Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
9 month update
It has been a while since we have written so there is much to tell. Despite the one time Gia slept through the night, night-time continued to be very challenging. She would wake up several times during the night and often not go back to sleep for over an hour. This was exhausting. Then I hurt my back, which meant that Amy had to take care of Gia every night for a week. Since, I typically was the one who took Gia in and out of her crib at night that meant that Amy would just take her into bed with us after her first waking. This meant we were getting even worse sleep. Around Sept. 12, Amy had had enough and declared we were going to start sleep training Gia. It was not an easy decision for us because we really wanted to avoid letting Gia “cry-it-out”, but at 8 months and things getting worse no matter what we did, we didn’t see any other options. So, the next day we bought a DVD created by some “baby sleep experts” who Amy had heard very good things about (“The Sleep Easy Solution”).
While watching the DVD, one thing that became clear to us was that Gia needed her own room (up until this point, she was still sleeping in the hallway, when not in our bed). So Amy did something very heroic, and gave up her office in a single day. We immediately moved a bunch of Amy’s stuff out into the living room and moved Gia’s crib into Amy’s office. That first night was very difficult for all of us. It took Gia about 40 minutes to fall asleep on her own (crying most of the time). The whole time Amy and I were just heart broken and sending her love. She woke up 6 times that night :(. Fortunately, only one of them lasted a long time. The next night was much better. She fell asleep after about 15 minutes and only woke up once outside of when we woke her for night feedings (the sleep easy solution recommended we night-wean her over 4 nights). Things got better and better. Within a week Gia was consistently sleeping through the night! And I mean actually sleeping through the night. I’m not talking about some crazy researcher’s idea that 5 hours is sleeping through the night! I’m talking about 11-12 hours straight with her putting herself back to sleep if she wakes up. Naps have taken a lot longer but are now going pretty well. I can’t describe for you the sense of freedom we have now. It is amazing to be able to put Gia to sleep in 5 minutes and not have to tend to her until the next morning or her nap is over. It used to be a 45 minute affair! We are all also getting way more sleep. I think Amy and I had forgotten what it felt like to sleep through the night ourselves!
In addition to getting more sleep, the new setup seems to have helped Gia in other ways also. Most notably she has learned to play by herself in new ways. One day we went to get her after a 1 hour nap (that never happened because she sat up and played the whole time). To our surprise, she had gathered up all 8 pacifiers that we had strategically placed all around her crib (so she would always have one in reach) and placed them neatly around her. 2 to her right, 2 in her lap, 3 in front of her lined up and 1 in her mouth! Her next nap, she threw every one of them out of the crib. And her 3rd nap of the day she tucked every one of them between the wall and her crib! What crazy shenanigans will she be up to next?
Some other big milestones that have occurred recently are that Gia is crawling (see the movie) and her first tooth is coming in. We can’t believe she is growing up so fast!
While watching the DVD, one thing that became clear to us was that Gia needed her own room (up until this point, she was still sleeping in the hallway, when not in our bed). So Amy did something very heroic, and gave up her office in a single day. We immediately moved a bunch of Amy’s stuff out into the living room and moved Gia’s crib into Amy’s office. That first night was very difficult for all of us. It took Gia about 40 minutes to fall asleep on her own (crying most of the time). The whole time Amy and I were just heart broken and sending her love. She woke up 6 times that night :(. Fortunately, only one of them lasted a long time. The next night was much better. She fell asleep after about 15 minutes and only woke up once outside of when we woke her for night feedings (the sleep easy solution recommended we night-wean her over 4 nights). Things got better and better. Within a week Gia was consistently sleeping through the night! And I mean actually sleeping through the night. I’m not talking about some crazy researcher’s idea that 5 hours is sleeping through the night! I’m talking about 11-12 hours straight with her putting herself back to sleep if she wakes up. Naps have taken a lot longer but are now going pretty well. I can’t describe for you the sense of freedom we have now. It is amazing to be able to put Gia to sleep in 5 minutes and not have to tend to her until the next morning or her nap is over. It used to be a 45 minute affair! We are all also getting way more sleep. I think Amy and I had forgotten what it felt like to sleep through the night ourselves!
In addition to getting more sleep, the new setup seems to have helped Gia in other ways also. Most notably she has learned to play by herself in new ways. One day we went to get her after a 1 hour nap (that never happened because she sat up and played the whole time). To our surprise, she had gathered up all 8 pacifiers that we had strategically placed all around her crib (so she would always have one in reach) and placed them neatly around her. 2 to her right, 2 in her lap, 3 in front of her lined up and 1 in her mouth! Her next nap, she threw every one of them out of the crib. And her 3rd nap of the day she tucked every one of them between the wall and her crib! What crazy shenanigans will she be up to next?
Some other big milestones that have occurred recently are that Gia is crawling (see the movie) and her first tooth is coming in. We can’t believe she is growing up so fast!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Movies - Week 34
Gia shows the excersaucer whose boss
Gia turns 8 months
Gia crawls on her belly
Gia peruses her library
Gia laughs in the face of a roaring lion
Gia and animal noises
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Gia sleeps through the night!
Last night marked a huge milestone for our family. We have been struggling with Gia's sleep for months. She would go a night only waking up once or twice and then have several nights where she was up for hours at a time. To give us more options, we decided it was time to have Gia sleep outside our bedroom. Mind you, we don't have room for her to have her own room so that has meant her sleeping in the bathroom. Yesterday, we finally recieved a new crib for her that we ordered a while ago. One of our hopes was that because the crib has a much thicker mattress than her co-sleeper, she would be more comfortable at night and sleep better.
So, we put her to sleep in the crib in our bedroom at around 7. We have to put her to sleep in our bedroom because everywhere else in the house is bright and noisy while we are still awake. Well, putting her to sleep was not pretty. Amy spent about 45 minutes getting her to go to sleep and there was lots of crying. At around 8:20, Gia started crying and Amy went in, gave her a pacifier and Gia went right back to sleep. At around 9, Amy and I rolled the crib into the hallway outside of our room (her new night time room). Unfortunately, this woke Gia up again, but she went back to sleep pretty quickly. Amy and I chatted for a little while and then went to sleep ourselves.
At around 1 am, Gia woke up crying for about 15-30 seconds and went back to sleep (without any help from us). I am pretty sure this happened at least one more time during the night but again she put herself back to sleep. At around 5:50am, she woke up again and we brought her to bed because Amy really need to feed her.
So, in summary, Amy and I got to go to sleep and not have to wake up for 9 hours straight! This might not seem like a big deal but considering the best we ever did before last night was maybe 6 hours (which was rare), it is huge! Also, the fact that it happened on the first night Gia was in her new crib gives us immense hope. Amy and I just need to adjust our sleep patterns. We still woke up every few hours last night out of habit, even though Gia didn't need us. We can't wait until we are actually getting 8 hours of solid sleep. It sounds like heaven!
So, we put her to sleep in the crib in our bedroom at around 7. We have to put her to sleep in our bedroom because everywhere else in the house is bright and noisy while we are still awake. Well, putting her to sleep was not pretty. Amy spent about 45 minutes getting her to go to sleep and there was lots of crying. At around 8:20, Gia started crying and Amy went in, gave her a pacifier and Gia went right back to sleep. At around 9, Amy and I rolled the crib into the hallway outside of our room (her new night time room). Unfortunately, this woke Gia up again, but she went back to sleep pretty quickly. Amy and I chatted for a little while and then went to sleep ourselves.
