILLIANTLY (with a little help from his Dad!)...

I arrived at the hospital before church - and there was my boy, in his swing, dressed in a little outfit saying 'I love my Mummy' - and there was a card 'To my Mummy' lying on his chest... SO cute!

At first I thought the nurses had excelled themselves - but then I noticed the look of glee in my husband's eyes and knew that he had plotted it all himself! He'd surreptitiously dropped it all off with the nurses the day before with instructions about what to do... it was a LOVELY surprise!

It was the first Mother's day service I had been to since the boys were born. In my heart I was praising and thanking God that I am now a Mummy after all those painful years of waiting when Mother's day services were a real source of pain. I will never forget those years and my heart goes out to all my precious childless sisters who still continue to struggle with infertility or unwanted singleness... I love you, ladies. You're on a painful road, but the Lord is with you... throughout the bible He seems to have a special purpose for infertile women!

2010-05-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

The latest on the little man you're all most interested to hear about is that he is a greedy guts! Honestly! He is considered to have had a 'full feed' if he takes 58ml... this morning he took 92ml and then had to be given a dummy (or 'pacifier'), because he was still desperate to suck!

It was very funny actually, because he was clearly uncomfortably full - and the expression on his face was exactly the face we all feel like making after Christmas-dinner-over-indulgence, only we're too polite to let it show!

After writhing around for about 10 minutes, he did THE most enormous, explosive poo (they heard it from the other side of the nursery!) and then looked very pleased with himself as he continued to try and suck on anything that came within sucking distance! And then, about an hour later, he took a FURTHER 24ml! (this was a momentous event since he's never yet had the energy to stay awake for 2 consecutive feeds).

I have left him to try and get him to go to sleep! We'll see whether he's still keen to suck when Ed and I go back to the hospital for the 6.30pm feed!

He was looking super-cute this morning in an outfit my friend Heather got for him... doesn't he just make you melt inside?!

2010-05-06T08:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's possible I was a bit hormonal when I had my hair cut... the hairdresser HAD styled it to look like a mushroom cloud explosion, but this morning I washed and styled it myself, and I have to admit - it's really not that bad, in fact, I kinda like it!

Thankfully I have a man who loves me enough to laugh at my craziness... a lesser man may well have been pushed over the edge by my recent diva-esque behaviour over the hair disasterama!

Thanks for the concern people! It looks as though it's going to be ok! Pheweeeeeeeeeeee!!!

2010-05-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day of joy mixed with sadness...

Daniel is doing GREAT - he had another eye exam and it looks as though the retinopathy has improved, so that both eyes are now only stage 1 again - which is fantastic news! He was pretty wiped out for most of the day after having his eyes done, but then he woke up for his 6.30pm feed - and took a whopping 74ml from the breast (to put that in context, the maximum feed he is supposed to take for his size is 58ml!)... One thing that Gilchrists do well is EAT!!!

Having not had my hair cut since October (!), I decided to treat myself to an afternoon at the salon... I was enjoying having long hair again and really only wanted it trimmed, with a bit of style added... what I got was a MONSTROSITY... honestly, it is THE worst hair cut I have ever had. I am ashamed to say that tears have been flowing and I have behaved quite childishly over something which, in the long run is really not important... obviously the Lord has work to do when it comes to my vanity! Hey Ho, looks like I'll be wearing my hair in a ponytail for the next few months! The really galling thing was that it was probably the most expensive hair cut I've ever had too... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

2010-05-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so let me tell you about my BABY SHOWER!!! To all you Brits out there - we NEED to make sure this tradition makes it across the pond! Oh my! It was WONDERFUL!!!

Two of my lovely friends from the 20's ministry (Caitlin and Mandy), hosted it for me... they did a fantastic job (although I guess I've never been to any others, so I wouldn't know (!) - but I can't imagine it being any better!)...

Caitlin's parents-in-law very kindly opened up their home to host the shower - and it was a wonderful venue. When I arrived I was greeted by the sight of a large table laden with presents, another table laden with delicious food (thanks to ALL those who provided it - DELICIOUS!) and drinks, there were 'baby boy' mints in a bowl and flowers and ribbon... it all looked gorgeous!
We mingled (a lovely chance to catch up with the special friends I have made out here - I have slipped off the social grid in recent months, what with bed rest and hospital visiting) and played some great games - list 'baby things' beginning with every letter of the alphabet (Nancy - I think, if 'kisses' was allowed for 'K' (honestly, Darcy!), then really, hiccoughs should have been allowed for 'H' - you were the rightful winner!) and a baby quiz (I was SO rubbish at that!) and then, the rest of the time was spent opening presents...

