Ras Al Khaimah Road Trip

Last week the kids had a week off from school and since I was still recovering from their 3 week Christmas break, I urged Ram to consider a family vacation. We were still too nervous to fly with all 3, so we decided to drive to a beach resort at another emirate for the week. ROAD TRIP!

We loaded up the car with only 2.5 suitcases (thank you), a pack n play and some bags of food and drove one hour to Marjan Island in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate. It was the perfect initiation vacation as a family of five. We arrived late Sunday afternoon and spent those first few hours getting all the rooms set up and then it was dinner and bedtime.

We had the entire ground floor of this tower of the hotel (no one but staff could get past the lobby door to our rooms). Our set up allowed us to actually have some adult time while the kids were sleeping that didn't involve us staring at our phones in the darkness from 7:30pm till bedtime. WOOHOO! So after the kids went to bed, it was nice to sneak into the kitchen/dining area to share a bottle of wine while playing games or sitting in the garden and enjoying the view.

The rest of the week was a blur of swimming, walks along the beach, park fun, and tasty meals. One night, I took Riya out to dinner for the first time since we moved to Dubai and she was SO happy, and sweet. She later told me it was one of the highlights of the trip for her. HEART.MELTING. I have to remember to work that in once in awhile!

The week was coming to a close and no one wanted to leave, so I would say that this was a huge success! So we decided to fly for our next family vacation over Easter Break (just in time for my birthday) and go to Hong Kong and Macau. Can't wait!!!!!

Rayan turns TWO

Its so crazy to me that my middle child is just barely two years old. These last few months has been an explosion of him starting to talk and then forming complete sentences within weeks to him now counting to 10 and singing along to every song I play. This kid catches on really quickly!!! It doesn't hurt that he has a bright older sister whom he adores and tries to copy every chance he gets!

My little Rayan has quite the personality and is known to charm the pants off of everyone he meets. If it isn't his charm, he wins them over with his enthusiastic laugh and smile. His entire nursery adores him. Paging Mr. Congeniality...

I love that he wakes up either singing or requesting (very loudly) to give him something to eat (lately we have had a lot of "Mommy....I WANT GUMMY BEARS!"). This kid cracks me up.

We decided not to have a party this year. We took him to the new Chuck E Cheese out here but it didn't have a lot for his age. But he still enjoyed eating pizza. Thank goodness we only have 1 picky eater in this house (jury is still out on Reina)!  On his actual birthday, we sent him to class with cupcakes and then had cake and presents at home. He really enjoyed opening gifts this year which was cool to see although he is afraid of his new big boy bike and remote control car:/

I am looking forward to seeing what my little man gets into this year!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday weekend:

Riya was equally excited and lent a helping hand opening gifts :D

The re-return to Dubai...

It's been a week now since we moved back to Dubai. As we boarded the plane, it still had not hit me that we were truly leaving London until we stepped off the plane and that 111 degree heat slapped me in the face. We went from 68 degrees to 111 degrees overnight. Talk about a reality check.

The kids did awesome on the flight. After all, they are pros now! And Reina just followed her big sister and brother's lead:)

Currently we are staying in a 2 bedroom hotel apartment until our goods arrive in mid-September. Our apartment sucks. The weather sucks. And living out of suitcases with 3 children SUCKS.

Riya says she doesn't like sunny days and constantly complains she is hot...you are not alone baby girl. Although everything is air conditioned, its pretty hard to compete with that 100 degree weather.

But it has been really nice having a car to get around town and enjoy all the children amenities available. We get lost constantly though, so that has been an interesting experience with 3 impatient children! The house and nanny hunt have begun and so far nothing yet, but I hope we can lock something down very soon.

This in between phase of moving always sucks but the children are in good spirits, its just us old folks that are tired haha. Here are some of my fav pictures from this week:

We are moving back....

....to Dubai!

Yep, that's right. We are jumping continents once again!

Its always bittersweet leaving one city/country for another. I absolutely love London but living here with a young family has been difficult. After we had Reina, it really caused us to pause and re-evaluate our living situation. London is an amazing city with so much to offer but for the phase of life we are in for the foreseeable future, its just not practical.

In Dubai we can drive, which is so much more important now that we have THREE children to haul around. Plus I will be able to have full time help, which is AWESOME. I don't know how we've survived on our own for this long. I mean, it definitely gives me a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that we are doing this ourselves, but it definitely takes a toll when you don't get a break.

The great thing about this move is we are moving back to a place that we are already very familiar with so there will be no "settling in" period. Although most of our friends have relocated since we left, we still know a few people there and it will be much easier to build a group of friends over there since everyone is transitional and isn't afraid to make connections however short-lived that may be.

The move is happening soon, August 12th, so I am going to enjoy every bit of our last British summer and then on to Dubai we go!

Anyone who wants to make an impromptu trip to London or Dubai is welcome:) 

Queen of Hearts

I seriously don't know how we got to the one month mark already. I feel like I just came home from the hospital a few days ago (minus the agonizing pain, which is thankfully gone now).

Reina is truly the perfect addition and completes our family. I still cannot believe we are now a family of 5 but when we are all together, my heart is happy and full. I look at Riya and she is thrilled to have a sister and is so sweet on Reina. Always wanting to kiss and cuddle her. I look at Rayan and he is still pretty clueless about the situation, though I think that is about to change as I wear her more often. But I sometimes feel bad for him, growing up in a house full of girls won't be easy.

