About Us

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We are the Pomario Family and we used to live in Johannesburg, South Africa. On the 10 July 2009 at 8.05 our little family grew to 3 when our precious daughter Natalia was born. We were blessed that she had chosen us to be her parents and we were privileged to have her in our lives. We believe she is here to teach us many lessons and give us plenty of joy. We relocated to Australia in April 2011. These are our stories……

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Friday, July 31, 2009

3 Weeks Old Today


Being dried off after bathing

Foodies time

I am so adorable - all snuggled up

This is Dolly - Natalia's Nanny

Hi All

I cant believe how the time has flown. Little Miss Muffet has been keeping me really busy and on my toes. There's not much time in between feeds to do much for myself and most of the time I find myself napping with her. We went to get her weighed this afternoon and surprise surprise - she weighs 4.3kg now and 54cm long.

Kim has been fabulous in relieving me when I need a break and a sleep - getting 5 hours sleep straight the other night really helped and made me feel better and more alert. Also on a Friday and Saturday night, Kim does the 1am feed so I get a good sleep in then too......

Tuesday was a nightmare of a day. She cried incessantly the whole day and night - I sure hope I don't have another Tuesday again soon. Kim felt so sorry for me, that he has booked me for a full body massage tomorrow morning and then he will have some precious time with his princess.

Otherwise, those of you that have not come to visit and meet Natalia, please do. It is difficult to tell you just how cute she is. She makes these little squeaks all the time which makes me laugh. Kim calls her 'Squeakels'. Kim enjoys bathing her, that's his quality time with her, and then he gives her her last feeds for the night. She doesn't cry as much during bathtime; I think she is getting used to Kim and the routine now.
Anyhoo, that was just a short one to tell you how she's doing.
Love Leigh, Kim & Natalia

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Lucy Dodgen - 27 July

Hi All

This post is to announce that Lucy Dodgen was born yesterday at 13.57 to my cousin Jarrod and his wife Linda. Lucy is their 2nd born, sister to Jack who is 2 years old.
Lucy was born with a problem with her esophagus (Esopageal Atresia), something that was not picked up before she was born. As a result, she cannot feed properly and will require an operation and remain in hospital for a while. We want to welcome her into the world and tell her that she is blessed and already loved by a huge family. The road ahead will be hard for her and her family and we, the Pomario Family, want to send out heaps of love and best wishes to all of them.....

Plenty of Love
Leigh, Kim and Natalia

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Some more pics


Even moms need their rest

After a hard day of eating and pooping I need my rest !

Smoking the traditional cigar

Finally - Daddy has figured out how to keep me happy when bathing me

Friday, July 24, 2009

2 Weeks Old Today

Okay, finally I feel like I can do a proper post. Its been a whirlwind 2 weeks since Natalia was born and there is so much to tell. But honestly, I have porridge brain more than ever now because I am lucky to get any sleep. You know that doff feeling - well I have it all day and night now. Sleeping more than 2 hours at a time is a lot, so I might get 6 hours sleep in, but its broken by an hour to an hour and a half in between. And then breastfeeding is not that easy either. My milk just never came in and everyone close to me knows that I really wanted to breastfeed. We even got a lactation specialist in to help me, but still, 2 weeks later and I have hardly any milk. We are bottle feeding along with breastfeeding and then I also express after feeds to stimulate more milk production, but Natalia would never be satisfied with the breast alone. This is a real sore subject........it's just not meant to be :(

Since Sunday night, Natalia has been waking up at 10pm with incredible tummy cramps. I can hear the gas going through her and her little legs lift up with the pain. Shame, I don't always know what to do and how to get rid these damned cramps and Mr Kim is sleeping, and all I think is, why cant this happen in the daytime. Then it takes an hour and a half for me to console her, change her nappy etc. before she goes to lala land. Only to be woken up at 1am for her next feed. Shame, I hate to see my little angel in sooo much pain........ And another thing, Natalia's umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off. I read that it takes 7-10days to fall off. I wish it would just go now so I can put her nappies on easier. Also, 'they' never told me that you need a degree to put on babygrows and vests. For some reason, I struggle to get the press-studs to do their job; I'm all thumbs..... Kim is on bath duty. He loves his time with her in the evening at bathtime; I've actually not bathed her once. Daddy does a really good job and this is his bonding time with Natalia. Kim's banished me from interfering and prefers me out of the room! I don't know what I'm going to do when he's away.

Otherwise, I am doing okay and really in love. It's a different kind of love, an unconditional love. No matter what, even at 1am when she is covered in poo and so am I, I just want to eat her up. Of course she is the most beautiful girl in the world, every mother and father thinks that of their own masterpiece, and she IS our little masterpiece!

