Family Fun Time

We went for a little visit to the B-L's last night and enjoyed some quality family time. Some photos from the festivities:

Grandma and Grandpa show off their granddaughters
(Keira L, Sophia R)

Grandpa with Sophia

Daddy hangs with Keira

Grandpa is shocked at how fast Sophia can move :)

And to show off a little cousin solidarity; vive le revolution!



Keira is 6 weeks, 1 day old

Things the books (sort of) don't tell you part IV

So I know I have read that you need to be very diligent about cleaning baby's neck, since milk and drool can get stuck in there.
Regan and I thought we were being good about that, but it turns out we weren't being diligent enough. One day Regan started complaining Keira was smelling like (direct quote here) "Simon's rank nasty ass". (If any of you have met our cat Simon, you will understand. His rather large girth means he can't always clean his bum properly, and he has a tendency to leave trails)

Simon - all 20lbs of him

We give her a bath every night and I wipe her eyes and face with a cloth every morning, so we couldn't figure out what was going on. That night in her bath, I wrenched her neck to the side and discovered a store of soured milk stuck to her folds. She had developed 3 chins on me and I hadn't gone deep enough! We cleaned it off, but the damage had been done - a wet red rash had developed. So we asked our midwife what to do clear it up. She recommended cornstarch. And it cleared it up right away. Who needs the newest expensive baby beauty product from Europe when you can dip into the baking pantry?

Baby Observation Lightning Round

1. Did you have that doll as a baby where when you placed it on it's back the eyes closed, and when you sat it up, the eyes opened? Keira does this when I am rocking her to sleep. It's the cutest thing.

2. We have a potential nudist on our hands. Keira is happiest first thing in the morning when I am changing her from her jammies. I take off her jammies and her diaper and let her hang out on the changing pad for about 15 minutes or so; as long as she (and my energy) can handle it. She giggles and babbles and kicks her legs out like there is no tomorrow. Once it is warmer I think we will attempt tummy time naked.

3. It is most likely not intentional at this early age, but two days in a row now she has grabbed a toy and picked it up. The first time was one of the dangly's on her activity mat. She was flailing her arms around smiling at her reflection and her fingers grabbed onto the teething ring as they swung by. This morning I had her favourite pink pig rattler sitting next to her on the couch and when I looked over she had picked it up and was waving it around! I even have photographic evidence. We are clearly raising a genius.

Keira picking up her rattler

And as always, some new pictures of this week

Our favourite mom-sitter Miriam rocking Keira to sleep

Keira conked out on the beautiful activity mat given to her by uncle Neil and auntie Angele.
I can't get enough of her grumpy downward mouth!

Keira is 6 weeks old today.

Things the books don't tell you part III

The Incredible Healing Power of Breastmilk

So the baby bean has goopy eye - you know that white crusty stuff in newborns eyes when they cry? Usually caused by a clogged tear duct. We asked our midwife what we should do to clear it up. I had read you needed to massage the duct, but wasn't sure how to go about that without stabbing the poor thing in the eye.
Her response? "oh, after she feeds, squeeze a few drops of breastmilk into her eye. that should do it".
This is after she informed me the best way to keep nipples healthy and free from infection/tears was to rub breastmilk on them after a feeding, instead of any commercial product.

Breastmilk is the new Windex, clearly.

Keira is 4weeks, 5 days old

Happy Birthday Baby

Keira turned 1 month old yesterday. Its amazing how time flies! Already I am looking back and thinking, "was she ever really that small?"

The next few months are going to be very interesting. Already Keira is starting to make little cooing sounds. She is getting good at lifting her head while on our stomachs or shoulder, though she absolutely hates it whenever we try to put her on her tummy on the floor. We also think deliberate smiles might be starting. We got a few today that weren't followed by gas/burps.

My chunky monkey continues to grow. Yesterday at the midwives office they weighed her again and she now is closing in on 10lbs - 9lbs 10oz! She has gained 11oz in only 9 days.

I didn't get a really good "posed" birthday shot, but here is one to at least commemorate what she looked like at one month:

Keira - 1 month old

Sophia Lee makes her entrance:
In other very exciting news, my sister in law gave birth yesterday to my niece, Sophia Lee! So these first cousins are exactly one month apart! In the words of one of her friends, Monica was a "birth warrior" - her water broke on Saturday night, but contractions never really kicked in. She ended up giving birth via c-section finally on Wednesday. Almost 4 days of waiting and coping! It turns out the cord was wrapped around Sophia's neck. She is perfect and tiny (6lb 2oz), and Mom is doing great too. We are so proud of Chris and Moni, and so excited to welcome Sophia to the world.

We stopped in at the hospital today to congratulate the parents and meet our niece in person. At this time, the cousins were more interested in when their next feedings would be, but we know they will soon become best buds:

Keira and Sophia - January 15, 2008

Regan and Sophia - January 15, 2008

PS to the PSA

as is the case in life, as soon as I wrote how well Keira responds to the exercise ball, we entered a week long struggle to get her to fall asleep before 4am. She turned her schedule around so she sleeps from about 4am - 4pm, only waking up for feedings mostly, to being awake or only sleeping if held between 4pm and 4am. Daddy's arms and back can only take so much. I am hoping we can transition her clock soon, but for now, she is still the boss!
Thanks to uncle marc and grandma bizzocchi for helping out with the late night sessions.

So in a PS, sometimes she doesn't respond to it - if she doesn't want to fall asleep, it doesn't help. It will stop her crying, but you can't put her down.
As well, do really be careful not to bounce on it too long - Regan threw his back out spending too much time on it, and I feel the strain after about 5 minutes. So we intersperse ball bouncing with walking and rocking.

Some people asked what exercises I used the ball for in the 3rd trimester. I didn't have a specific exercise regime. Mostly I bounced up and down, followed by some hip rolls back and forth, and then did either figure 8s with my hips, or rolled in circles. It felt really good on my lower back and stomach. I did this for at least 20 minutes a night for the last 3 or so weeks.
Once you get to labouring, it can relieve alot of back pressure, like so:

This is one link I found with suggested positions during labour: http://www.exercise-ball-exercises.com/birth-ball.html

PSA: things the books don't tell you, part II

So here is my advice to all the future moms out there: if you haven't already, go out and buy an exercise ball now! Around our house, its called the magic ball. The bounce it provides is one of the only consistent things that can almost instantly stop Keira from crying, and 9 times out 10, get her to fall asleep too. Usually within 5-10 minutes.
It is freakin' amazing. Unfortunately, it wreaks havoc on your own back/arms, so best to start training now.
bonus fun: this ball found on thisnext.com appears to emit a secret code....

It is also useful at the latter stages of pregnancy to help get the baby into a good position, and if you end up with alot of back pain in labour, you can lean over it for some relief too.

and to cap off, some new pictures of Keira, from her 3rd week of life.



Keira is 3weeks, 6days old

3 week appointment update

so my little baby bean has become a chunky monkey. Today was our 3 week checkup, and Keira now weighs 8lb 15.5oz! Over 1lb from her birthweight, and nearly 2lbs from her 1 day weigh-in at the hospital. The midwives were pretty happy about that, and so are we.
Plus a few photos to tide you over:



Keira is 3weeks 1 day old