Brunch in Heaven

Collin and I took Sophia out for brunch today. As a sociable baby, Sophia loves any opportunity to watch people and make friends. We arrived at Heaven restaurant to see quite a few tables with infants and young children. There was a table set up for children to make cards using banana leaves and a lovely shop featuring Toddle Care products, designed for babies and toddlers . 

As soon as we sat down, two waiters arrived with a high chair and Toddle Care chair cover for Sophia. We thought Sophia would be too small for the high chair as she often topples forward when sitting but with the chair cover, she was able to sit up perfectly. I was really impressed with the attentiveness of the waiting staff - this is not a common occurrence in Rwanda, and I really felt like children were welcomed there. 

Sophia was very chuffed with her independent seating arrangement and giggled her way through the meal, staring at everyone who passed by. In fact she was so entertained, that she didn't even try to get any of my food. Now we are back at home, she is fast asleep, allowing me to blog for the first day in ages. It was an expensive brunch (with 10% tip added to the bill, something rare to see in Rwanda) but worth it to have a positive dining experience with a baby and to find a place I would be happy to go to on my own with her in the future. 

I was also able to buy her a wooden stacking toy from Toddle Care so it was a very successful outing.

 

Sophia in Rwanda

So, the next chapter of my Rwandan adventure begins. And this is, I think, the most exciting one yet, as Collin and I have returned to Rwanda with our 6 month old baby, Sophia. From now on, this blog will be about having a baby in Rwanda; the ups, the downs and ironies of it all. 

Although predominately set up as a platform for my friends and family to see what I am up to, I have learnt that my blog has also reached people trying to learn about the country before embarking on their own Rwandan adventures. Therefore, I will try to feed useful information into my blog as we go along.

We have been back for a month so far and I have noticed the following in the shops.....

Things which are scarce or expensive: 

• Baby formula - £8 a tub.

• Pampers - £23 for a large pack or £9 for a carry back of 9 nappies – We will be sticking to the cheaper brands, (sorry Sophia) which are £6 a pack, closer to UK prices but not as good quality.

• Baby toiletries – For some reason these are much more expensive than adult toiletries. Around £6 for Johnsons baby bath. Thankfully I brought some of this with me.

Things which are readily available:

• Baby baths – It took me a long time to choose which one to buy as I was faced with around 20 different models. There must be a big demand for these in Rwanda !!

  
  

  
  
  

• Delicious food for Sophia to try – We started weaning two weeks ago and Sophia seems to like the local avocados and mini bananas. At 20p an avo, this is now my instant food equivalent to Ella's kitchen pouches! I’m looking forward to giving her mashed carrot soon. The carrots here are SO sweet. Collin and I had both forgotten how much better the fruit and veg tastes here. 

  
  
  
  One of my biggest concerns  before arriving here, was finding Sophia a cotbed. Using the Kigali Mums and Dads Facebook group, which is a great source of information, I was able to find someone who was selling a cot. We went to pick it up a couple of days after arriving but had to hire a pickup truck to transport it to our apartment (no, alarm bells didn't ring at this point!) However, when we reached home, the cot was too big to fit through the door....ahh! So for now, Sophia is sleeping in a makeshift bed which consists of her play zoo, mattress and mosquito net. I surround the mattress with pillows as she is becoming quite mobile now so I am concerned she might fall out. I think she must be the only baby who sleeps in a zoo! Having doors wide enough to accommodate our cot is now on the list of requirements whilst we search for a house next month!! In the meantime, it's the zoo for our princess:
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

Umubano Primary School

I cannot believe that I only blogged once during my most recent Rwandan adventure. However, I think that is probably representative of the busy time I was having in my role as Interim Head Teacher at Umubano Primary School. 

I also had to keep a website up to date, which contained a lot of what I would have been blogging about any way. For those of you interested, the site is www.umubanoprimary.org . Click on the news tab to see some of the things I was doing at the school. 

My Rwandan expeditions are currently on pause whilst I'm back in the UK to have a baby - mum would not have been impressed if I had had her first grandchild in Rwanda, even though she accepts that it probably won't be long until baby and I are flying back to Africa for our next adventure, along with Collin who is due to arrive in the UK on 17th march (which should be perfect timing before the birth...fingers crossed).

I spent 5 months of my pregnancy in Rwanda and found the healthcare there to be very good. I was offered an appointment with the consultant every 6 weeks and given an ultrasound scan at every visit. So I was able to see my baby 4 times on the screen as opposed to the usual 2 offered by the NHS. Having said this, my photo souvenirs all look like aliens so they are not much to write home about!!

Anyway, I will endeavour to blog more when the next African adventure commences and I will be sure to post some snaps of the baby too. 

If any of you are feeling charitable, here is a link to my school's fundraising page. We need help supporting the 30 children who have scholarship places: 

http://www.apartnerineducation.org/scholarship-fund/

This is me in Uganda at Christmas with a 6 month bump. Collin and I took a short break over there so he could introduce me to his family :-)