Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Pics

Some pics Aunt Liesbet took:
1) As if his cheeks are not big enough, he now blows them up even more. You can also see his eyes are starting to turn light brown/green/greyish
2) In the Baby Bjorn looking and smiling at me!
3) Vinny goes on Kaio's chair and sits on his laps, mostly with his behind towards Kaio's face. He does not seem to mind at all!


Kaio's first cold - cured with Guinness??!

Kaio had is first cold. He started coughing a bit more then normal on friday and on saturday morning he was sneezing and coughing heavy. For two seconds we considered not going to Dublin but we decided to take our chances and went. He was great!!!!! He was such a joy throughout the whole trip. On the plane he slept te whole time, he would take naps or look around with us at the museums and cathedrals and at the Guinness tour he slept the whole time until we had a pint in the bar. Actually it might be the Guiness pints I had that helped him over his cold - "Guinness is for strenght". (here with Daddy at a pub checking out the Guinness pint!
Here with mommy at the Guinness restaurant... he is breastfeeding under the cover... (after mommy had half a pint of Guinness!) Kaio adapted nicely to our schedule. He would take long naps during the day (his cold probably made him sleep more then normal), be awake and happy (mostly to feed or when we were walking around). He was in his baby bjorn and pram and it allowed him to look around and sleep when he wanted. In the evening we would go out to dinner and he would sleep in his pram. He slept in a crib in our room and did great! (even allowing us o watch tv without being woken up)
The weather was also very nice (apart from tuesday, the day we travelled back) and saw all of Dublin.
It was a great anniversary trip and it showed us that we can do city breaks with Kaio!
With mommy at the pub

Friday, January 25, 2008

5 year anniversary

Yesterday was our 5 year anniversary! Time has really flown by! 5 years have gone by - we now live in London, have a beautiful son and continue so happy together! Jason is such a wonderful husband and now that I see what a wonderful dad he is, I love him even more!
We went out for a drink (while Liesbet took care of Kaio - who was sleeping). Jason surprised me with some champagne and a jewelery box. He got me a Sapphire stone, which is Kaio's birth stone. We have another little stone - a Tanzanite - whice we got when we were in Africa while celebrating my 30th birthday. The plan is to acquire some memorable stones and later on make a ring from it!
Kaio is coughing and sneezing a lot today... it might be his first cold! Which is not ideal since we are going to Dublin tomorrow! (part 2 of our wedding anniversary celebration) But it was bound to happen - he is 4 months and has not had any colds in the british winter!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Kaio - Daddy time

The last couple of nights, Kaio and Daddy time have been so much fun (I can hear it from our bedroom but I don't interfere). When Jason gives him the bottle at 10 -10:30 he has a whole sequence, which includes getting a glass of water in Kaio's room (for me to drink if I have to give a night feed), turning on Kaio's mobile and un-swaddeling him (so he wakes up), changing his nappy (so he is well awake) and then feeding him. Kaio is such a joy. He 'talks' and smiles to Jason and is a true sweetheart. He even goes back to bed without making any fuss! Jason really looks forward to the night feeds. But sometimes Kaio is upset to be woken up and cries. (mostly he is a happy camper!)
Kaio has also been having 'giggle attacks'! He really laughs out loud when we play with him. It is so adorable and more frequent every day. He also is smiling a lot more then before.
Kaio has been having a couple of strange nights - he wakes up a couple of times during the night, even though he eats 7.5oz at his last feed (10:30pm)and should not be hungry. He may still be a bit confused with the time difference and all the extra attention he got in the US.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Aunt Liesbet in town

Liesbet arrived on saturday. She will be staying with us for a month! Kaio went straight to her arms when she arrived and he smiled.... however, within seconds his pouty faces appeared and he realized she was not his mommy and started crying! But after a couple of hours he was smiling at her again (and not crying right afterwards). This is similar to what happened when we were in CO with grandma and grandpa... he seems to need some minutes to get used to other people. Which shows that he knows who Jason and I are, since he, most of the time, doesn't start crying when he sees us!On friday I bought him Oma's Christmas gift. It's a bebe pod. It's a specially designed seat to support babies that can't sit by themselves yet. It helps them to get stronger to evolve to that point and it allows them to sit and look around, which is what Kaio loves to do (he is now getting bored in laying in his playpen for long period of times... he wants to see things!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Babies