At around 1 am, Gia woke up crying for about 15-30 seconds and went back to sleep (without any help from us). I am pretty sure this happened at least one more time during the night but again she put herself back to sleep. At around 5:50am, she woke up again and we brought her to bed because Amy really need to feed her.
So, in summary, Amy and I got to go to sleep and not have to wake up for 9 hours straight! This might not seem like a big deal but considering the best we ever did before last night was maybe 6 hours (which was rare), it is huge! Also, the fact that it happened on the first night Gia was in her new crib gives us immense hope. Amy and I just need to adjust our sleep patterns. We still woke up every few hours last night out of habit, even though Gia didn't need us. We can't wait until we are actually getting 8 hours of solid sleep. It sounds like heaven!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
5 and 1/2 months
It is been quite a while since our last entry. Gia has changed quite a bit since then. She now is much more facile with her hands. You can now give a toy to her and she will grab it with one hand, feel it with the other, and then calmly put it in her mouth, over and over again! It is fun to watch her play and a nice relief that she is more content to play on her own. She has also started to play with the whole concept of moving. Sometimes when we go to feed her in the middle of the night, we see that she has turned 180 degrees! Fortunately, she is only rotating these days so we don't have baby proof the whole house (yet) but we know that is just around the corner.
Gia's stranger anxiety has continued to be an issue. With the exception of Nanna (Amy's mom), pretty much all attempts at babysitting have failed. In an effort to give Amy and I more time together and also time on our own, we decided to hire a nanny one-day a week. We figured that once Gia got used her, we would have a lot more freedom. While we loved Anna (the nanny), Gia wouldn't let Anna hold her for more than a minute before screaming her head off. As you can imagine, it is very disappointing to have a nanny that can't spend time with your child unless you are holding her! After a few visits, we discovered that Anna could take Gia on a long walk in the stroller as long as Gia didn't see Anna's face. As soon as Gia got hungry and Anna would go to feed her, the crying would start and pretty much not stop. This went on for 3-4 weeks with Anna coming for 2 half days a week. Finally, this week Gia was suddenly happy with Anna. She was with Anna for 4-5 hours just happily playing. We have no idea what changed but just hope it continues. I can't describe to you how happy Amy and I were. At last, we could imagine having a date without Gia in the other room or strapped to one of our chests (romantic, huh?). At last, we could have personal time without having to negotiate who would be with Gia. Folks, this could be a life changer.
We are also generally excited that Gia's stranger anxiety has lessened. We spent last week in the bay area visiting with Amy's family and our bay area friends. At times, we were with as many as 15 people at once and Gia was fine. She even let a number of people she had never met hold her for a while (which has been unheard of since she was 3 months). This bodes very well for our time next week visiting my family on the east coast.
I will leave you with one precious story about our little girl. One morning, we were all lying in bed together and I was playing with Gia. I lifted her over my face and said, "Ahhhhh." At that very moment, Gia threw up all over my face including in my mouth! Yuck! Well, I guess if nothing else, I can be proud of her aim...
Love,
Drew
P.S. Don't miss the Peek-a-Book movie above.
Gia's stranger anxiety has continued to be an issue. With the exception of Nanna (Amy's mom), pretty much all attempts at babysitting have failed. In an effort to give Amy and I more time together and also time on our own, we decided to hire a nanny one-day a week. We figured that once Gia got used her, we would have a lot more freedom. While we loved Anna (the nanny), Gia wouldn't let Anna hold her for more than a minute before screaming her head off. As you can imagine, it is very disappointing to have a nanny that can't spend time with your child unless you are holding her! After a few visits, we discovered that Anna could take Gia on a long walk in the stroller as long as Gia didn't see Anna's face. As soon as Gia got hungry and Anna would go to feed her, the crying would start and pretty much not stop. This went on for 3-4 weeks with Anna coming for 2 half days a week. Finally, this week Gia was suddenly happy with Anna. She was with Anna for 4-5 hours just happily playing. We have no idea what changed but just hope it continues. I can't describe to you how happy Amy and I were. At last, we could imagine having a date without Gia in the other room or strapped to one of our chests (romantic, huh?). At last, we could have personal time without having to negotiate who would be with Gia. Folks, this could be a life changer.
We are also generally excited that Gia's stranger anxiety has lessened. We spent last week in the bay area visiting with Amy's family and our bay area friends. At times, we were with as many as 15 people at once and Gia was fine. She even let a number of people she had never met hold her for a while (which has been unheard of since she was 3 months). This bodes very well for our time next week visiting my family on the east coast.
I will leave you with one precious story about our little girl. One morning, we were all lying in bed together and I was playing with Gia. I lifted her over my face and said, "Ahhhhh." At that very moment, Gia threw up all over my face including in my mouth! Yuck! Well, I guess if nothing else, I can be proud of her aim...
Love,
Drew
P.S. Don't miss the Peek-a-Book movie above.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Mamarazzi
May 5, 2008
As I write this, I can hear Gia on the baby monitor … loudly sucking her fingers. We’re trying to put her to sleep while she’s "drowsy but awake," so she can learn to self-soothe and fall asleep on her own. Oops – there was a tiny yell … and a whimper. I have friends with babies Gia’s age who sleep 7-10 hours at a stretch. Gia these days sleeps 4 hours at the most, and usually less. Last night I slept for about 4 hours, split up into 6 segments. Although that’s less sleep than I usually get, last night was sadly not unusual. Oh … there’s a lot of chatter and the cry. I’ll be right back.
Attempt #2 … so far, so good.
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May 7, 2008
The story of my current life is fairly constant interruptions. Writing about Gia is no exception. I feel behind most of my life these days, but know that that’s just a part of new parenthood.
Thankfully, the camera has been repaired. And the mamarazzi, as Drew has dubbed it, is back in action. Who can resist such cuteness? Obviously, not me! I’ve been crazy about taking pictures of Gia.
--------------------------------------------
May 12, 2008
Ok, now it’s been a week since I began this journal entry. That’s just silly! However, I must say that it’s been a busy week: We’ve had a Gia fan club visitor every day: Linda, the Batshaws, Laura, Mikki, Jeff and my Mom. That means she had time with all 3 grandparents in the same week! Looking back on the past week, we are so grateful for our family and friends, for their love and generosity and the joy that they bring to all of us.
Mark and Karen Batshaw came to visit for a few hours while on a layover in LA (on their way home to DC from Hawaii). They treated us to a lovely dinner ordered in, and Gia was happy to play with and be held by Ba (Mark), who was particularly disappointed during our trip to DC that Gia was not much interested in hanging out with those other than her parents. They held her, sang to her, helped give her a bath, and she was pretty darn happy all the while. We were delighted that we could have some quality time with them, and that they were willing to lengthen their already crazy long travel schedule to be with us. We can say for a fact that we would NOT voluntarily add an extra 6 hours to a trip all the way from Hawaii to DC, so we’re especially grateful for their willingness and generosity.
Another generous soul and friend of 13 years, Mikki, volunteered to babysit for a few hours last Thursday. Unfortunately, Gia was not interested in that. Fortunately, the four of us ended up having a wonderful afternoon together talking and hanging out … Mikki even went out and brought in a delicious lunch for us to enjoy at our own table. And, it inspired Drew and me to be creative about how we can give our relationship more time and attention.
