Monday, December 31, 2007

Kaio's first Christmas

Kaio received SOOOOO many gifts. Aunt Carrie was so generous and bought the cutest outifts and toys. We also got several reading books (including one in portuguese). And because the dollar is so weak, we have been shopping a lot! The prices and quality are great, so we bought cloths for the next year!

Jason and I got a nice 1 hr massage each from Grandma, Grandpa and aunt Donna (Grandma's sister). Which was great to start our holidays in Colorado! We also received tickets to go to a local zoo for their Christmas lights show. It was great! Grandma, Grandpa and Carrie baby sat Kaio and Jason and I had a proper date - we went to the zoo and then had a nice meal at a local restaurant! Grandma has also been taking care of Kaio while Jason and I go shopping!

We have been up to Denver twice. We were unable to go to Denver on Christmas day (we had planned to go and have lunch at Aunt Lou Anne's) but it snowed and the roads were not good to drive (yes, we had a beautiful white Christmas!). We went up to Denver to meet more family on the 26th. On our way up we stopped at the outlets and Kaio behaved really well! We also went up to Denver to meet up with some of our friends at a Mexican restaurant and Kaio was, again, a perfect little baby. The only time he started crying a bit, our friend Carrie held him and was able to sooth him instantly (she is a neonatal nurse!)

Kaio has discovered his hands. He touches everything and grabs things (sometimes he takes his dummy out of his mouth and then starts crying!) He also likes to play with both hands and tries to put his entire hand into his mouth. We have been using bibs daily (not only for feeds) since he is drooling so much. He seems to be growing by the day!

We arrived!

We made it to Colorado! It was an "interesting" trip, but overall very good! It was a day flight so it was nice that our fellow travellers sleep was not that much disturbed by the few cry spells Kaio had. He took several naps (in the crib provided by the airplane as well as in mommy's arms). Both Mommy and Daddy were also able to take naps and eat. Once we got to Chicago we had only 45min to catch the next flight and there are no sign of Kaio's pram. We contacted several people and someone guaranteed they would bring the pram to the gate of our next flight.... well, they didn't! (and at the end our flight was delayed 2 hrs, but we were not able to go back once we went through immigration) It took several phone calls to finally get the pram delivered 3 days later. Luckily they did not misplace the car seat, otherwise we would have a problem to get Kaio from the airport home! Kaio slept the entire flight from Chicago to Denver. He had no problems with pressure on his ears with take off or landing and he was not that interested in the tv on the plane (which I was hoping would keep him entertained!) When we arrived in Denver (around 10pm) He was a bit sleepy but he was so happy to meet grandma and grandpa! On the way home from Denver to Colorado Springs he was really hungry and we had to stop at a gas station to feed him, but he behaved really well on all car trips. Kaio has been a sweetheart and just melting everyone's heart with his 'oohs and aahs', smiles, giggles, etc. Grandma is getting on the floor to get smiles from him everyday and it is cute to see how he is recognizing them! He has been 'talking' a lot! One of the best christmas gifts he got was a similar bouncy chair he has back in London. (the first day I held him a lot and my arms were feeling it!)

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Ready to go!?

Tomorrow we are heading out the Colorado. We are packing today and getting everything ready. We are flying out tomorrow at 11am. We are flying business class and are very excited in having some extra leg (aka baby) space.
We went to weigh Kaio today (he was 12 weeks yesterday) and he weighed in at 5.9kg (=12.8lbs). The midwife said he is doing well and right on track for his 'age'.
We are taking 5 passports to travel (that's 1.7 passports per person!)! We don't need his brazilian passport to travel to the US.
Below are some pics of our little one:
1) Trying out a new hair style! He likes it but mommy is not so sure about it!
2) After a 'meal', sitting up right... looking around and burping... he loves it!
3) After a walk with Vinny, in his bear costume.
4) His new hat that keeps his ears warm! His expression says everything - 'Mommy I look silly'
5) Pretty frog... (he is getting a massage and he likes to stare around. My mom gave this beautiful towel!)





Friday, December 14, 2007

Filling the days!

