When a Baby Claps Does Anybody Hear?

Playdate

M's Moms group, had a baby Xmas "play date" last week. I heard it went well. However after lining the guests up on the couch for a little Xmas photo shoot, it sounds like the date was over, especially for Sophie - take look ;)

My meeting with Santa Clause

Sophie met Santa Clause today at Cloverdale mall. She was all dressed up in her red christmas dress that Debbie bought her, and with silver shoes. Sophie was fascinated with Santa's big white beard right away and just looked up at him, gazing in amazement! Who is this guy!?

Talking, Eating, Sleeping

Sophie is approaching 9 months. She holds onto furtinure with one hand and turns around smiling very impressed with herself.

She deliberatley makes sounds, like "baa!" out of nowhere talking like she is trying to say something.

Sophie trys to climb up on things. She hasn't gotten very far yet, but we do have baby gates in the waiting should she soon discover how to climb stairs.

Sophie is lately taking a notice in dogs and cats. She watches them very closely when seen walking on the street.

7 Month Update

Wow, it has been a long time since this blog has been updated. Life has been so busy with work, keeping the house, and the two ladies in it happy. Work on the house includes getting our shower faucets changed to a modern on that works, and then re-tiling the 50 year old tile to seal things back up again. New windows, getting a new roof soon, and doing some insulation work in our garage to keep the rooms above it toasty warm.

Below are a few pictures of Sophie. Lately she is crawling forward with strength and direction, usually to some fixture where she can now PULL herself up to standing position. Now she likes to STAND anywhere she can, and however she can get to this position. Pulling up on a couch, some boxes, a chair, someone's body, anything goes. Just get me standing:

Summer Update

Lately Sophie is doing a new thing where she tilts her head to the side when looking at someone or something, as if to say "Who are you? What's the deal here?"

Sophie is also getting strong. Lying on her stomach, if you hold her hands, she pulls her bum up in the air, and her feet up underneath her. Then she stands up. She's not quite crawling across a room yet, but she is getting more mobile everyday. Her rubber floor matts are her favourite place to play.

The Gang's all Here

Last week I had a great week off of work. With the civic holiday weekend (August 1st long weekend) I had a good 10 days off in total. S, A, O, & K are all here from England, and along with I & A, myself, M & Sophie this makes 9 people present at B129 on Georgian Bay. Wow.

A great week was had by all, sleeping in, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, waterskiing, reading, drinking coffee, and MOST of all EATING!

Another of the most surprising and interesting observations was the energy, interest, and zest that Sophie, Oona, & Kiefer interacted with eachother. Truly amazing. Sophie LOVES her cousin Oona and Kiefer and constantly responded with high pitch squeals, laughs, and shreaks.

First Time to Bay

Sophie made it to Georgian Bay for the first time in her life last weekend. She got a good dose of mixed weather, rain, sun, and mist. Although she didn't make it into the sauna just yet, she got lots of attention from I, A, and Inga here visiting from Latvia.

Seen here in her "Bumbo" seat, Sophie participated in full sit down dinners with us all at the kitchen table.

This week Sophie's cousin's; Oona and Kiefer arrived from England. They are visiting with their mom, S, for a FULL 7 weeks. Get ready for some rockin' baby times this summer on 12 mile!

Fashion Files

At three months and counting, Sophie is quickly taking after mom with a love of fashion and styles. Here, she's wearing an H&M white cardigan paired with Small Paul cult classic "I'M A MONKEY" tee, and a bright, colourful, but affordable Joe Fresh cotton pant for spring.

"Normally I'd have my shoes to match" says Sophie, "but today its warming up, and I'm footloose and fancy free".

Millbrook Babies

On Saturday, Marianne, Sophie and I made it out in the Altima to Millbrook chez Rob, Sarah & Evy. A perfect sunny day for a good drive and to get out of the city. Rob's hard work on the new and vastly improved chicken coop (aka mancave with hydro, LCD flatscreen, wifi and hardwood) has come a long way since last summer when we tore down the old chicken coop.

Evy is the other new addition to Millbrook this year, which we all enjoyed getting to know a little better. She's too cute, and is a jolly jumper afficionado.

We all need some help getting to sleep sometimes...

Breastmilk is Overrated - Part 2

Starbucks

A few days after M & S's 30+ hour labour, I thought we'd soon be at our local neighbourhood Starbucks with the stroller, sunglasses, and sipping on capuccinos! This is not what happened. However, we've finally arrived.

