Anala. Two Months.

 

 

Dearest One,

 

Yesterday was your first 4th of July. You also turned two months old. We celebrated by going to the Spraypark near our house and having a picnic afterwards. At night, we went to watch some Fireworks. Your Daddy picked a perfect spot where we go to see Fireworks go off at 6 different locations. You were awake during the Firework Display and seemed to enjoy yourself.

 

That's seems to be a theme with you, right now. You have become full of smiles. No more colicky symptoms!!! Mommy has finally learned to tell the difference between your hungry and your sleepy cry. You get VERY angry, if you are hungry (which is completely understandable and definitely a family-trait).

 

Sometimes you fight going to sleep, but Mommy just swaddles you (which you don't really like), gives you your pacificer and holds you until your eyes get very, very heavy. Then you get placed in your bed. During the day, you only sleep for about 45 minutes to an hour at a time. When you wake up, it's all smiles and coos. Talk about melting hearts!

 

 



 

 

 

You stay awake for about an hour, kicking and smiling and watching everyone. You have to be part of the action.  Once we hear your tired cry, you go back to bed. You nurse every three hours or so, although over the last few days, you appear to be going through a growth spurt and are requesting milk more often! 

 



 

 

 

 

Your Sissy continues to be devoted to you and hasn't shown any blatant signs of jealousy, yet (knock on wood). She continues to like to remind me when to change your diaper, when you nurse you and when to put you to bed. Don't you worry, she's got your back, Little One.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to a Family Dinner last Week-end, where there were at least 65 people. You were held by at least 30 of them and were fine. Complete contentment. Not a cry or whimper out of you. You were awake the entire time, while people played "Pass the Baby." You fell asleep in the corning of the very loud Living Room, which is a wonderful skill to have when you are part of a large Indian family.

 

 

 

 

We are all very, very Smitten with you. And are enjoying watching you grow each day and discover this Magical, Wonderful Word that we live in...thanks for being the final piece that fits together in your Family Puzzle.

Know you are very, very loved,
Mommy, Daddy and Big Sissy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking in the Rain

 

 

Over the last three years, I struggled with missing my beloved Baltimore. I still am not crazy about living in Northern Virginia, but I've accepted (mostly) that my husband's job is here. He has spent the last twenty-four years of his life in this area and won't live anywhere else. So, Northern Virginia it is...

 

I have to admit though...there are tons and tons of fun things to do here. One of my favorites is walking along the trails along the George Washington Parkway. For those who aren't familiar with the area the GW Parkway is the road from Washington D.C. to George Washington's Mount Vernon. We live about mile from GW Parkway.

 

When my husband got home on Tuesday, I was antsy to do something as a family, after dinner. So, we took a walk through the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. It sprinkled on and off. Then we got some ice cream in Old Town Alexandria. It was good way to spend a Summer evening. 

 

The last four photos are from a walk we took at the same place in February. Can you tell how cold it was that day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Birth Story Told in Photos. Part III.

Now on to Part III of my Birth Story. This is Part I and Part II is here.

These are the photos from the last few minutes before Juliette Anala was born at 3 pm.  All the photos are PG...you'll see more flesh at the beach this Summer, I promise.

Why am I sharing such personal photos? Like I said before, I am disturbed by how Birth is often portrayed with much Fear and negativity in the Media. Birth doesn't have to be a terrifying, awful experience. It can be a deeply positive one.

Due to the fact that only 1% of Births in the United States happen outside of Hospitals, the average American has not seen many images an Out-of-Hospital Birth.

In one of the photos, you can see my Doula (in the purple shirt) who is also a Birth Assistant (meaning she has more medical training than a Doula) using a Doppler to monitor the baby's heart-beat. Throughout my Labor, both Gwen and Jennifer listened frequently with the Doppler, which meant I could be mobile and choose exactly which position felt the BEST for me. No one told me I had to stay in a certain position. If it didn't feel right, I moved.

My Midwife encouraged me to push very slowly, since I had had a 4th degree tear with my first Birth. She had me feel the baby's head to help me push (which is what I was doing in the photo of me smiling). She had me cough through several contractions. The "ring of fire" was seriously no joke.

Erin (my incredibly talented friend who took all the photos) got some amazing shots of the baby emerging. But, I won't be sharing those ones.

Can you believe this was the first Birth she had ever witnessed? Not only did she take these priceless photos, she was a calm, soothing presence who held my hand whenever I needed. And it was incredibly fitting that she was present. My husband and I met at her 30th Birthday Party!

Here goes...



Mount Vernon Through the Eyes of a Two Year Old

 

 

I wrote about our recent trip to George Washington's Mount Vernon right here. These are some of the photos that Nye-Nye took. The World looks a bit different through the eyes of a two-year old, doesn't it?

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anala. One Month Old.

Dearest One,

Sorry, sometimes being the second child sucks. I am just finishing writing this letter and you are already 8 weeks old already. Whoops.

You may not have as many photos taken of you and your Baby Book, probably won't be as detailed. But, you are VERY, VERY loved. Your Big Sissy has become your protector. She hates to hear you cry and reminds me constantly that I need to nurse you. You are a champion nurser, by the way. No snacking or nibbling for you. No, Ma'am. You are done in five minutes flat. But, all that gulping means Mommy and Daddy have to be very careful about burping you and keeping you upright for 20 or so minutes after you eat.

You love napping in the Ergo and spend much of your awake time sitting up in someone's arms. You like to part of the action and get extremely angry if people seem to be ignoring you.

You are very observant and alert and love to spend your awake time looking at everyone and everything.

You've been having a rough two weeks with your belly. It seems to be causing you a lot of pain and making you cry for 3-4 hours every day. You had a particularly difficult couple of days, when Aunt Mimi came to meet you.

It's wonderful hearing you chuckle in your sleep. When your belly isn't hurting you, you often gift us with a beautiful smile.

Like your Sissy, you are very, very strong and love to kick, kick, kick. We haven't had to be careful with supporting your head since last week. Your neck control is pretty impressive for such a little person. When you went in for your 1 month check-up, you weighed 11 lbs 12 oz, so I guess you aren't that little. The Doctor kept commenting on your height. Maybe you will take after your Daddy and be a wonderful Basketball player.

You've made Mommy very happy by sleeping for more than 5 hours at a time during the Night, several times already. Please, keep it up.

Here are a few photos of you at One Month. The last two photos are of your Big Sissy at the same exact age. I think the two of you look alike, don't you think?

We are so glad you are here. We adore you, our little Bright Eyes.
All our love,

Mommy, Daddy and Big Sissy