Several people, specially non parents, ask me how I fill my days. Well, when I stop to think about it... how do I fill my days? And how does the day just go by and suddenly I am sitting to have dinner with Jason? Here is a rough 'routine' that we have been following:
- 7ish: Kaio wakes up and Jason gets him. He changes his nappy, puts on his 'day' cloths (warmer then the night cloths) and takes him downstairs to 'play'.
- 7:30 - 8ish - I snooze in bed for another 30min - 1 hr after Kaio wakes up. (this depends upon how hungry Kaio is, how early Jason needs to go to work or how badly I need a shower!)
- 8ish Kaio and I 'eat' our breakfast. I sip on a delicious chai latte Jason makes for me every morning and Kaio has his 'regular' breakfast.
- Between 8:30 and 10 Kaio takes his first nap of the day. If the weather is nice, we go for a 1 hr walk in nearby parks with Vinny. (Kaio goes in the Baby Bjorn). If the weather is not nice, he takes a nap in his playpen.
- 10:30ish - Kaio has his brunch
- 11 - 1230ish we 'play'. He loves to talk to me and responds well when I read my book out loud to him. (he also smiles and giggles)
- 12:30 - 1 pm - second nap. Mostly in his bouncy chair or playpen. If I need to go to the store or run any other errands, he takes a nap in his pram while we are out.
- 1:30pm - Kaio gets his lunch
- 2pm - Kaio is swaddled and I put him in his room for his longest nap of the day.
- 4 pm - most of the times I need to wake him up at 4 since he is in such a deep sleep. We 'play' for a while (sometimes he wakes up in a bad mood and then I need to settle him a bit before he feeds)
- 4:30pm - Kaio get's his afternoon snack
- 5 - 5:45pm - we ;play' or we start preparing dinner or cleaning the house a bit. I hold Kaio in one hand and have my right hand free to do things. He loves to go into the different rooms and look around. He is very curious and sometimes gets bored just sitting in his bouncy chair or laying in his playpen.
- 5:45 - 6:15pm - he takes a nap, just to take of the edge... this is when I start getting everything ready for his bath
-6:30pm - we start his massage, which is followed by a bath. Recently, I started to read for him before his massage. At the moment he doesn't understand anything, but with time I want to make it a habit of having a 'reading moment'
- 7pm - I take him to his room for dinner
This is when my day with Kaio finishes. Jason gives him a bottle at 10:30pm.

1 week to go!

In one week we will be heading to the airport by now! We are excited to go and spend Christmas in Colorado and excited that Kaio will meet his other grandparents and other Hall family members.
It will be an interesting trip. I am sure our little one will do great on the plane, but just to be safe I got some Calpol night. Which is a mild analgesic and makes the baby drowsy. (I had used the normal version for when he had his shots.) One of my friends also said not to stress too much since babies are babies.. they cry. Everyone on that plane was a baby one day and cried.... so, if they give the evil look.. I will give the same one back! I am also interested to see how he will adjust to teh time difference. Between London and Colorado there is a 7hrs difference. Hopefully he will continue sleeping through the night (he is sleeping 6 - 7 hrs in a row!)
The girls night out was a lot of fun! We did try not to talk about the babies. But, no matter the subject we started talking about, we always ended up relating it, in some way, to our little once! It seems Kaio is one of the most smiley baby of all. While the majority of the babies smile 3 - 4 times a day, Kaio seems to be always smiling when we talk to him. And since the majority fo the babies of the group are girls, Kaio is also one of the biggest babies! I was one of the last once to go home. Several moms had to rush home to feed the little one... we, as usual, had a bottle ready for the 10:30pm feed.
Jason has found a new way of making Kaio giggle away. He holds Kaio facing forwards, I come and talk to him, at his level, right in front of Kaio and he giggles, it's absolutely adorable!
The weather here has been great. It freezes during the night, so all the fields are white and frozen, but in the morning the sun comes out. Our morning walks are just great. Beautiful fields and fresh air. (Vinny does not enjoy the cold grass though!)

Monday, December 10, 2007

All cheeks!

