Letters to my Grandchild

Hello little Em, This morning your Mom and Dad put you into a large oval tub of water to soak off your cast. They thought it would take ages but they soon managed to unroll layers of the POP bandage. You loved it! You hit the water which splashed all over the lounge, onto the sideboard and even onto the sliding doors! Then they bundled your leg into a towel and took you to the Westville hospital to have the remainder taken off. Dr Fraser applied a fibreglass gutter splint from the knee down so that you are now able to bend your leg - and, Mom will be able to take it off and bath you. The splint stays on for 2 more weeks. Everyone is so relieved to have the long leg cast off but now they will worry about how much freedom to give you. Should they allow you to crawl? Should they let you try to stand, pull yourself up against things? Its really scary because nobody wants to restrict your natural mobility but they also want to protect you from any further fractures. In a two weeks time you...

I've seen you every day since I've been back and I'm amazed at how comfortable you are with the cast and how well adapted you are. You are a little frustrated at not been allowed to turn over or pull yourself along but if we keep you occupied you smile and laugh and sing and play. I spend a lot of time pushing you around the garden in your pram and you enjoy looking at the tress, the flowers, the birds and butterflies. You are just amazing and I think you have your father's spirit and your mother's strength. One week has laready passed and perhaps in two weeks time you can have a lighter cast put on the leg. Today your Dad to Mom to a movie at the Pav and I got to be with you for a few hours. We walked around the garden, played on the acitivity map and played "Where's Emily?" by hiding your face behind a blanket. When Mom and Dad got home you were just finishing your bottle and then with just a short walk outside you went to sleep. Your Dad is going...

Hello Em, I arrived home from walking (and volunteering) in France and Spain this afternoon at about 3pm. Finn and Patty came to meet me at the airport. On the way home, Finn gave me the really sad news that you had fractured your right tibia on Friday. I was really tired from the three flights home and at first I couldn't take it in. "When?" I asked. "How did it happen?" We were all so relieved when the specialists, Dr Roos and Prof Beighton, said that there was no indication of OI in your Xrays. Just a couple of weeks ago they took you to Dr Roos for him to check your skull because the clinic sister thought your head was a little large. You had a scan done but there was nothing abnormal. Dr Roos told Mark and Tammy not to worry about your blue sclera "Children can have blue sclera up to 2 years of age" he said. I was away at the time and I must be absolutely honest with you Em, I heard alarm bells ringing. Large head, blue sclera and recurrent c...

Hello Little Em, Saturday was a very special day - Mark and Tammy got married and you were a 'flower baby'. The weather was perfect, the venue was lovely, Rev Cliv Jacobson was the ideal parson as he's known Mark for years (through being on the Council of the Open Air School and also your Great-Granny May's pastor). The Gazebo and looked charming, your mother looked stunning and your father very dashing. Everyone was happy, smiling and some, a little tearful. I'm going to post a longer account of the wedding here later but for now I thought I'd add a few photos. I'm going away on a long walk (that's what I do from time to time) and won't be back for 5 weeks. Will tell you all about that too when I get back. I am babysitting you for three days Em and it has been lovely caring for you, laughing with you, feeding you and caring for you. I think we are going to be really good friends! I love you Em, Silly ...

Hello my darling Em, Its been some time since I posted on this blog. Its been a busy time. Greg and Sharon got married on the 2nd May. It was a very happy wedding. Greg looked so pleased to finally be marrying the girl of his dreams (I'll tell you their story one day) and Sharon looked gorgeous in her designer wedding dress. Your Mom was a bridesmaid so your granny Laura came to fetch you from our place and took you home where they would care for you all day. It was the first time Tammy had left you for a whole day and she shed tears when they drove away with you. Your Mom looked beautiful. Here she is with the flower girl - she is 4 years old and I know that you will be just as beautiful when you are a flower-girl one day. I did all the flowers for Greg & Sharon's wedding and it looked very beautiful. When that was over, it was time to start concentrating on your Mom and Dad's wedding. We've been to look at vases and table runners, tie backs an...

Hello Little Em, You have been a little bit niggely lately and then on Thursday your parents told us that they could feel a little tooth on your bottom gum. On Saturday morning I was holding you in the church while Greg & Sharon's wedding rehearsal was taking place, and you kept rubbing your gums on my hand. By Sunday afternoon, a second little tooth had come through! Dear little babe, two front teeth and more to come! On Saturday night you three slept over at our house for the first time. It was Greg's Bulls Party and Mark couldn't drive home afterwards and he didn't want your Mom to spend the night alone. Mark and Tammy brought your camp cot, blankets, toys and food and spent the whole of Saturday and Sunday here. We weren't sure how you would sleep in a strange place but you were an angel and slept through from 7pm to 2:30am without even a beep. You are eating vegetables now. Your Mom only buys organic vegetables and steams them all before blending them ...

