Our Little Pumpkin

Trick or treat................well forget the trick, but here's a nice treat for you all, some pictures of Joshua in his Halloween outfit.

PS: Back to work tomorrow as my 2 weeks paternity leave ends, how will I cope leaving my little boy for all that time???? Role on 4:15 for hometime............

Weekend Review

Joshua has had an eventful weekend. On Friday we went out for a walk testing out his baby carrier for the first time - he seemed very content and slept for the whole of the walk. Then on Saturday the little man has his first trip out in the car and we had a little wander around Basildon. He slept all the way and was as good as gold. Then today he has another midwife visit. The midwife was very pleased with his progress and said he was a very healthy baby and had subsequently signed him off.

The sleeping is still hard work. As you would expect he has no concept of day or night and often wakes up around 2-3am wide awake and wanting a play or some attention. But he is slowly settling into a routine and has even started to enjoy his bath time more.

The boy has two very distinctive traits coming out which he has obviously inherited from his parents. From me he has inherited a remarkable ability of self winding - and I don't mean burping!!!! Geez the boy has some flactuance, I put my hands up now and admit I am a beaten man, I cannot compete with him. From Tina his has inherited the ability to have a lazy morning lay-in. After his morning feed (around 7 to 7.30) he will happily snuggle up in bed with Tina and sleep for another 2-3 hours!

Anyway some more pictures for you to enjoy......

How on earth did Tina carry this lump around for 9 months?


Some quality time with Mummy....


And some cuddle time with Daddy....


A shoulder to cry on (well fall asleep at least!).....


Joshua's cool Next jeans and top bought by Lorraine and Duncan.


Slowly we are learning the art of swaddling (but he still wriggles his arms out!).

1 Week Old Today - Happy Birthday

Two milestones achieved today. Firstly baby Joshua is now 1 week old - who can believe just how quick that week has gone. The second milestone is that we finally got the chicken korma coloured poo!!!! Everyone has warned us about this, but I have to say I was pleased to see it as its a sign the digestive system as working and that he is getting good milk. Apart from that Joshua had some more visitors last night (see the pictures below).

Yesterday Joshua received his first piece of mail addressed to him which was a lovely outfit posted from Auntie Lorraine and Uncle Duncan. This was the first time I realised that in years to come, the little fellow will probably be opening all my mail as it will all be delivered to J.King!!! Doh! On the subject of outfits, how cute does little JJ look in this dolphin Hawaii shirt and trouser set which he is wearing today?

Welcome to the jungle.

Joshua is really settling down well now. Last night he had a feed at about 11.30pm and then we set him down, to our amazement he slept right through to 2.30am. This may not sound much, but 3 hours of undisturbed sleep was heaven after the previous nights. Then this morning Joshua and Tina both crashed from about 7.30 to 11.30am!

We had to wake the little boy as the midwife turned up just before lunch. She took some blood samples from his heal which he really didn't like that. Then she weighed the little fellow and he is now around 8lb 10oz which she said is well within the 10% weight drop they expect in the first week or so.

After the midwife left we dressed Joshua and then he was really alert so we had a wonderful hour and a half of play/learning time with the little boy. As you can see from the pictures he put on his combat trousers and entered into his little jungle play gym for the first time. PS The last file is my first attempt at putting a video file on the blog - hopefully it works.

Perfect D.N.A.

5 days old already..............and getting cuter everyday.

Not much spare time today so just a few nice pictures to show you all. Joshua is starting to settle down and everyday is exciting and enjoyable. To us he has changed so much in 5 days.

We must thank everyone so much for all the cards and gifts which Joshua has received. He is a very popular young man to say the least. I need to apologise to everyone as it is going to be real difficult to send specific thank you cards and remembering who all the gifts were from.

As you can imagine we have taken lots and lots of pictures of Joshua and this website only includes a small sample of those. If anyone would like the full size versions of any of these pictures (or any of the others) then just send us your e-mail address and I can e-mail them. Alternatively I am happy to print pictures off for anyone.

Life is full of "First's....."