We went to weigh her today at the clinic and she's now 3.86kg. We also collected her Birth Certificate today from the hospital, so now she has her very own ID number and her name is official.

On another front - I really suffered from major Oedema with this pregnancy, even more so after her birth. My blood pressure also shot through the roof and I had a couple of people worried when it was 210/106 at one stage - stroke alert!!! My face, arms, hands, legs and feet were swollen beyond expansion and my skin was extremely tight. Only since yesterday I'm I feeling normal again. I can walk properly, bend my knees and my shoes fit me again. Now all I have to do is lose this weight. I have about 18kg to go and cant wait to get to the gym in a couple of weeks. I have to wait for this cut to heal before doing anything strenuous........

Lastly, Loren is coming tomorrow to do a photo shoot with us - a Newborn Shoot - so I'll post professional pics of her soon......

Love us

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Meet Ooolie Bear


Ooolie Bear will protect me

See how small I am

Fast asleep in Dad's arms

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Happy 1 Week Old Gorgeous Girl !!!






Natalia is 1 week old already. The whole of today I was thinking of what I was doing and going through last Friday when she was born. 1 week has gone by so fast. See some new pics of my gorgeous girl attached.......
Love Leigh

Friday, July 10, 2009

World Meet Natalia


8.05 am - I wanna go back in !!!

Proud new parents

Finally some peace and quiet
Proud Grandmother

Another Proud Grandmother


This is the big one !!! Natalia arrived well and healthy at 08h05 on Friday 10 July 2009 !!
The morning started at roughly 2am this morning when Leigh could not sleep and eventually gave up trying an at 3am had a shower and proceeded to get ready. By 4.30 am we were all ready and packed to go to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital at 5am and we thought we could get a bit of rest before the activity started as we were only supposed to book in at 6 am – alas this was not to be – the staff were delighted we were early and proceeded to prep us. Time went by quite quickly and by 7.30 we were wheeled into theater. It took longer to set everything up than to carry out the eviction.
At 08H05 Natalia arrived ! 10 Fingers / 10 Toes and everything is where is supposed to be.
We are now going to get some rest and will catch up with everyone later.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Less Than 2 Days To Go


I can't believe that Natalia is arriving in less than 2 days. We went for our last check-up now and she weighs 3.5kg and her heart rate is 129. She is doing just fine and doctor is happy with everything. My placenta is still very low and I would not have been able to go Natural even if I wanted to - this condition is called Placenta Previa. This is the kind of thing that would have killed a mother in the 'olden days', because the placenta partially or totally covers the cervix preventing the baby from coming out and causing the mother to bleed to death! How technology has changed, thankfully!!!
I am very happy that I don't have to wait much longer. I am suffering from severe Oedema - major swelling of my feet and hands - and water retention. Also, my urine test today revealed a bladder infection which I got a prescription for. My comfort levels are at a all time low and my belly has stretched as much as it can, luckily with minimal stretch marks which I'm thankful for.
Kim and I have to be at Wilgeheuwel Hospital at 6am on Friday morning, but we will probably get there earlier because I want to get a private room. I am the only planned Caesar being done that morning. My Mom arrives tomorrow night from Durbs, which is also exciting, and she plans on staying until the following Sunday. So this is probably my last post for a while. Kim will upload pics of Natalia as soon as he gets a chance, so keep posted.
Love to all
Leigh & Kim

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Dolly Arrives & Gynae Visit


Can you see - I am still a girl.........

See my big toe sticking out on the left, elbow in he middle and head on the right

Hi All

So, I am happy to announce that Dolly, our new nanny, has arrived. I went to pick her up this morning in Centurion. Things went a little haywire as I was waiting for her at a Spar and she was at another Spar in the same area, but eventually we found each other. Today was her day to adjust and settle in. We built a new room for her and she spent the day cleaning, re-arranging and making her room comfortable. I need to thank Megan for recommending her to us - thank you Megan! Tomorrow we'll go shopping for some food for her and I will show her around the area a bit. I don't want to overwhelm her and do too much too soon. I want her to settle in and find her feet before Natalia arrives and takes over!

Then Kim and I went for our visit today. These days we go every week. The Doc is very happy with her. Her heart rate is 160 odd, and she is growing at a rapid rate, weighing in at 3.4kg now. The Doc predicts that our little lady is going to weigh about 3.7kg when she's born in 9 days time. Can you believe it - 9 days time!!! She's also engaged now and I am struggling to walk around these days. I have hectic Oedema and am also struggling to sleep at night as well. Well, the tiredness is here to stay for many years to come.......

Love to all
Leigh & Kim