Family Dinner and Bébé Bacon

This Saturday we celebrated my sister-in-law Danielle's 50th birthday! The actual day is on Friday but since she and André will be chilling on the beach with drinks in hand by then (what a way to celebrate your birthday! ) we marked the occasion a little early. Liliane finally met her Godmother, my sister in law Nathalie...

as well as her Uncle Pierre, Aunt Debbie and cousin Kevin...

her Uncle Christian...

and of course her grandpère!

It was great to see everyone and we wish Danielle and André a wonderful vacation!

So Liliane is doing well, eating lots and gaining weight. She is actually growing out of a lot of her newborn outfits due to her little tummy... Stéphane has been calling her Bébé Bacon and these photos show you why!

She's so funny, she just loves being on the change table. She's going to be the kind of girl who loves the spa, I can just tell!

The breastfeeding has been going well and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been pumping my milk so that we can bottle feed her when necessary. That has been working out really well - she's taken the bottle a few times so she's all ready for next Monday when we'll she'll be babysat for the first time! My friend Colleen is going to take her for a few hours so Stéphane and I can go to a movie premiere. I've already got the milk in the freezer, ready to go, but I'm still nervous... and excited. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today the cleaners are coming (yay!) and I'm off to get a flu shot. I already had a shower so this day is already going well!

Liliane's New Quilt

My friend Ann-Margaret made Liliane this lovely quilt that I think we will actually put on the wall of her bedroom. If anyone has any good ideas for how to hang it on the wall, please let me know... Thanks again Ann for this lovely gift!

Visit from Vancouver

My Auntie Marg happened to be in town this week so she came over to see us. It was great to see her and I'm glad she had some cuddle time with Liliane.

I think we have fully recovered from our big day on Thursday - thank goodness for the weekend! Stéphane took our grunty little bundle out of our room this morning so I could get some real sleep - what a treat!

Liliane is a star!

Today was quite an interesting day - we spent it at Radio-Canada on the set of French TV series "Providence" because Liliane had a role in two episodes! She plays the baby of Kathleen, a character who abandons her baby with Max (the guy with the dark hair) who takes care of him (yes, she plays a boy, but that's OK - I kept her pink socks on just the same). My friend Nadine is the production coordinator on the show and she thought of me when the baby they had chosen didn't work out.

Stéphane was able to come with us for the first part of the morning which was great because we woke up to snow everywhere this morning and ice pellets falling from the sky. I was happy he was there to not only witness his daughter's first experience on set but to get us there safely :)
Liliane and I stayed until about 3 in the afternoon. Everyone was very sweet and kind and we were treated very well - she even had her own dressing room!


Yes, she does get paid (union minimum - $101 per episode) and we'll be putting that money in her education fund.



Here are some photos I took. Some of them are blurry but you get the idea...







She was a total natural and only got a little fussy at the end of the day. I cracked up when someone asked me if she had an agent... Maybe Stéphane and I will have someone to take care of us in our old age, who knows!

Family movies and Rocking Chair

This weekend we went to the movies to see "Fred Claus" - all three of us! On Saturdays and Sundays for the months of November and December, some of the theatres around here are offering "Movies for Families" which is the same concept as "Movies for Mommies". There was only one other couple in the whole theatre so it was practically a private screening. Their small baby didn't really make any noise and neither did Liliane. And the movie itself was great! Cute and funny and heartwarming, too. Even Stéphane didn't mind it. These aren't great pictures, but we thought we should document Lilane's first movie outing...

Not too much else going on... Woke up this morning to see snow! It has already turned to rain, but it's on the ground for sure. The next couple of days should be pretty slushy. Winter is indeed coming. Sigh. Oh well, in the meantime it makes me think of Christmas.

So Liliane is five weeks old today. This is the beginning of our third week at home just the two of us. I would like to say that we have a routine worked out but since her schedule seems to change everyday, we pretty much take each day as it comes. I try to go out with her at least once a day and at least plan something for dinner even if I can't start making it until Stéphane gets home. Some days are super easy, she falls asleep and I can put her in her vibrating chair (like right now) but some days she just prefers to be fussy and not fall asleep. If she does take a nap, it has to be on Mama and forget trying to put her anywhere else.

I took this of her yesterday when I could finally put her down without her waking up and squawking:

I almost forgot to post the picture of our new rocking chair! Here it is:

We also took these almost-smiley face pictures on the weekend while rocking in the new chair:

My goal tonight is to learn how to use the breast pump! I want to sing in the church choir for Christmas this year and Stéphane is up for staying home with the baby while I go to practice but he will need to be able to feed her! I'm hoping that it's not too difficult. I'll report back on that.

First Trip in the Carrier

Back to our first week all alone at home with the little jellybean... Since we almost perfected getting around in the stroller, we figured it was time to tackle the carrier. Luckily the weather all that week was beautiful (1st week of Nov.) which made everything easier. We got her all installed on Stéphane and headed out to do a few errands in the neighborhood.