And then, we had a big weekend: My mom (Nana) came to visit and we celebrated Gia’s 4 month-a-birthday as well as Mother’s Day.
My mom’s visit was very sweet; it seemed as if Gia remembered her, and they were mutually thrilled to be together. Maybe Nana’s energy was familiar because Gia soaked it up in her first two weeks of life. Anyway, Gia woke up in her carseat and looked at Nana (who I’d just fetched from the airport), and didn’t frown, furrow her brow, fuss or shed a tear. They had a little chat for the rest of the way home. We kept leaving Gia with Nana as we made dinner, cleaned up, etc., and it was almost as if she was with one of us. Except that Nana was perhaps a smidge more excited about playing with her.
The four of us celebrated Mother’s Day with a walk, brunch out at a neighborhood Italian restaurant, naps (for Amy, Drew & Gia), and dinner in. Drew and I also had the opportunity to leave Gia for the first time we can remember, and have a couple of hours on our own yesterday. We enjoyed a leisurely dessert and walk in Culver City, kissing on street corners and focusing on our relationship, and I enjoyed receiving the sweetest Mother’s Day card from Drew (and Gia).
The other important Gia updates: She’s certainly teething … she has her hand (or sometimes both) in her mouth most of the day and in most of her pictures. I’m personally a little bit scared of when she gets her first tooth and bites me. Ouch. She’s also getting really strong stomach and leg muscles … she likes to sit and stand (both assisted). In fact, she tightens her stomach muscles when she anticipates help sitting, and gets a big smile on her little face whenever we help her stand … as if she knows she’s done something to be proud of. She continues to smile, laugh, squeal and want attention, especially now that she’s more interactive and knows how fun it is to be with others. We’re inclined to give her all the attention we can … this first year is going to whiz by, and we intend to make the most of it!
You can bet that the Mamarazzi will be busy documenting as many moments as possible, and that the stream of pictures will continue now that we have our camera back! Thanks for checking in.
As I write this, I can hear Gia on the baby monitor … loudly sucking her fingers. We’re trying to put her to sleep while she’s "drowsy but awake," so she can learn to self-soothe and fall asleep on her own. Oops – there was a tiny yell … and a whimper. I have friends with babies Gia’s age who sleep 7-10 hours at a stretch. Gia these days sleeps 4 hours at the most, and usually less. Last night I slept for about 4 hours, split up into 6 segments. Although that’s less sleep than I usually get, last night was sadly not unusual. Oh … there’s a lot of chatter and the cry. I’ll be right back.
Attempt #2 … so far, so good.
-------------------------------------------
May 7, 2008
The story of my current life is fairly constant interruptions. Writing about Gia is no exception. I feel behind most of my life these days, but know that that’s just a part of new parenthood.
Thankfully, the camera has been repaired. And the mamarazzi, as Drew has dubbed it, is back in action. Who can resist such cuteness? Obviously, not me! I’ve been crazy about taking pictures of Gia.
--------------------------------------------
May 12, 2008
Ok, now it’s been a week since I began this journal entry. That’s just silly! However, I must say that it’s been a busy week: We’ve had a Gia fan club visitor every day: Linda, the Batshaws, Laura, Mikki, Jeff and my Mom. That means she had time with all 3 grandparents in the same week! Looking back on the past week, we are so grateful for our family and friends, for their love and generosity and the joy that they bring to all of us.
Mark and Karen Batshaw came to visit for a few hours while on a layover in LA (on their way home to DC from Hawaii). They treated us to a lovely dinner ordered in, and Gia was happy to play with and be held by Ba (Mark), who was particularly disappointed during our trip to DC that Gia was not much interested in hanging out with those other than her parents. They held her, sang to her, helped give her a bath, and she was pretty darn happy all the while. We were delighted that we could have some quality time with them, and that they were willing to lengthen their already crazy long travel schedule to be with us. We can say for a fact that we would NOT voluntarily add an extra 6 hours to a trip all the way from Hawaii to DC, so we’re especially grateful for their willingness and generosity.
Another generous soul and friend of 13 years, Mikki, volunteered to babysit for a few hours last Thursday. Unfortunately, Gia was not interested in that. Fortunately, the four of us ended up having a wonderful afternoon together talking and hanging out … Mikki even went out and brought in a delicious lunch for us to enjoy at our own table. And, it inspired Drew and me to be creative about how we can give our relationship more time and attention.
And then, we had a big weekend: My mom (Nana) came to visit and we celebrated Gia’s 4 month-a-birthday as well as Mother’s Day.
My mom’s visit was very sweet; it seemed as if Gia remembered her, and they were mutually thrilled to be together. Maybe Nana’s energy was familiar because Gia soaked it up in her first two weeks of life. Anyway, Gia woke up in her carseat and looked at Nana (who I’d just fetched from the airport), and didn’t frown, furrow her brow, fuss or shed a tear. They had a little chat for the rest of the way home. We kept leaving Gia with Nana as we made dinner, cleaned up, etc., and it was almost as if she was with one of us. Except that Nana was perhaps a smidge more excited about playing with her.
The four of us celebrated Mother’s Day with a walk, brunch out at a neighborhood Italian restaurant, naps (for Amy, Drew & Gia), and dinner in. Drew and I also had the opportunity to leave Gia for the first time we can remember, and have a couple of hours on our own yesterday. We enjoyed a leisurely dessert and walk in Culver City, kissing on street corners and focusing on our relationship, and I enjoyed receiving the sweetest Mother’s Day card from Drew (and Gia).
The other important Gia updates: She’s certainly teething … she has her hand (or sometimes both) in her mouth most of the day and in most of her pictures. I’m personally a little bit scared of when she gets her first tooth and bites me. Ouch. She’s also getting really strong stomach and leg muscles … she likes to sit and stand (both assisted). In fact, she tightens her stomach muscles when she anticipates help sitting, and gets a big smile on her little face whenever we help her stand … as if she knows she’s done something to be proud of. She continues to smile, laugh, squeal and want attention, especially now that she’s more interactive and knows how fun it is to be with others. We’re inclined to give her all the attention we can … this first year is going to whiz by, and we intend to make the most of it!
You can bet that the Mamarazzi will be busy documenting as many moments as possible, and that the stream of pictures will continue now that we have our camera back! Thanks for checking in.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
16 weeks!
The edibly adorable, highly addictive Gia Tamayo Batshaw will be 16 weeks old tomorrow!
Our little girl is growing fast: She’s definitely outgrown her “0-3 month” clothes. Her torso, legs and arms are longer (with a dimple at the elbows), hands and feet are getting bigger, her tummy is rounder, and of course her cheeks are rounder, too. Her eyes are getting more curious, and her energy is more and more alert. She’s smiling a lot, vocalizing all the time, laughing more, and starting to squeal. She just squealed right now and seems to have momentarily scared herself! She also has an adorable sneeze … a-CHOO – oo.
Everyone asks: How’s Gia’s sleep? We’re working on it, day and night (literally). The vital updates are these: (1) She’s out of our bed and happily sleeping in her co-sleeper at night, and (2) She napped on her own (meaning, not being worn in a baby carrier, but in her co-sleeper) for the first time today … for 45 minutes! So sleep is getting better … ask again in a couple of weeks.
