So Blessed

Zander said his first word last night! Chris and I looked at each other to confirm that it wasn't our imagination after Zander looked up at his daddy and said "Mamma", which is Afrikaans for Mommy. It was such a beautiful moment, which we will cherish forever. This morning he was talking a lot and said "Mamma" and "baba" (baby) over and over, confirming that it isn't our imagination. He's such a delight!


Zander will be 8 months old on 18 November 2009 and seems like he wants to start crawling. We're holding our breath in anticipation, as we know when he starts crawling the hard work for us will start! We already started baby proofing our home in a way, but still have a lot to do. We've put plastic plugs in the plug sockets, plastic corners on the glass tables' corners and we also got a playpen. There is still a lot we have to do.

We have to move all medicines and cleaning products to safe places and we also have a big problem with our swimming pool. I would like suggestions on that, as we are very worried but also very confused as to what to do regarding the pool. The pool is fenced in, but that unfortunately means nothing. My best friends' baby girl, Dominique, climbed over their pool's fence a few years ago and drowned. Dominique was 2 1/2 years old. :-(

Our pool is way too big for a safety net, and shaped in a club form. We thought about electrifying the pool fence, arguing that we'd rather let him shock, and learn from that, than drown. It's a bit harsh though and any other suggestions will be very much appreciated. What would you have done?

A lot of us struggle with weight loss.  It's not easy losing weight.  Especially after having a baby.  I read about Simply Slim on a friend on Face Books' profile.  It all sounded too good to be true.  Almost everyone who commented on the Simply Slim website has lost weight.  And a LOT of it.  So for R590 for one months' supply it didn't seem that expensive if it's actually working like everybody claims it is.

But I guess it depends on if that's the only price you'll pay.  I found this blog and would like you to read it too:  http://johansimplygoingslim.com/phedra-same-as-synephrine-banned-by-the-fda-and-used-in-simply-slim/

Scary stuff.  What do you think?

This is the third time that I've quitted smoking. The first time lasted 3 months, the second time 8 months, which means I've now officially broken my record. Yesterday was 8 months!


I've been smoking since I was 14. I smoked between 20 and 30 cigarettes per day for 17 years.

When I still smoked I refused to go to places where smoking was not allowed. Chris does not smoke and hated me smoking. I always used to tell him that when he met me I was smoking, so he has no right to complain. I think smokers are the most selfish people on earth. And I talk from experience. I nearly lost my baby because of my smoking...
I smoked for 8 months during my pregnancy. The doctor warned me that I shouldn't smoke, but what did he know???? I was confident that everyone was just trying to get me to quit smoking and that was why people have made up all the stories about smoking being bad for my baby etc. (Smoker mentality)




My placenta has torn loose and there was no time to waste as that meant that Zander was bleeding. Chris nearly missed his sons' birth! When Zander was born his heartbeat was a mere 39. It was supposed to be at least 160. He spent his first night in ICU. It was a nightmare for me, as I didn't even know what my son looked like. He was only shown to me for a second and then they rushed off with him to ICU. I only saw him again the next morning when they took me to visit him. It broke my heart to see him like that. He was so small and helpless. He only weighed 2.46 Kg when born and lost more weight in hospital.

Fortunately for us he was a real fighter! He only spent the one night in ICU, the next day with me in my hospital room, and the morning after that we were both discharged! He's our miracle baby!

To get back to the subject.... we nearly lost Zander due to Placental abruption, and yes, smoking is a major cause. You can read more about that here: http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2007/08/05/smoking-tied-to-placenta-abruption/

On 19 February 2009 I decided I am not going to buy cigarettes again. (A month before Zander’s birth)

And I didn't.  (Though it was too late to prevent placental abruption.)

I did have some help quitting though. I ordered an electronic cigarette from the Internet, called a Twisp. They delivered within two days and it was definitely worth the money. I don't even use my Twisp now anymore.

I am determined not to become a smoker again. I do not want my child to smoke one day because I did. I want to set an example and break the habit that came from many generations in my family.

My child deserves to grow up in a healthy, clean environment. He cannot choose for himself yet, it is my responsibility to protect him - and I will!

Chris is a very involved father. We do almost everything together that involves Zander.


Zander's bath time routine:

Chris undresses Zander. Then Chris gives Zander his 3 drops of medicine (for allergy). Next Chris rubs stuff on Zander's gums (don't really know why as the one tooth he got at four months just disappeared). I drop saline drops into Zander's nose and clean his nose with an ear bud. Then I wipe his face clean. By now the bath water is ready for Zander. Chris rubs Zander in with soap and put him in the bath to rinse him and let him play with the water. Now this was where the trouble started last night.

