Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Week five

One more week has gone by. Rohan's neck is getting stronger and so are his screams. He still doesn't care much for play, but he can now follow a moving object with his eyes so he is entertained by mobiles and S's juggling balls. We still haven't found a good pet name for him, so we just call him Rohan and his brother calls him "Roran". You would have to hear this to know how cute it is...

My mother arrived yesterday and she will stay with us until the middle of August, almost three weeks. I really hope that Appu can bond with her in this time, unfortunately he doesn't get to see her very often. He seems comfortable with her though and is already calling her "nonna".

Both kids are sleeping now and if I stay up to blog instead of going to bed I will deserve what I get... so goodnight!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Week four

We almost made it to a month. I would say this with more enthusiasm if I weren't so tired and sleepy, but overall things are still going quite well.

Noteworthy events include:
  • We got the PIO cards that we had applied for in October!
  • And I just received a few minutes ago Rohan's birth certificate (which could have taken several more weeks to come, so this is close to a miracle)...
  • ... so it seems we are actually going to be able to leave the country at the end of August. Yay!
  • We found some daycare for Appu in a really nice place, with his friend Kalena, and it is likely that the same center will accept him when we come back after my maternity leave. It is walkable from both home and the office and it is the most peaceful daycare center I have seen in my short but intense career as childcare seeker. What else could we ask for?
  • In the meantime, while Appu starts transitioning to the new center, we keep taking advantage of all the summer activities that Waterloo has to offer to desperate moms with toddlers. Last week it was the music class, this week it is the swimming class. He was scared of the water at first, but we already made a bit of progress, so perhaps he will not be stapled to me like a clam for the next two weeks... The high point of the class: we learnt the "fishy" version of the Boogie Woogie song. "Put your left fin in, put your left fin out...

My favorite photos from the past week:


Appu trying to pretend he doesn't care about the camera while keeping a dignified silence and a very serious expression. This was some sort of protest, but unfortunately for him I have no idea what the problem was.



This instead is a variation of the classic measurement problem, aka "you cannot capture on camera a peacefully sleeping baby - especially if you are using a flash".

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Delusions

Questa mattina Rohan mi ha sorriso: lo stavo tirando su, lui ha guardato verso di me e ha fatto un grosso sorriso. :)

I think Rohan smiled at me today. I mean, it could have been just a coincidence, but all evidence points to the contrary. He was a bit uncomfortable so I went to pick him up and when I was lifting him he looked up, towards me, and exploded in a gigantic smile. So maybe he likes me...

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Week three


We just came back from Rohan's three week appointment. The midwife said the jaundice seems to be almost gone and the weight is good: 9 lbs 2 oz, about 4.1 Kg. The little one is beginning to cry a little more, but we are not scared yet. Mostly he moans a lot, especially in his sleep, which is annoying but harmless. Today he lifted his head for a couple of seconds during tummy time and if that had not been exciting enough, he also sucked his fist (yes, the whole little fist) for the first time.




Appu is still being quite nice to him and he is being very patient about the constant noises that disturb his sleep in bed at night. In an unexpected twist, he has developed somewhat of an obsession for Rohan's socks. He tries every trick to convince us to put them on him. The words "too little" still don't ring a bell, I'm afraid.

Today it was the second day of Appu's music camp. We go for an hour in the morning to sing and make noise with a few other kids, then we have some coloring and some music listening and play to do at home. Rohan comes to class with us in the sling and so far he has slept through it all. I'm quite happy with the whole experience so far and Appu seems to enjoy it. He has fun with the musical instruments (today we got to use a really cool drum with beads inside) and he is very interactive. The only part he doesn't like is when everybody gets up to dance holding some colorful scarves. Somehow that scares him and I end up having to carry two kids in my arms, while waving the scarves around, so that is now also my least favorite part... :)

Friday, July 10, 2009

The sweetest thing

Oggi Appu ha insistito che suo fratello venisse a fare il bagno insieme a lui. Poi hanno messo il pigiama insieme e abbiamo letto un po' di storie (Rohan era un pochino distratto, ma lo scusiamo). Un buon segno, no?