A few people have also asked after her “weekly” pictures. The last couple are missing because we left town, and whilst away, our camera was dropped. It’s being repaired as I write, so rest assured that more pictures will be on there way soon. You can only imagine how many times a day I want to snap a shot.
Two weeks ago, the three of us ventured across the country to Washington, DC to celebrate Passover with Drew’s family. Gia’s first airplane experience worked out relatively well: She refused to nurse or suck on a pacifier on departure or landing, so cried, poor thing, when she had pressure in her ears; she slept maybe an hour of the 5+ hour flight; and she cried only a few times in between. Drew and I were so busy keeping her entertained and walking her up and down the aisle that the flight passed relatively quickly. At Pa and Dida’s (Drew’s parents’) home, she got to meet four of her cousins for the first time: Benjamin (almost 6) and Rebecca (2), who live in St. Louis with parents Auntie Elissa and Uncle Bryan, and cousins Julian (almost 4) and Sophia (1), who hail from Manhattan with Uncle Michael and Auntie Natasha. We’re glad Gia got to meet more of her family, and wish that we had taken more pictures before the camera-dropping incident.
Unfortunately, I got sick early in the trip, Gia wasn’t sleeping well at night (though she didn’t have jetlag), and so neither were we. On an ill-considered whim, I decided to add dairy back into my diet the night before we left DC, and Gia’s little tummy got so upset that she (and again, we) were up most of the night. We got up at around 5 am EDT, after about one hour of sleep on and off during the night, and flew home. An exhausting and mildly excruciating day! However, there was an angel sitting next to us on the plane: A very sweet 50-something Korean grandmother who offered to hold Gia while we ate. Miraculously, Gia was totally entranced by her talking and singing, and stared at her face until she fell asleep in her arms.
I say “miraculously” because Gia, who’s obviously an advanced and emotionally-tuned-in being, developed a bit of stranger anxiety around the beginning of April. When others hold her, she usually cries and looks for us. Unfortunately, that meant that others didn’t get to hold her much our visit, and we didn’t get to go out for a romantic dinner. Fortunately, we know that she’s already quite attached to us. The challenge is that of course we want her to be comfortable with other people, and yet that might involve letting her be uncomfortable for a little bit. At the same time, we don’t want her to cry and teach her that we’re ignoring her needs. So we’re accepting that she is where she is, and attempting slow transitions for others to hold and love her.
This past weekend, Gia got to meet her two other cousins, Lillian (14) and Ben (12), who came to visit from the Bay Area with Auntie Wendy and Uncle Eric. It was sweet to see how much her cousins wanted to see, hold and adore her. My mom is coming back for Mother's Day in a couple of weeks, and we're looking forward to having her here, too. Being with family makes us wish that we lived closer and could spend more time together as our kids (and we) grow up.
Alas, work and amazing friends keep us in LA for now.
Finally, a word about Amy & Drew. My friend Scott asked me today how having Gia has impacted my love for Drew. The short answer is that Gia’s presence in our lives vastly expands and elevates my love and experience of being in love with Drew. I get to see his sweetness, tenderness, protectiveness, dedication, generosity, hilarity and resourcefulness channeled into fatherhood. I get to witness the way Drew and Gia look at each other with such love in their eyes (I mean, really … I didn’t even know that was possible for an infant!), and I get to watch their dance at night as Drew sings and chants her into slumber. Tonight, she was crying at first (as she almost always does), and Drew was practically running around the living room, bouncing her (in the Moby wrap) and singing a Krishna Das medley. Imagine that!
Having Gia has invited us to dive more deeply into partnership and depend more on ourselves and more on each other every day. We are both more generous, supportive and loving with each other, and probably more appreciative, too. Because we have chosen more traditional gender roles, Drew is working hard (thankfully, from home) and is providing more financially for us; I am hardly working for money, though working hard at being a great mom and providing more domestic ease. It’s working for us right now, and I feel really, really grateful for the opportunity to spend these precious months getting to know, be with and actively love Gia.
****************************************
Coming soon: Next time, we’ll tell you about our first afternoon date away from Gia … our friend Mikki has generously offered to babysit for a few hours next week, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well …
Our little girl is growing fast: She’s definitely outgrown her “0-3 month” clothes. Her torso, legs and arms are longer (with a dimple at the elbows), hands and feet are getting bigger, her tummy is rounder, and of course her cheeks are rounder, too. Her eyes are getting more curious, and her energy is more and more alert. She’s smiling a lot, vocalizing all the time, laughing more, and starting to squeal. She just squealed right now and seems to have momentarily scared herself! She also has an adorable sneeze … a-CHOO – oo.
Everyone asks: How’s Gia’s sleep? We’re working on it, day and night (literally). The vital updates are these: (1) She’s out of our bed and happily sleeping in her co-sleeper at night, and (2) She napped on her own (meaning, not being worn in a baby carrier, but in her co-sleeper) for the first time today … for 45 minutes! So sleep is getting better … ask again in a couple of weeks.
A few people have also asked after her “weekly” pictures. The last couple are missing because we left town, and whilst away, our camera was dropped. It’s being repaired as I write, so rest assured that more pictures will be on there way soon. You can only imagine how many times a day I want to snap a shot.
Two weeks ago, the three of us ventured across the country to Washington, DC to celebrate Passover with Drew’s family. Gia’s first airplane experience worked out relatively well: She refused to nurse or suck on a pacifier on departure or landing, so cried, poor thing, when she had pressure in her ears; she slept maybe an hour of the 5+ hour flight; and she cried only a few times in between. Drew and I were so busy keeping her entertained and walking her up and down the aisle that the flight passed relatively quickly. At Pa and Dida’s (Drew’s parents’) home, she got to meet four of her cousins for the first time: Benjamin (almost 6) and Rebecca (2), who live in St. Louis with parents Auntie Elissa and Uncle Bryan, and cousins Julian (almost 4) and Sophia (1), who hail from Manhattan with Uncle Michael and Auntie Natasha. We’re glad Gia got to meet more of her family, and wish that we had taken more pictures before the camera-dropping incident.
Unfortunately, I got sick early in the trip, Gia wasn’t sleeping well at night (though she didn’t have jetlag), and so neither were we. On an ill-considered whim, I decided to add dairy back into my diet the night before we left DC, and Gia’s little tummy got so upset that she (and again, we) were up most of the night. We got up at around 5 am EDT, after about one hour of sleep on and off during the night, and flew home. An exhausting and mildly excruciating day! However, there was an angel sitting next to us on the plane: A very sweet 50-something Korean grandmother who offered to hold Gia while we ate. Miraculously, Gia was totally entranced by her talking and singing, and stared at her face until she fell asleep in her arms.
I say “miraculously” because Gia, who’s obviously an advanced and emotionally-tuned-in being, developed a bit of stranger anxiety around the beginning of April. When others hold her, she usually cries and looks for us. Unfortunately, that meant that others didn’t get to hold her much our visit, and we didn’t get to go out for a romantic dinner. Fortunately, we know that she’s already quite attached to us. The challenge is that of course we want her to be comfortable with other people, and yet that might involve letting her be uncomfortable for a little bit. At the same time, we don’t want her to cry and teach her that we’re ignoring her needs. So we’re accepting that she is where she is, and attempting slow transitions for others to hold and love her.
