Latest pics

1) Happy Kaio in his vibrating chair. He is starting to smile!
2)Almost crying.... with Oma! We miss her!
3)Kaio with a cute bunny outfit and his new red 'shoes'
4)Jason and Kaio. Kaio had a bad hair day and did not want to take any pictures!

Our own little routine!

We are starting to get into our own little family routine... since Oma left we have had to do everything by ourselves (cooking, taking care of Kaio, running errands, etc) I am lucky that Jason took this week off, he has been very helpful!!! Yesterday morning he surprised me with some great white chocolate pancakes for breakfast. He also has been doing several house chores and helping a lot with Kaio (both of them enjoy it and are getting to know each other much better...) It will be another interesting phase once Jason goes back to work on wednesday! For the first time since Kaio was born (he will be 5 weeks!), I will be totally on my own during the day.
Kaio has been doing great at night. Last night we struggled to wake him up at 10:30pm for his last feed of the day (he had gone to bed at 7:30pm and seemed to be ready to sleep much longer!). Jason still managed to bottle feed him 80ml (Kaio had his eyes shut the whole time). He than woke up at 4am!!! (that is 5 hrs of sleep!) At 4am I fed him and put him back in his crib, I feared he was ready to start his day.. but I was very surprised he fell asleep and only woke up at 7am!!! Kaio struggles a bit to fall asleep by himself during the day. We can see he is very tired, but when you lay him in his crib he cries... unfortunately we have been letting him cry himself to sleep (approx. 5 min) in the last couple of days! We want to avoid him getting used in being rocked to sleep!
Before Oma left, she gave Kaio a beautiful playpen. We had to rearrange the furniture in the living room, but now we have a little 'Kaio corner', with his playpen and toys. Since he loves to look outside the window, we put the playpen right by the front window! He seems to really enjoy it and looks around, "plays" with his toys (he looks at them, follows them with his eyes, touches them)and today took his first nap in it!

Oma and Opa left!

Today was a sad day. My mom and dad went back home. We will miss her so much!!!Kaio was a fussy.... It mught be that Oma is gone... or the great carreteiro (a brazilian rice dish that Opa made a bit spice) that we had last night!!!
Oma was such a joy to have around and Kaio was already recognizing her voice and respondingso well to her! At moments like this I miss being close to my family even more. It would be so nice to be able to share all these changes Kaio is going through!
Tonight is the first night without Oma in his room! Oma had been waking up during the night if Kaio started crying, she would look if it was feeding time and if it was not, she would 'entertain' him a bit before feeding (so he get's used to longer time between feeds)! Tonight we will be doing that! I will probably be very sleepy tomorrow!
Here are some more pics of Oma's camera (she took so many nice pictures of him!):
1) Oma and Opa with Kaio at lunch (after we went to Madame Tussaud)
2) Oma, Kaio and I at Kew Gardens
3) Kaio and I at Kew gardens in front of a famous Henry Moore sculpture
4) Jason and Kaio at home

He is becoming a big boy!

Kaio is doing great! Today (he is 2 days short of completing 1 month) he weighed in at 4.3kg!!!! He is right on the track with his weight gain. I sometimes get a bit worried since he eats so fast (most of the times he is done feeding after 10 - 15 mins!) But since he is gaining weight really well, he is just super efficient in eating!!!!
Wednesday, Oma will be leaving.. I am a bit nervous in how much harder it will be without her here! But I am glad Jason is taking a week off so we can start getting into our new routine without Oma!
Opa arrived yesterday. He seems to love children and has a very cute way of talking and 'playing' with Kaio. He is also all for letting babies cry (when I was little he would put me in the 'laundry room' to let me cry it out and to allow mom and dad to sleep! I did survive!)
Yesterday, when Opa arrived, we went to the pub to watch the Formula 1 final! Kaio was great! He just sat on my lap and looked around.. and later on he slept!
Jason gave him his first bottle! We are going to try and have Jason give the bottle at 10ish pm (so I can sleep). This way we can also measure how much he is eating. Kaio has settled on a 'routine' of going to bed at 7pm. We have to wake him up at 10pm to feed him, then he sleeps until 2ish, has a feed, immediately falls back to sleep, goes until 5am and then wakes up at 6:30 to start his day!
On friday, Jason and I went to have a nice dinner. Oma babysat Kaio from 6pm until 10:30pm. He was a bit fussy (His tummy was not feeling that great), but they had a great time together. It was great for Jason and I to go out, have a nice meal, a bottle of wine and talk about our gorgeous son!