Yesterday 6 of the antenatal class moms came together for tea! (and carrot cake ;-) We were all so amazed how our babies are all little individuals now. We have been meeting since we were pregnant and the first couple of months of our babies they were all very similar: they slept, filled nappies, wobbled there heads and when we, the moms, met, they did not participate at all. Now, they are looking around, holding toys, smiling, etc. And you can see the different personalities. It is so nice to see Kaio growing up with all these babies! And it is great to exchange information with all the moms.
Kaio was looking around and very interested in all the noises and movements (he has always been a very attentive boy). He was not that smiley (he was too busy checking everything out!) I had to feed him and the other moms were jealous in how fast he eats (most of them are still taking 30 - 45 mins to feed while Kaio is done in max. 15min)
Kaio is one of the bigger babies (he is one of 3 boys out of 12 babies), however another baby boy, Oliver, who is 3 weeks younger then Kaio is huge!! He is almost 15lbs!
Since Kaio behaved so well on the plane, we did book our next trip. We are going to Dublin for our 5 year anniversary. We will be going from Saturday the 26th of January through Tuesday the 29th.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Xmas pictures

Below are some pictures of our holidays in Colorado.
1) Our family (I know, Vinny is missing!)
2) Xmas dinner with grandma, grandpa, Aunt Carrie and Aunt Donna
3) Kaio with his stocking
4) Kaio smiling
5) Smiling at Grandma
6) Kaio and Daddy having fun!
7) Kaio and mommy in the snow on new years day (at Grandlake)
8) One of his Xmas presents - a bouncy seat


2nd round of immunisations :-(

Today Kaio is 15 weeks old! 3 1/2 months! It seems so long ago that I gave birth but yet he is still such a tiny little guy. He got his second round of shots today. Again, it broke my heart to see the huge needle go into his little leg - TWICE! After the first shot he cried and I had to hold him tight to me so he would have some kind of comfort.... just to have the second needle go in his other leg. I really hope he does not think I am causing him the pain! However, when we got home and I placed him in his bouncy chair he smiled at me and now he is taking a nap! Next month (a couple of days before we go to Brazil) he will get his 3rd round of immunisations, which will be 3 shots.
He was weighed and measured and her are the figures:
- weight - 6.2kg (=13.7lbs) - slightly below the average for his age
- height - 61cm (=2ft) - also a bit below the average for his age
Kaio and I are still a bit jet lagged and has been waking up at 4am, instead of sleeping through to 5 - 6am (how he used to do before we went to CO). It's still great that he is sleeping from 10:30pm until 4am, however I have been unable to fall asleep after the 4am feed and I feel tired throughout the day. Tonight I may go to bed after dinner.
Kaio has been eating really well. We switched to a bigger bottle for his night feed. He now is eating around 230ml (8oz), which caused a major "explosion" the other night. He pooped while eating and it went through his cloths, on Jason's pajamas and on the sofa Jason was sitting on!
I will post some pictures of our holidays later on today.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

back home!!!!

We are back home! The trip went great. Kaio behaved really well and only had one cry spell, on the trip from Denver to Chicago, which did not last long. He also was a true joy during the layover and slept without making much fuss! On the plane to London he slept really well and was woken by 'breakfast' being served, 1hr before landing! Kaio has been so happy and smiling and giggling a lot. He also is using his hands to grab things and it is cute to see how hard he focuses to grab a can of soda or our wallets, or anything that catches his eye. (he loves red, so anything with red on it he stares at and wants to grab)
A couple of weeks ago he would try to put his entire hand in his mouth, now he is able to put his thumb and index finger only.
He is still drooling a lot and making 'bubbles'. Hence, the reason why grandpa gave him the nickname of Kbubbles (the first two letters are his initials). We are using on average 2 bibs a day!

Friday, January 04, 2008

Going back home

We had planned to go to the mountains in Colorado for New years, but on the 31st they closed several roads in the state and we ended staying in Colorado Springs to greet 2008. It was very low key, specially compared with last year in Punta del Este, but it was nice and relaxing. On the 1st we drove up to Winter park where grandpa Steve rented a cabin. There was a lot of snow (around 1 feet) and it was beautiful!!!! We went to see Aunt Boo and Bill (whom have a cabin up there). We had a great time while doing some shopping and walking in the snow. Kaio loves the snow (he loves white) and handeld the cold really well (he started using a new bear outfit since the other one is getting too small!) Kaio slept the whole trip to the mountains (3hrs) and was a bit difficult throughout both nights we were up there (waking up every 2 -3 hrs). However we just stopped swaddeling him and started using a sleeping bag (since he was kicking the blankets over his head). Yesterday, back in Colorado Springs, we swaddled him again and he slept really well.
Today we are flying back to London. It will be a night flight, so hopefully Kaio will sleep well. We are sad to be leaving and had such a great visit with Grandma, Grandpa ant Aunt Carrie! (but we are also looking fwd in getting Kaio back in his routine..... and sleeping through the night again!)