This past weekend, Gia got to meet her two other cousins, Lillian (14) and Ben (12), who came to visit from the Bay Area with Auntie Wendy and Uncle Eric. It was sweet to see how much her cousins wanted to see, hold and adore her. My mom is coming back for Mother's Day in a couple of weeks, and we're looking forward to having her here, too. Being with family makes us wish that we lived closer and could spend more time together as our kids (and we) grow up.
Alas, work and amazing friends keep us in LA for now.
Finally, a word about Amy & Drew. My friend Scott asked me today how having Gia has impacted my love for Drew. The short answer is that Gia’s presence in our lives vastly expands and elevates my love and experience of being in love with Drew. I get to see his sweetness, tenderness, protectiveness, dedication, generosity, hilarity and resourcefulness channeled into fatherhood. I get to witness the way Drew and Gia look at each other with such love in their eyes (I mean, really … I didn’t even know that was possible for an infant!), and I get to watch their dance at night as Drew sings and chants her into slumber. Tonight, she was crying at first (as she almost always does), and Drew was practically running around the living room, bouncing her (in the Moby wrap) and singing a Krishna Das medley. Imagine that!
Having Gia has invited us to dive more deeply into partnership and depend more on ourselves and more on each other every day. We are both more generous, supportive and loving with each other, and probably more appreciative, too. Because we have chosen more traditional gender roles, Drew is working hard (thankfully, from home) and is providing more financially for us; I am hardly working for money, though working hard at being a great mom and providing more domestic ease. It’s working for us right now, and I feel really, really grateful for the opportunity to spend these precious months getting to know, be with and actively love Gia.
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Coming soon: Next time, we’ll tell you about our first afternoon date away from Gia … our friend Mikki has generously offered to babysit for a few hours next week, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well …
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things
(Note from Amy: The fabulous and talented Drew has been writing all of our journal entries so far. Though full of wonder and enthusiasm about Gia, I haven’t had the wherewithal to write until now. I look forward to writing and sharing more with you as the weeks pass.)
Gia is an amazing, intelligent, substantial being with a big spirit in a tiny, adorable, delicious little body. The past 12 weeks with her (outside my body) have been full of surprises, joy, incompetence (mine), learning, familiarity, complete unfamiliarity, smiles, tears (hers and ours), spit up (hers) and of course, our obsession with her bodily functions. We’ve never felt such need and fervent desire to keep someone safe, happy and healthy, often at the expense of our own sleep. Nor such appreciation for our own parents and the sacrifices they made, and love they gave … and continue to give.
So, of course we, like all new parents, are a bit low on sleep. But oh, to wake up and see her contagious, happy smile in the morning when we “finally” wake up and look at her, is to feel instant sunshine in our hearts. Since you don’t get to wake up with her and spend every waking moment watching her grow and witnessing her blossom, here’s a list of some of the things we love about Gia these days, so you can feel like you’re here, too!
- Her amazingly expressive, impossibly cute face
- Her fresh, smooth, soft yummy baby skin
- Her super-stretchy body upon waking up
- Her enthusiastic hair at any moment of the day
- Her light-the-world smile
- Her beautiful pink lips
- Her lusty appetite
- The way her tiny perfect ears move rhythmically up and back, forward and down as she nurses
- The way she embraces her food source
- Her adorable vowel sounds
- The way she’s just started really “singing” back to us
- How cute she looks in pink
- Her clear communication: We really know when all is right in her world and when she’s not happy (even if we don’t know exactly why)
- The way she likes riding on a shoulder, head held high like royalty
- The way she sucks sometimes thoughtfully, sometimes frantically on her pacifier
- The mesmerizing way her hands move as if through water, conducting an invisible orchestra
- Her consistent need to have her hands out, and ability to Houdini them out of the swaddle, Moby wrap, out from under the blanket, etc.
- The ways she tries so ardently to fit her whole fist into her mouth
- The warning signs before a meltdown: Holding her breath, her face turning red, the lower lip getting thin and wide, then sticking out and then quivering …
- Her soft, round belly
- Her chubby little thighs
- Her little zori toes (the gap between her big toe and its neighbor)
- Her quiet alertness during her nightly bath
- The way she watches Drew and wants to know where he is
- The way she falls asleep and naps cozily in the Moby wrap
- Her little fringe of brown eyelashes resting on her round, kissable cheek when she sleeps
- Her warm little swaddled body consistently migrates toward Amy all night long
- She teaches us to surrender, to learn and to play every day
- She inspires love and adoration wherever she goes (even in cyberspace)
- She reminds us every day, that every human being is actually a miracle
These, of course, are just a few of the highlights! Thanks for tuning in to the latest installment … there will be more to share with you soon!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
We remember when...
There is a legend about a land very similar to our own. Only it is a land where people go to sleep at around 10pm and wake up in the morning after sleeping many hours in a row. It is a land where people can go out to nice restaurants easily, and where they can take spur of the moment trips. Sometimes, if you are up a 5am with your baby you can almost hear those strange folks snoring. . .
Parenthood really helps you to appreciate the little things. Drew went out with a friend to an upscale restaurant last week. Something that he did with reasonable frequency over the last several years but never since Gia was born. It was as if all his senses were enhanced. The food tasted amazing, the conversation was so connecting, and he felt so alive. Who would have thought 3 months could make such a difference? Likewise, when we get just 15 minutes alone to cuddle and talk when we aren’t exhausted, it is like being on a fantastic vacation!
Fortunately, we have finally figured out how to consistently put Gia to sleep on her own at night. She is still in our bed and Amy needs to nurse her to sleep but then she can leave and Gia will sleep on her own for hours. This has given us so much more free time together. Unfortunately, we are usually very tired at that point and haven’t been able to do the same thing at nap time. In addition, the first leg of Gia’s sleep is her longest, so by staying up while she sleeps we are actually cutting into the longest stretch of sleep we can get (3-4 hours). After that Gia wakes every 1-2 hours. We started reading a book on how to help you baby sleep (“The no cry solution”) but is seems that before the age of 4 months there isn’t a whole lot you can do. Nevertheless, we have been keeping a log of Gia’s naps, bed time routine and night waking. We can really see how much lack of sleep affects her. She is much crankier (us too).
We love our life with Gia even if not every moment is enjoyable. She has gotten so smiley and lately keeps trying to fit her whole fist in her mouth. She also seems fairly obsessed with looking at daddy. One time, Amy had her breast right next to Gia’s face to feed but Gia didn’t even notice it because she was looking at Drew. Eventually, Drew had to walk behind Amy so Gia would notice the boob! She is also quite a talker. We have a movie of Drew and Gia chatting, although admittedly it is all vowel sounds…Look for the movie to be posted in the next few weeks.
We are sorry we have been a little neglectful of the website. There just never seems to be enough time in the day or week or month! Please know, we love you all and will do our best to keep you in the Gia loop!
Parenthood really helps you to appreciate the little things. Drew went out with a friend to an upscale restaurant last week. Something that he did with reasonable frequency over the last several years but never since Gia was born. It was as if all his senses were enhanced. The food tasted amazing, the conversation was so connecting, and he felt so alive. Who would have thought 3 months could make such a difference? Likewise, when we get just 15 minutes alone to cuddle and talk when we aren’t exhausted, it is like being on a fantastic vacation!