Adventures....

Since early on I have taken Kaio to several places. Which include:
- Kew Gardens (the Royal botanical gardens) to see an exhibition of Henri Moore (Oma's favorite artist)
- Tate Britain - another museum
- Tate Modern - yet another museum
- Shopping in Chelsea
- Several trips to the park
- Several trips to restaurants, pubs and cafes
- Mall
- Waterloo station to pick up Opa
- Several trips to the Dr. and hospital
- Several trips to the grocery store
Some of these trips have been more adventurous and challenging then others. But on saturday we have a good story! We all went to Chelsea to exchange some of Kaio's cloths (he is getting so big so fast) and we ended the day having a coffee at a department store. Kaio needed a nappy change and Jason offered to go and do it. It was the first time Jason changed his nappy in a 'public' bathroom. Luckily this dept. store had a 'nappy changing room' with all the necessary tools.... After 10 min. I got worried since they were still gone. Then Jason shows up with Kaio wearing new pants, and his old pj's still half on and in a bit of a panic. Kaio had had a 'poop explosion' while Jason was changing his nappy... and a real poop explosion (Jason claims it did not 'stop coming out'). So, as a result, Kaio and his pj's were all pooped. But Jason did a great job and soon everything was resolved. All the joy's of having children!

THANK YOU!

I would like to thank all our friends and family for the beautiful gifts, emails, cards, etc. It is great to know that Kaio already has so many people that are anxious to meet him and care about him!
I also want to give huge and special thanks to Oma Fanny! It would have been difficult without her. She has had so much patience (with me and Kaio) Given me so much advice, cooked amazing meals for us and has been so much fun having around (Jason loved the late night Duvel's and Leffe's with her! And I loved the afternoon cake we had every day!) Kaio will also miss Oma. He recognizes her voice already and I am sure they have build a strong bond! Unfortunately, next week wednesday (the day Kaio becomes 1 month) she will be leaving! Some pics:
1) Jason, Kaio and I. Kaio was10 days old!
2) Kaio in his vibrating chair and with his pacifier... so cute!!!!
3) Kaio loves his baths. He does not like to come out of them.... here he is almost crying!
4) Kaio staring around in the Tate Modern!

More pictures! We can't get enough of him!

Some more pictures:
http://www.jasonandannelies.co.uk/Kaio_1st_Month/index.html

Isn't he a gorgeous looking boy! He is growing by the day, and I can't wait to see how much weight he has put on the next time the health visitor come to weigh him!
More first:
Day 16:
*Kaio was officially registered at the Chelsea Town hall by Jason
*Kaio's first (and probably not the last) visit to the ER. I felt a lump on his had on wednesday and on thursday we went to our local GP. She said to see how the lump progressed by friday (since he was totally fine otherwise). Friday morning the lump was bigger and we decided to go to the ER with him. Two pediatricians looked at it and think it may have been some vessel 'damage' that occurred during labor. They told us to go home and observer it. If it increased in size or gotten softer or if Kaio became lethargic or not feeding well, we should go back! It's monday today and he is fine (the lump may take 6 weeks to go away!)
Day 17:
*Worst 'colic' night! He had cramps that kept him awake. I woke up at 5:30 and was unable to sooth him. He improved by noon. I have decided to completely cut out alcohol (and I thought I only needed to do that during pregnancy) Since his two 'colic' episodes happened the night following a glass of wine and a caipirinha! I also decided to stop drinking milk, since that may also be causing the discomfort in Kaio.
Day 18:
*First visit to the Pub! (probably not the last one either) - we went to have lunch at a pub close to the Tate Modern (museum). While Daddy and Oma enjoyed a pint of Hoegaarden, mommy enjoyed a glass of water and Kaio enjoyed his milk!
*First train and tube ride (it was a bit challenging going up and down the stairs but it turned out to be a great day at the museum!)

