Letters to my Grandchild

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 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

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, I've been really sick so haven't posted anything here for a while. I don't usually get sick easily but your Grand-Aunt Patty has had a chest infection and a cold and I think I caught it from her. I'm much better now though. You will be moving home on Friday. Last week we went to your place at No. 7 Shiraz in Peach Place, Glen Hills to help replace curtain rails, pack a few boxes and generally help where we could. Mark and Tammy moved into this simplex when Tammy moved to Durban and thought they would be there for years. But, the owner is coming back from Australia and gave them notice to move by the end of January.  They didn't want to wait until after Christmas, so Finn and I helped look for a new place and we were thrilled when they liked the little simplex in Anthony Mews. There is a lovely view of the sea from the two front bedrooms - and from the front garden - and it is light an airy. We like it too, especially because you will all b...

Hello little Emily, This is a picture of you sucking your Daddy's finger. Finn and I visited you yesterday and it was so nice to hold you, to look at you and just spend some time with you. I was able to hold you for a while and talk to you. It seemed as though you were listening - perhaps you recognized my voice? I told you that you were my little 'Milly and that I was your Silly and that we would be friends forever! You are tiny! You've got fair hair - quite a lot of hair. You have got a straight nose - Mark calls it a plastic surgeon's nose because it is so perfect. You've got Mark's little pointy chin (perhaps that is the Aadnesgaard genes? Your fingers are long and you've got perfect fingernails. Your little arms and legs look so skinny and your feet are long! I counted your fingers and toes just to make sure that they are all there. After Tammy fed you I held you against my shoulder to burp you and you fell asleep! We stayed for a little w...

Good morning Little Em, Last Saturday we had a 'Baby Shower' for you and your Mom and Dad. Usually only women go to Baby Showers but Mark wanted his friends to be there too, so we had a few Daddies and wanna-be Daddies and a few guys who seemed bemused by the whole thing! Lauren brought her precious little 5 week old Taylor. I kept looking at her and wondering if you would like like her! The party was at lunch time so we served a light lunch. Patty and I found Polka-dot plates, place mats and serviettes so the theme was Polka-dots - just like some of the accessory in your nursery. You got so many gifts Em - I don't know where they are going to put them all. You have already got enough clothing to last you three years at least! It was a lovely party and you were the main attraction! You are going to be welcomed into a community of friends and family who all love you alre ady. On Monday your Mom went for another scan and it showed that you have moved sides. They h...

Hello little Em, We are counting down the weeks now - no longer the months. Less than 5 weeks to go and you will make your appearance! By 36 weeks most babies weigh about 2.5kg and are about 53cm or more long! The doctor thinks that you are even bigger - that you are going to be a whopper! That is great news - whoppers are usually happy babies! Emily-Ann, you have absolutely no idea what an impact you are having on so many lives! Tammy is going to be a mother (that is her with my sister Patty - your Grand-aunty). That is a huge change in any girl's life. To go from happy-go-lucky, free spirit to being in a close relationship to becoming a mother - something that lasts a lifetime. Mark (my baby) is going to be a Daddy. He is going to be a father and will be responsible for the care, support and nurturing of another life. Laura and I are going to be grandmothers. Wow! It took me a while to get used to being a Mommy - now I'll have to get used to being a granny. ...