Fortunately, we have finally figured out how to consistently put Gia to sleep on her own at night. She is still in our bed and Amy needs to nurse her to sleep but then she can leave and Gia will sleep on her own for hours. This has given us so much more free time together. Unfortunately, we are usually very tired at that point and haven’t been able to do the same thing at nap time. In addition, the first leg of Gia’s sleep is her longest, so by staying up while she sleeps we are actually cutting into the longest stretch of sleep we can get (3-4 hours). After that Gia wakes every 1-2 hours. We started reading a book on how to help you baby sleep (“The no cry solution”) but is seems that before the age of 4 months there isn’t a whole lot you can do. Nevertheless, we have been keeping a log of Gia’s naps, bed time routine and night waking. We can really see how much lack of sleep affects her. She is much crankier (us too).
We love our life with Gia even if not every moment is enjoyable. She has gotten so smiley and lately keeps trying to fit her whole fist in her mouth. She also seems fairly obsessed with looking at daddy. One time, Amy had her breast right next to Gia’s face to feed but Gia didn’t even notice it because she was looking at Drew. Eventually, Drew had to walk behind Amy so Gia would notice the boob! She is also quite a talker. We have a movie of Drew and Gia chatting, although admittedly it is all vowel sounds…Look for the movie to be posted in the next few weeks.
We are sorry we have been a little neglectful of the website. There just never seems to be enough time in the day or week or month! Please know, we love you all and will do our best to keep you in the Gia loop!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Gia at 2 Months
In two days Gia will be 2 months old! We can’t believe it. It seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital with her and yet at the same time it feels like we have been living with her forever. Drew has been back at work for the last few weeks. Since he writes these journal entries, they have been less frequent because of his reduced free time. We apologize to Gia’s fan club! Drew works from home which is very nice but has been an adjustment for all of us, since he is home but not always available. It has also forced us into more of a schedule. Drew will usually play with Gia for about 30 when he wakes up so Amy can shower and do a few other things before another Gia feeding frenzy. Drew will also take Gia in the Moby wrap (kind of like a baby sling) during part of the day. She sleeps and he is still able to work.
This week we established a nightly retinue for Gia. Shortly after dinner we give her a bath then Amy reads to her (if Gia is cooperative). After that Drew wears her in the Moby wrap and sings a Buddhist chant to her for 10 minutes while walking. She is usually asleep by this time but it is only a light sleep, so we keep her in the Moby while Amy reads a book out loud. After about 30 minutes we transfer Gia to the bed. She usually wakes up after a little while and Amy nurses her back to sleep. When she is done we all go to sleep. On a good night Gia wakes up to feed twice during the night and on a less good night she wakes every hour. Since so much of our attention is focused on Gia or on everything else we still need to do on our own, it has felt nice for us to have so much time all together each night.
Gia is such a sweetheart. She gets more social and attentive every week. She now really enjoys her play mat. When we used to put her down on it, she would just stare up at the ceiling, now she looks all around at the animals and other objects that hang down just out of reach. When we are luckily she will get in a smiley mood and we can play little games with her. She also has the cutest habit of laughing in her sleep. One night at around 5am, Drew was awake and was startled by this very loud HEE-HEE-HEE that came out of Gia! We love how we are all learning and laughing together.
This week we established a nightly retinue for Gia. Shortly after dinner we give her a bath then Amy reads to her (if Gia is cooperative). After that Drew wears her in the Moby wrap and sings a Buddhist chant to her for 10 minutes while walking. She is usually asleep by this time but it is only a light sleep, so we keep her in the Moby while Amy reads a book out loud. After about 30 minutes we transfer Gia to the bed. She usually wakes up after a little while and Amy nurses her back to sleep. When she is done we all go to sleep. On a good night Gia wakes up to feed twice during the night and on a less good night she wakes every hour. Since so much of our attention is focused on Gia or on everything else we still need to do on our own, it has felt nice for us to have so much time all together each night.
Gia is such a sweetheart. She gets more social and attentive every week. She now really enjoys her play mat. When we used to put her down on it, she would just stare up at the ceiling, now she looks all around at the animals and other objects that hang down just out of reach. When we are luckily she will get in a smiley mood and we can play little games with her. She also has the cutest habit of laughing in her sleep. One night at around 5am, Drew was awake and was startled by this very loud HEE-HEE-HEE that came out of Gia! We love how we are all learning and laughing together.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Baby’s Big Day out, the incredible growing baby, and more…
Let’s us start with an update for those of you who has been waiting anxiously to learn more about Gia’s bodily functions J. She is much more regular now… pooing most days and while she still has lots of gas, it rarely seems painful. Hurrah!
Night time has gotten so much easier! For the last several days, she has stayed in bed the whole night (i.e. Drew hasn’t had to get up with her for a while to soothe her back to sleep). She is by no means “sleeping through the night,” but Amy is able to nurse her lying down and still get some sleep. Even though Gia stays in bed, boy can she be noisy. We never knew babies could make such loud sounds that aren’t cries! Nevertheless, we are all getting much more sleep.
Gia had her 1-month pediatric appointment last week and is in prefect health. The big surprise is she grew a whopping 3 ½ inches in 5 weeks! To give you more of a feel for how much that is, she went from the 25th to the 65th percentile in length. Can you imagine growing 18% of your height in 5 weeks! We are really starting to notice her fitting in our arms in a different way. Things move so fast…
Gia is learning to smile “socially” and every now and then we are rewarded with a beautiful full smile. It just melts our hearts. She is also much more alert and sleeps a lot less during the day.
Drew’s parents left on Saturday and we bravely decided to take Gia out for fun for the first time. We all went to Santa Monica, had lunch at Urth Café and then went for a walk on the beach. We got to use many of our new masterful parenting skills. Amy nursed Gia in the car (while parked) and Drew carried Gia in the Moby Wrap the whole time. Drew’s back now knows why someone invented strollers! Nevertheless, it was a fun outing.
Night time has gotten so much easier! For the last several days, she has stayed in bed the whole night (i.e. Drew hasn’t had to get up with her for a while to soothe her back to sleep). She is by no means “sleeping through the night,” but Amy is able to nurse her lying down and still get some sleep. Even though Gia stays in bed, boy can she be noisy. We never knew babies could make such loud sounds that aren’t cries! Nevertheless, we are all getting much more sleep.
Gia had her 1-month pediatric appointment last week and is in prefect health. The big surprise is she grew a whopping 3 ½ inches in 5 weeks! To give you more of a feel for how much that is, she went from the 25th to the 65th percentile in length. Can you imagine growing 18% of your height in 5 weeks! We are really starting to notice her fitting in our arms in a different way. Things move so fast…
Gia is learning to smile “socially” and every now and then we are rewarded with a beautiful full smile. It just melts our hearts. She is also much more alert and sleeps a lot less during the day.