After dinner we told Appu "bath time!". He pointed at his brother and he said "Rohan", then he went nearer to where Rohan was sleeping unaware and said "Rohan too!". So we woke up Rohan and we all went to the tub. I think the dad had tears in his eyes...

Domenica mattina al parco

These pictures are from last Sunday. We went to the park with our little neighbour Kalena and her dad, who brought along a couple of kites to make the most of a windy morning. The kite flying part wasn't very successful, but both dads and kids had fun and the photographer managed to get a few shots with the kite in the air. Rohan was sitting cozy in his sling, asleep for most of the time. The outing was then concluded with a stop at our usual brunch place for eggs and smoothies - and milk!








Happiness is ... washable markers

Felicita' e'... pennarelli nuovi con un sacco di inchiostro (lavabile!)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

In search of that perfect brotherly picture

The search goes on, and in the meantime it is nice to see that Appu can hold his little baby brother on his lap without him receiving any harm. (It does help that the big brother is watching cartoons, of course...)



Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Week two

Rohan is two weeks old. He is drinking and growing well - he now weighs 8 lbs 4 oz (about 3.7 kg), so his older brother is not drinking all his milk after all... He had his hearing test today and everything seems normal, no worries so far.

Little Rohan is still a very quiet baby, but the combined efforts of the two brothers keep mom awake a lot at night nevertheless. Still, I am able to almost never leave the bed and that helps a lot in feeling more rested. I thought it was going to be much worse and I am very grateful for how things are going.

Yesterday we went to take Rohan's passport pictures. It was very stressful for him, but somehow in the end we succeeded in achieving the perfect combination of open eyes, mouth not too open, straight head looking ahead and no parts of mommy's hand visible. Appu needed to have a picture taken too and of course he loved it. I think "photo" is one of his favorite words, he will pose forever as long as he is allowed to see the result afterward. We will go back for a more relaxed photographic session at the end of the month, that should be a lot of fun.

Appu has still not fully adjusted to the new situation, but he rarely seems to be annoyed by his brother. In fact often he seems amused. Sometimes he brings a blanket for him, or wants to put on his socks, and if he is crying a little he "sings" (in his own Appu way) "the baby on the bus goes uah uah uah...". That was our idea of course, but Appu found it hilarious. One point for us!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Il tempo delle fragole

If my aunt were still alive she would love these pictures. I was a big strawberry fan as a child and every week she used to bring me strawberries or other berries from the market. I didn't care much for sweets, but one of the few exceptions was the pastry with "fraghe" (fragole, i.e. strawberries) that we could get from a bakery near her office. Appu says "fragu", almost like his mom.


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Week one

Rohan is one week old already and while mom's head is still spinning from all the changes, dad is already completely in love with the newly arrived. Rohan has been so far a very quiet baby, very easy to manage. I don't know how I would have coped otherwise this time, so I am very grateful for that.

Little Rohan is beginning to be awake a little longer during the day and he spends his time looking around or listening to the (many and loud) sounds of the house. Today he spent a little time in Appu's old playgym, with Appu and his friend Kalena playing around and pulling the toys just above him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Appu is still adjusting to the new situation and he is coping by drinking a lot of mommy's milk. He has also picked this week to transition to the "no" phase of toddlerhood. He is suddenly very aware of the power of screaming "noooooo, don't waaaaant!!!" - we suspect Kalena's example might have something to do with this.

While we would have happily done without this latest linguistic advancement, I am happy to announce that Appu made his first spontaneous sentence yesterday. We were at the post office and I said "Andiamo" ("Let's go"), to which Appu enthusiastically responded "Iamo a casa!" ("Let's go home!"). Mommy's heart of course filled with pride :)

Piano practice

Appu will play for you a piece composed by himself. Enjoy!

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