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.

Happy Birthday Mom and Uncle Matthew and Auntie Bari!

We celebrated my Mom's birthday on October 26th with a yummy croissant and fruit breakfast. We gave her some little gifties and enjoyed actually being with her for once in person on her birthday!

That night, Matthew and Bari arrived for their weekend visit. It was so great to see them and for them to be able to see Liliane so soon after she was born!

Mom and Matthew spent Saturday whipping up a Thanksgiving feast of turkey and all the trimmings. My Mom made her amazing pumpkin pie (among many other treats) and we ate, ate, ate. What a treat to just hang out at home with my family :)

First Outing and First Bath

My Mom arrived from Vancouver on Saturday the 21st and spent some time getting to know her new granddaughter (plus doing about 800 household chores since I was in my PJs all day) and we all went out the next day for a walk to the Jean-Talon market.

It was a beautiful day and it felt so good to get outside. Liliane slept the whole time while we walked around, snapped photos, and bought delicious fresh local produce for the week.

I noticed that I was pretty exhausted just from walking - who knew that childbirth could take so much out of you? (ha ha) I spent the rest of the week being spoiled by my Mom's amazing cooking and soaking up all of her encouragement and baby knowledge. What a wonderful gift!

Before we went out on Sunday morning, we got a special delivery - this gorgeous bouquet from Carole and Marc - Stéphane's sister and brother-in-law! As you can see, Liliane is super impressed!

I think it was the next day that we gave Liliane her first bath. Since her cord hadn't fallen off yet, we could only give her a sponge bath. We set up her cozy new towel and washcloth that she got from her Aunt Danielle and Uncle André and got my Mom to supervise us because we were so nervous! We all survived - Liliane of course didn't love the experience but we got her clean!

Liliane - part 2

Our baby girl is three weeks old today! I can hardly believe it. It seems like such a long time ago... Anyway, to continue the story, once Liliane was born, we got set up in our private room (yay for good medical insurance!) in the maternity ward. Our daughter went off to have a bath and we settled in and started to doze. That was the only time she was actually away from us! There was a fold out single bed in the room for Stéphane so he bunked down at the foot of my hospital bed and Liliane had her basic plastic see-through bassinette/trolley thing that she really didn't enjoy. Anyway, long story short, being in the hospital is like being in Vegas. You never really sleep, there are no clocks in the room or anything so it's hard to get a sense of day and night. People are always coming and going and I found myself in a state of half-undress almost all the time because I was constantly breastfeeding. OK, maybe that last part isn't like any experience I've ever had in Vegas but I've heard stories...

Here are some typical images of our time in the hospital... Trying to sleep, and either feeding or just finishing feeding. Again, sorry about the boob exposure but I'm telling you, you don't even realize that you're half naked after a while!

We ended up staying in the hospital a little longer than expected due to my inability to pee. Suffice it to say that while I got through all my contractions without any drugs, I was collapsed on the bathroom floor in agony, crying for the nurse to fix my bladder problem when I couldn't empty it a few hours after delivering. Having a catheter is not pleasant, but it was such a relief for me that I actually welcomed it! I stayed tubed up like that for a couple of days but finally on Friday (after another meltdown when I still couldn't empty my bladder 24 hours later) I felt like I was getting back to normal. The policy is to not let you leave until you can show them you can pee a certain amount (seriously, it's measured and everything because you have to go into a little plastic hat thingy - totally unpleasant) but by this time I was determined to get home. I told them I had peed enough and wanted to get the heck outta there. Fortunately they desperately needed the room for someone else so we packed up our stuff and headed home.

Stéphane continued to be a superhero throughout our whole hospital experience. While I was dealing with my various issues, he spent lots of time with Liliane and learned very quickly how to not only change her diaper but also how to keep her calm and distracted since I couldn't feed her in the state I was in. He also went out for food and coffee and whatever else we needed (including a bouquet of flowers for me and a "I was born at St. Mary's Hospital" t-shirt for Lili) and kept on top of the nurses if they weren't coming to see us fast enough when we called. He even helped me figure out breastfeeding and how to tell when she wasn't latched on well. A real superstar :) This is a very tired new Papa on our first morning at home...

Stéphane's parents came to visit us in the hospital and we got some pretty adorable pictures:

They also came to pick us up which was wonderful because it was pouring BUCKETS of rain outside. Stéphane installed the carseat, we loaded up all of our stuff and we all headed home in the storm. What a relief to get home!

My Mom arrived from Vancouver the next day so I'll have lots more photos to post! Hopefully it won't take me another week but we never know...

Liliane's Sleepy Choo Choo Train

I have so many more things to write but in the meantime, enjoy this videoclip of Stéphane taking Liliane on the sleepy choo-choo train... We shot this last night. I can't believe that she will already be three weeks old on Tuesday!