2 weeks

Kaio is now 2 weeks! It has gone by so fast! Every day he seems to change a bit and we get to know him better. (like how to console him, what his cries mean, which wipes he prefers, etc) He likes his baths, he enjoys to be held underneath his arm pits and lifted 'up and down' (we all get our arm work outs), he loves going outside in his pram (he always falls right asleep), however he doesn't like to put on his hat or jacket to go outside, too much stimulation during the day (being outside or awake for too long will make him overstimulated and it becomes difficult to settle him at night), there are days he enjoys his tummy time with daddy and massage from mommy, and other days he is not up for it!
More firsts:
- Day 14
*First outside trip with his Baby Bjorn - just like with his pram, he fuzzed to get ready for it, but once outside, he fell asleep!
*First trip with the bus to the museum - we decided to 'spoil' Oma a bit (she deserves it with all her great help) and went with her to the Tate Britain. Kaio behaved really well (he slept pretty much the whole time)
*First feed in public - while at the Tate Britain

Yesterday evening, Oma and I had a caipirinha (made by Jason) and daddy had a glass of wine to celebrate Kaio's 2 week birthday! It was also one of the roughest nights, Kaio woke up at midnight (after a 4 1/2hr sleep) and did not return to a proper sleep due to his tummy! We could hear it rumbling and he would pass gas! Every time he would fall asleep he would be woken up by the pain. The GP thinks it may be too much fennel tea I have been drinking to avoid tummy upset!!!

More pics

Some pics from Oma's camera! They are from Kaio's first days of life... (still in the hospital)

Correction!

We got a bit confused with the weight conversion and Kaio was actually 7.7lbs (3.49kg) at birth!!! Last week, when he was weighed, he regained his birth weight in only one week (normally that takes 2 - 3 weeks to happen) and today (one day before he is 2 weeks) he is at 3.76kg (=8.3lbs). He is doing really well! (I was a bit concerned since I had read in several places that a feed should last around 30 -40min and Kaio is mostly happy after 10 - 15min. But I guess that is what he needs and provides the nutrients and energy he requires!)

2nd weekend at home!

We had a very nice and relaxing weekend. Kaio's colic from Saturday was all gone by the night and he was feeding and sleeping well again!
A couple of more firsts:
Day 8:
*First trip to the mall, including a stop at Starbucks - he behaved very well, and was only a bit fussy when his nappy was dirty. I changed him and he felt much better again! (and slept)
Day 10:
*First pee and poop in the bath (his second bath) - we waited until Jason was home to give him a second bath, while I was lowering him in the bath, he started peeing and right after that he pooped!!! Here is the video Jason made of it - http://www.jasonandannelies.co.uk/Vids/kaio_bath.html
*First trip to the park with mommy, daddy and Vinny!
*More poop 'explosion' - first time to hit the wall! I was changing his nappy at 3am, after a feed, and while I placed the new nappy under his little behind, he needed some more relief and it projected all over his changing mat and on to the wall next to the changing table!! (I thought it was so cute and funny! He is the only one that can make me laugh like that at 3am!)
Day 11:
*First trip to lunch (in the 'big' world) with mommy, daddy, Oma and Vinny - he behaved very well and pretty much slept the whole time!
*He is starting to accept a pacifier and it helps him calm down. Some times he just needs something to 'help' him back to sleep, and the pacifier is working perfectly for that!
Day 12:
*Kaio stayed at home with Oma while mommy went to the dentist. It felt like decades being away from him, however I was only gone for 2 hrs! (he slept the whole time and was ready for a feed when I got home!)
*Kaio peed on mommy (and everything around) while changing - while I was changing his nappy, I thought how he had not done that yet, well he read my mind and 30sec later he began...

