So Babies Actually SLEEP?

I was convinced babies didn't really sleep, at least not alone, unattached to mommy... See, Angelina never slept during the day unless she was ON me, attached in some way (to the boob, in the sling, laying on my chest). At night I could put her down, but only because I lay(lie?) right next to her, with her attached to me most of the night.

People talked about babies who Sleep Through The Night (STTN), or about how babies "sleep all the time." I just assumed that was a myth.

And then Lenaïc was born. Now, he doesn't STTN, and his days and nights are a bit mixed up still. But he does actually sleep when NOT attached to me. I can put him down, and he sleeps! Wow! I am in shock!

Of course, that doesn't mean any extra time for me, as a certain 3.5 yr old Hurricane is still running about the house, requiring mommy's attention....

What Happened to My Happy Hurricane?

Turns out, being a big sister is Not So Easy

So it seems Angelina's having some challenges after all. She is definitely a "spirited" child, requiring a lot of attention. However, her default is Happy. She has had her moments, but generally, her spiritedness makes us laugh more than cry. That is, until lately. My Happy Hurricane has become the fury of Katrina/Rita/Dolly/Gustav/Ike all rolled into one.

I didn't think this was related to the baby as it started a few weeks before he was born, but it seems now that's a big part of it. A month ago or so she just started being weepy a lot. No reason, she'd just cry - note, she rarely cried before, unless she was really hurt. She wasn't a whiner. But suddenly, everything made her weep. Then that advanced to tantrums. She's had them before, but not like this. Multiple times per day, lasting hours, with no obvious trigger.

And then the baby came. Now, keep in mind the weekend before he was born, she was helping Papa put together the bassinet and said "This is going to be the best baby ever!" and the next morning came running into the room, asking where the baby was. The day he was born she was part of the process, excited and mostly loving it all.
She was patient and calm and thrilled. No tantrums, no real difficult moments during labor, and it went late: it was after midnight when she finally went to sleep.

Then the real challenges started. Part of it was lack of sleep, but she's back to her usual sleep pattern now (except naps - she hasn't napped for us in over a year, but she did nap at daycare). She loves him, she dotes on him, but when it comes time for mommy to nurse - yikes! But it's not only then, the littlest things set her off. And then it's a vicious cycle. Our patience wears thin. We snap at her. She snaps back, and it escalates... We're working on our response, but how to change hers?

What's most frustrating, is she went from Happy Girl to Miserable Girl. It's so sad for me to see it, and not be able to fix it. I'm spending as much time with her as possible, one on one when possible, but with a nursing newborn, that's not so easy.






I'm just hoping it is only due to the baby's arrival, and will pass in time,and my Happy Hurricane will return.

More sisterly love

Big Sister

If you're wondering how Angelina has adjusted to being a big sister, just look....

She loves her baby brother.

I finally contributed some genes

After the little clone of her Papa, it's nice to see I can contribute some genes too!







Me at my baptism, almost 1 month old














Me at birth

Definitely my child! So far at least.....

How he came into the world

(copied from Facebook note)

It was Tuesday Dec 8 at 3PM that I posted the following on Facebook:
"Dear Baby: Please stay inside me until 1)we finish the sheetrock and primer, 2)your Papa finishes the massive amounts of work he has scheduled this week, 3) your mommy finishes the massive amounts of work scheduled this week, and 4) we buy a new washing machine and have it delivered and installed. Then you are free to come any time. Thank you."

Apparently I either knew something might be up, or this kid doesn't listen to me... About 2 hours later, signs of pre-labor appeared. Such signs could mean labor was hours, days or weeks away. I stayed home the next day, not feeling up to driving. By 10am, Dec 9, as the workmen of #1 were sheetrocking, labor signs became a bit more obvious. By 11AM, there was no doubt....I was trying to be discreet so as not to alarm the workers. As it turned out, I was about to tell them they needed to leave for the day when they said they were finishing up. Not done, just done for the day because everything was wet. So we didn't even make it through #1. They'll come back next week :).

Over the next 11 hours, we brought him into the world. :) And when I say "we", I mean Frédéric, Angelina, and I. They were both very helpful. And my midwives too. He was born in the water at 10:10pm, and I wouldn't change a thing! For anyone interested in more details of the birth, let me know and I'll email all the gory details.

As for Angelina, she was great! She had her moments, but for the most part, she loved being involved and wasn't at all scared. And being in the birthing tub with us was a blast for her. She helped massage my back and kept holding me when it hurt. She did leave the room towards the end saying "Mommy's upset" because apparently I was making some significant noises ("Holy cow that hurts!");). She came back in within seconds of the baby coming out and immediately went to him to touch him, covered in mucus and all....The look on her face of fascination and wonder as we welcomed him into the world was priceless.





So, I jinxed myself by asking the baby to wait. I also planned a Girls Night In at our house for Wednesday night. The other way to assure labor without inducing - give up your birth tub....I didn't have the tub yet because another client, already 8 days overdue, still had it. The midwife picked it up on her way to my house saying to her "I have a sure way to get you into labor, I'm taking the tub for another mom." Sure enough, about the time Lenaïc was born, the midwife received a call from the other mom saying her labor had started. Who needs pitocin, when Murphy's Law is at work?!

Announcing...

Or as Big Sister Angelina would say "Ta da!"

Lenaïc Martin Allegrini
born Dec 9, 09. 10:10PM (at 38 weeks exactly). 8lbs. 20" long. Healthy, happy, already nursing like a champ!












And Angelina playing in the birth tub while mommy was walking around trying to get my water to break

"Mommy, you have to share the baby!"

So, first question is, "How is Angelina adapting?"

She loves her baby sister/brother....first sign of confusion. She keeps calling him her "baby sister" and gets really upset when we correct her, so we just leave it at that. She says that SHE is the brother and he is the sister.

And, she loves him so much she wants to be with him ALL THE TIME. That means constantly touching, holding...you get the idea. It's sweet, but she doesn't get that he can't quite play with her yet. However,I did see her sit quietly next to him for about 10 minutes this morning. This from the child who a few days ago said when we left a book reading about 2 minutes after it started "Mommy, I can't sit still and be quiet."

And then, there's the sharing.....she doesn't seem to be jealous of him yet. No, it's mommy she wants to go away so she can have him all to herself.

Overall, she's very excited. And she did great during the delivery (more on that later). More pictures to come, so check back!

Princess of the Dirt

Angelina has this thing for pretty dresses. She loves them. She loves wearing them. Every Day. It doesn't need to be a special occasion. Saturday is an occasion...


On this day, she had actually slept in the dress the night before, and wouldn't take it off in the morning.

I love that she is just as happy to play in the dirt.
I

Ready for MUD PUDDLES

What can be better than new rubber boots and a warm vest on a December day?!

Thanks to Skylar (and her mom and dad, Trudi and Matt) for the early Christmas gift. They're perfect!

We were just saying Angelina needed rubber boots since she likes to go play in puddles in her good shoes, but we hadn't found any yet. Trudi must have read out minds.





Angelina immediately put them on and went in search of Mud Puddles. Alas, it was dry that day. No puddles, but they'll come surely.