Great Parking!

I've discovered that it can be quite difficult to find parking in the Westville Hospital precinct, especially during the holiday season and with seven births in a single day (and all the associated family members and friends wanting to view the new arrival from 7:15pm to 8pm).

One way to ensure you beat the masses and get yourself a parking is to take a left at the end of the road as you enter, just before the entrance. There are a bunch of covered parkings reserved for doctors and such, but right at the end there's a little gem for those that find it... Covered parkings reserved exclusively for "visiting anaesthetist" and "visiting doctors" - so as long as you intend to visit a doctor or anaesthetist you have your very own covered parking! I haven't been able to find any "visiting patient" spots but I guess they consider that to be any other parking since it's usually fairly obvious that's what you're doing at the hospital.

Use this pearl of knowledge only for good and especially if you're planning to visit our little one!

Christmas giving ... And Christmas taking

Amongst all the highs and lows of the past few days (details to follow), tonight I returned home around 9pm with Megan and Phil. Megan let herself into the flat while I was receiving a consoling hug and offer for coffee from Bruce. A few moments later Megan popped out of the front door and asked me if I had moved my new TV. A bit flummoxed by the question I gave a cautious "no?" back...

"Then I'm sorry to say this but I think you've been robbed..."

And sure enough; our home has been ransacked!!

I came in to find the lounge a bit sparser than usual and our bedroom completely ransacked with everything out of cupboards and junk piled onto our bed.

My friends mobilised quickly and soon I was supported by around ten buddies (thanks to Greg for phoning the police and Brian for reaching the in-laws). A special response unit comprising of three vehicles and about ten cops were here within ten minutes of reporting the crime. Thereafter another unit showed up to take my statement.

It looks like they gained entry via a well-levered pitch fork on the lounge window (after climbing up the wall to get onto the balcony - no lean feat). Later on that evening Steve and I did a reconaissance around the perimeter and find two strategically placed logs on the electric fence which no doubt has been causing it to short circuit (which no doubt has been causing the random power trips over the weekend). The prime suspect is now a plumbing service because of the location of the intrusion on the property and the apparent inside knowledge.

Megan must have interrupted the crooks because she came into the flat to hear a loud bang (but obliviously went to the 'loo). Amongst the losses are Kat's designed engagement ring (I'm most disappointed about this and ...), Kat's varsity purse with mementos of our relationship from first date to engagement, Kat's digital camera, Kat's work laptop, my XBOX 360, my controllers for said XBOX 360, bizarrely - some of my XBOX games (it's like they picked which ones they wanted), my electric razor and our new FHD 40" LCD TV.

Phil discovered the TV wrapped up on the balcony, as well as a single "Scene it: Box Office Smash" XBOX 360 buzzer.

Kat and Hope's departure clothes from hospital were emptied out of a bag and the bag was missing too. However, I later discovered the bag wedged behind the front door with a netbook inside (a customer's).

What further suggests we busted their party is the presence of my laptop, the MP3 CD player, my digital photo screen (stuck in a menu mode), and the 22" HD LCD monitor.

I'm relieved to see my memory tapes (of past life moments, including wedding and honeymoon) were intact, as well as Kat's wedding band and our ID documents. It appears whomever did the deed knew exactly where to go. They even took some junk food we were given as a gift for Christmas as well as some fruit (I think)!

Luck also favored me because that day I took my laptop, my camcorder, and Wes Martin's camera to hospital for conenience / safe-keeping and it's darn good I did that or else our captured memories of Hope would be lost (not to mention the fancy Kit).

Still, not nice timing to have to deal with this or go through it :(

Awesome times!

I've just had Kat's lunch. It was beef and gravy stew with rice. Not too bad actually. With beetroot salad. I feel quite well looked after so so far I'd recommend this place to any couple having a baby.

In fact, this hospital is so big - I've been exploring new corners I didn't even know existed and getting lost for hours down the dark deep corridors. It's totally whack.

I think maybe I should head back soon. I may have missed the action. But the lunch was worth it '-)

JUST KIDDING - nothing happening right now apart from hoping that we don't need to do a caesar. Kat is channel hopping on the TV and I'm trying to get some Zzzz's.

Congrats to Simon & Bronwyn Clur on the safe arrival of baby Jake - the latest Springbok rugby player!

This is SPINAL TAP!

Well, no, not quite. It's supposed to be spinal block, but even then that's not quite right anyway, but "this is epidural!" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

What an experience! This baby birthing thing isn't like in the movies! There's hours of waiting around, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, needing to haul up to 1st floor to use the 'loo and being asked to leave the room all the time! True, they served breakfast, but still - this isn't the Ritz. Two slices of toast, some jam and yoghurt, and a muffin. And to be asked to keep an eye on the drip bag! Such nerves! I think I should suggest more comfortable pillows and perhaps another bed for me to rest in next time.

Oh hang on, you want to know about Kat? Well, she's hanging in there just great. They've done the epidural, but they kind of forced it on her. I did the right husbandly thing and dug my heels in between the 6'6" Czeckoslovakian and Kat and made sure after several mini discussions to-and-fro that it was the best option at the time. The nursing staff kind of tried to defuse the tension but in the end after making absolutely sure that Kat was okay with it I let it proceed. I admit I was becoming a bit protective but I think they also realised without our consent they couldn't do anything.

Prior to the epidural they gave Kat an enema. Quite a simple procedure but it was obviously a unique experience. When they inserted a catheter (she's like a human pin-cushion - I haven't even mentioned the IV drip! Ok, so now I have...) it ruptured the waters so we are all good to go now.

ETA is now 4pm to 6pm. Dr. Czarnocki is still happy with everything so all systems are go!

