Another reason to love Canada - Montreal's airport has fun toys for children!
And a voila a photo of Nico "learning how to drive."
Friday, July 5, 2013
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Nov 12 update
Nico is just over 10 weeks old and just about 15 pounds!!
Among his many new "tricks", he has been (since last Friday!) reaching out to objects like a little panda bear, and holding onto things like little rattles and a little stuffed bunny, which he even almost hugged tonight. He is super fascinated by things like a cool ceiling in a restaurant, or the bananas and apples at the grocery store. He likes music and being sung to. And he is SO serious about keeping with his 7pm marathon feeding and then sleeping routine. He seems to have a super strong personality, and is just so vibrant with his smiles, coos and kicks!
He still sleeps with us, which I love. And even though I might be sleepy, I also love waking up to feed him in the middle of the night, and even he wakes up a little too early, I love seeing his happy morning face, smiles, bright eyes.
I am still on maternity leave through December, with a little bit of work still every day, and then return to work part time (30 hours/week) in January.
Nico will be baptized in Delaware on December 16th, at the same church where my brother Tom and I were baptized, and also where my Mom and grandmother used to attend, and where today my Dad and Ann attend and sing in the choir. Jose's sister, her husband and Jose's cousin arrive from Uruguay the 15th, and will be in the US until early January. Jose goes to Columbia for a work trip the first week of December, and I will likely go to Delaware.
So that's our latest!
Among his many new "tricks", he has been (since last Friday!) reaching out to objects like a little panda bear, and holding onto things like little rattles and a little stuffed bunny, which he even almost hugged tonight. He is super fascinated by things like a cool ceiling in a restaurant, or the bananas and apples at the grocery store. He likes music and being sung to. And he is SO serious about keeping with his 7pm marathon feeding and then sleeping routine. He seems to have a super strong personality, and is just so vibrant with his smiles, coos and kicks!
He still sleeps with us, which I love. And even though I might be sleepy, I also love waking up to feed him in the middle of the night, and even he wakes up a little too early, I love seeing his happy morning face, smiles, bright eyes.
I am still on maternity leave through December, with a little bit of work still every day, and then return to work part time (30 hours/week) in January.
Nico will be baptized in Delaware on December 16th, at the same church where my brother Tom and I were baptized, and also where my Mom and grandmother used to attend, and where today my Dad and Ann attend and sing in the choir. Jose's sister, her husband and Jose's cousin arrive from Uruguay the 15th, and will be in the US until early January. Jose goes to Columbia for a work trip the first week of December, and I will likely go to Delaware.
So that's our latest!
Oct 17 Update
Good news - things are going well! Nico is becoming more and more fun,
and less fussy. AND we've done a few major outings just yesterday - I
started a Moms and babies support group, which I really loved. It is 12
moms and babies, a mental health professional leading the group, where
we discuss a different topic every week. There are other informal coffee
shop meetings of Moms in my neighborhood, but I really liked this group
with set themes and a leader to keep us all going! Then yesterday
afternoon, I took Nico with me to a major work presentation for all of
our international partners who are here in DC this week for strategy
meetings. Nico stayed with Carolina for my 30 min presentation, and it
went well. Getting out with Nico is a major step for me, as we haven't
gone beyond the local park, weekend flea markets and grocery store.
Jose is in China for a 10 day work trip, and I've arranged for a lot of great friend visits. Besides loving my friends (thank you J-Leh, Andrea and Keri!!) I've also seen just how nice it can be to hang out with your baby and your friends. Being just with a baby, even a great one, can be hard after a long day...I have discovered another great activity with Nico that makes him happy - music! So far he likes African music and jazz most! It is really fun to dance together - much more fun than bouncing for no reason.
In other good news - I think our night time schedule is going really well. Nico continues to do a huge feeding about 7:30-9, then I get some great things like showering, eating, etc, before slipping into bed with Nico. He wakes up about 11:30, 2:30, 6:30 and then 8:30. I feed each time, and then get up to burp and change him and at this point I don't feel tired at all in the morning or when I get up with him. I actually love the chance to hold him and look at his big blue eyes.
Last week, Nico weighed in at 12 pounds! We thought he might have a cold last week (as both Jose and I had colds), and took him to the Dr. Thankfully, he had resisted our colds - good little immune system! But we did find out his latest weight at the Dr, which is always exciting!
Jose is in China for a 10 day work trip, and I've arranged for a lot of great friend visits. Besides loving my friends (thank you J-Leh, Andrea and Keri!!) I've also seen just how nice it can be to hang out with your baby and your friends. Being just with a baby, even a great one, can be hard after a long day...I have discovered another great activity with Nico that makes him happy - music! So far he likes African music and jazz most! It is really fun to dance together - much more fun than bouncing for no reason.