Drew’s parents left on Saturday and we bravely decided to take Gia out for fun for the first time. We all went to Santa Monica, had lunch at Urth Café and then went for a walk on the beach. We got to use many of our new masterful parenting skills. Amy nursed Gia in the car (while parked) and Drew carried Gia in the Moby Wrap the whole time. Drew’s back now knows why someone invented strollers! Nevertheless, it was a fun outing.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Talking Dirty
WARNING: This entry contains talk about poo and pee. If this is too much information for you then we suggest you skip this entry and know that we are all doing well :). For those of you that are not faint of heart, come journey with use to the land of diaper changes and poopy talk…
Let us start by saying one of the most remarkable things about parenthood is how suddenly our days have becomes full of talk about bodily functions. Burps, farts, poos, pees...you name it, and we talk about it. For the first 2 weeks, we kept careful records of every diaper change. When did it take place? Was it a wet diaper? Was it a dirty diaper? Was the poo at least a quarter in diameter on the diaper (according to our doctor it if it is less than that it doesn’t count)? Now, frankly keeping track of what was what became moot after about 1 week because every diaper change was wet and dirty. All ten diapers a day! But something funny happened a week ago. All of the sudden, there were no more dirty diapers. Lots of wet ones but no dirty ones. After a few days, we became worried. She seemed to be feeding very well, but where was it all going? We did some research and found out that it is actually not that uncommon for breastfeed babies to go up to 8 days without a poo! Can you imagine not having a poo for that long? Apparently, breast milk is so perfectly formulated for the baby that there is actually very little real waste. Much of what they poo out is simply what they can’t use right away. At least that is what some people say but who the heck knows! What we do know is Gia wasn’t letting any of it out. At the same time, she seemed to have much more gas. This was especially unpleasant at night because it would keep her up crying (which of course meant that we were up as well). Day after to day went by and still no poo. Finally, today we struck the mother load. The fullest diaper she has ever had. It was quite a relief because we were planning to call the doctor tomorrow. So, we celebrated. Yes, that’s right folks. We celebrated our daughter’s dirty diaper. They say parenthood changes you, we had no idea…
Let us start by saying one of the most remarkable things about parenthood is how suddenly our days have becomes full of talk about bodily functions. Burps, farts, poos, pees...you name it, and we talk about it. For the first 2 weeks, we kept careful records of every diaper change. When did it take place? Was it a wet diaper? Was it a dirty diaper? Was the poo at least a quarter in diameter on the diaper (according to our doctor it if it is less than that it doesn’t count)? Now, frankly keeping track of what was what became moot after about 1 week because every diaper change was wet and dirty. All ten diapers a day! But something funny happened a week ago. All of the sudden, there were no more dirty diapers. Lots of wet ones but no dirty ones. After a few days, we became worried. She seemed to be feeding very well, but where was it all going? We did some research and found out that it is actually not that uncommon for breastfeed babies to go up to 8 days without a poo! Can you imagine not having a poo for that long? Apparently, breast milk is so perfectly formulated for the baby that there is actually very little real waste. Much of what they poo out is simply what they can’t use right away. At least that is what some people say but who the heck knows! What we do know is Gia wasn’t letting any of it out. At the same time, she seemed to have much more gas. This was especially unpleasant at night because it would keep her up crying (which of course meant that we were up as well). Day after to day went by and still no poo. Finally, today we struck the mother load. The fullest diaper she has ever had. It was quite a relief because we were planning to call the doctor tomorrow. So, we celebrated. Yes, that’s right folks. We celebrated our daughter’s dirty diaper. They say parenthood changes you, we had no idea…
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Spitting like there is no tomorrow
When we were preparing for Gia’s arrival, we took stock of what clothes we had and what we might need. It seemed to Drew that 2-3 of everything was plenty – after all how many times does a baby change clothes in a day? Amy disagreed. “Drew, we are probably going to be changing her clothes 2-3 times a days and do laundry every day!” So, we got lots of extra clothes. Well, for the first 3 weeks of Gia’s life, we were feeling pretty silly because we changed her clothes pretty much once a day and then only because it seemed like the right thing to do, not because her clothes were dirty. Well, that has all changed. It turns out that recently, Gia’s favorite activity is to spit up. We aren’t talking about a little spit up rolling down her face; we are talking spit up getting everywhere - coming out of her nose, soaking her sleeves and soaking our clothes. And, just when we think she is done and change her clothes – BAM all over her new outfit! We now give burp cloths to everyone who visits and wants to hold her. (For those that might worry, we are reassured that this is normal and more of a laundry and social problem then a medical one.)
Gia continues to eat more often then she used to and just loves to let us know that she is hungry just as Amy is about to do something she has been waiting all day to do like step into the shower. You can probably imagine how exhausting that is for Amy. Most of the night feedings now take place lying down, so we are all getting more sleep at night, although the last few nights Gia has had a lot of gas. This is difficult because when we burp her it puts pressure on her belly which it good for getting burps out but painful for intestinal gas. As a result, Drew does a dance between putting her over his shoulder and lying her flat so she isn’t in too much pain. We are hoping that this is just temporary because it is no fun for anyone.
Amy’s sister, Wendy, was with us the last several days. It was wonderful having her here. She was great with Gia and very helpful. One day, she offered to go grocery shopping for us and to our surprise brought home twice as much as we had on the list and paid for it herself! Wendy, thank you for your generosity and for being such a wonderful Auntie. You can also all thank Wendy for most of the pictures in the Week 4 gallery.
Wendy made a wonderful suggestion to us regarding our next journal entry. A number of people have asked us (and her) how to pronounce Gia's name so we thought we would settle any heated debates that might be going on. It is pronounced JEE-ah.
Wendy departed yesterday, so once again it is just us three; however, Drew’s Mom, Karen, comes in on Friday and his Dad, Mark, next week so you don’t have to worry about us getting lonely!
Gia continues to eat more often then she used to and just loves to let us know that she is hungry just as Amy is about to do something she has been waiting all day to do like step into the shower. You can probably imagine how exhausting that is for Amy. Most of the night feedings now take place lying down, so we are all getting more sleep at night, although the last few nights Gia has had a lot of gas. This is difficult because when we burp her it puts pressure on her belly which it good for getting burps out but painful for intestinal gas. As a result, Drew does a dance between putting her over his shoulder and lying her flat so she isn’t in too much pain. We are hoping that this is just temporary because it is no fun for anyone.
Amy’s sister, Wendy, was with us the last several days. It was wonderful having her here. She was great with Gia and very helpful. One day, she offered to go grocery shopping for us and to our surprise brought home twice as much as we had on the list and paid for it herself! Wendy, thank you for your generosity and for being such a wonderful Auntie. You can also all thank Wendy for most of the pictures in the Week 4 gallery.
Wendy made a wonderful suggestion to us regarding our next journal entry. A number of people have asked us (and her) how to pronounce Gia's name so we thought we would settle any heated debates that might be going on. It is pronounced JEE-ah.
Wendy departed yesterday, so once again it is just us three; however, Drew’s Mom, Karen, comes in on Friday and his Dad, Mark, next week so you don’t have to worry about us getting lonely!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Happy Birthday Amy!
Yesterday was Amy’s 38th birthday. It was a bit of a challenge planning a birthday with a baby that is less than 3 weeks old. We started the day with a birthday night feeding (just what Amy wanted for her birthday :) ). After the feeding, she was presented with a sweet birthday card from Gia (with a little help from daddy). The day progressed as many have recently – a blur of feedings, diaper changes, and a little sleep here and there. The only difference is that Gia has decided that she needs to eat more often, so instead of feeding every 2-3 hours it was more like 1-2 hours! Again, just what Amy wanted for her birthday - more quality time with her daughter :).
As a surprise, Drew arranged for a masseuse to come to our home to give both of us 90-minute massages. Wow, did we need it and wow, was it good! We might have to do that again soon. Fortunately, Gia was able to wait 90 minutes between feedings so Amy could get her massage.
