Daddy has left for Dublin today on a business trip that I asked him to postpone til after our Tiny Baby had arrived. I thought that missing one night with him/her would be better than missing the birth. And with Gramma here, it is very manageable to be without Daddy...not ideal but manageable. And Daddy took two days paternity leave this week so we have had some nice times together.
Yesterday we practically had a tornado here in Brussels. I walked Gramma and Frunty over to the tram on Tervuren so they could go to the Little Gym. Then I went to Medicis to book a doctor's appointment. I got caught there for over an hour because of thunder and lightening and Gramma and Frunty got caught at a tram shelter near the Little Gym. It was a really crazy storm. Luckily we all arrived to our destinations safely. Daddy was powerless to help us since his car was in the shop in Stokkel.
Gramma and Frunty ended up having fun cuddling in the shelter and then had a great time at the Little Gym even though they were a bit late. The class was very small because perhaps a lot of parents didn't want to drive there in this storm.
I ended up having fun at Medicis. Dr. de Vylder chatted with me since his patients were late for their appointments. We talked a bit about my birth experience, he told me about his grand daughter, he advised me not to run again until I'd seen a kinetherapist for standard, post-natal care. Even though I went there to make an appointment for August, I kind of had a free appointment right then and there and it was very nice. This doctor always makes time, it seems, for me and I would guess for other or all patients as well since anyone I meet who has him for a doctor says he is "magnifique". It is great to have a doctor with a nice bedside manner even though we don't always understand each other at first due to a small, language barrier.
Eventually I got home although had to stop on the way to say "hi" to a friend, show her our new baby and borrow an umbrella to get us the rest of the way home. Baby was happy the entire time in the "Hugabub" sling and never woke up once or made a peep. When I did get home the cleaning lady was working her magic (we have one come once a week who is absolutely fabulous and very sweet doing all kinds of extra touches to make our home lovely...a baby gift to me from Daddy to make all of our lives better and healthier!) so Daddy and I relaxed downstairs and chatted just us with Tiny Baby.
Thursday, 30 June 2005
Wednesday, 29 June 2005
The famous St. Luc hot tub. Four delivery rooms, four women giving birth the night of June 17/18, one hot tub...who would get it that night? The lucky winner, the bath queen herself...moi. Thanks to this hot tub, I got through transition (and all the lovely parts of active labour proceeding transition) without drugs. It relaxed my body so much that I didn't need laughing gas during the pushing stage either.Daddy said to me once, why don't you just have drugs so you can enjoy the birth experience like you did with Frunty to which I replied, "I don't want to enjoy the birth. I want to experience it... fully." If I had come out of the tub with 5 cm to go, I probably would have thought differently but that was not the case. During transition in the tub, drugs definitely crossed my mind at one moment of near-despair but I remember thinking, "no, I do not want drugs". After I was hauled out of the tub by the doctor and Daddy, I was ready to push, thank goodness, and the rest is history!
Tuesday, 28 June 2005
Tiny Baby is ten days old today and we are celebrating by going to a market and then to K and E's for lunch! Everything is going great and Daddy and Gramma are making us rest well. We took Frunty to Mandarin yesterday since it is a very short walk away and Frunty enjoyed himself as did Gramma. She could finally see and hear Frunty speaking Mandarin. I am so grateful that Daddy has these paternity days off so he can be part of the fun too.
Congratulations to our friends in Toronto! B phoned to say that her baby came three weeks early and arrived on Sunday, June 26th! A baby boy too! She went running on Saturday morning and felt fine but the following morning, woke up with contractions that turned into the real thing! How exciting! Best wishes to all of them back home!
Congratulations to our friends in Toronto! B phoned to say that her baby came three weeks early and arrived on Sunday, June 26th! A baby boy too! She went running on Saturday morning and felt fine but the following morning, woke up with contractions that turned into the real thing! How exciting! Best wishes to all of them back home!
Sunday, 26 June 2005
Saturday, 25 June 2005
Tiny Baby is one week old today!
