I have so much stuff racing around in my head that I am not actually quite sure where to start. So maybe I will start with an update on Deejay (DJ). Wow, the scales have tipped to the male side now.

So what can I say... We have been amazingly blessed with a baby that is so content and settled. Since day two he has been sleeping 5-6 hours in a row at night and last night he feed at 10pm and woke up at 5:45am, that's almost 8hrs. Usually we go through a time of sleep deprivation for the first few weeks but not this time. I think God knew we needed a settled baby. Throughout the day he is mostly happy and tries very hard not to cry. Today he was full of smiles for his Gran on skype. He's long and lanky where I am used to short and chubby babies. He's just so lovely.
We have people who call into our home to seethe baby, we have no idea who they are sometimes. A Hindu family who run a small shop not far from us arrived with breakfast one morning as well as ingredients ready to cook for the next day and she informed the "homes" kitchen staff how to prepare it for me. I ended up cooking it myself as I did not want the kitchen ladies having to go to trouble just for me. I have said it before and I will say it again.... sometimes the Hindus seem to be more Christ like than some of the Christians we have met.

So much has happened in the last couple of week. My parents have left after a great last week of being able to do a few things with then finally. We took a trip to Mysore and showed them a couple of sights and then out for a pre birthday lunch for my Mum at the palace we took D2 for her birthday. They even provided a bassinet for DJ to sleep in. I loved being able to show my folks a different side of India, the drive down to Mysore is beautiful. You get to see the sugar cane growing, the rice paddies, the village houses, people from all walks of life. My personal favorite thing is the little old men wearing their Lungi. The picture in my link is not of an old man but there is something I love about seeing these frail old men with legs that resemble something like our DJs little chicken legs as I like to call them. These men shuffle along the street until they meet other little old men and they will then sit and chat for hours. I look at them and wonder what their story is, what life has been like for them and where they go home to.

I was so proud of my parents, they really have embraced India in a way I never thought they would. I know that if we were not here it would not have been a place on the top "go to" places for them. They tried all the food and enjoyed it, they managed with cold showers, they shopped like pros and treated people with dignity. It makes me so happy that they enjoyed India. I love this country and now we have a baby born here. I feel a new connection to this land and it was so nice to once again share it with my parents.

We now have DJs birth certificate and just today we have all papers signed and witnessed and posted off to NZ for him to get NZ citizenship and a passport. It feels so good to have this on it's way and we just pray now that we have included everything they need and that the photo will be acceptable. It took us so long to get a photo of DJ that fits the NZ requirements for a passport. Try getting a new born to have eyes open, mouth shut, no expression, head straight and all this while not being able to hold them. It's next to impossible. We finally got a good shot ourselves but we are not sure the quality will pass the test. We just pray it will be fine.

Daughter 1 has been unwell with a nasty throat infection/tonsillitis and ended up with a rash all over her body due to a reaction to the antibiotics she was put on. She was out of action for about a month but is now back into the swing of things again. Son 3 has started vomiting and is running a fever, I just pray for quick healing and this to be short lived.

We have booked tickets for a return flight to NZ in Feb to renew our visas. I feel like we have just booked a first class flight as we will be going Singapore airlines. Last time it took us nearly 2 days to get back with 3 stops along the way. This time we have one short stop, 17hrs to get there and movies and food included. I'm actually really excited about the flight.

As I write, the rain has begun to fall and that soothing sound on the roof makes me want to crawl into bed and just lie there and listen. Plus, this is getting a rather long blog post and I hate reading long posts myself. I still have heaps to write about but I think I will stop for now and write again at a later stage.

So for now.... as porky pig would say th th th th that's all folks.

Deejay Gregory Sean Czepanski (birth story)

I was almost at the stage of wondering if my parents would have to leave before the birth of this wiggling bump. I was actually feeling a little down about it all and trying hard to rally myself to have interest in anything else. Then on the 4/11/11 I went for my 40 week check up to find that this baby was ready to arrive any second and the doctor wanted to admit me then and there. (for the ladies information, I was 7cm dilated with no painful contractions) I declined and said I would come in when the first real contractions started.