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...)


Friday, November 30, 2007

First set of shots!

On Tuesday Kaio had his first shots (or as they call it here - immunizations).
First they did a full check on him. Everything is great. He is right on target with his weight - 5.4kg (=11.9lbs) and has not grown since 2 weeks ago (which makes him now right on the average height for his age, since previously he was bigger). The shots - I have given injections to many animals and some react more then others. Not even with the cutest little puppy did I struggle (with the exception of some 'wild' horses) I can honestly say that seeing that big needle go into Kaio's little cute baby legs (twice!!!) made me tremble and almost made me cry. He cried hard and it was a painful cry. I was able to sooth him by holding him tight against me and he fell asleep in 3 min! He slept all afternoon! When I was feeding him at 6pm he bursted into a painful cry when he was kicking his legs (he does this to help gas exit the 'other end' while he fills his tummy!) and, again, the only way to sooth him was holding him tight against me.
But the next day he was back to his normal self!
Kaio has been doing great. He is 'talking', smiling, following objects, touching and holding things, etc, more and more. He is very alert and it seems harder to get him to take a nap during the day. (it's like he does not want to miss out on anything!) - below is a pic of one of his favorite spots to take a nap - in his bouncy chair looking at his panda and frog before he snoozes off!)
Kaio has discovered his hand/fist. He puts it in his mouth at least a couple of times a day! Today he even spit out his dummy and put his fist in his mouth to sooth himself!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Pub life

This Sunday we went to a typical English pub for a typical Sunday roast! There was a soccer (or as they say here - football) game on TV. Kaio behaved very well and attracted some drunk guys that thought he was cute (waw, thanks!). He was just perfect until the entire pub got super excited about a goal their team had made. Kaio was breastfeeding and started crying because of the loud and sudden noise! I guess with time he will have to get used to that.
We had a very nice weekend and it's great to see how much Jason loves to spend time with Kaio during the weekend (even when he is fussy and crying). Kaio has become much more attentive and can follow objects and people easily. He stares at all kind of shaped and colored objects. He smiles all the time and recognizes our voices. However, he also smiles and does not seem to mind strangers!

Friday, November 23, 2007

8 weeks already!?!


Kaio completed 8 weeks yesterday. I can't belief 2 months have gone by since he was born!
We have settled into a nice routine throughout the day and night.
Even being super busy at work, Jason has been of immense help. In the morning, if Kaio wakes up before 7, Jason grabs him, changes him and takes him downstairs to play. This allows me to sleep in a bit. Jason loves it since Kaio is always in a great mood in the morning. I then take a shower, get my breakfast ready and take Kaio from Jason so he can get ready for work. Unfortunately, most nights, Kaio is already in bed when Jason gets home, however Jason is still giving the 10:30pm bottle and has some time to interact with his son (although Kaio just opens his mouth and downs his bottle without opening his eyes!)
Some interesting 'things' I have learned about Mr. Kaio these last couple of weeks:
- When he cries, instead of talking to him in a crying voice, I started smiling and talking happily to him, this made him stop crying instantly and start smiling (unfortunately it doesn't always work)
- He LOVES his evening routine. Sometimes he is tired and is crying around 6:15, but when I lay him down on his changing mat and put on the massage music, he stops instantly! He hates coming out of his bath and washing his hair.
- He still is eating very fast. (10 - 15min) if I try to 'force' more (by putting him more on the breast), he cries and does not latch on. When he does latch on more then he wanted, he tends to throw uo some milk.
- He is not a good burper. We try to burp him after every feed, sometimes you get him to burp but most of the times he just stares at the wall (when you put him on your shoulder to burp)
- He needs a 2 hr nap around noon, otherwise he gets very cranky and will not sleep the entire afternoon. He will cry until I swaddle him and put him in his bed for the night. (at 6:30pm)
- He hate putting on his coat. No matter how I try it (sitting on my lap, on the changing table, him sleeping, etc) he always gets upset. However, once we put our feet outside the door he stops and loves being outside. He also does not like his hat!
- Vinny has picked up on this and every time I pick up Kaio's jacket and he starts crying, Vinny knows that 50% of the time he is coming along and gets super excited!
- He now can stay in his playpen or vibrating chair for 30 mins... just 'playing' and staring around. (4 weeks ago he would only last 5 min in there)
- He started smiling at strangers (little social bee!). This of course makes anyone's day!
- At 5pm he will nap easily if I put him in his Baby bjorn and do my normal house activities (like making dinner, getting the house a bit organized and cleaned)
- He does not like to have a wet nappy. (however when he poops he seems to be okay in staying a couple of minutes in his dirty nappy!)
- He has several types of cries, there is one cry that just means he is tired and he'll be asleep in a couple of seconds. (I can let him 'cry himself to sleep with this one) Another cry means he is very tired, but he will not cry himself asleep. I will need to bounce his chair or rock him otherwise he will not stop crying. And the other day I heard his 'I am in pain' cry. It was heart breaking. He was laying with his belly on my chest with his head up (this is a new tummy time I have been doing to help him strengthen his neck muscles) suddenly he dropped his head right on my collar bone...
It is so interesting to get to know him better every day! He makes me smile and fills my day with joy!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The winter arrived!