Hello Little Em, I can't believe that you'll be 6 months old tomorrow! From a skinny, jaundiced little babe you have grown into a beautiful, peaches and cream, happy little girl. I have baby-sat you quite a bit in the last couple of weeks and you seem to recognize me now - especially if I sing the "Emily Ann" song to you. You laugh and you sing and you talk. On Monday at Patty's I put you to sleep and I also looked after you here while your Mom and Dad had a little rest. You played on the activity mat for nearly 45 minutes, sat in the Bumbo playing for another half an hour without a whimper. You are a perfect baby in every way. Something unexpected happened last week. I went for a bone density scan the week before and when I went to see my doctor she told me that I have brittle bones! Not osteogeneis imperfecta like your Dad, but osteoporosis which causes bones to be fragile and brittle. It happens to lots of post-menopausal women but I didn't expect t...

Hello little Em, I have seen a lot of you this week and the more I am with you the more amazed I am at how quickly you are growing. For the first few months babies are not responsive or even aware of themeself or others. Now you recognize people and respond to everyone. Its been so great to spend more time with you. Tammy has been designing, cutting and compiling the wedding invitations. She has done a really good job and they are looking very professional. And, while your Mom works, I get to walk you in the pram, watch you while you play on your playmat and put you to sleep. You never cry. Even when you get tired. You smile all the time - you are an angel child. Mark has taught you to make an 'ahhh...' sound when he taps two fingers against your mouth. It is so cute because the sound changes to a wha-wha-wha-wha sound and you keep going, even changing pitch! They have got you on video doing it - I'll try to get a copy so that I can post it here. Today I took you t...

Hello little Em, Today I took you for the first walk in your pram around Patty's complex - and I took you with Muffy (Patty's Yorkie) as well. You looked so cute with your little denim sunhat on. You enjoyed the walk but seemed much more interested in your 'Flower' - a soft, felt flower with petals and a face that is twisted onto the handle of your pram. After I left Patty's to go back to Greg's place, Finn took over talking to you - the first time he has baby-sat you. Mark emailed to say that you went to the clinic today and that you now weigh 7.36kg, and that you are in the 75th percentile for your height, weight and head circumference. That means that 75% of babies your age are smaller than you are. I knew you were thriving and growing into your body size. You are a precious angel and I love you. Silly

14th March: Hello little Em, You were introduced to solids today! Your Mom and Dad have taken a delightful video of you trying to shove rice cereal into your mouth with all your fingers. Dear little thing - you obviously didn't know what to make of the spoon and the cereal and managed to get it all over your face! Tam said that you weren't interested in it the next day but that you are happy to try it after you have had your milk. You are progressing so fast now that I see a change in you after just a few days. You are holding your head up and don't look like a Noddy-doll anymore! You smile at everyone and hardly ever cry. You are an angel-baby and I love you. See you soon Little Em. Silly

This photo was taken of you and Mark last week. He had his head shaved in the CANSA Shave-athon. Today I showed you a butterfly and you seemed completely fascinated with the large beautiful creature that fluttered around your pram. Mark had a Microsoft Course to attend to at the Pavilion so Tammy dropped him there and then you two spent the day with us. Last week Tammy dropped her wedding ring in the car. It slipped between the centre consol and the carpeting. She couldn't get it out so she took the car to Toyota and they had to remove the front car seat, lift the carpet and retrieve the ring from under the carpet. You were an angel today. You didn't cry once and, guess what, you even went to sleep on your own in your pram. This is the first time that I have been with you that you have gone to sleep without being held. You were in your pram and I rocked you with one hand whilst I ate my lunch with the other. Next thing your eyes closed and you fell asleep! Little angel c...

This is you in the pram that we have at home for you when you visit here. H ello my darling Em, It will be a long time before you'll be able to read this blog and, who knows, I might not be around when you do! So, I feel quite happy writing about things that you won't understand for a long time to come. When you are old enough to read these posts with understanding, they might give you an insight into who I am and why 'I am'. You have forced me to think of things that Ihave put out of my mind for many years. Like humankind's place on the earth, religion, creation and many other deep thoughts! You came to our house on Tuesday and your Mom left you with me while she went to town to look for wedding dress material. Once again you were an angel! You slept, fed, played on your little mat, slept, fed, played. After Mom got back and fed you, she had a chance to have a lie down. Apparently you take after most of the women in your family - you are a night bird and a...

Hello little Em. On Friday Tammy picked me up and we went to Patty's so that Tammy could use the laser printer. Your Mom is a clever girl - she is making her own wedding invitations and has designed them and downloaded a template for cutting and folding them. We put your play mat on Patty's bed and you lay there talking and exercising your arms and legs for over an hour. Then you got a little bit restless so I picked you up and carried you around the house. Within 10 minutes you were asleep - just like a little angel! You didn't sleep for long - probably 45 minutes - and when you woke up it was feed time. Tammy fed you and then you lay on your play mat again. You seem to be fascinated with toys that have faces, and also with those that have different sounds. There is a mirror in one corner and you get excited when you catch a glimpse of yourself in it! You are very rewarding now - smiling at us, talking away with a serious frown, kicking and waving your arms around. I took ...