I remember spending countless hours during my pregnancy worried and scared about juggling all 3 children. While we still have our rough days, for the most part, it has been a relatively easy transition. All the credit goes to Reina. Its like she knew I needed her to be an easy going baby. I feel so lucky to be her mother.

Here is a link to photos of month one with Reina, but here are some of my favs:

SHE has arrived!

Reina Lakshmi Aiyer was born April 9, 2017 at 4:04am weighing 7lbs 2oz and 20 inches tall. Our youngest member of the family is our biggest and tallest!

When I went in to my 39 week appointment, I was confident I would hear that golden phrase, "labor is imminent!" But instead I heard shocking news and walked away in tears. During my examination they determined the baby's head was in a transverse position (sideways) and not fully engaged in my pelvis. So baby's head was down, but not in the right position for a natural delivery and also not low enough. I was told the chances of a C-section were high if baby didn't turn. The midwife gave me one week to turn the baby on my own and booked me in for an appointment the following week, 1 day after my due date, to discuss delivery options. 

The next day I booked a private ultrasound to verify baby's position. I was secretly hoping the midwife was wrong but the ultrasound confirmed what we already knew (Happy Birthday to me). I was very discouraged by this point because I knew its very hard to change baby's position this late in pregnancy. The only glimmer of hope I had of having a natural delivery was for baby to miraculously turn during labor. 

My due date came and went and the next day we headed to my appointment knowing baby hadn't changed position and I prepared myself for the worst case scenario. Although baby hadn't changed position, my body was progressing and the midwife said those glorious magic words. She told me it was highly likely I would go into labor within 24-36 hours and then we see baby's position at that time. I was so happy to hear this news and my faith was restored in avoiding a C-section. 

48 hours came and went and there I was 3 days late and STILL pregnant. I was swollen, tired and fed up. I didn't want to be pregnant anymore. I texted the midwife to let her know nothing has happened and asked to see her that morning to discuss my options. Fortunately, the option of artificially breaking my water and waiting for spontaneous labor was available to me so we booked ourselves in for the next day, giving baby one last chance to exit on his/her own. 

We arrived at the hospital around 2pm all set and ready to go only to hear that there were no rooms available and we would have to wait a few hours at least. Luckily we came prepared for a long night ahead and played cards and listened to music to pass the time. By 6pm we were taken to the labor ward and as we walked into our room I instantly remembered this was the exact same room I delivered Rayan. I felt a rush of excitement and calmness wash over me.

My water was broken at 8pm and by 9:30pm I went into labor on my own. (Woohoo!) With every contraction it looked like baby was moving farther down and into the right position. We were good to go! Towards the end of the 6 hours that I labored, it was becoming harder to trace baby's heart rate and a pattern emerged that baby's heart rate kept decreasing with each contraction and taking too long to recover. The doctor walked in and told us we needed to get baby out NOW. He suggested the use of forceps and we reluctantly agreed. While he was prepping, they encouraged me to keep pushing and under the threat of forceps, I found the strength to push that baby out. We were just in the nick of time because baby was born with the umbilical cord around her neck:(

We heard the words "its a girl!" but all I could see was that cord around her neck. It took me a minute to snap back to reality and I had to check to make sure I heard them correctly. A GIRL?!?!?!?! We all thought we were having a boy. I would have bet the house on it. Well except for Ram who changed his mind after my 40 week appointment, saying only a girl would cause all this drama and arrive late to the party... 

But Reina is anything but a diva! She is my dream baby. She is such a sweetheart and practically sleeping through the night already. I hope I didn't just jinx myself, but this baby girl has made the transition to a family of five the easiest I could have ever imagined. Riya is obsessed with her baby sister and so pleased to have one. Rayan is still a bit clueless and just points at Reina and gets in her face as if to say, "who is this kid?"

Here are some pics of week 1 with our baby girl:

Taking 2017 by storm

I'm officially 36 weeks pregnant today. A measly 4 weeks away from my due date. Although this pregnancy has been the easiest by far (no gestational diabetes or terrible aches/pains), I'm freaking out about becoming a family of five.

It was only recently that I got used to looking after 2 toddlers. I have no idea how I'm going to add a newborn to the mix. My stress levels are also higher because Riya's 3 week Spring break is perfectly timed around baby's due date (cue eye roll). Arguably it will be nice not having to worry about getting her to school, packing lunch, and picking her up those first few weeks, but the benefits end there. Riya does not like to stay at home all day, no toddler does, and since both Riya and Rayan don't care for TV (why, God, why????!?!?!), those first few weeks are going to be immensely challenging. Although my in-laws are here to help, as a mother, I'm never "off the hook" looking after my kids. Not that I want to be completely off the hook, but you know what I mean...

Everyone says the jump from 1 to 2 kids is a harder adjustment than 2 to 3, and I seriously hope that's the case, but having 3 kids under the age of 4?! Goodness gracious. How do you prepare yourself for one of the most challenging times of your life? Prayers for patience (tons) and grace are most welcome:)

Despite my fears, I'm trying to soak in these last few weeks of being a family of four. Riya and Rayan are at such cute stages in their lives. Riya does a little dance and song for everything now. Rayan is so fun to watch in action. He is very clever and picks up on things so fast. And 'Riya-watching' is the most hilarious thing in his book. Whatever Riya is doing, he's right there by her side, laughing uncontrollably and copying her. You can't help but beam watching them together.

So let's see what life has in store for the Aiyers as we anticipate the fifth member of our family. Will the baby share my birthday? (Eek) Will the baby be an April fool? (Please no) And most importantly, will we have a boy or girl?! Stay tuned folks!