And what a great week we have had! Tiny started gaining weight a few days after his birth, much to the surprise and happiness of his doctors, smiled at us a couple of times already and sleeps well. He also grabs me for a drink which is very adorable. His eyes are open and he has been more alert the last few days. His eyes by the way are steel blue/grey so we are wondering if they will turn brown or not.
Today is a little cooler and therefore more comfortable. We left the hospital after three nights (we were allowed to stay 5 but it was too hot) to enjoy the comfort of our home which is a lot cooler and more importantly, to be with Frunty. I am feeling better and very happy that the running/stair climbing/weight lifting has paid off as I am only a few pounds overweight and therefore feel stronger and less hot then when Frunty was born.
Frunty has been more himself the last couple of days and it is a relief. The first few days were extra hard for him and for us but we are now settling into life with Tiny Baby and despite some fatigue, we are all doing well and are very happy. Frunty loves his little brother, brings him toys, pushes him in the stroller around our house, kisses and hugs him and wants his picture taken with him often. So far very good. No jealousy at all.
The hard part has been when Daddy goes off to work (a few days a week) or when Gramma tries to take Frunty out for the day. Frunty is very worried he won't see us again and sometimes says, "I cried because I lost my Mommy". I am happy that at least he can express himself and we can talk to him about it. He now understands that he always sees us again and we give extra hugs and kisses when we do...which is not hard to do since he is still a big, sweetie pie. I told him the other night how happy I was that he was doing such a great job with Tiny Baby and I knew that it was hard and he said, "I love you so much, Mommy."
Gramma has been a huge source of love and support to us all and works like a dog helping in every department. If it weren't for Gramma, I could not take my daily nap which makes me a happier Mom. Gramma plays with Frunty and takes him on adventures, tidies up the kitchen, puts away laundry, cooks, holds Tiny Baby...the list goes on. We are so grateful to have Gramma here and this is a very special time for all of us.
I will try to write more later and add pictures but if I thought I was too busy to do the blog before, it is even harder now because when I do have a spare minute, I need to squeeze one of my 4 boys or make Gramma a much-deserved cup of tea.
Hope everyone is well! And enjoying the summer.
And what a great week we have had! Tiny started gaining weight a few days after his birth, much to the surprise and happiness of his doctors, smiled at us a couple of times already and sleeps well. He also grabs me for a drink which is very adorable. His eyes are open and he has been more alert the last few days. His eyes by the way are steel blue/grey so we are wondering if they will turn brown or not.
Today is a little cooler and therefore more comfortable. We left the hospital after three nights (we were allowed to stay 5 but it was too hot) to enjoy the comfort of our home which is a lot cooler and more importantly, to be with Frunty. I am feeling better and very happy that the running/stair climbing/weight lifting has paid off as I am only a few pounds overweight and therefore feel stronger and less hot then when Frunty was born.
Frunty has been more himself the last couple of days and it is a relief. The first few days were extra hard for him and for us but we are now settling into life with Tiny Baby and despite some fatigue, we are all doing well and are very happy. Frunty loves his little brother, brings him toys, pushes him in the stroller around our house, kisses and hugs him and wants his picture taken with him often. So far very good. No jealousy at all.
The hard part has been when Daddy goes off to work (a few days a week) or when Gramma tries to take Frunty out for the day. Frunty is very worried he won't see us again and sometimes says, "I cried because I lost my Mommy". I am happy that at least he can express himself and we can talk to him about it. He now understands that he always sees us again and we give extra hugs and kisses when we do...which is not hard to do since he is still a big, sweetie pie. I told him the other night how happy I was that he was doing such a great job with Tiny Baby and I knew that it was hard and he said, "I love you so much, Mommy."
Gramma has been a huge source of love and support to us all and works like a dog helping in every department. If it weren't for Gramma, I could not take my daily nap which makes me a happier Mom. Gramma plays with Frunty and takes him on adventures, tidies up the kitchen, puts away laundry, cooks, holds Tiny Baby...the list goes on. We are so grateful to have Gramma here and this is a very special time for all of us.
I will try to write more later and add pictures but if I thought I was too busy to do the blog before, it is even harder now because when I do have a spare minute, I need to squeeze one of my 4 boys or make Gramma a much-deserved cup of tea.
Hope everyone is well! And enjoying the summer.