Well the big news is that baby Joshua now has a belly button! Yes last night the chord came off which now makes the nappy changes a bit easier. Apart from that everything is a first right now.......... and here's just a few of them:

Cuddle with mummy:

First bath (in the hospital):
First ride in the car seat: First play in my bouncer chair:
First ride out in Joshua's new wheels:
First time Joshua slept in his Moses basket:
Joshua's first bath at home (one to show all them girlfriends in years to come):

Our First Family Picture

We three King's...............

Day 2 Visitors to see the new King.....

Joshua had another hectic day yesterday what with juggling sleeping, feeding, crying and pooing all with the photo shoots for more guests. Joshua is a beautiful little boy and for me its the small things which no photo can capture which really touch me. Things like feeling his little breath on your cheeks, having him grab your finger, his cute little sneezes or simply watching his eyes scan around as he studies his surroundings. Some people will be pleased to hear that he has now peed on me as well as been sick on me (the joys of fatherhood).

Joshua's First Visitors......

...........free kisses and cuddles for all (sorry if I have missed anyone out, but only got about 4 hours sleep last night!).

T Minus ZERO! Joshua is born....

Well just like his Dad, Junior (who shall forever now be known as Joshua Jason King) was extremely punctual arriving bang on his expected due date at 2:17am on 18th Oct 2007. Joshua also takes after his Dad in being a big lad and weighed in at a whopping 9lb 4oz (sorry Tina!).

Tina did absolutely amazing considering the size of the baby and the fact that her only pain relief was gas and air, plus the tens machine. It is heart wrenching to watch someone you love so much be in so much pain and to be so helpless at the same time. I may think I am big and tough but it brought me to tears and I can say hand on heart that there is no way I could have gone through what she did in the early hours of this morning.

Tina started getting contractions around 3pm on the 17th and her waters broke at around 4:15pm. By 5:15pm we were at the hospital and she was having extremely painful contractions every couple of minutes. So in total she was in labour for a good 8 hours plus. There were a few complications towards the end of the delivery due to Joshua's size and I am sure Mum will be very sore for sometime.

Joshua can consider himself to be an extremely lucky baby because it turned out the poor lad had a massive knot in his chord. If it wasn't for some drastic and fast acting measures taken by a wonderful midwife there would have been a high possibility of the knot tightening up during the delivery and potential being fatal for Joshua. That midwife earned every penny of her money last night. To make things even worse Joshua had also swallowed some meconium which made him a little sick (you will be pleased to hear that the first person he was sick all over was his DAD! - bless).

Anyway all is well now. Joshua seems very content and loves being handled and cuddled. Tina is recovering well although extremely tired. All being well the mother and baby will be able to come home tomorrow. Lots more pictures to follow............

T Minus 1 DAY & Counting

Well its now only 1 day until the due date…….my prediction of Tuesday 16th has now been and gone without any rumblings. I think the chances of me now racing in Gorton this Saturday are slim to none - nevermind the next race event is just over 6 weeks time. Knowing my luck Junior will decide to make an appearance this weekend resulting in me missing the Rugby World Cup, F1 Finale and UFC 77!!!!

Anyway no new pictures to share just yet, so as a bit of light hearted entertainment to pass the time, here is a trivia quiz for you all. All of the quotes below come from movies and include the word "baby" - can you name all the movies?

"The lady et gonna have a baby, she not can be moved for 24 hours, make it 12"
"Nobody puts baby in a corner"
"Yeah baby"
"Hasta la vista baby"
"Vegas, baby"
"A dingo ate my baby"
"Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead."
"You've got a baby....in a bar!?"
"You know how it is, baby. Rockin' and rollin' and whatnot."

T Minus 1 Week & Counting

Well we started counting down from 9 months, then 9 weeks and then this week we hit the 9 day countdown. It is now 1 week today until the due date so all I can say is roll on the 9 hour and then the 9 minute countdown! However as time ticks by and we get closer to the due date it is looking less and less likely that Junior wants Daddy to compete in the Oct 20th Gorton Grueller race. Unfortunately statistics are against me since only 5% of babies are born on their due date and a whopping 75% are born later. I am now open to suggestions and any old wives tales about how to speed up labour - the curry thing certainly didn't work, although it did give me a smelly back side that would challenge any new borns nappy for smell!

