MoreCheese

First Days

Thank you all for your congratulations and good wishes!  Our first week with Stella has been fantastic.  Nico exceeded all of our expectations and has been the sweetest big brother imaginable.  He gives Stella kisses and loves to hold her.  He runs into our bedroom first thing in the morning to peek in her bassinet and check on her.  He seems very accepting of me holding the baby, but has been attached at tthe hip to the R*, and sometimes insists that he put the baby down and hold Nico instead.  But honestly, those moments are few and far between, and I'm just so happy and proud that he's been so welcoming to the new addition to our family.

Miss Stella has been a very easy baby.  I am crossing my fingers, knocking wood, and holding my breath.  She wakes to eat, smiles and makes funny faces for a bit, then falls back asleep.  She sleeps for 4-hour stretches regularly.  She poops and burps and passes gas easily, without a lot of fuss or fanfare.  The one thing she won't do is latch, so I've been pumping and bottle feeding her, which may explain why everything else is going so smoothly.  She gets a full belly of milk every few hours, and that plus a LOT of diaper changing seems to keep her very happy.  She's just a sweet little snuggle bug at this point.  I remember weeks 3 thorugh 6 being very tough with Nico; there was a lot of fussing and inconsolable crying during certain hours of the day.  I'm hoping we skip that whole stage with Stella.  For now, we are off to a very fine start.  

R* and I are doing well, too.  Well, except for that nasty cold he's come down with -- fingers crossed it doesn't spread through the house.  My C-section went smoothly and so far, recovery has as well.  I'm up and about, off the pain meds, and just trying to take things slowly and not overdo it so I can keep being up and about.  I'm not allowed to drive for another week, which is kind of tough now that we're out in the 'burbs, but thanks to the Internet and delivery services, even that hasn't been too much of a big deal.

So, here are a few pictures of our darling girl.  She has snuggled herself into our lives so seamlessly.  Its hard to believe that there was ever an "us" without "her."

 

little star

Stella is here! 9 lbs, 21 1/4 inches, healthy and pure sweetness. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

To My Baby Boy, On Being Two

Dear Nico,

Next week, we are bringing Baby Sister home from the hospital.  You and I have talked about this:  Obaba and Grandpa will come to stay with you, Mommy and Daddy will go the hospital, we will have Baby Sister there, you will come to visit, and then we will bring Baby Sister home!!!  You have memorized this sequence of facts, and your response has been uneasy but generally positive, but I know that you honestly have no idea what is about to happen.  You are preparing for some kind of brief separation from me, but beyond that.... well, we're both going to have to figure this out as we go along.

Before all that happens, though, I wanted to take a minute to record what life is like with you right now.  In one word, it is:  Awesome.  You at the age of two.  Hysterically funny and the sweetest thing to ever melt my heart.  Here's a little snapshot of you:  your comforts, your quirks, your favorite little things.

To start, there are your "Bs".  You have been a pacifier addict from the day you entered this world.  We called them your "bippys" or "binkies," which you shortened to "B."  They are magic.  They soothe you when nothing else will.  We limit their usage to bed time, naps, and car rides.  And of course, we break them out when we are desperate -- at restaurants, when you have finished your meal and announced, "ALL DONE!," and it is all you can do to not burst into laps around the establishment.  When you are sick or overtired or cranky, and cry, "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" until one of us gives in.  Your father and I sometimes argue about the B.  I see them as a gift from heaven; a magic tool not to be taken for granted.  Your father worries that it is not good to be dependent on something like this.  He worries you will want to take B to first grade with you.  I am not worried.

You will take two Bs to first grade with you, if you have anything to say about it.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  These are your obsessions.  Everyday as we commute together, we pass an airport and multiple train tracks.  Elevated platforms cross over our heads, freight tracks cross the river, commuters shuttle by us on the side of the road.  Each train sighting is a delight.  When I drive without you and a train rushes by, I am terribly disappointed that there is no one to share my good fortune and excitement with.  If you were in the back seat, I'd point and shout, "Nico!!! Look!!!!  A train!!!!" and you would respond, "CHOO! CHOO!!!!!!!!" with a giant, heart-bending grin on your face.   The airport is your favorite amusement park -- planes, escalators, buses, the Metro running through it.  You ask to go to the airport every single day.  You've also told me, already, that one day, "Nico fwy airpwane!"  You've also asked to drive the car.   Soon enough, my son.  Soon enough.

The other place you love going?  The "tractor store" - better known as the local Home Depot.  You're a cheap date.  :)

Our nightly ritual involves dinner, a half hour of Mickey Mouse (so Daddy and I can finish our meals), a family trip to the park, and then "bass time," books and night-night.  You love your bath.  You splash, pour and make bubbles.  You love to lay on your back (with me supporting your head, of course) and relax.  You really enjoy a good soak.  But not as much as you love a good bubble beard.