My ideal birth or a sensible birth in a hospital (given we are in a rural area with a basic hospital facility) was a decision that I had had to make a few weeks back. I went with the hospital birth for peace of mind for family and friends and also because there are not emergency back ups quite the same where we are and you need to preplan for just in case scenarios. It was not an easy choice to give up my peaceful, candle lit, Jazz music, home natural birth that I was used to but I knew it was the sensible thing to do for us all.

So at about 11:45pm on the 3/11/11 I had my first contraction that made me realise that this baby was going to make an entrance. DC and I had been chatting to a good friend and then watched a video together and I had felt things were building. It was wet outside and DC decided to go out and try to get the jeep started up. It had been fixed the day before but sometimes has trouble starting. I had anticipated a ride on the scooter to the hospital (that could have been fun). By the time he came inside again I knew it was time to head off to the hospital. DC, my Mum and I headed off as the girls waved us goodbye from the veranda. I had permission for DC and my Mum to be with me, usually no one is allowed in with you for the birth.

We arrived at the hospital and I was guided to the delivery room by a lady that had cleaned my room when I was in hospital with my kidney issues. This is when they told my Mum and DC they could not come in. I tried to explain we had permission and to please ring my OB to come  but they insisted that DC and MY Mum leave..... I was a bit naughty..... I got up and left the room too. I then got called to a telephone where my OB requested David to come pick her up as she had no vehicle. This was so amusing to us, a new experience in the birthing scenario :) So David went off and my Mum came to join me in the labour room. As she approached they quickly shut the doors and locked her out and so I promptly opened the door again and told them I would wait outside with my mother until my OB arrived. When the OB arrived she was shocked to see me waiting and not in the labour room but I explained what had happened and although I don't know what she said to the staff  (it was all in Kannada) I knew they had had a bit of a telling off. Once that was sorted though we were all on smiling terms as they found out permission had been given and I guess they had not been told prior to me arriving so they were just doing what they knew the rules were.

The labour room was not exactly a peaceful place with people in and out (male and female), a drip put in my arm, people talking and playing Hindi music on cel phones. My OB had her camera out taking photos of me in labour and then went on to show DC and my Mum her home videos of her twin boys. The labour bed was interesting and seemed to provide no padding what so ever. I found it hard to get into my normal relaxed zone and focus on what I was doing. Everyone was very nice though and did their jobs well but it was a far cry from my ideal and I just had to make the most out of the situation before me and I am pleased that after 2.5 hrs of arriving at the hospital our wee surprise package displayed his boy bits to the world and gave us a great gusty cry. He was quickly whisked away and every orifice of him was poked and prodded while the suctioning machine malfunctioned and filled the room with smoke. I was elated that it was all over and everything went well with no complications and our little Deejay was the most perfect and handsome baby in the world. He weighed in at 3.7kg (8.2 Lbs) and 52cm long. Sure, It was not exactly the style of birth that I longed for but the outcome could not have been better. DC and Mum were great and the best part was when DC noticed I had nothing to rest my head on and so found a pillow and held my head for me, it was the best thing that happened the entire labour and amazing how such a small practical thing really made a world of difference.

We were then given a room to move to where my Mum and I spent the night with Deejay. In the morning Deejay was being welcomed into the world by what felt like the entire population of India (ok, slight exaggeration) word must have got out that the first western baby had been born here in Kollegal. We ended up locking our door to get some rest.

DC brought the kids and my Dad in later that morning and it was just so wonderful to see out 7 kids together. We have been so amazingly blessed.

Thanks to God for providing us with one more child that we thought we would not have. Thanks to my parents for flying all the way over to be here for Deejay's arrival. Thanks to DC for being a loving supportive husband and to the rest of our kids for being so excited about having another boy in the house. Thanks to all our friends who have been with us on this journey and have encouraged and prayed for us. We love you all.