The last two days we have been 'stuck' at home. The weather has been very typical for England - rain and cold! This made it a bit more difficult to put Kaio to sleep for his naps, since I was just putting him in his pram or Babybjorn and going for a walk if he was fussy to take a nap. But it is helping me to understand him better. He has a small window of time that he is tired but not fussy yet and when he is tired and upset (which makes it harder to put him to bed). If I put him in his bouncy chair (or sometimes his playpen) when he is in the first stage, he plays a bit and falls asleep without complaining, if I miss that 'window of opportunity' he becomes very irritated and more difficult to settle. He also needs a long nap after his 'lunch' and to allow him to sleep more then 30 - 45min he needs to be swaddled and in his crib. If I don't swaddle him, his arms wake him up! It's funny to see him sleep and his arms just waving around, until he hits himself in the head and wakes up crying!
Kaio and I have started to have some nice 'chats'. When he sees me, and is not too tired or hungry, he smiles and I start talking to him, he then 'talks' back. They are the cutest 'oohs' and 'aaahs' ever!!! he does this for several minutes and you can see he responds to my words (if I stop talking he also does!)
Below are some pics of his happy face (although we have not been able to capture the real smile and giggly Kaio). The first one is him smiling at Jason, afterwards he giggled, it made Jason's week!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Citizen of the world!

Last week we obtained the brazilian birth certificate and applied for his passport.
Yesterday we went to the US embassy and he became an American citizen. We also applied for his passport and social security. (this was sooo easy compared to all the 'pain' I have gone through to get my greencard and will go through to get my citizenship!)
Next week I will be going to the Belgium embassy to get his Belgian nationality.
Kaio will have more nationalities than anyone in our families!!! All these passports are necessary to travel and live in the several countries we want to go to. For example, for him to live in the UK with us, he either gets his Belgium nationality or we would have to apply for a visa (which costs around US$800!). To go to Brazil, it's much easier to have a Brazilian passport. Also, for him to become a Belgian I had to get a letter from the Brazilian embassy to say if he was or not a Brazilian. (it's a long story, but Belgium has not made it easy for him to obtain that nationality!) That letter alone would cost the same amount as getting a passport.... so... we got the passport!
Well, later on he can decide if he wants to renew and continue with all these nationalities....
Kaio is now 7 weeks. He is such a adorable baby. The other day he was feeding and staring at me, I smiled and talked to him and he opened a big smile back at me... with his mouth full of milk.. it went all over our cloths!!! He is getting so big and has the biggest cheeks!!! His eyes are starting to be a bit more greener.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Poem (send by grandpa Steve)

Sent straight from heaven up above
Came an angel for me to love
To hold and rock and kiss good night
To wrap my arms around real tight

To cuddle & nurture and watch him play
To kiss his boo-boo's all away
To keep him safe and warm & count all his toes
To hold the tissue for him when he blows his little nose

To laugh at his jokes, to clap as he sings
To tell him all the joy in my life that he brings
To clean up his play dough, to pull his legos apart
To pin up his drawings and tell him it's art

To watch his first day of school on the bus all alone
To fight back the tears as I make my way back home
To applaud real loud when he's in his first play
To help him with his homework at the end of his day

To adore & cherish and watch him grow
To guide and teach him all that I know
To see him through good times & help him through bad
To share in his happiness and cry when he's sad

