Our baby was recently diagnosed with Pneumonia. When our paediatrician referred us to one of Jamaica’s main public hospitals (University Hospital of West Indies) for some nebulisation, I had no idea what to expect…
Took my baby to a Pentecostal service today at the Antioch Assembly of God on Winard Road, Downtown Kingston. And, Sweet Jesus, do Jamaicans know how to pray! Did I ever get a healing..
Picture courtesy of today’s Gleaner article: ‘Evangelicals Rise Sharply’
It’s October here, and still scorching in Kingston. Hard to believe it’s autumn back in Ireland; most of us expats here are dying for some fresh air! To get away from the smothering city heat and relentless mosquitos, we got a gang together to rent a villa near Treasure Beach; a beautiful spot called Culloden Cove. And what a treat it was…
Escaping the city heat of Kingston, we headed to Montego Bay for a weekend at the Half Moon Hotel. Reggae Sumfest, Jamaica’s biggest musical festival, was on just down the road, but not ideal for babies! Our weekend was definitely more piano jazz than dancehall, but we may have spotted a few stars, and certainly enjoyed feeling like stars ourselves…
2.30 am and I wake up sweltering and thirsty (one too many Red Stripes may have had something to do with that!) I stumble off down the stairs in the dark to go and get a drink of water, when BANG! scuttle, scuttle, something leaps out of my way and hits the glass door hard.
Our first 6 months had flown here in Jamaica, and as the Caribbean summer starts to swelter, many of the expat wives take off for the cooler climes of home. Suddenly, it was our turn, I packed up my baby boy and set off for the airport…
A luxury guest-house, a weekend away, a chance to go horse riding on the beach… I heard the term ‘Babymoon’ somewhere and decided now B (our baby boy) was a robust 7 weeks old, it was time to get out of Kingston. H (my husband) explained to me later, as we lay in our gorgeous king-size bed with B kicking and chortling between us, that a Babymoon was when a kind person, usually Granny, babysits the baby for the first time and the parents get away together for a romantic break. Not so easy when Grannies are 10,000km away!
Baby was sleeping, and by now a robust 4 and a half weeks. H (my husband) was all set to look after him, bottles of milk were lined up in the fridge, so this hot expat mummy made a break for freedom! It was the Heineken ‘Inspire’ Party on Downtown and a big gang of expats I knew were going..
Photo from Marcus Bird
Our Jamaican / Irish / English baby was born last Thursday, 22nd March, weighing in at 8lbs and 7ozs. I was in hospital for just 1.5 hours before having him, though I’d been having contractions for a while before that… even at the market shopping that morning!
Last week, a bunch of my new girlfriends threw me a surprise baby shower! I felt very touched to be made such a fuss of after so little time here, and it certainly makes the impending arrival of the baby tornado seem a little less intimidating. (Due date in 4 days!) So how have I come to meet so many lovely people so fast? Some of it is about being in the ‘expat bubble’… Continue reading
hotexpatmummy 