Our first stop was to get coffee at the café on the corner - their lattes are delicious and, unlike another coffee place I often frequent (rhymes with Barstucks), we can afford to make a habit of going to this place. I took this picture by the cathedral close to us:

Also during that week we took Liliane to the post natal clinic at the CLSC and had her weighed and asked a few questions, like, how do we cut her nails??! We met with Therese, the same nurse that came to see us at home, and she wisely suggested that we file her nails down instead of cutting them. Isn't that brilliant? OK, it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's not half as traumatizing as the clippers. Ouch.

On Friday of that week we headed out again with the carrier and visited both of our offices to show (off) Liliane to our colleagues. She did great in the metro (slept all the way):

My Mom came back to town on Saturday and we had a yummy dinner at Stéphane's parents place and introduced Liliane to her aunts Carole and Danielle and her uncle André:

And Liliane got more presents! Carole and Marc got her some PJs and her first Christmas outfit!

My Mom got in some more cuddle time...

And I love how she curls all up like this... look at those little feet!

The next day we had one last breakfast with my Mom (that she didn't have to make!) and then we took her to the airport. She took the baby to sleep with her for a big chunk of the night so we got some real sleep again. I'm telling you, she has a gift! Here is Lili showing her appreciation for her grandma - finally, someone who knows how to treat a baby!

Stéphane went back to work the following Monday and it's been just Lili and I at home ever since. I don't have too many photos of our adventures together, mainly because the most exciting thing we do is go to the drugstore! I'll post about that tomorrow.

As for today, the big news is that we got a rocking chair! Stéphane is putting it together tonight and I'll post a photo when it's done. We're excited because we spend quite a lot of time rocking Liliane particularly when she's grumpy in the evenings. Plus I'll have a comfy place to feed her and put my feet up!

That's it for tonight. Got to go make dinner while Stéphane is on baby duty. More like snuggle duty since she is pretty sleepy this afternoon. She and I had a nice nap together (to make up for getting up so early this morning to do errands) and we're looking forward to going to the movies as a family tomorrow!

One Month Old Today! Plus Dedication photos

I can hardly believe it's been a month! I'm here at the computer with my little bundle sleeping on me in the baby carrier since she doesn't want to spend any time, awake or asleep, away from Mama today. There is something pretty amazing about feeling her snuffly breathing on my skin when she is curled up on me, snoozing with total abandon. That's the good stuff. I took this one today of her in her new vibrating chair which she sort of likes:

Daddy has the magic touch to get her out of her grumpy mood in the evening:

Back to the archives! These photos are from the baby dedication that was held at my church, Temple Baptist, on October 28. It was so special that my Mom and Matthew and Bari could be here for the dedication. Plus, Matthew is Liliane's Godfather so I was thrilled that he could stand up with us.

It was a challenge for us to actually get somewhere (first time that we had to be anywhere since she was born about 12 days earlier) for a certain time but we weren't too, too late. It was so lovely to be able to introduce Liliane to our church family and let me tell you, very moving to have a dedication ceremony. I pretty much cried all the way through it (hello hormones!) but now that I'm a parent, I GET why these things are so meaningful! What a great feeling to have the congregation stand up with you and pledge to help us raise our daughter and teach her about living her life for God. Quite a moment. Thank you Pastor Joseph and everyone for organizing it so quickly and making it such a wonderful experience for us.

We will be having a christening for her as well (if our local Catholic preist agrees) so we'll be doing the same thing in French with Stéphane's family just as soon as we can organize it.

Matthew and Bari headed back to NYC after lunch on Sunday with my Mom in tow for a week of shopping and hanging out. It was hard to see them go, but knowing that my Mom would be back for one more night on her way back helped.

I think I'm almost caught up! The week after was our first week home alone and I was thankful that Stéphane was home with me. I'll post some photos of our first outing in the carrier in the next entry.

Visit from the Nurse, first trip to Starbucks and Grandma's gift!

A couple of days after we got home from the hospital, a nurse from the CLSC came to visit us. Her name is Therese and she was very sweet and very, very helpful. She gave us all kinds of information about what resources are available to us through our neighborhood CLSC, classes I can go to, a post-natal clinic that happens every week, even local businesses where I can breastfeed if necessary! She examined Liliane and showed us how to make sure that her neck isn't sore and how to put her on her tummy every day so she gets used to using her muscles. She also gave me some good tips on breastfeeding and confirmed that she is gaining weight well which means that she is getting enough to eat! Very reassuring.

Also in that week we did a big grocery shop (for our late Thanksgiving feast) and we stopped at Starbucks on the way home. Baby's first fix!

My Mom made Liliane a blanket which she finished while she was visiting. Isn't it beautiful!? It looks great in her room.