In other good news - I think our night time schedule is going really well. Nico continues to do a huge feeding about 7:30-9, then I get some great things like showering, eating, etc, before slipping into bed with Nico. He wakes up about 11:30, 2:30, 6:30 and then 8:30. I feed each time, and then get up to burp and change him and at this point I don't feel tired at all in the morning or when I get up with him. I actually love the chance to hold him and look at his big blue eyes.
Last week, Nico weighed in at 12 pounds! We thought he might have a cold last week (as both Jose and I had colds), and took him to the Dr. Thankfully, he had resisted our colds - good little immune system! But we did find out his latest weight at the Dr, which is always exciting!
Oct 1 - Nico one month old!
Today is Nico's one month "birthday"!
Things are going pretty well. After a tough time of big fussiness and crying that I couldn't comfort without feeding, and Jose with bouncing on the exercise ball, Nico has now started a sweet cuddling phase where he doesn't want to be outside of someone's arms. Though busy, and doesn't allow for bathroom breaks when home alone, I much prefer this phase to inconsolable crying!
Another trick I have now to calm Nico down is walking around in our backyard and singing random songs in different languages. Today we met one of my neighbors there, and when I introduced her to Nico, he promptly spit up right down my chest - I guess this cleavage is good for something else besides feeding him!
Some other Nico details - he remains a very short (if any!) napper during the day, but has graced us with a great gift! He will do a big feeding about 7 in our bed with me, and then SLEEP from 8 to about 11! This is great, as this period was prior Nico's major fussy time. So now he gets rest, and Jose and I get a little time to be together. Nico is then up every few hours for more feedings, and is waking up for good earlier in the day - but having this night time break and getting him down and avoiding a major fussy time is worth it!
His eyes are HUGE and blue. He seems very determined and excited in much of his pursuits - which are basically feeding, being changed, hugging. And he is becoming bald! I think this is normal, but it's funny to see!
That's the latest for now. Happy one month birthday Nico!
Things are going pretty well. After a tough time of big fussiness and crying that I couldn't comfort without feeding, and Jose with bouncing on the exercise ball, Nico has now started a sweet cuddling phase where he doesn't want to be outside of someone's arms. Though busy, and doesn't allow for bathroom breaks when home alone, I much prefer this phase to inconsolable crying!
Another trick I have now to calm Nico down is walking around in our backyard and singing random songs in different languages. Today we met one of my neighbors there, and when I introduced her to Nico, he promptly spit up right down my chest - I guess this cleavage is good for something else besides feeding him!
Some other Nico details - he remains a very short (if any!) napper during the day, but has graced us with a great gift! He will do a big feeding about 7 in our bed with me, and then SLEEP from 8 to about 11! This is great, as this period was prior Nico's major fussy time. So now he gets rest, and Jose and I get a little time to be together. Nico is then up every few hours for more feedings, and is waking up for good earlier in the day - but having this night time break and getting him down and avoiding a major fussy time is worth it!
His eyes are HUGE and blue. He seems very determined and excited in much of his pursuits - which are basically feeding, being changed, hugging. And he is becoming bald! I think this is normal, but it's funny to see!
That's the latest for now. Happy one month birthday Nico!
Sept 9th and 19th Updates
Sept 9:
So our first 2 nights home from hospital were really hard, Nico not getting the sleep cues at all - but we found a trick: Jose bouncing on the exercise ball with Nico (only way we have found so far to really chill him out!) And so now he actually will do 3 hour sleeps between about 3 nightly feedings, so this is great and I actually feel rested and good enough to function the next day.
Pediatrician visit last week went well - he is gaining weight back, and we are not as on edge about the weight loss that had dipped to 11% at the hospital.
He is a fun, active little guy - with a dynamic little attitude! We call him "fusie" for short fuse. He is not a brat, but very clear in what he does and doesn't like. He also seems really strong - already almost turning over when we put him down to sleep. This little guy!
Sept 19:
Today before noon - Nico peed on 3 outfits, peed on our bed, pooped on his changing table, and fed for about 6 hours straight. He is in a growth spurt that happens around weeks 2-3, and sometimes has these marathon feedings. I finally got breakfast at noon, and took care of my own medication and incision care needs.
I remember when our office HR guy explained to me the maternity leave details - and I thought how nice it was that sick time could be used for this period. Little did I know that you really are in a situation where you can't leave your house without help and could be taking care of major post surgery realities! I'm not complaining because it's all worth it to have Nico, but I do see why sick time applies, and disability too!!