Allow me to make In(tro)ductions

It's even more official now. Despite early concerns that our baby's heart rate was relatively low and that there was a lot more protein in Kat's urine sample, and the added implications towards a C-section, the doctor arrived all bright and cheery, checked out the readings and decided we are still good to go.

Turns out Hope's sleeping patterns were as Kat predicted and she started giving more favorable readings.

Dr. Czarnocki is a really great doctor - very smooth and friendly and always jovial. Really nice doctor to have available. He says in around 2 hours things should start to happen now that he's inserted The Gel.

The nursing staff says it's the right time to evict the passenger because bloods and vitals are showing signs for concern. The doc also made an observation to the nursing staff about our expecting chromosomal abnormalities but don't know if that had any relevance to the heart rate.

T-minus two hours...

The Long Walk to "Freedom"

That certainly is a misnomer this morning, by all accounts of experienced parents :)

Sadly, we weren't told to get pre-authorisation so now we have a slight pickle. Not a big pickle; more like a cocktail onion pickle rather than a spicy gherkin pickle. At any rate, I've secured Kat a private ward at extra cost (R1030 extra!!) but it's worth it, especially if we need some time together to adjust to any potential complications.

This is where it all happens!

This is going to be our home, for a while. May as well get comfortable I guess ;)

Less than twelve hours to go!

Yes! I know! So much so soon! So fast! So crazy!

Kat is at risk of pre-eclampsia, so we are moved forward to 4am Monday morning to induce labour! I feel so freaked out! We certainly aren't prepared but with all the friends and family supporting us at least we'll be somewhat ready!

Will keep you all posted as soon as there's something worth commenting on...

Kat and I are just trying to enjoy our final countdown now until life changes for us and our little family forever!

NINE WEEKS TO GO!!

The old adage "time flies" certainly is frighteningly true! I can't wait to meet my little girl, but at the same time I don't feel anywhere near ready to be an awesome dad (look at the pictures on the left to get my drift)!

63 more days until Friday, 31 December 2010.

Also, I noticed last week I made a funny - "final stretch". Haha, funny for me, not funny for Kat :(

TEN WEEKS TO GO!!

As of today there are officially TEN WEEKS to go until the Expected Due Date (EDD) of our little baby.

In other words; 70 days until Friday, 31 December 2010.

I suppose one could say the final stretch has commenced!

We can see clearly now...

... The trees are gone!

It's been a while since we've made any updates to this blog, and it's mostly because we've just been so busy!

Kat and I woke up early to the noise of chainsaws across the road. The school has decided to cut the loose (and shady) branches down, so now we have more sun, more heat, and more light. I did wonder this AM if perhaps Steve was on his bike again but luckily for him, it wasn't his fault I was woken up so early - this time :)

I suspect soon we will open our blog up again (ie. PUBLIC) and then we'll enjoy more activity. I suspect the idiots we were being harassed by have now moved on to greater exploits and other poor souls, so hopefully we've seen (and heard) the last of them... That is, apart from my dealings with them on the property front, where one hopes we can get all the disastrous heartache resolved, one way or the other, through the court-appointed administrator (next Friday is the appearance date)!

WHAT were we thinking??

Often there are moments in life that at the time seem so naturally innocent and hold no potential for problems or misunderstandings, but when looking back on those moments (usually with the benefit not only of hindsight but additional or alternative perspectives) we can see just how crazy we were and how close we actually came to being in some sort of trouble.

While revisiting some of our USA holiday pictures, I came across a couple that immediately upon first glance made me think of something a little deviant from the original "momentary context" of the pictures. 

When you look at these pictures, keep in mind our momentary context - it was freezing cold (like below zero), we were tired and excited tourists, and we were in the USA's capitol. What we forgot at the time was that fewer than two weeks earlier an attempted Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist tried to destroy a commercial passenger aircraft and subsequently the nation's DHS was on high alert. 

I'm quite surprised that we didn't land up in any trouble at the time, or at the very least, get some strange enquiries from the security forces around the capitol, but the pictures below reveal how suspicious we must have looked at the time...

Infiltrating Washington DC with our "gear".

Bryan-balah and Kat-zbalah in front of one of their targets, the Washington Monument.

(note the backpack with "gear" strapped over my right shoulder)

We saved the rabbit

Big news all ("new") Johnston fans! If we were living in the 1920's or 1930's and I proclaimed the words "The Rabbit Died", everyone would almost certainly understand what is going on in our lives. You see, back in those days there was a "Rabbit test" to test for certain conditions - take the lady's urine, inject it in some poor unsuspecting rabbit, and then cut the rabbit open and see what happened inside. The results would either indicate a positive or a negative result. 

Thankfully, our conscience is clear: modern medicine and advances in technology have empowered us to perform this test another, far less murderous way. In other words, we have still found out the same information, but we saved the rabbit. 

Oh yes: the result is positive.

Truth be told, we knew this information back around 17 April 2010, but Kat didn't want to spread the word until we had more clarity on things (apparently it's quite common amongst ladies). Well, when we finally obtained confirmation (and made it "out of the woods") a whole lot of extra stuff happened, and we've only slowly managed to recover from all of that - I'll certainly be posting more information as time goes on, but for now this post should actually have landed around 17 April 2010, so it's very late. Sorry!

Midlands getaway

We're here! Bacon Vleis, or as they call it, Beacons Vlei.

Really nice. We're in the cheaper B&B room, but no-one else is here so it's pretty much our house :)

We score cheaper rooms WITH breakfast so we can now use the savings to buy dinner :)

New blog layout

Bryan here. I've just made a template update to the blog; hopefully the new blogger template editor will inspire Kat to finally get more hands-on with the blog, but for now, I've been doodling. What do you think? :)

The old blog looked like this:

Which do you prefer?