Blogging our first pregnancy and child rearing, all the ups and downs, tears and laughs and overthinking that not only comes with being knocked up and a new Momma, but with just being me.
A Day in the Life- Picture an Hour
Remember late 2011 when I shared a Saturday via a picture an hour? No? Here’s a reminder: http://barnardbabyblog.tumblr.com/post/10638740795/a-day-in-the-life-as-told-by-15-photos
I did it again!
7:30 We’re up! Time for milk and cereal with special raisins in it (golden raisins)
8:30 Hanging in the living room with a new farm set (This guy loves his farm animals)
9:30 Warmish sunny morning means a walk to Dunks for coffee. I’m ready for Spring!
10:30 Someone got my phone
11:30 Reading with Dada in the kitchen
12:30 Lunch at our favorite diner, Harvest. Fruit cup for dessert!
1:30 At swimming lessons early, so we got time to play with the School Bus. Everyone loves the School Bus!
2:30 Swimming Lessons with Dada in the pool today!
3:30 Gotta keep going, going, going since there was no nap today. Grocery shopping next!
4:30 Hanging back at home with Dij
5:30 Yoga!
6:30 Dinner is almost ready, but someone doesn’t want to wait.
7:30 and time for bed!
A fun day of just us. Just what we all needed!
Emilio,
I’m in the midst of putting together your first birthday celebration. You, my dear, are in the midst of growing and changing so much everyday. One day you’re stumbling around and crawling, the next you’re steady on your feet walking everywhere. One day, you’re babbling B’s, D’s and M’s the next, you’re using all sorts of word sounding constants. Is this your way of telling me that you really are turning 1?
Last night you were reaching impatiently for something on the kitchen table, so I handed you a piece of paper, you then took that paper, walked over to my boot, sat down and proceeded to figure out how to get the paper in the boot. This included, putting the paper on the boot, pressing the paper hard on the boot, reaching in to the boot (Uggs are soft inside!), peering in to the boot, and looking at both objects in your hand. The night before, you picked up a cup and a bath toy and immediately put the bath toy in the cup. Then, again this morning. Quite the new trick you’ve got bud.
You’re figuring out how to climb up and down too. This morning when you were ready to get out of bed you climbed over me and got to the edge of the bed, then you turned around and made your way down. What!? I was holding you later, as I brushed my teeth and all I could see was a boy, a little boy. A beautiful, smart, precocious little boy. Then, I set you down in our room and you walked over to Khadijah on her pillow and made yourself comfortable next to her. Oh Emilio, you are the best.
I love you,
Momma
Boxing Day
Last year on Christmas, because I couldn’t go to MA to spend time with my Mom’s side of the family as I always have, Matt and I went to Sagamore Hill for a walk. I was trying to get out and move as much as possible in hopes of inducing labor. It was a quiet, peaceful and cold day. I liked the feeling of just being with Matt and Khadijah and taking in the world around us as it was, before the momentus change in my life. We saw a Heron in the marsh at the bottom of the trail, a connection to my Dad. It seemed like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, even if I was missing my family.
This year, we toyed with the idea of taking an extra day off and heading to NH after our MA celebration to spend boxing day there. Instead, we took the opportunity to carve out a day for us us, our new little family. As we drove by Fort Totten Park on our way out of town on Saturday I hatched a plan, that will hopefully turn in to an annual tradition. I suggested to Matt, “Let’s go to Fort Totten on Monday, if it’s nice, like last year we went to Sagamore Hill, we can start going to local parks as a family.”
And so we did.
Emilio hasn’t gotten much walking around outdoors since he’s really started cruising, so we gave him some good practice on the lawn there.
It was windy, and brisk, but it felt great to be outside and the sun was warm and bright.
Khadijah ran through the grass, ran after a runner, and we got a fun family picture.
I love water, and it was lovely to be by the cold choppy water again around Christmas. I look forward to our day out, outside, next year too.
Khadijah and the Baby
We never really had any anxieties about how Khadijah would adjust once our babe arrived. I worried a little that she’d feel the lack of affection and attention slightly, but I knew she’d be able to roll with the changes and adjust well, and she has.
When we first arrived home I let her sniff Emilio in his car seat, she was fascinated. She kept returning to the seat to smell it more. Mostly, she was overwhelmed with finally having me home.
A lot of sniffing of the baby and his items continued and then she settled down. Now, it is old hat for her to have the baby around. And she wants to be where he is. She lays next to him. Stands guard on the couch when I’m breastfeeding. If he’s crying upstairs while being changed she heads up to check in. It is very sweet.
And we continue to give her lots of love and attention, not as much as when it was just the 3 of us, but all things considered, a lot! Matt still cuddles with her at night on the couch and we invite her up on the couch to ensure she knows she’s still a welcome member of this family!
The most interesting change for me was in the first few days after returning from the hospital she looked so much more like a dog to me then she ever had before. Those first few days I really was so much more consumed with myself and my baby that she fell to the back, she wasn’t my baby anymore, she was a dog. Now, she again looks like my cute little ‘Dijah, I’ve figured out how to incorporate her in to my focus, and it was easy because she’s just happy to be along for the ride.
I suspect many of my next days and weeks will be a repeat of this scene. I’m definitely ok with that!
All of a sudden I’m HUGE.
Also, as staged as it is, how cute are those little stuffed animal paws on my belly!?