Easter Weekend

A decided non-trip to St. Catherines to join M's family for Easter Sunday was due to not wanting to spend hours in the car in potential traffic each way with a crying Sophie, and tired parents too. We took the opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep and have a three day weekend at home. Much needed!

As Grandma (or Nana, we're not sure yet) was babysitting (in London, England) - Grandad was home alone, so he dropped by to join in a simple BBQ and have a glass of wine and play with his newest granddaughter.

Thanks to Grandad for making a KILLER Bordelaise sauce to go with our pork & veal tenderloins, and as usual bringing some great wine to sample! DELICIOUS!!

Smiles or ... something else...?

Sophie graces us with some smiles now and then. I like to think that I have the paternal power to make her smile on demand, however at times we think these smiles might also be thanks to "gas". Hmm.... you judge:



Here's Sophie this morning, with some genuine smiles:

To Sling or Not to Sling

...that is the question.

Sophie has been using many of the great gifts that our friends and family have generously gifted to our whole baby effort. She likes falling alseep while sitting in her swing, soft blankets she uses to stay warm in her car seat, onesie's she lives in every day & night, towels she stays warm & dry after a bath....

Some of her big girl outfits are yet to be used, but she's already seen her "closet" and fashionista mom is slowly readying her for "What Not to Wear".

Stroller Mileage

Brands and names aside, shopping for a baby stroller these days is like buying a new car.

3 wheels, joggers, 4 wheels, do you know what a "Snap & Go" is?? You don't know?

Some have bassinette included, some can take two babies, some are heavy, some are short, tall, its endless...

Both Marianne & I having a slightly longer walking stride, many of the strollers we end up kicking the rear axel with our feet! Bloody hell. So we found one that extends the handle out far, and the rear axel design is not straight across the back. It all sits a bit higher too, comes with a seat and a bassinette, and can take the car seat quick snap adaptor. Three spoke mag wheels to boot!

Insured for windsheild repair, 80,000 kms, and Emergency flat tire service as well with CAA! ;)

Lots of Visitors

Sophie has had many visitors over the past week and is enjoying being "shown off" to friends and family. We've also gotten out with the stroller (man that thing cost a lot of money..!) for some neighbourhood walks, through Allanbrooke park, and around the streets.

However most days, Sophie is most comfortable, warm & cozy right at home.

Huggies vs. Pampers

Huggies forget about it!! We've tried the "N" size of both Huggies & Pampers and Huggies does not hug anything. In our first Huggies trial we had leaks immediately. Went back to Pampers and everything is solid.

Ran out of Pampers one day and had to resort to a Huggies back up from somewhere,,, leaks again...! Not good for Sophie, not good for mom or dad.

Pampers definitely takes the win for consistency, leak free, and Sophie tells us comfort too.

Breastmilk is overrated!

Sophie has been having some new troubles. The honeymoon stage is over. We thought we were superstar parents. Superstar baby. Sleeps. Eats. Poops. Easy!! ...AND cute!

BUT

Sophie has been having more trouble lately with the breastmilk. She's been having more discomfort after feeding, and even bringing some of it back up. What gives? This is new. She's also been turning into a night owl, ...like her mother. Fussy, gassy and generally a different baby at night than during the day. It's like Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde. Personally I think she's had ENOUGH of this breastmilk business. I know she's ready for a 1/4 lb Magoo's burger! Or an Angus sirloin on the back deck BBQ with me. Here's some footage of Sophie just after a good evening feed while we were still in the honeymoon phase... What do you think!?

Toga Party

We had a Toga Party for Sophie and this is what she wore:

Guinness & Windows XP

Well Marianne & I discussed it and decided we'd skip the whole "teaching your kids to read" stage. I mean how important is literacy anymore these days anyway!? Instead, we figured its most important for Sophie to learn Windows XP, Email, and how to use the Internet as this is pretty much the only tool one needs in life these days isn't it???!

Diaper Champ!

After being in the house for pretty much 6 days, Dad really needed to get out of the house today (mom is ready soon too), and used the excuse to goto Babies R Us to get a couple quick items. Getting on the 401, driving fast, and turning up the music loud was fantastic. Nobody's driven to Babies R Us that fast before! Yeah...!

Number one on the list, which has come with high recommendations...

DIAPER CHAMP!!

Yeah... enough said...??

Now since I'm writing this, you can tell we're already deep in right? Immersed? Proud parents? Obsessed? Like those "other people"...? Well it is pretty exciting. I never though I'd get excited about owning a Baby Carrier, Diaper Champ, or have "Baby on Board" signs in my car rear window!