OH MY!!! Americans do generosity in a BIG way! (or maybe it's just that I have made friends with some of the loveliest Americans!)... I am still feeling slightly overwhelmed by the amount of gifts we received. Everyone was SO thoughtful and we have been given SO much lovely stuff for Daniel... I really can't believe it. THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo much!!!

This is the nursery as it looked when we had unloaded the car when I got home... there is literally NO room to walk - every available space is FILLED with presents! I can't WAIT to sort through it all and find homes for everything! SO exciting!

2010-05-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

When I say that Daniel is THE most gorgeous baby ever to have been born, I have to acknowledge that he now has some close competition... I became an AUNTY last Tuesday to beautiful little Ffion. She is utterly wonderful and I can't believe i'm going to have to wait so long to give her a cuddle! Congratulations to my Brother and Tahrina!

2010-05-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so before I get on to the REAL blog post I want to do (telling you all about my BABY SHOWER!!), let me first share some recent photos of the most gorgeous baby to have ever been born!

2010-05-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I should never have gloated. What Daniel just did was Eyjafjallajokull-esque and it was mine to deal with.

2010-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am writing from the IICN at Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital. I have commandeered one of the computers on wheels that they have here, and am hiding behind the screen used to protect my wife's modesty as she feeds our child because I'm sure these machines aren't here for patients' parents to update their blogs.

To my left, Daniel is tucking into his breakfast. On the menu today is breast milk, flavoured with last night's Afghan kebab, and perhaps this morning's scrambled eggs. Hmmmm. Nicci has Daniel like she were holding a rugby ball under her arm and sprinting for the try line, although the scene is a bit more sedate than a rugby match. Daniel is eyes-closed and concentrating. He's making some very cute breathing noises as he feeds, and he isn't choking: his 'numbers' all look good on the screen. He's making some not-so-cute noises from the other end, though I'm sure it's Nicci's turn to change his nappy...

Now Nicci is burping him. I've been calling him 'Belter' (like the nickname of the Daniel in the Bible), and apparently over here 'belting' has to do with burping, so the name is even more appropriate. His aunt would be very proud. It's wind from both ends right now. And now he's got the hiccoughs. He's amazing.

(The nurse-practitioner just came round behind the screen to listen to his chest. Busted. Although, I acted cool and behaved like this illicit use of hospital IT equipment was well within my rights and, as she didn't mention anything, I think we're in the clear.)

Breakfast was interrupted for an emergency nappy change. Wow. Thankfully, it was Nicci's turn. Because we need to monitor his intake of milk very closely, he is weighed before and after his feeds. The nappy change has necessitated a mid-feed weigh as well. I can tell you that his last stool represented 1% of his body weight.

He's now back on the breast and, 'oh no lookout' I think he's just cracked another one, and 'ah gee', it's my turn next.

The nurse practitioner was just back. I positioned myself in front of the computer, I'm sure she didn't notice. The news is:

No bradys or desats overnight. Good.
The amount he's taking with each feed is impressive and he's gaining weight. Good
He's being weaned off two of his meds. Good.
He's gorgeous. But we already knew that.

Marvellous. I'm off to spectate.

2010-04-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

This week Daniel has been attempting to feed directly from the breast. Until now it's been via a tube straight into the stomach (a gavage). Sucking, swallowing and breathing are quite a complicated combination of activities for a boy who should, by rights, still be a month away from being born. But Daniel has done remarkably well. He's meant to have around 40ml of milk every 3 hours, and on a number of occasions he's managed to take up to 26ml directly from the breast, which is a great effort. The remaining 14ml is delivered via the gavage. At times, quite possibly depending on what Nicci had for dinner the night before, Daniel has been less keen to engage. At times, he's forgotten to breath! Burping him is quite fun.

Nicci joined me on a jog this morning: her first run since coming off bed rest. She did really well. We went about 4 miles without stopping and at a reasonable pace. We're off to hospital now for the 9.30am feed. I wonder whether the curry we had for dinner last night (mmmm... curry!), or the lactic acid that may have built up from this morning's exercise, will add to the flavour of Nicci's milk?