At 39 weeks the average baby should be about 51 centimetres long and will weight approximately 7.5 pounds. The amniotic fluid which was once clear will now be a pale and milky due to Junior shedding his/her vernix caseosa. The outer layers of skin will also be sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

So its back to the waiting game……place your bets, anywhere between now and 3 weeks time.

T Minus 2 Weeks & Counting

At this stage Junior is now ready to greet the world - reminds me of a bib that Tina's work colleagues bought her saying, "I've just done 9 months inside!". The average full-term newborn is still building a layer of fat to help control body temperature after birth. All of Junior's organs are developed and in place however the lungs will be the last to reach full maturity. Even after Junior is born, it may take a few hours before he/she establishes a normal breathing pattern.

Most babies are born with dark blue eyes and their true eye colour - be it brown, green or blue - may not reveal itself for several weeks or months. The colour of Junior's eyes in the first minutes after birth won't last - exposure to light changes a baby's initial eye colour (something for me to watch out for assuming Junior has her/his eyes open).

Can you imagine what it is like for a newborn when after 9 months you leaves the safest possible place and then opens your eye's into a world where everyone is 10 times your size and nobody speaks your language?

Lady of leisure.....

Well the mum-to-be is now a lady of leisure having yesterday finished her last day at work for 9 months. Of course the big question now is how long will her leisurely time last and of course this will depend on whether Junior fancies being a Libra or a Scorpio. If Junior fancies being a Scorpio then the Mum-to-be will have a couple off weeks relaxing at home. Apparently this is the period where some mums-to-be go into "nesting" mode - I think we have been in an excited nesting mode for 8.5 months now!

Anyway Tina's work colleagues gave her a very nice send off yesterday with some beautiful flowers, balloons, loads of gifts for the baby and the all important lifeline for the pregnant woman (a big bar of chocolate!). So a big thank you to all at Wilgo.

Min & Tilly's Wedding

2.5 weeks left and still no sign of Junior. Yesterday was my little brothers wedding reception (see picture of Min and Tilly - bottom left) and as you would expect there was lots of speculation about the due date, sex of the baby and possible names. The curry on the buffet was delicious, but did not have the desired effect of speeding up the arrival of Junior.........so the wait continues.

A few more updates for the nursery room this weekend. I fitted the blind and a book shelf as shown in the bottom left. The top right shows a really cool sea horse night light which we found in IKEA. It goes really well with the Nemo / underwater theme. Also we found these nice fishy mats (centre picture) - not sure whether to put them on the floor or the walls yet?

T Minus 3 Weeks & Counting

We are now into the waiting game part of the pregnancy (and very frustrating it is). Junior could be born in the next 3 mins, the next 3 hours, 3 days, 3 weeks (to the due date) or as late as 5 weeks from now! So the mobile phone now becomes a permanent attachment to my body (very annoying for the gym and karate!).

Apparently at this stage the babies development is around 92% complete and Junior will weigh close to 6.5 pounds / 2.8 kilograms and may be about 20 inches / 50 centimetres long from head to toe. Another midwife appointment today confirmed a healthy size, healthy heart beat, healthy blood pressure and that the baby is in a head down position (but not engaged yet).

Most of the Junior's downy coat of lanugo that has been covering him/her since 26 weeks would have disappeared, and so has most of the vernix caseosa, this is the whitish substance that also covers the baby. Junior will swallow the lanugo and exterior coating, along with other secretions, and store them in her bowels (a bit like Junior's Dad when he stores up a good curry!). These will become Junior's first bowel movement, a blackish waste called meconium (and I'll make sure I get a picture of it for you all to see!!!).

Of course the other big countdown is T Minus 2.5 days - this is how many working days Tina has left before giving up for 9 months (and yes she does keep rubbing it in!). From what I understand of newborn babies, something tells me that the hard work hasn't even begun yet though.......

T Minus 4 Weeks & Counting

Only 4 weeks and counting folks! We are told that by the end of this week the pregnancy will have come full term - which basically means the baby could be born any day now. Junior probably weighs over 6lb now and judging by the way Tina is carrying I would say Junior is definitely dropping (otherwise known as the lightening).