To hold him close and be by his side
To watch him through life as my heart fills with pride
To help him with decisions, the best that I can
To know that someday he'll be a fine young man

Monday, November 12, 2007

Latest pics

On the weekend Jason has time to update the pictures, so attached is the link to the most recent pictures:

http://www.jasonandannelies.co.uk/Kaio_Oct_Nov/index.html

It includes some older pictures (when my mom was here) and some very recent once (taken this weekend)
I love the 'explosion' picture, the pouty face one and the cutest is him sleeping, smiling (and drooling) on my lap and the one sleeping on Jason's chest.

working on our sleep time 'routine'

Kaio has been a fairly easy during the night. (Mainly thanks to the help of my mom in the early days.) Currently, on a normal day (5 - 6 days a week) we have the following 'routine' (give or take 15min):
- 6pm: I start preparing everything for his bath on the living room dining table while he plays in his playpen
- 6:15pm: I start his massage, with special 'baby massage' music - The duration of the massage depends on Kaio's mood, but recently he has been enjoying his massage a lot and I do it for 15 min to avoid him getting too cold
- 6:30pm: we start his bath. He loves his baths! (just doesn't like his hair being washed) He had gotten into the habit of peeing right as we lowered him in the bath, which made me have to change the water. However, Jason had the brilliant idea of lowering his feet in the water with his diaper on. After 30sec we remove the diaper.. and sure enough, we have a full diaper!
- 6:45finish his bath - - Dress him (he does not like to be taken out of his bath)
- 7pm: Take him to his room and feed him.
- 7:15pm: he goes asleep without fussing and is vast asleep until we wake him at 10pm for his bottle.
During the day he takes several naps, however at around 4pm he becomes fussy (they call it the witch hour, which varies for each baby!). Kaio gets really tired but does not want to sleep. The last couple of days we have either let him fall asleep on us, or have taken him outside (he easily falls asleep in his pram).
This routine has allowed me and Jason to catch up, have dinner and spend some time together.
The only problem with this routine is that he wakes up between 6 and 7 in the morning to start his day. (which on weekends is a bit hard!) My plan this week is to get him to go to bed a bit later so he sleeps longer in the morning and it will allow Jason to see him when he gets home from work (Jason get's home at 7ish, when Kaio is in bed already). We'll see how it goes!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Feelings...

Today I was looking at Kaio sleep and had a melancholic thought! On one side I want him to grow fast. So I can see him discover his hands for the first time, take his first steps, run, say 'mommy' for the first time, etc. On the other hand, I am loving this tiny little baby and want to keep this moment forever!!! When I look at the pictures taken right after he was born - he has gotten so big already. It seems he grows by the day, which is great, but also sad to know he will never again be this small little guy that I can carry with one arm!
He seems to be looking at me more. And it seems to sooth him when he is in his pram and about to cry. I also have noticed that when I smile he has started to smile back some times!! It's adorable!
Today we went to Jason's office to have lunch with him and to show Kaio to his coworkers. He was very well behaved and only started to cry when we were leaving the building! Such a good boy!
Yesterday afternoon I met up with some of the girls I did my ante-natal class with (we have been meeting up every week). It is so nice to see all the little babies growing up. We all met when we had huge bellies and now have all these babies. There is one girl that shares the same birthday as Kaio. It is great to share stories and schedule different activities together! (in two weeks we are going to attempt to go to the 'big scream' - which is a movie theater that allows babies once a week. Should be interesting! You go, expecting to watch little of the movie, but your baby is also allowed to cry without people judging you!)

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

6 week check up

Today was Kaio's 6 week check up! He is doing great. Here are the latest stats:
- weight - 4.92kg = 10.85lbs - which is right on the average of boys his age.
- Height - 58cm = 22.8inches - which is above the average of boys his age.
- Head circumference - 38cm = 14.96inches - which is also right on average of boys his age.
He still has that lump on his head, but the Dr. said not to worry and keep an eye on it. If it grows or changes in texture we should go back to the hospital. The lump does not seem to affect him.
I also had a check up and it went fine. (I still need to go back on friday to do some blood work and check on my iron levels.) The Dr. said I can start working out and do everything I did pre-pregnancy. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight already! Breastfeeding is indeed demanding on our bodies! The Dr. said I need to continue eating well and regularly so Kaio can continue to grow and perform as he has been! (I have no problem in continuing to eat peanut M&M's and ice cream!)
Our street is full of babies.. of all ages! Yesterday we had tea (such an english thing) with one of our neighbors whom has a 2 year old and another baby (both boys). The baby was born on the same day as Kaio. his name is Rafe. Another neighbor also joined us, she has twins (also 2 boys). It was great to get to know them and hopefully start having regular 'play dates'. It's also great to exchange 'baby stories' and hear that some feelings and behaviors are normal (like the occasional urge for a glass of wine at the end of the day, after Kaio has gone to bed, is very normal!!! Even though they have more reason since they both have two children...)