Kaio seems to be aware of everything around him. He follows us when we walk away from him, he looks at objects that are meters away and loves to be carried around the house looking at different things. He is also able to entertain himself for 30 min in his playpen or bouncy chair (it used to be only 5 mins). When we go to say 'hi' while he is 'playing', he opens a big smile when he sees us! It's adorable.
He also had his first 'cryles'. Which is when he is crying, we come in front of him and smile at him, he then stops crying and smiles for 5seconds and then goes back to crying. It is so cute, he doesn't seem to know what expression to have and mixes it up!
Tomorrow I am going to go out with the girls from my antenatal class. (no babies! The daddies are in charge of the babies!) It will be fun and interesting to see whom of us will 'run' home first to check on their baby!
I have been feeling good. I am so in love with this baby and with our new live as a family, it makes me so happy! I have been thinking about the duration of my maternity leave and going back to work. The plan is to stay home until Kaio is 6 months. Then he will be ready to wean, start socializing more with other babies and I will be ready to go back to work. Well, that has always been the plan... However, now that Kaio is becoming much more of a actual 'baby' and he seems to do new things every day, I am afraid I am going to miss out on so much when I am at work. I am still planning to go back to work but maybe negotiate something part time. My current job does not allow a part time position and I still want to feel challenged at work, so.....????? I will have to have an open talk with my supervisor and see what her thoughts are. I will leave that for after we come back from Colorado.
Latest pics from this past weekend:
- Friday afternoon Jason had the afternoon off and we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde park. It was great (even though Kaio is still a bit to small to appreciate Santa!). We are now facing him forward in the Baby Bjorn, this way he gets to 'check out' the world better. Although he does not like the cold wind in his face!
- Going out for a walk at Wandsworth Common (a local park) - One of the first times he was not crying after we put on his jacket and hat!

Friday, December 07, 2007

He is just perfect!

This past wednesday (two days ago), when Kaio completed 2 1/2 months he surprised us with sleeping through the night for the first time. He went to bed at 7pm, we woke him at 10:15pm for his bottle (at which he barely wakes up, he just downs 130ml of milk) and then he slept until 6:45am!!!! I had to look at two clocks to make sure I was seeing right! Then I rushed to his room to see if everything was okay. (he was smiling and ready for his breakfast). The following night he went to bed at the same time and slept until 5am, and then for another 2 hrs. And last night he slept until 6:45am again!!!! We are so excited and hopeful this will continue!
We also have a pretty nice schedule (of naps, playing and feeding times) during the day, which probably helps him sleep so well at night! (the 'going to bed' routine - massage, bath and a feed - is also very helpful for him to go to bed without making a fuss)
Now I need to start sleeping through the night again. I wake up several times during the night thinking I hear him and it then takes a while before I fell back asleep. I have been sleeping so lightly that every little noise wakes me up.
Kaio is so big now that he is barely fitting in his pram. We will soon have to change the position of the pram to give him more space. He is also getting annoyed just laying in the pram, he wants to look around and see everything when he is awake.
In two weeks we will be at Heathrow on our way to Colorado. We are so excited to visit grandpa and grandma Hall. It will be an interesting to see how Kaio will enjoy his first plane trip!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Temper tantrum, smiles....

Today Kaio had a major (for his size) temper tantrum at the grocery store. He woke up from his nap while I was in line to pay. He looked around, smiled at me and started crying within 2 min from waking up. I gave him his dummy and that worked for 30sec. While I was packing the groceries he started crying very hard.
Several woman asked if he was hungry. He had eaten 30min earlier. So, no he was not. But to avoid having to say - 'no, he is just acting up a bit' I said - 'yes, starving!'. Many people seem to belief that the only reason a baby cries is when he is hungry - well, I can assure that is not the case with Kaio!
I was not able to sooth him and he started to choke on his saliva. Outside the store I took him out of his pram and held and talked to him. After 2 min he was calm. I put him back in his pram and he was back to being a happy baby!
But apart from that, he has been a happy baby. He loves to smile and interact with us.
A couple of recent pictures:
- smiling at daddy - his eyes are starting to become greener
- tummy time - not interested in strengthen his neck muscles, but he loves his fist
- Vinny and Kaio - Vinny definitely knows who Kaio is (sort off), but Kaio has not really knowledged Vinny yet! (on this pic you can also see how the hair at the back of his head is starting the get finer...)