We are going to get some help from a Latin woman Jose found through his Latin world connections. I can't do simple things still like laundry, take trash out, and Jose is in major work mode ahead of his China trip. So we're just not able to keep up with housework - as Jose puts it, Nico and I are the top priority, and then his work - so this means that laundry and trash need another solution!
At Nico's Dr appointment, we learned that he weights 9 pounds now. He had lost too much weight during the first few days at the hospital, and we had had to supplement. Now he has gained all that lost weight back plus a whole pound!
So our first 2 nights home from hospital were really hard, Nico not getting the sleep cues at all - but we found a trick: Jose bouncing on the exercise ball with Nico (only way we have found so far to really chill him out!) And so now he actually will do 3 hour sleeps between about 3 nightly feedings, so this is great and I actually feel rested and good enough to function the next day.
Pediatrician visit last week went well - he is gaining weight back, and we are not as on edge about the weight loss that had dipped to 11% at the hospital.
He is a fun, active little guy - with a dynamic little attitude! We call him "fusie" for short fuse. He is not a brat, but very clear in what he does and doesn't like. He also seems really strong - already almost turning over when we put him down to sleep. This little guy!
Sept 19:
Today before noon - Nico peed on 3 outfits, peed on our bed, pooped on his changing table, and fed for about 6 hours straight. He is in a growth spurt that happens around weeks 2-3, and sometimes has these marathon feedings. I finally got breakfast at noon, and took care of my own medication and incision care needs.
I remember when our office HR guy explained to me the maternity leave details - and I thought how nice it was that sick time could be used for this period. Little did I know that you really are in a situation where you can't leave your house without help and could be taking care of major post surgery realities! I'm not complaining because it's all worth it to have Nico, but I do see why sick time applies, and disability too!!
We are going to get some help from a Latin woman Jose found through his Latin world connections. I can't do simple things still like laundry, take trash out, and Jose is in major work mode ahead of his China trip. So we're just not able to keep up with housework - as Jose puts it, Nico and I are the top priority, and then his work - so this means that laundry and trash need another solution!
At Nico's Dr appointment, we learned that he weights 9 pounds now. He had lost too much weight during the first few days at the hospital, and we had had to supplement. Now he has gained all that lost weight back plus a whole pound!
Labor story
It all started 2:30am Aug 31, which
is exactly the day that Jose and I had been predicting that Nico would
join us. I began serious contractions 4 hours in after water breaking in
spurts, and then saw the contraction periods get long and then short,
without any consistency. The contractions were very intense from the
beginning, and did not really grow in intensity, but remained at that
level all day. We stayed home all day, and tried to do things with our
doula Vynessa to further speed things along. I was having terrible back pain
which is due to Nico having been off in his
positioning. We arrived at the hospital with 4 cm dilation. I worked
really hard with Jose and our doula, and got to 7cm dilated by 1am. At
this point, after 24 hours, without enough progress, the pitocin and
epidural question came up, and I consented - I was exhausted, and in so
much back pain that I couldn't even feel anything at all in my uterus.
It was all in the back. After 4 hours of pitocin sped up contractions,
my dilation actually went down to 6 cm, and Nico's heart beat started to
stay down too long. So it was c-section time. At that point, as you an
imagine, I just wanted Nico safely with us, and didn't feel that there
was anything else we could have done to get my dilation further moved
along. When Nico was born, he had the umbilical cord around his neck,
which may be one reason why my body was not allowing things to advance
further. He was born healthy and in great shape though, and this is of
course the prize. The whole experience was very hard and pretty
distressing at times but Jose and I have no regrets, and feel we made
the right decisions at the right time. I did labor "naturally" for 24
hours, so also do feel that I know what that is like now, though also
with all the back pain, found my experience pretty stressful and
difficult. When we were leaving the hospital and passed by the delivery
hallway, I kind of cringed! Again, we have the prize which is Nico, and I am feeling great today, so all is well.
Nico is now almost 11 weeks old, and weighs 15 pounds! We have been having a really great time together, and I feel great as a Mom.
Nico is now almost 11 weeks old, and weighs 15 pounds! We have been having a really great time together, and I feel great as a Mom.
Blog Catch Up - Nico is here and more!
And Nico did START his big moment of working to enter the world on the 31st Aug, but did not arrive until Sept 1 at 5:51 am! I will start to put up details on the birth and Nico's updates over the past few months. Thanks for thinking of Nico and me!
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