Highlights from 2024

The year I had a baby and... then life became mostly about the baby.

Dec 17, 2024

Last year I did a 2023 highlights post which made me realise just how big a year it was. Well, this year was maybe just as big, especially with the introduction of Auguste who is now 10 months old.

January - babymoon

We had a little staycation in Mahina while we waited for Auguste to arrive. It involved walks (or in my case, at 9 months pregnant, waddles) along the black sand beach, splashing in the waves, and the boys going for a surfing lesson.

Every night we went to sleep in our little Air B’n’B with the sound of the waves and the salty breeze coming through the window.

We had a week of beautiful sunny weather before the tail-end of a tropical storm came rolling through. The wind and rain was impressive; huge waves smashing the beach and bringing down some concrete steps, big winds taking down trees.

February - baby arrival

Auguste arrived! I woke up on the 1st of February feeling a bit odd. Martin was out running errands, so I took myself to the beach, did some painting and had a dip, but couldn’t shake the odd feeling that persisted throughout the day.

That night, I didn’t feel like dinner. I snacked on chocolate and cake while we watched a cute romantic movie (About Time). At one point, I looked at Martin and said, ‘I think we should get my hospital bag ready’.

There was no rush; I spent the whole night in labour trying to get little snatches of sleep between contractions. In the morning, our Air B’n’B host offered to drive us to the birthing centre when dropping his 4-year-old off at school.

I delivered at Tumu Ora, the midwife-run birth house adjacent to the biggest hospital on the island. Auguste arrived safe and loudly complaining.

You can read about the experience of having a baby as an expat in Tahiti here.

March - lots of visits

I had visits from both my mum and my dad in March who took advantage of maximum cuddle time with Auguste. I started feeling a bit more human, so we started doing some little outings to restaurants, to the beach, and on the boat. We dipped the baby in the lagoon for the first time.

Then Martin’s auntie and sister arrived ahead of my sister-in-law’s wedding, and there were even more cuddles and adventures!

April - a Rurutu wedding

We took our 8-week-old baby on a plane for the first time to a small island in the Australs called Rurutu. It’s the island where my brother-in-law is from and where he and my sister-in-law decided to get married.

I got to experience a traditional Rurutu wedding which includes matching family outfits, with each family performing songs, dances and speeches for the married couple. Every family brings gifts for the newlyweds including incredibly detailed homemade hats, quilts, bunches of bananas, taro, even live pigs!

The island itself was incredible, with dramatic cliffs and grottos with soaring ceilings. Most of the week was spent doing wedding activities but I did manage to pick up a handmade bag and hat to bring back with me!

May - the passing of Tsilla

I wrote about this beautiful old cat who sadly passed away in May. I feel like I didn’t have as much time for endless cuddles with her once the baby arrived and I was a bit of a mess when we buried her. I’m still finding her hair on stuff.

June - birthday celebrations

My first birthday with a baby meant I was ready to go out and hit the town… without the baby! Martin and Emile took me for a few cocktails at the local hotel and I got drunk for the first time in over a year.

July - to Tahiti for the Heiva

Martin and I spent a night in the city to go and see the Heiva, a music and dance spectacular! It was the first night I spent away from the baby, which was both scary and liberating. We had quite a few happy hour drinks, lots of tasty food, and saw some incredible costumes and performances.

August - the aunties descend on us

Aunty Lorna came to visit along with two of her girlfriends, and I got to play host. I think I drove around the island about 6 times in the few days we had hired the car! I took them to Coco Beach which was good fun, we had lunch and dinner at the house, and Auguste got lots and lots of squishes.

September - Makatea vertical adventure

My sister visited with baby Poppy and we had a little staycation at a resort in Tahiti. The rest of her trip was filled with sunset cocktails, boat outings (where we saw dolphins and whales in the lagoon!) and massages.

We then left the baby for 6 whole days to go on a trip to Makatea, the only atoll in French Polynesia with cliffs. The adventure is all about rock climbing and adventure activities. We took an 8 hour boat overnight (sleeping on the deck) to get there, rode out bikes across the island, and set up camp right next to the beach.

The week was filled with swimming in fresh water grottos, doing the rappel, flying fox, and high ropes courses, seeing whales swim by and snorkelling next to the reef, and sitting on the beach with a fresh beer.

October - swimming with whales

Dad, my brother, Lin, Reeya and Reeya’s friend Scarlet come to visit us. The boys went and did a round of golf while the girls all went out looking for whales. It’s exhausting but beautiful, my second time swimming with these beauties (I even got quoted in The Guardian about it!).

November - back to Australia

We took Auguste on his first international trip to go visit the friends and family in Australia over Christmas. The flight went surprisingly well (I only get vomited on right at the end), the weather is beautiful and sunny, and it’s so nice to be with the family again!

December - Christmas craziness

I feel like my brain has already gone on holidays, despite the fact that I’m still supposed to be working this week. It’s nearly Christmas, and we’re busy running around seeing people, trying to get some final bits of work done, having Christmas parties, and celebrating a few birthdays. As I write this, I’m sitting in a hotel room for a little staycation in the city.

What’s on the cards for 2025?

We’ll head back to Mo’orea at the end of January, then who knows what we’ll be up to next year. Hopefully some more visits, some more travel, and lots of fun times with Auguste.