#anettingnewzealandadventure: The Nettings Do NZ

This week was the week of Kensley’s first fever and cold. Boy, was it sad. She had a few rough days and one REALLY rough night but I’m glad to say that she is completely on the mend. Caleb and I were both hit hard with a New Zealand cold during our first week here so we had nothing but empathy for her and her little cough and runny nose. This meant our week was pretty low-key. We still went for our walks, lattes, and for groceries; she and I even got three runs in together and she proved to be her father’s daughter as all three were only intended to be 5ks but she pushed me to 7k x 2 and a 10k (she fell asleep and there is no better motivation than a sleeping baby!). Needless to say, I LOVE the running stroller and although an adjustment to run with, I definitely feel like I am getting into the groove with it. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to our mom and baby fitness class this week because I thought it was unfair to drag Kensley out for a two-hour affair when she was clearly not feeling well. Despite her cold, it also seemed to be Kensley’s week of admiring her daddy. Forget it, if Caleb is in the room, all eyes are on Caleb, watching intently whatever he is doing. She has also been working on sitting up independently!

On Thursday evening, we had one of Caleb’s colleagues, Mary, over for dinner. Mary is the lower limb fellow who is here from Ireland. We had a really great visit with her and Mary and I have planned some baby-free activities – stay tuned! We enjoyed a bottle of Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) 2017 ($15.69) with honey dijon chicken and coconut curried quinoa with roasted cauliflower served on spinach; and New Zealand vanilla bean ice cream and with homemade raspberry sauce on top for dessert. Funny enough, Mary brought the same bottle of wine (except 2015) and some delicious Barry’s Bay (NZ company) cheeses. I really enjoyed the wine, and Caleb says it was pleasant and enjoyable (although he admits to not really remembering at this point). Here it comes: 4/5 from me, and Caleb just said he agrees J.

Friday night was another night of homemade pizza (onion, spinach, pineapple and ham) and another PINOT NOIR! Woohoo. I was so ready for this after a week with a sick baby. I will admit now, that I was hurting last Saturday after Caleb and I finished a bottle so I practiced some self-control this week. We had Esk Valley 2017, again from Marlborough ($26.89 on sale for $19.99). I didn’t think this was anything special and Caleb stated it was “smooth, inoffensive but also unremarkable”. We are both giving it a 3/5. Interestingly, so far, we like the cheapest bottle we’ve tried the best; maybe this means we have unrefined palates but it’s good for our bank account!

On Saturday, we packed up and headed north west of Christchurch to Hamner Springs; after our latte bowls at The Boat Shed, of course. Following a beautiful drive, we embarked on our first hike with Kensley; who slept for most of the 1.5-hour ride on Caleb up the Waterfall Track. We have had her in the carrier very few times so this was a big success to us. We finally feel like we experienced some of the New Zealand winter as we encountered some snow on this climb. Caleb typically shows no mercy on our hikes and if you can’t keep up then he’ll see you at the top (not actually, he’ll slow down a few times), but I must admit, he was pretty cautious with his precious cargo (Kensley) on him. Unfortunately, we returned to our car to find a flat tire. Never fear, super daddy can change that thing in a jiffy. We made our way back to our motel room to warm up; Kensley had quite the chill. The plan was that Caleb and I would alternate going to the hot springs for a soak and I sent him along to go first but truthfully, my desire to go solo was low so I didn’t bother going. Perhaps, we will head again and be able to go together when we have some visitors who are willing to watch Kensley (Poppa :P). Caleb reports that these hot springs were no Le Nordik, a bit underwhelming and a family tourist trap. On Sunday, Caleb was craving some more mountains so he took off and did a more challenging hike/run up Mt Isobel; he states it was fairly easy hiking with great views; it was clear and crisp with quite a bit of snow. Kensley and I entertained ourselves with some walks and a nice breakfast out.

To me, the biggest adventure of the week/weekend/our whole time in NZ was sharing a motel room with Kensley, who goes to bed between 5-6pm. We’ve been fortunate enough up until this point to always have a space to tuck Kensley away when we travel (whether it be another room, a washroom or a closet – sorry Kenz). Unfortunately, this room didn’t offer any separate space and this caused me quite a bit of stress. How are we supposed to enjoy ourselves and stay quiet enough for a baby to sleep NEXT TO US (under a make shift blanket fort I made). Ugh – the answer is, we didn’t REALLY enjoy ourselves because I was a stress case. Kensley’s sleep is precious to me – it makes her happy, so easy to manage, and it allows me time to myself and with Caleb. I don’t want to mess with her sleep at all, and that means my husband has to unzip zippers, eat carrots, a bag of chips, and apple quietly, – as if that’s even possible (so I made him do them all outside haha). Nonetheless, we all survived and it wasn’t all that bad. We did have to listen to Kensley have quite the party in her bassinet for about 50 mins at 2am (she was hooting and hollering and really having a grand time then finally fell back asleep). I wonder if she does this every night!? I’m not really sure what our future overnighters will have in store for us. If anyone reads this and travels with a baby can you tell me how you do it and enjoy it…a trick? or is it as simple as always having a separate space for them?

This weeks successes:

Kensley overcame her first cold

First family hike

Getting into a groove with the running stroller

Caleb bought skis and ski boots

I ran a 10k at 5:22 pace – this is only my third postpartum 10k so I’m pretty happy with that

We all survived our first overnighter with a baby in the same space with us the entire night