Kaio is becoming much more interactive and likes to observe toys. He now likes some play time! Unfortunately, last night he wanted to do that at 5am, and Oma was prompt to play with him until 6am, when he decided to take a nap again before his 7am feed!
he has been feeding and sleeping well. We have abandoned any book or real/set routine, however he is pretty regular in waking up 3 - 4 hrs after his last feed.

He is getting strong!

Kaio is getting stronger by the day! He tilts his head when he lays on his belly and manages to keep it high for several seconds! He also grasps strongly to our fingers!
This night he had some colic. It was really hard to hear him cry and not being able to help him. He woke up every 2 hrs and then cried all morning. Oma took him outside with the pram and he was better... I was a bit nervous since I did not know how to help my son and had not slept well at all, Jason jumped in and was super dad and husband, allowing me to take a nap and taking care of the little guy!
Oma has been unbelievable. She has made gourmet meals, helped so much with Kaio and is just great to hang out with! it will be very hard when she leaves at the end of the month (she'll deserve to go back to Brazil and get some good nights of sleep!)
We had out first 'outing' as a family:Jason, Kaio, Vinny and I went to the park and enjoyed a nice autumn afternoon!
Now I am keeping my fingers crossed for a better night, without colic!

More firsts....

Isn't he GORGEOUS!?!! This may sound cheesy - but being a mommy is the best thing in the whole world!!!! Kaio is such a joy and we can't get enough of him. Jason is also loving every second of it!!!! (unfortunately he has to work all day, but he makes sure to get some 'chest' time in the morning and 1/2hrs before Kaio goes to bed at night! He is looking forward to the weekend, as are we, to spend the whole day with his son!)
Yesterday was Kaio's first week birthday! (Oma promised him a cake, but all he got was mommy's milk!) He had a bunch of 'firsts':
Day 7:
*First trip outside with his beautiful pram - we went to the GP and a walk in the park with Vinny and Oma - he behaved really well - he slept the whole trip!
*First visit to the GP - she said he was doing great and his heart and lungs sounded perfect!
*First bath - he loved it. He just sat in the bath and stared around... he cried when we took him out!
*First pee on mommy - I was giving him a massage and at the end, while I was bend over to massage his face, I suddenly felt my shoulder getting wet and it took me a couple of seconds to realize what it was! (I better get used to it!)
*First poop while having the nappy changed - he had farted and pooped during a feed, so I went to change his diaper, and when he was all naked he pooped more and it projected all over the changing mattress! (I could swear he had a little smile on his face!)

Baby Kaio!!!!

Tomorrow Kaio will be 1 week!!! He is a strong and healthy little boy. Today we had a visit from the midwife to check on me and him. Besides the recommendation for me to eat more red meat (to improve my hemoglobin levels), everything is fine (blood pressure, sutures, etc). Kaio is also doing great. He looks less jaundice and is close to his birth weight (3.4kg). She said he looks great and is reacting great to the feeding. She took some blood to run some tests for several disease (sickle cell disorder, hyperthyroid, cystic fibrosis, etc).
Today his umbilical cord fell and tonight we will attempt his first bath.... I'll let you know how that goes (he sometimes loves being naked and sometimes he cries a lot when I am changing his nappy!)
Another couple of firsts:
Day 5:
*He smiled while awake today - Jason was holding and talking to him and then I got close and also talked to him and he smiled (like he was happy to have me and daddy close by!)
*He managed to eat, sleep and poop all at once!!!! (his farts/poops are loud and strong.... but I think it is absolutely adorable!)
Day 6:
*His umbilical cord fell off!
*He slept 5 hours straight. (during the night). He has been a bit difficult to put to sleep at night, but once he is asleep he is out for a while.