I took out a sponge toy, soaked it in water and gave it to Zander to play with. Zander loved it and even sucked the sponge (like babies do?) Chris had a fit and told me to take the sponge away as the water in Potch is not clean. (????) Obviously I asked him why he bathes Zander in dirty water then, and what about the water that splashes in Zander's face when he plays in the bath? I also reminded Chris of the fact that Zander should never be in the swimming pool again as that water can be VERY dangerous compared to the municipal water in Potch. (Sarcasm) Chris then told me that I could go and do a search on the Internet about Potch's dirty water (to validate himself) and from there on he went into a total silent state, ignoring me. Chris took Zander out of the bath, I dried Zander, cleaned his ears, and Chris rubbed Zander's body with baby cream. I gave Zander his bottle and put him to bed.

Then I did a search on the Internet. This was what I found:

http://www.potch.co.za/pressreleases/html/Jul31_07.html.

Now if you do the effort to open that link, you'll see that Potch’s water is more than safe to consume.

I printed out the page and handed it to Chris. Maybe I should've thought twice as he really wasn’t impressed, neither making peace! He then accused me of always questioning everything he says!!

Is this just happening to us, or does this happen to other couples too? We are constantly arguing about what's the best for Zander. What do you do when situations like this presents? Who's wrong and who's right for the sake of peace?

We are not fighting anymore, but didn't talk about what happened again, thus I won't give Zander the sponge to play with again to avoid any future arguments like that.

Funny thing was that just after the argument, around the time when Chris started giving me the silent treatment, Chris got up and drank water from the bathroom tap. Something he NEVER does. (He believes in purified water only) Does that mean he admitted defeat?

Someone should've warned me that having a baby results in some sort of husband-wife competition!

Exited today for the first time in a very long time. I am so looking forward to this new business venture and I’m very optimistic that it will work out. I’ve been working from home for the past 3-½ years. I have to admit that my life became meaningless, as I had nothing to look forward to anymore. It gets boring to be at home all day, even though I have been privileged enough to have my baby boy with me all the time. I’ve always been very ambitious and for the past few years had absolutely no challenges as I’ve been in the scrap metal industry for over ten years now * yawn *.


We are leaving for Durban tomorrow to go and buy stock. We are going to open a clothing shop from my house. Luckily our new house is located on a busy street.

I’ve also involved the domestic worker and promised her a 10 % profit sharing, as she’ll mostly be the one selling the clothes. We are mostly going to target the black market. (Now this sounds like we are planning something illegal, he he).

I just woke up one morning with this idea, and my dear husband immediately gave his full support. Then we decided to throw out all our old clothes that we are not wearing anymore. Joyce (the domestic worker) then offered to sell the second hand clothing, and within a day every single thing was sold and we’ll be R2 500.00 richer at the end of this month. It seems this can become a profitable business, or rather, we hope it will be.

It will involve hard work though, like having to go to Durban about every weekend. (I HATE traveling by car).

Nonetheless we are very excited about this, and invite you to join us on this journey, as I’ll try to keep my blog updated as much as possible.

Enjoy your weekend!

Here I am again and exactly another month has passed since the last time I blogged. I do actually feel guilty for not blogging regularly but it's hard for me to put my life out into the open for anyone to read about. Sometimes something happens and I think I should write about it in my blog, but then I don't because I decided it's too personal. How do you decide what to write about and what not? Maybe I'm in denial and trying to avoid thinking and writing about things happening in my life as a way to not have to face the problems in my life. Like financial worries...


We started a scrap metal recycling company almost four years ago. Last year this time we were smiling, with R1 000 000.00 profits in our business bank account for the year. Who would've guessed that a year later on, we would be struggling to keep the company afloat? Losing between R50 000 - R100 000 per month? So far we've done almost everything possible to save the company. We managed to get the overheads, including salaries, down with over R50 000 / month. Rumours are that next year things will be better again in the scrap metal industry. Let's hope rumours are right, and let's hope we make it that far.

It's really nice to be able to work for yourself, but I'm not sure if the stress involved justifies it. Especially now that we have a baby. That's the scariest thing in the world to have to worry about your babies' future and whether you'll be able to provide for him if things doesn't work out.

Please hold thumbs for a new business venture I'm going to try out with my wonderful husbands' support.

I will keep you posted...