Monday, November 05, 2007

Nice weekend!

This past year, the summer in the UK was terrible. Lot's of rain, cold and very little sun! (which was great since I was pregnant!) However, the fall has been great. Lot's of sun and gorgeous weather! It has been great for me to take Kaio outside and enjoy the beautiful London parks (the colors of autumn are just amazing!)
This weekend it was so nice outside, that we went to explore some parks both days. On saturday we had a nice picnic in Clapham Common and sunday we went hiking in Wimbledon Common and shopping in the village!Kaio likes to go outside. In the morning he loves to com along with me when I let Vinny out. He looks around and seems to enjoy the fresh air! Sometimes he gets really tired but fights to go to bed, so when I take him outside, he falls asleep instantly and wakes up when we come back home!
He is smiling more every day and seems to find his fingers more often to sooth himself! (he still loves the pacifier though!)


Friday, November 02, 2007

All Smiles

(the picture above is not of his smile... we have not been able to capture that on camera yet.. this was just a 'surprise' face he had a couple of days ago!)
Kaio had been smiling while sleeping and in the last couple of days before he has some gas or right before he start crying. However, yesterday evening, I was holding Kaio and Jason came close to Kaio's face and talked to him. Kaio looked right into Jason's face and opened a big smile (and it was not followed by a fart or a cry) It was absolutely adorable!!!!
For the first time Kaio has wet his crib sheets. He tends to have a major 'pee' during the night, which sometimes wets his cloths, but this morning it went all the way through his cloths and onto his sheets. It may be time to switch to a bigger size nappies!!!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

We made it!

Today is our second day together, by ourselves! We had fun yesterday and Kaio was a darling!!! We met up with some friends with babies that are around the same age of Kaio. He was the only one that was awake during the entire lunch... and quiet, just looking around! We also went to the grocery store to pick up things for dinner and a nice chocolate cake for daddy, since he has been so helpful and we miss him already!
Kaio is sleeping well during the night, but not so well during the day (he needs to sleep more!). I noticed that he easily falls asleep in my arms (specially after feeding), but the moment I put him down he starts crying. So, today, I am going to let him cry it out in his room. I just tried it for the first time (it's 11am) and he was asleep in 5 min! Overall, I have been trying to put him in his crib when he is drowsy so he can then fall asleep by himself. Which works perfectly after 7pm, but not during the day. I am loving to get to know this little guy better.. he just amazes me every day!!!!
Jason is now feeding Kaio at his 10pm feed and it allows me to go to bed at 8:30 - 9pm (if I didn't get a chance to take a nap during the day!). Our little routine has been working perfectly:
- Kaio feeds, baths and goes to bed before 7pm (Jason gets home around that time) - this happens fairly easily most of the days, since he is so tired by 7pm
- Jason and I have dinner and hang out a bit
- I get ready for bed at around 8:30
- Jason feeds him at 10pm (he does it so silently that I don't even wake up!) - we have a chair in Kaio's room so he does not have to come in our room to feed him and Kaio goes straight into his crib afterwards. We also use dim lights so he does not get fully awake!
- I wake up during the night (mostly at 2 and 5 am) to feed him (also in Kaio's room, so Jason does not wake up)
- Kaio wakes us up to start his day at 6:30 - 7am
- Jason entertains him so I can take a shower, start laundry, take Vinny out and have breakfast (all in 15min!)
- We start our day of fun together... which is somewhat unpredictable, but Kaio feeds every 3 - 4 hrs and in between he either:
- 'plays' in his playpen
- sits in his vibrating chair
- 'plays' with me
- we go for a walk (in the pram or Babybjorn)
- sleeps
- cries
- has his nappy changed
- sucks on his dummy
But whatever it is he does... he is CUTE!!! (he is also cute sleeping...)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

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!























Sunday, October 28, 2007

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!



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

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



Monday, October 22, 2007

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!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

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!

Monday, October 15, 2007

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!)

Thursday, October 11, 2007

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!!!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

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!)

Monday, October 08, 2007

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.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

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!