One of the sweetest things about you right now is your absolute faith and trust in us, your parents.  We have chosen to abuse this trust by convincing you that you can open the garage door by magic.  I'm sorry, son.  Its just THE cutest thing in the world to watch you standing in front of the garage, both arms raised in the air, saying "abbacadabba," and the wonderment on your face everytime it actually works and the door rumbles open.  It never gets old.  Ever.  I am trying to capture this adorableness on video to share with the Internet because honestly -- everyone should experience this level of cute.

Your appetite has become more selective.  You won't eat vegetables.  Any vegetable.  Except for these pureed fruit and vegetable blends that come in little squeeze tubes. You LOVE those things.  "Beggie Pack!!!!"  you'll shout as you try to break into the pantry.  You also love pancakes, waffles, yogurt, BBQ, roasted chicken (dark meat only), Obaba's tofu and rice, fruit of all kinds, and Mexican food.  You can eat spicier salsa than me.  You slurp it off the chip and look at me with alarm as your face gets pink.  Sometimes you cry and ask for water.  But then you are back at the salsa bowl for your next slurp.  A quesadilla, some steak with garlicky chimichurri, rice and black beans -- those guarantee a full tummy for you.

Then there is our morning snuggle.  You always need a few minutes of sitting in my lap before you are ready to start the day.  You are soft and warm and fit yourself around my giant belly, your head tucked against my shoulder.  You allow me endless kisses.  Your cheeks are plump; your hair defies gravity.  These are five of my most favorite minutes of the entire day.

Next week, we bring Baby Sister home.  Things will get a little busy and I won't be able to give you my undivided attention anymore.  But you will always be my sweet boy, my charming little companion, my funny little clown.  And I will always love you with all my heart, more than I can ever say.

Forever and ever.

Mama

 

37 Weeks

See you soon, baby girl. 

Happy Friday

Tonight, the R* comes home after a 4-day business trip.  I missed him like crazy.  Its so hard to be apart during this time, with our second child so close to being born.  Its not that I need his help (which I do); I just want him here.  Intensely.  With me.  With us.  Waiting and anticipating, and also enjoying these last sweet weeks as a family of three.

*     *     *

I was super lucky that my parents could come stay with Nico and me while R* was away.  I love seeing Nico with my parents - talking to them, holding their hands on walks, being shy and playful and goofy and sweet.  They kept us company, played with Nico, and my mom cooked dinner every night and did the dishes, gave Nico baths, walked with Nico, Puppykins and I to the park; i.e., basically saved my life.

*     *     *

When we dropped R* off at the airport earlier this week, Nico had an absolute meltdown.  He wept the entire morning and continually begged me to go back to the airport to pick up Daddy, as if Daddy had been waiting there for us all along.  Eventually he was distracted by Obaba and Grandpa, and settled down.  That was a few days ago.

This morning, I explained to Nico that he and I would go to the airport after dinner to pick up Daddy.  He nodded seriously but didn't get too excited.  Then, as we were driving in to the city together, he spotted an airplane up above, and screamed out "DADDY AIRPWANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I had to explain many times that Daddy was still at work and his airplane would come later, and we would absolutely, 100% go to the airport later to meet Daddy. 

I can't wait.  The kid is going to explode with happiness when he sees R* (and I might, too).

*     *     *

I was buying lunch and almost bumped into a youngish man at the check-out counter.  He saw my belly and literally started giggling, then burst out in a wide grin and said, "CONGRATULATIONS!  Oh, and excuse me!"  Then all the girls at the cash registers grinned and asked when I was due and traded stories about babies and wished me luck.

It makes me happy that my baby bump makes total strangers giggle and smile.

*     *     *

The weather has been goofy lately.  Up and down; summer then spring; dry then rain.  Last night, the temperature dropped and we woke up to a damp, foggy morning, although the sun was already burning through in places.  As I drove down a narrow street with trees overhanging the road, fields and an old cemetary off to either side, and gray mist turning golden in spots with refracted sunlight, I felt like I had entered into a postcard world.  I feel lucky for roads like this, moments like this.

*     *     *

Baby girl stretches her arms and legs, and my belly distends and moves with her -- left, then right; oblong, not round.  She rolls her head on her neck, and I feel my lower organs squishing and moving right with her.  The skin on my stomach is itchy and tight.  Its downright uncomfortable, but also reminds me how well we are doing, how much she has grown, how lucky I am to to be carrying a healthy daughter.  She is strong and sweet and confident, I can tell.  Only 3 more weeks til we get to meet her.

Life is good.  There is much to be thankful for.