My sister gave birth to her beautiful little girl on April 26, 2008 at 5:46 am. Meet Julia Emde. It was a long and hard labor (almost 15 hours in the active stage), and I am so proud of her for getting through it. I can't wait to meet my little neice, and it will be fun to see how the cousins will interact. What fun it is to watch your family grow!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Welcome to the World, Julia!
My sister gave birth to her beautiful little girl on April 26, 2008 at 5:46 am. Meet Julia Emde. It was a long and hard labor (almost 15 hours in the active stage), and I am so proud of her for getting through it. I can't wait to meet my little neice, and it will be fun to see how the cousins will interact. What fun it is to watch your family grow!
One Proud Mama
I love taking Sophie out and about in the baby carrier so that her head pops out. I see all these people stop, look and smile. I see them tap their friends/wives/husbands on the shoulder to say, "Look at the cute little baby!" I notice that they just can't help but smile and laugh upon seeing such a sweet little face, and it makes me happy to see that she is already bringing joy, not only to us, but to the world around her.
Monday, April 21, 2008
They say it will change your life forever....
but not until this weekend have I really felt that.
Sophie has been a really calm and cooperative baby. Every time we have gone out to eat or shopping, she has pretty much slept the whole time. The stroller or the baby carrier both lull her into a deep and restful sleep, so going out has not been a big deal at all. I have also become pretty comfortable nursing in public with a receiving blanket covering me, so whenever she did arise for a feeding, it was really no big deal.
So when people say that having a child changes everything, I didn't really notice it. For one thing, Jensen and I have always been more inclined towards family friendly activity. Before we had Sophie, we liked going for walks in the park, or grabbing dinner at low-key casual restaurants, which we could still easily do with a baby. We didn't feel like we were giving up a lot because we were never big nightlife/bar scene/movie goers. In addition, neither one of us is particularly time-oriented, so adjusting our schedule to the baby's schedule felt pretty natural.
This weekend, Jensen's brother and sister-in-law were back in town for a conference, so we went to meet them in Dupont Circle. Sophie was awake during the entire metro ride, and when we got to Dupont, she started fussing a little, ready for another feeding. It wasn't very convenient to feed her right then and there, so we kept moving towards the hotel. Her crying began to escalate, and by the time we reached the hotel room, she was in a bit of a frenzy. I think she was hungry, hot, and scared from the unfamliar surroundings, all adding up to one very unhappy baby. At this point, I tried to feed her, but her crying had become so frantic that she wasn't able to suckle, frustrating her all the more. She reached a point where she was hyperventilating and crying a painful cry that I have never heard before. It took us about an hour to calm her down, by turning on the hair dryer, rocking her constantly, and helping her along with the feeding. She reached a point of exhaustion, and then napped for an hour.
After Jensen and I felt a little more relaxed after the episode, we all decided to go for a walk in Georgetown and to grab some dinner. We made it all the way down to the waterfront (about 30 minute walk) before she started to fuss again. This time, we would not make her wait, so we quickly went into the first restaurant we saw. Luckily, they had a table open, and we sat down, and I started to feed her. It was a little uncomfortable because it was a small, intimate restaurant...the kind of place you would go for a date. We were definitely the only one with a kid in the place, and it made us feel really out of place. She then progressed to let out a big bomb of a poop, which leaked out onto her clothes. Fortunately, we came prepared with an extra onesie, but the bathroom didn't have a changing table (I don't think they expect to have many babies in the place). We made do with what we had...I used a console table that they had in the bathroom for decoration to change her. She nursed while I ate, as I have learned to always order things off the menu that can be eaten with only one hand (things like fish which don't require a knife, or penne pasta work well), and so she was calm during dinner. We were going to take a look at the dessert menu when she started to fuss again, and so we told the waiter we needed to go ahead and grab the check.
I think making Leland and Tilina have to adjust their plans to our baby's needs made the way that our lives have changed all the more apparent. They had to wait while I fed her, wait while she napped, and cut their meal short when she started to fuss. And to add to that, we were in a less family-friendly part of town. While we were walking back to the metro station to head home, we walked passed two men, and I overheard one man say to the other, "That guy was carrying a monkey!" to which the other responded, "That was a kid!" That gives you an idea of how rarely you see babies in Dupont Circle!
