Two Months

Feb 16 2009

Dear Diego – you are two months old. We have certainly learned a lot in the last two months. I have learned what your different cries mean and to anticipate some of your needs. You have learned two distinct sounds, agooo and a clicking noise that you make with your tongue. Your father and I have had some great conversations with you using only these two words. You have discovered your hands and are grabbing at your favourite toys. I have cut my hair short. You have grown out of a surprising amount of clothing. Yesterday we were looking at the pictures of your birth and are so surprised by how big you’ve become. Right now you are having a nap in your crib – which is a very new skill for you. You don’t last very long there on your own but I know you will learn. You are seeing much more and recognizing the people who are close to you. You are smiling, a wonderful , open mouthed smile that lights up your whole face. This last month we have enjoyed visiting with your Abuela Campos. You have spent hours sleeping in her arms. You know, she can sit for two hours straight and watch you sleep. That is true love. This month we are hoping that you will begin to sleep more at night. You’re not very good at that right now. Still, that is our only complaint and that makes you almost perfect and let’s face it kid, nobody’s perfect; a good lesson for this month.

P.S. You are wearing my favourite outfit today and it is going to be the last day that it fits you. We are pretty sure you are going to be bigger than your father. Go easy on him OK?

Course Reunion

This weekend we had our reunion for our pre-natal class. We had a chance to hear the birth stories and compare babies. We won the prize for the longest birth. One of the women had an emergency c-section and hearing her story made me feel very grateful for my own experience. Ironically, the woman who was most set on the epidural had a very quick birth and didn't have time. Like most things baby/kid related, things did not go as 'planned' for any of us.

This week we are enjoying our last days with grandma. I am trying to get lots of work done, catching up before I am on my own again.

I made it to the gym today. It felt great.

All good.

Miserable

Yup - I officially feel miserable. (That is certainly a grouse exaggeration, typical of North American society where we really have it very easy, but compared to my daily fair of well, well fed, happy, loved and professionally realized I feel miserable.) We had a visit from a friend of Diego's (she's 8 days younger) who is sleeping through the night. Inspired, we set up the playpen to see if having his own space would inspire longer runs of sleep. Do you think he knew we were trying to 'independisize' him? He responded by waking up every hour and a half the whole night. After the second time putting him down in the play pen we gave up and moved him to the bed. Then my day 'improved' with a visit to the dentist who overdid the anestesia. I miss my Colombian dentist who would often tell me "it's just a small cavity, I think I can do it without freezing" (actually, more like, tan pequeno, no necesita anestesia, but you get the picture). Here, to prevent liability (??) I got pumped up with 3 needles full of anestesia and 2 and a half hours later I still feel like I have a tongue the size of a basket ball, I'm hungry and can barely drink water.

Stroller Triumph

Remember in the last post I was complaining about my "stroller status"... well I have a triumph to report. With a little bit of minor surgery involving a hack saw and some silicone I was able to adjust the support bar on my cheap, second hand stroller to fit my free, hand me down car seat. I feel like I have accomplished a major anti-consumerist triumph. For some reason the stroller became a bit of an obsession, a self-imposed monster which couldn't be resolved. I am now free. I will post pictures of the new improved stroller shortly, in the mean time here is a picture of it's previous incarnation.

Another Road Trip

This time to Ottawa. Somewhat less successful. Diego is more awake now, more alert, and therefore more cranky when shuffled in and out of car-seat, sling, etc. Despite a cranky baby we managed to visit with our good friend Laura, see Parliament Hill, the Byward Market, the Museum of Nature and also stop in on friends Siri and Hari. I pined over a stroller with a car seat that locks in - I won't make the mistake with the next baby of overlooking this piece of gear. I breastfed standing in a public washroom stall, seated in front of Parliament in the wind, did a diaper change in the hallway of the upstairs of the market and generally felt rather hardcore. Rafa's mom enjoyed seeing the sights, we were all relieved to be home again. The next day all is forgiven. Diego has forgotten that we mistreated him so terribly and us, well, you could forgive this face anything.

5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!

I slept for 5 hours straight last night. That's right, count them, 1... 2.... 3.... 4... 5.... from 9:00-2:00. Rafa put the baby to sleep - laid him down at 10:30 and he didn't make a sound till 2:00! I'm so happy, I'm so rested, I love my baby and my husband, and my mother-in-law (who kept Rafa entertained till the baby was quiet). Life is good.

Mother in Laws are Awesome!

At least mine is. I'm sorry for those of you who don't have an awesome mother-in-law. What a waste! Since arriving at my house on Monday she has, cleaned the floor, cooked several meals, held the baby while I rested, ate, worked, lounged, fed the baby a bottle, put him to sleep at night, rinsed poop out of diapers and generally been adoring and good company. Here is a picture of my awesome mother-in-law adoring my beautiful baby.

A First Road Trip

Grandma (la abuela) has arrived - much to everyone's relief. We went to pick her up on Friday morning early after a lovely sleep over at Kendra's. Jenn came to visit, but we didn't get to see Len as he was working :( . Diego slept well at Kendra's and so we left hopeful of a good weekend and our little man didn't disappoint. First stop on the road trip, Niagara Falls. We got a hotel room with a spectacular view - cheep in the off season. This was a good decision as Rafa's mom has never experiences temperatures below about 10 degrees, -8 was a shock and we spent a lot of our time in the hotel room. We were able to watch the falls under various weather conditions, appreciate the evening light show, and all from the comfort of our hotel room.

On Saturday morning we headed off to Toronto via Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catherines, continuing our tour through the car window. Rafa and Raquel did a couple of quick jumps out of the car to look at the view and then off we'd go again. In Toronto we opted for a hotel room so as to be close to downtown. We found a hotel right at Dundas and Yonge which was very comfortable. We did another very fast walk - through the Eaton's center, by city hall, to the bottom of the CN Tower and then back to the hotel. On the way home on Sunday we decided to stop at the Zoo - it was a beautiful sunny day - if cold. Diego slept through most of everything, cuddled in the sling. All of this wonderfulness on his part prompted a bit of a meltdown when we finally got home on Sunday night - but then who can blame him? All in all - I think we can safely say we have a baby who travels well - which is very good news.