Milk

Back to the pediatrician today. Sophie is:

• back up over her birthweight; check, good job Marianne & Sophie, don't stop what you're doing.
• Infant Jaundice is very minor/low. Nothing necessary, maybe buy some Vitamin D drops and give her one drop per day.

Sophie brings up the odd burp of milk after feeding now and then. I keep telling her not to worry about it and that if I drank that much milk, 100% of the time, I'd be puking milk all over the place!

Sophie went by Dad's office today (Mom needed some cash) and we introduced her to the branch. Her commentary on the markets/economy is as follows:

• Sees the price of baby food remaining stable throughout economic downturn
• Is not worried about Canadian housing prices especially since she expects to stay put in her current digs for a long while
• Thinks openning up an RESP and investing in allocations towards more cash, gold, gov't bonds is most appropriate
• Recommends and sees growth in Stroller Manufacturing sector

Days at Home

Our initial days at home have gone pretty well so far. Feeding, sleeping, diapering is pretty much the routine, and when not doing anything else, just sitting around looking at her provides a lot of "shock & awe".

Marianne is doing realtively well. Mon. and Tues. were really sunny days, so they were bright which helped. Tuesday night Sophie stayed up much of the night wanting to feed off and on constantly. Marianne was up all night. So Wednesday has not been a great day. The lack of sleep has worn in on Marianne and on me too a bit. Sophie likes to sleep like a zombie all day long in the daylight, and then likes to be awake starting at 1am. She's got that reversed I keep telling her! She just sticks her tongue out at me, maybe shrugs her eyebrows at me, and that's about it, then closes her eyes in dismissal.

Marianne's mom and dad have been great coming over with tons of food to drop off, some gifts too, and just to hang out with their first and only granddaughter. My mom & dad have also been over to drop food, some flowers, and to hold her. This all helps so much, as under little sleep doing simple things gets harder. Thank you grandparents!!

Going Home

On Sunday Feb. 22nd, the sun shone her rosy fingers into our room where Sophie, Marianne, and Chris slept for a full 5 hours. Sophie not yet one full day old, shared her first post natal day with Allan G's 65th birthday. The three of us would have loved to attend your birthday party at which I'm told glasses were raised and toasts given to little Sophie and her "Grandad". Happy Birthday Dad, and looking forward to sharing many more birthday's with you and Sophie together!

Marianne on her feet, Dad changing diapers, and Sophie doing some initial feedings, both Marianne & I felt immeditely like we must be superstar parents... ;) As the day came to a close the hospital staff got us closer and closer to hand us discharge papers and turn us out into the world on our own. I have to say, the warmth and sauna like character of the hospital room where refreshments, food, help, and encouragement all seemed like a good place to stay for an extra day or two...but by 4.30pm, we were on our way.

Sophie got strapped in her fancy new carseat, both parents dressed again and we were all ready for the car ride home. Here is some picture & video documentation...

Day 1 at St. Joe's

On Saturday February 21st, 2009 at 2:17pm EST, Sophie Ella was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Etobicoke, ON.

She weighted in at 6pounds, 7oz, (that's 2915 grams) and measured approx. 52 cm in length.

Labour was long for our first time mom Marianne. After starting at home at 6am Friday, Marianne laboured through contractions till 4am the next day with me (Chris) and eventually accompanied by her Doula (Kim). After 17 hours just the two of us, Kim's arrival at our house allowed me to take a break. It got frustrating not knowing how I could best help Marianne through her contractions. By 1am I needed a break and tried to pass out for a couple hours. At 4am when I woke up, Kim & Marianne told me we were ready to goto the hospital!

After being admitted it took even more time for Marianne to become fully dialated. Marianne was a superstar, but had to throw in the towel, ring the bell, tag out and get the miracle drugs at the 30 hour labour mark. It was EPIDURAL time!! Yes!! I was SO relieved. I was out while she received the epidural but when I came back into her room (after her getting this wonder drug), she was sitting in bed, chatting to her doula, having a full conversation about something. VERY good..... (As you can see below, I also could have used an Epidural but didn't get one.)

It was still 4 more hours until Marianne was fully ready to push, and then the worst was over.

Marianne pushed Sophie out in record time for a first time mom, in just under 30 minutes. WOW.

The next day in our post natal recovery room, the St. Joe's staff were all incredibly nice, accomodating, and helpful to all three of us, our new family. They showed us how to bathe her, helped Marianne back onto her feet, got Daddy going on changing a few diapers, and waking up Sophie for some of her first feedings.