Two Months Already

Christopher is two months old today! Time certainly is flying! Knowing he's the last, I'm trying to appreciate all of the little things he does, I hold him as much as possible (not that much with 3 demanding older sisters) and fortunately his happy hour meltdown, which extends well past bedtime, is not nearly as stressful as it was with the girls. Maybe because I know he'll outgrow it soon enough and there's really nothing that can stop it, all I can do is hold him and comfort him until he works through it!

I do however need to work on my patience with the girls. With so much energy going towards the little amir, I've been a little short with the girls. Even Julianne in her new found language has picked up Molly's phrase "You're being mean!" Of course Molly informed me that they were studying bullying at school, so she knows all about them, and I need to stop being a bully! How do I explain the difference between parenting and bullying? I guess in the eyes of a four year old, there might not be much difference. I probably need to change my approach.

This is the last week of school before the holiday break, which will certainly be a challenge having all four home all day for three weeks! But we'll find ways to tire them out ;)
Caroline and Molly got their report cards yesterday, no surprise that they're both daydreamers, but like Uncle Buck says "I don't think I want to know a six-year-old who isn't a dreamer, or a sillyheart!"   There were plenty of positive things in their reports, overall, they're doing great.

Giving Birth in Q8 - The People

We had our first glimpse of what a culture shock we were in for at an appointment about a month before McLovin arrived. As we walked into the hospital, we witnessed a bellhop loading an entire cart of oversized balloon and flower arrangements, a huge set of frilly bedding, luggage and gift bags into a mustang. But where will the baby go, you ask? Certainly not in a car seat! They don't believe in those here (another day, another blog!)

The hospital rooms are designed to be reception areas, so the Kuwaiti's receive their guests, usually starting mid-afternoon and lasting until the wee hours of the morning. Family and friends come to celebrate the birth of the new child, including young children who are ignored and left to run the halls, breaking dishes and keeping others awake! We called security three times one night for a trio of 12 year olds that kept banging on our door. Their parents were visiting someone on another wing and had no clue what was going on! ANYWAY, as Eric observed, the abayas were 3-4 deep in some rooms, drinking tea and chatting away, while the men walked the halls and twirled their prayer beads. The baby was left to rest in the nursery. Granted they could watch the sleeping newborn on their tv, there's a camera for each room that views your child in the nursery. Pretty cool, but we chose to actually hold our kid!

The baby carts simply have the tub and the baby, no blankets, shirts, hats, diapers or wipes that we're used to. They bring in fluffy blankets and outfits themselves (we had to send Dad home to get Bubba some outfits!) The nurses (everyone calls them Sisters) were confused when Eric requested a diaper and some wipes. "We'll clean him up sir and bring him back!" Eric "It's ok, he's the fourth, I've changed a few diapers, I don't mind." "But sir, we'll clean him." This went back and forth until Eric eventually followed them to the nurses station and got what he needed!
The focus is definitely on the mother, not the child, at the hospital. I was given a free massage a few days after the surgery that was wonderful! I could have requested the in-house hair stylist and makeup artist come in prior to the photographer, but we went with our own pictures.
Overall, I'm glad we stayed in Kuwait to have McLovin. I was a little nervous about having surgery in another country, so far from home. But everything turned out well and we got to experience something we'll never forget!

Giving Birth in Q8 - The Hospital

Several friends have asked me what it was like to have a baby here in Kuwait compared to the States. I figured if I write about it here, I'll remember months from now when I'm starting to recover from my zombie state!

Let's start with the hospital, Royal Hayat. It's new and beautiful and THE place in town to deliver. The suites are gorgeous. We had the Lily Suite, the smallest of choices, still larger than any of the rooms that had at Sibley in DC or Virginia Hospital Center.

When you enter the hospital, you find a concierge, a bellhop, a cafe and sometimes even a little japanese woman playing some string instrument. It's more of a luxury hotel lobby than a hospital. There are little juice and cookie stations everywhere (to help keep the diabetes clinic in business no doubt!) and everyone is anxious to serve you.

Medically speaking, Christopher's birth was similar to my previous c-sections. The doctors and nurses were great throughout the procedure. No real surprises except they will remove your toenail polish prior to surgery! This is so they can see that the nail beds are the right color, or so the nurse told me. I was a little annoyed at that, knowing I wouldn't be able to reach my toes for a bit or be in any condition to return to the 'saloon' to have a fresh pedicure! (All salons are called saloons here.)

The food was amazing! The presentation even better! They made the clear diet look fancy!

The food was delivered in room service style, with the hot food in a food warmer so if you wanted to wait awhile, your perfectly cooked eggs wouldn't turn to rubber! Once I graduated from the clear diet, I was able to order from a very extensive menu, including steak, seafood and the best mushroom soup I've ever tasted! 

If you're curious enough to want to see more pictures, here's the site. It also has a taste of my next post, the cultural differences of having a baby in Kuwait versus the US. http://www.royalehayat.com/

Now we are six!

The newest member of the Ros family, Christopher Stewart.