Sophie has been a really calm and cooperative baby. Every time we have gone out to eat or shopping, she has pretty much slept the whole time. The stroller or the baby carrier both lull her into a deep and restful sleep, so going out has not been a big deal at all. I have also become pretty comfortable nursing in public with a receiving blanket covering me, so whenever she did arise for a feeding, it was really no big deal.
So when people say that having a child changes everything, I didn't really notice it. For one thing, Jensen and I have always been more inclined towards family friendly activity. Before we had Sophie, we liked going for walks in the park, or grabbing dinner at low-key casual restaurants, which we could still easily do with a baby. We didn't feel like we were giving up a lot because we were never big nightlife/bar scene/movie goers. In addition, neither one of us is particularly time-oriented, so adjusting our schedule to the baby's schedule felt pretty natural.
This weekend, Jensen's brother and sister-in-law were back in town for a conference, so we went to meet them in Dupont Circle. Sophie was awake during the entire metro ride, and when we got to Dupont, she started fussing a little, ready for another feeding. It wasn't very convenient to feed her right then and there, so we kept moving towards the hotel. Her crying began to escalate, and by the time we reached the hotel room, she was in a bit of a frenzy. I think she was hungry, hot, and scared from the unfamliar surroundings, all adding up to one very unhappy baby. At this point, I tried to feed her, but her crying had become so frantic that she wasn't able to suckle, frustrating her all the more. She reached a point where she was hyperventilating and crying a painful cry that I have never heard before. It took us about an hour to calm her down, by turning on the hair dryer, rocking her constantly, and helping her along with the feeding. She reached a point of exhaustion, and then napped for an hour.
After Jensen and I felt a little more relaxed after the episode, we all decided to go for a walk in Georgetown and to grab some dinner. We made it all the way down to the waterfront (about 30 minute walk) before she started to fuss again. This time, we would not make her wait, so we quickly went into the first restaurant we saw. Luckily, they had a table open, and we sat down, and I started to feed her. It was a little uncomfortable because it was a small, intimate restaurant...the kind of place you would go for a date. We were definitely the only one with a kid in the place, and it made us feel really out of place. She then progressed to let out a big bomb of a poop, which leaked out onto her clothes. Fortunately, we came prepared with an extra onesie, but the bathroom didn't have a changing table (I don't think they expect to have many babies in the place). We made do with what we had...I used a console table that they had in the bathroom for decoration to change her. She nursed while I ate, as I have learned to always order things off the menu that can be eaten with only one hand (things like fish which don't require a knife, or penne pasta work well), and so she was calm during dinner. We were going to take a look at the dessert menu when she started to fuss again, and so we told the waiter we needed to go ahead and grab the check.
I think making Leland and Tilina have to adjust their plans to our baby's needs made the way that our lives have changed all the more apparent. They had to wait while I fed her, wait while she napped, and cut their meal short when she started to fuss. And to add to that, we were in a less family-friendly part of town. While we were walking back to the metro station to head home, we walked passed two men, and I overheard one man say to the other, "That guy was carrying a monkey!" to which the other responded, "That was a kid!" That gives you an idea of how rarely you see babies in Dupont Circle!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Daddy's Little Girl
I love watching Jensen interact with our daughter. He looks at her with this "my heart is melting" look, and seeing that look in his face makes me fall in love with him all the more. She is definitely going to be a daddy's little girl. Everyday when he comes home from work, he says, "She's so cute, Jennifer!" at least a dozen times. Then he says, "It's too much..." as if he's about to burst from all the love welling up inside him. Seeing his baby girl after an 8-10 hour separation hits him with a longing that I probably won't completely understand until I return to work.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Baby Lafalot
Sophia is starting to giggle now! I had some really fun playtime with her today where she kept making a face like in this picture with cute giggly sounds. Ah! I wish I caught it all on video, but I was too busy enjoying the moment that I didn't get a chance to get the camera. It was so precious, I started to tear up, and it's just the beginning! Soon she'll be toppling over with laughter...I can already imagine. She loves it when she is face to face with either Jensen or me. She gazes into our eyes and then smiles with a little coo and knows that mommy and daddy love her so much.
Today she is 8 weeks old. Only 2 months, and she is already outgrowing her 3 mos. sized clothing! I was so upset when she grew out of her safari pajamas (pictured above), that I started to worry that I was overfeeding her even though I have been told many times that you can't overfeed a breastfed baby. Our doctor chuckled when I asked him if it were possible that she was growing to fast, knowing that all moms must feel that way.
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