6th February: Hello little Em, You'll be 4 months old on the 16th February and already you have become a smiling, chuckling little chatterbox! I have been able to baby-sit a couple of times this week and it is SO rewarding when you smile back at me. I give you a chance to have a good look at me and then I smile and say your name. And you beam back at me! When I talk to you, you watch my face and then you start talking, little brow all furrowed, mouth moving every which way and such a lot of different sounds from it. I love this photograph of you sleeping with your Mom. It just shows how much you have grown in the last month. Many of the little outfits that were given to you no lomnger fit and soon you'll have to go into the next size nappy. I was able to feed you today for the first time. Mark and Tammy want to go to an exhibition tomorrow afternoon and have asked me to baby-sit. But, you might need a feed before they get back so Tammy has expressed milk and today was a trial r...

Good news Em!! Your folks sent the baby scans taken the day you were born to Prof. Beighton in Cape Town and he has sent a report back that there is no evidence of OI, no Wormian bones (like little jig-saw bones) in the skull. This is good news. He is a brilliant man, very clued up on OI, so we hold his opinions with high regard. He has recommended that skull Xrays be taken when you are a few months older, but for now, the signs are all there that you do not have OI. Yipppeee... yahooooo!! I got to help bath you on Saturday - that was very special. I don 't think you knew it was me gently massaging baby soaps on you because Tam was holding you and you only had eyes for Mom. You squawked when Tam took you out the bath and all the time Mark was drying you and putting powder on you. I just laughed! You looked to threatening! I spoke to you and said, "You don't frighten us Missy. You dont have any teeth so you can't bite us. You don't have the strength to hit us and, i...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EM!! Last year you were born. This year you will turn One, next year, you'll be two! Happy New Year little Em. We went to your home on Wednesday to help put up the blind and boxes in your room. It really looks lovely now - such a pretty, pastel bedroom with stripes and polka-dots in soft colours. I was able to hold you today - first time for weeks. You love it when someone talks to you and I told you that in one day's time we would be saying, "Emily was born last year" and "Emily will be a year old this year" and most strange of all, "Emily will be two next year." Phsew - you are only 11 weeks old but when a new year comes it changes all the future statistics. We watched you as you lay in your colourful play mattress with two arches over it dangling with little toys. You are getting plump legs and arms now and you are almost smiling on cue - such an infectious smile! Here is a bit of trivia about your birth date that yo...

Hello Little Em, What a busy girl you have been! On Christmas Eve you went to Patty's for a family Christmas dinner. Jeff and Gail were there with Brian and Craig and their friends Katz and Gunza from Johannesburg. Greg and Shaz came, Michelle Moller, John, Finn and me. Christmas is a time of giving and you got more presents than all of us but you kinda slept through it all! Then on Christmas Day you came to our house and got more presents. We bought you a three-ring blow up swimming pool so that Tammy and Mark can sit in it with you on a hot day. You also got new clothes, toys, and a useful goody to help you learn to sit when you are a bit older. You looked very sweet in your Christmas outfit with a little hat that Phyllis gave you. Your Mom and Dad gave us lovely photos of you in frames. You look even smaller then! Now you have put on weight and have got a beautiful complexion. Here are a few photos of you, your Mom, Mark and me on Christmas day. Your 2nd cousins Craig and...

Hello my darling Em, We had a very special day today! This morning I wrapped Christmas presents and took this photograph of the first present we have bought for you! You are still too young to understand but by next Christmas you will be 14 months old and it is going to be very special. The other thing that made yesterday so special is that you and your Mom and Dad had a swim in our pool! Tammy put 50 factor block-out cream on you, put a little denim hat on and carried you into the water. You were unsure at first but when Mark and Tammy held you and gently moved you about you seemed to enjoy it. And then, after your 7pm feed, Tammy bathed you in our bath - your first bath in our house. I think you are going to be a water-baby! You loved your bath. Here is a short video I took of you in the bath. Every time I see you I see a change. You are growing so fast and you are trying to smile. You also 't...

Hello little Em, You are 8 weeks old today and had to go for your 6-in-1 shots for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, HIB (Haemophylis Influenza type B Virus) and Hepatitis B. Mark phoned to say that you weigh 4.3kg!! That is really great! But, we can see how you are growing. Your little arms and legs don't look like sticks anymore and you have a little double chin! Last Saturday night you went to your first 60th birthday party! It was Sharon's Dad's birthday and they had a dinner at the Westville Bowling Club. You were so good, only woke up once for a feed and then went straight back to sleep, even with all the noise of the music and laughter. On Monday I popped in to drop some stuff off at your new home and Tammy let me hold you while she sorted out the washing and ironing. You were tired but didn't want to sleep so I spoke to you, sang to you, walked around with you and eventually you closed your eyes and nodded off. On Tuesday I took Patty to visit you...