Last Wednesday we welcomed Christopher into our family, yes we finally managed a boy! Poor thing! His sisters have done well with the transition so far, but the newness has yet to wear off. Julianne is enamored with him, constantly wanting to know where he is, and as soon as she finds him, she'll point her little finger at him and whisper "bebe!" She gets a little jealous when other people hold him and wants to give him lots of bear hugs! Molly helped bring him home from the hospital and very proudly helped with all of her assigned duties. And Caroline has yet to notice that he's here! Not really. She's taking everything in stride, helping when asked, especially with Julianne, and gives lots of little kisses to Christopher when she passes by.
We brought him home yesterday morning, and by the afternoon, both Eric and I had the tired look of "My God, what have we done" on our faces.
We have now begun what Eric refers to as Operation Tire Out the Cuckoos! Right now, we have a great 1:1 ratio with Bob here and Eric on paternity leave, but I sense our mission will become Operation Try to Outlast the Cuckoos very soon! 

They might be heading your way!

We had a fun week, despite a round of colds that is still slightly lingering. Although last night we had some excitement. Eric and I were both in the office late in the day, which I generally try to avoid as it's the girls' bewitching hour. BUT I had to contact some people in DC for work and for that we have to wait until at least 4:30 our time.

Eric and I both got home around 5:30 to find Caroline and Molly packing. They were running away. I probably should have at least pretended to be upset by their departure, but I laughed and found it very amusing. I can remember "running away" myself when I was little, I wrote up a goodbye letter and sat on the front porch until I got tired of waiting for someone to notice, then I went back in and threw away the letter and that was the end of that.

So we have put the following together, Imelda was trying to start dinner, not easy with 3 cuckoos also demanding your attention. And the girls were playing in their play kitchen next to the real kitchen. I'm guessing they weren't exactly quiet and she probably asked them to play in another room, that part is a little sketchy. So they decided to move the play kitchen to the living room. Makes sense, but no. Imelda put a stop to it and that was not what the girls wanted to hear.

So they went upstairs to pack. They each had a shoebox, filled with their favorite stuffed friends and Molly drew a map and Caroline wrote the following letter:

Bye for ever and ever. By your friend Caroline and Molly. We have left.

When we asked where they planned to go, Molly answered "Back to the Oakwood!" Yeah, cuz that was fun!! And Caroline answered "To the Dead Sea!" We've been talking about our upcoming trips when the grandparents obviously.

So this is what we have to look forward to with 3 drama princesses!

A new year, a new promise to blog!

Once again, I'm resolving to blog more. I'm sure this will fizzle, possibly quicker than my resolution to eat healthier and exercise more. But I'm going to try.

We have a new addition to the family, Ms. Imelda! After two months of anxious anticipation, she came to us the day before Thanksgiving, and boy have we been thankful for her! She got here just in time for the holiday madness and has been amazing. The girls adore her, although she is strict when necessary with them. Julianne lunges to be in her arms, Molly enjoys helping her in the kitchen (but she still doesn't eat anything!) and Caroline has never ending questions for her.

She's introduced us to lots of new, yummy foods and has brought a sense of relief. Our mornings are not as crazy getting ready for school, I can work without the stress of getting home in time to get a sitter home, and Eric and I have been able to spend more time with Caroline and Molly, doing fun things, knowing Julianne is being loved and cared for.

We took the big girls to see The Princess and The Frog this past weekend. It was our first movie experience here in Kuwait. The theater was nice, new, clean. Kind of pricey, but it's not something we do a lot, so we splurged. When you buy your ticket, you have to pick a seat, like a concert, and they have a family section and a bachelor section.

We were told they do cut certain scenes to meet the local standards, but I didn't think a Disney cartoon would be subjected to much, it's a kids movie!

WRONG!! There were at least 4-5 scenes cut, not with any skill either, just a blunt out and then back in. And of course they cut the big one when the princess kisses the frog! Kind of key to the story line, but our girls didn't seem to notice or be bothered by it too much.

Everything is an adventure here!

First Day of School, Part 2

This past week was Molly's turn to start school...FINALLY! She's been watching Caroline get on the bus everyday for the last few months and wondering when she'll get to go! So last Tuesday, Caroline, Molly and myself (I have to ride due to her age) loaded up and rode to school. We're still getting used to our new routine and having to get 3 of us out the door by 6:30, but it's coming along!

We arrived at the school and Molly took off leaving me with Caroline, who wanted me to walk her to class ;) I explained that I was there for Molly's first day, just like I did with her on her first day and that she needed to go and find her friends. I turned and Molly was already on the playground making friends and having a great time. She only found me when she needed to find the potty!

Of course the day was not as easy for me watching my little one run off without a second thought! I'm thrilled at her confidence and enthusiasm, but sad to lose my buddy from the last 3 and a half years! Although, Julianne has filled her shoes well. We're getting some uninterrupted time together and lots of giggles!

We also had a couple of Halloween activities over the weekend. Here's the 4 Ros fairies! We had games, a haunted house and trick or treating here at the embassy followed by a campout on the lawn! To be honest, I didn't think the girls and Eric would last until midnight, but they proved me wrong and only when the flies came out at dawn to they come back to the comforts of the house! Then the girls' school had another Halloween party last night with lots of games, candy and fun! Needless to say, we're off to a tired start this week!