This week we went to the final relaxation class to learn all about the "huffing" and "puffing" during the delivery process. Once again I was the only birthing partner to attend this session - so just me and a room full of pregnant women.

There has been lots of speculation about whether Junior is a girl or a boy. But one thing which most people agree on is that due to our diving interest, people are saying that Junior will be a water baby and will be born with gills or fins or something like that. Well not to disappoint, I found this nice little Onesie which we purchased from the US saying "I'd rather be DIVING". Junior will have to wear this for his/her first appearance at our local dive club.....

Junior's First Wheels

Is it a bird, is it a plane.........no it's a "travel system". We soon learned that you do not buy prams anymore for babies, you get travel systems which are kind of like transformers and seem to do everything except the washing up! So we purchased this little beauty from "Babies R Us" and spent some time at the weekend trying to figure out just how it all works.

Some people are superstitious and say it is unlucky to buy the pram or to have it in your house before the baby is born. But neither me or Tina are that superstitious and agreed that it would be more unlucky to leave it until the last minute for several reasons. Firstly, we wanted to familiarise ourselves with the pram and car seat - the last thing I want to do is leave it until the day I collect my new family from the hospital only to find out bits are missing, broken or simply that I haven't a clue how they work. Secondly, it helps break the expense down by getting this big chunk out of the way a bit earlier. Thirdly, we saw the one we wanted in stock and at a good price. Fourth, I didn't really want to be chasing around in the last week or so trying to shop around for prams/travel systems. Lastly and most importantly, there are companies around that check the installation of your babies car seat to ensure it is compatible with your car, installed correctly etc.etc. Since the car seat came as part of the travel system then it was an excuse to purchase the pram early so that we can get the car seat checked over properly and approved from a safety perspective.

Apparently now we have to buy a matching umbrella for the pram to go with the matching baby bag and rain cover!!! PS Do the designers of these travel systems expect the parents to push their babies around World Rally courses at high speed? After all the car seat and the pram are kitted out with a 4 point harness which would have any boy racer wetting his pants with excitement.

T Minus 5 Weeks & Counting PLUS 10 YEARS

Arrived home today after spending a couple of days on a business trip in the Czech Republic. Was extremely pleased to find Junior had not made a surprise early appearance. Fingers crossed this was my last business trip for a few months so there is no risk of me missing the big day. Due to this trip I had no option but to miss a midwife appointment and a relaxation class (this was a bit disappointing as up until yesterday I had managed to attend everything).

Speaking of big days...........today is officially 5 weeks until the baby is due. But even more importantly it is our 10th wedding anniversary. Who would have thought that this time 10 years ago we were standing on a beach in Barbados exchanging our vows and now here we are just over a month away from becoming a family of 3 instead of a couple!

Anyway this is supposed to be Junior's blog and not mine. So week 35.....at this stage the uterus is becoming more stretched, as it gets thinner it allows a certain amount of light and sound in (so mp3 player on the stomach tonight). Junior might as well start getting used to my kind of music before Tina brain washes the poor child with Abba and Steps!!. No signs of any Braxton Hicks or anything yet.......

The Baby Shower

Well yesterday was the big baby shower. The theme of the event was based on Nemo due to us being diving addicts. My younger sister did an absolutely outstanding job of organising this event and she must have put in so much time, effort and money which was appreciated by everyone. The day was filled with loads of fun activities such as Noah's arc, how big is Mom?, create a baby's name, advice book, labour bead necklace, various quiz's etc.etc.

We received some lovely gifts for mother and baby and some beautiful bunches of flowers. Some very kind words of wisdom were left for us in a "keep sake" book of the day which we will cherish and share with Junior in many years to come.

Many thanks to Sue, Nicky, Zoe, Amy, Lisa, Matthew, Kayleigh, Jan, Amber, Karren, Kathryn, David, Laura, Mikki & Oliver for attending the baby shower and making the Mum-to-be very happy. It was a shame that no-one could make it from Tina's Mum's side of the family.