Drew picked up some delicious food earlier in the day for us to have for dinner. We pictured a sweet candlelight dinner while Gia slept quietly in her bassinet . . . instead it was Amy sitting in the rocker nursing Gia, while Drew fed Amy. Still sweet but very different. We did get to sit and watch an episode of one of our favorite shows - Grey's Anatomy. Of course, it took us 90 minutes to watch a 40-minute episode, thanks to feedings, diaper changes, etc. but it was still fun.
Despite the chaos, Amy felt it was her best birthday ever. After all, when else has she had so much love in her life!
As a surprise, Drew arranged for a masseuse to come to our home to give both of us 90-minute massages. Wow, did we need it and wow, was it good! We might have to do that again soon. Fortunately, Gia was able to wait 90 minutes between feedings so Amy could get her massage.
Drew picked up some delicious food earlier in the day for us to have for dinner. We pictured a sweet candlelight dinner while Gia slept quietly in her bassinet . . . instead it was Amy sitting in the rocker nursing Gia, while Drew fed Amy. Still sweet but very different. We did get to sit and watch an episode of one of our favorite shows - Grey's Anatomy. Of course, it took us 90 minutes to watch a 40-minute episode, thanks to feedings, diaper changes, etc. but it was still fun.
Despite the chaos, Amy felt it was her best birthday ever. After all, when else has she had so much love in her life!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
All by ourselves
Amy’s mom, Nancy, left this morning and for the first time we are all by ourselves with Gia. Nancy’s departure has been very bitter sweet. We are really going to miss everything she did for us and her presence, and at the same time it feels so nice to be alone with our new little family. Everything feels more intimate, and spacious. Today, we took lots of naps together, and Amy and Drew had a sweet candle light dinner while Gia slept in her bassinet by the table.
It is amazing how much Gia is already changing. Her face looks different almost everyday, her hands have grown, her fingers are less delicate and she is definitely taller. She is more interactive and makes much longer eye contact. Drew had a very sweet moment with her this morning when she just stared at him with loving eyes for several minutes. He just loved it! Amy’s favorite thing is to kiss Gia on the lips when she is rooting. Gia responds by kissing Amy back (kind of :) ).
Feeling lots of love and sending lots of love back!
It is amazing how much Gia is already changing. Her face looks different almost everyday, her hands have grown, her fingers are less delicate and she is definitely taller. She is more interactive and makes much longer eye contact. Drew had a very sweet moment with her this morning when she just stared at him with loving eyes for several minutes. He just loved it! Amy’s favorite thing is to kiss Gia on the lips when she is rooting. Gia responds by kissing Amy back (kind of :) ).
Feeling lots of love and sending lots of love back!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Life with Gia - Week 2
We are all settling into something that resembles a familiar routine. Both Gia and Amy have gotten very good at nursing so the only extra help they need is for burping and changing during the feedings and of course company. Nancy does the diaper changes during the day and Drew at night. You will probably notice that Gia is lot rounder than she used to be thanks to her great feeding. Nancy keeps Gia company at the beginning of the evening (9:00-11) and then again in the morning (6-9) to help Amy and Drew get some sleep. We had a particularly nice night yesterday where Gia, Amy and Drew all sleep for 4 hours straight! We really hope it will become a habit. We are still working out how we all sleep together. Our original plan was for Gia to sleep in a co-sleeper next to our bed but she is rarely happy sleeping unless she is being held or right next to one of us. As a result, Amy and Drew take turns sleeping with her. For those out there that might worry about her safety, rest assured we are doing everything we need to to keep her safe while sharing our bed. Although it is definitely harder to sleep when she is with us, it is also incredibly sweet to feel her body next to ours.
We had a photo shoot on Monday with the fantastic photographer who did our wedding and pregnancy pictures (Rikka Zimmerman). The shoot went surprisingly well with Gia very content the whole time. There was, however, one incident. Rikka suggested we take a number of pictures where Gia was naked (including no diaper) and Drew was holding her. Drew knew the risks and dressed appropriately. Sure enough, a few minutes in Drew’s arm was drenched with pee. He never flinched but instead looked down at his daughter and said, “You see sweetheart, you can even pee on me and Daddy will still hold you safe and sound.” We will get the pictures back in about 2 weeks and will post the highlights.
Love,
Amy & Drew
We had a photo shoot on Monday with the fantastic photographer who did our wedding and pregnancy pictures (Rikka Zimmerman). The shoot went surprisingly well with Gia very content the whole time. There was, however, one incident. Rikka suggested we take a number of pictures where Gia was naked (including no diaper) and Drew was holding her. Drew knew the risks and dressed appropriately. Sure enough, a few minutes in Drew’s arm was drenched with pee. He never flinched but instead looked down at his daughter and said, “You see sweetheart, you can even pee on me and Daddy will still hold you safe and sound.” We will get the pictures back in about 2 weeks and will post the highlights.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Thank God for Grandma!
Gia is 10 days old and doing great! Yesterday, her umbilical cord fell off and she is gaining lots of weight every day. Now that feedings are easier, we are all getting more sleep.
We can honestly say that so far parenting has taken tons of time, attention, energy, wakefulness and focus but with the exception of a few moments it has not felt hard. Everything has felt very natural and Gia has been an easy baby. A key component of our ease has been the incredible support Amy’s mom, Nancy, has been providing us.
Nancy has been with us since we got back from the hospital. She has made all our meals, cleaned all our dishes, kept the house clean, done the laundry, changed most of the diapers, and will take Gia at any time of day or night when we need to sleep! She does all of this without asking anything in return. She is 100% here to support us being the best parents we can be. Not to tell us how to parent, or to spend time with Gia (although she gets to do that plenty), or with any other agenda. She has allowed us to completely focus on parenting and to get more rest than we otherwise would have. We are so incredibly grateful for her generous support and selflessness. Fortunately, we still have her for another week! We are lucky to have other visitors coming to support us over the next month – Drew’s parents, Karen & Mark and Amy’s sister, Wendy.
Thank you to our whole community for their love and support.
Love,
Amy & Drew
We can honestly say that so far parenting has taken tons of time, attention, energy, wakefulness and focus but with the exception of a few moments it has not felt hard. Everything has felt very natural and Gia has been an easy baby. A key component of our ease has been the incredible support Amy’s mom, Nancy, has been providing us.
Nancy has been with us since we got back from the hospital. She has made all our meals, cleaned all our dishes, kept the house clean, done the laundry, changed most of the diapers, and will take Gia at any time of day or night when we need to sleep! She does all of this without asking anything in return. She is 100% here to support us being the best parents we can be. Not to tell us how to parent, or to spend time with Gia (although she gets to do that plenty), or with any other agenda. She has allowed us to completely focus on parenting and to get more rest than we otherwise would have. We are so incredibly grateful for her generous support and selflessness. Fortunately, we still have her for another week! We are lucky to have other visitors coming to support us over the next month – Drew’s parents, Karen & Mark and Amy’s sister, Wendy.
Thank you to our whole community for their love and support.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
What's in a Name
Many people have asked us how we came up with the name Gia Tamayo Batshaw. At last we are revealing the secret behind the mystery!
Gia – Well, we would be lying if we told you that we chose “Gia” to honor our common Italian heritage (even though Amy looks very Italian
). We named her after Amy’s father Gene who died when Amy was 3. We chose to honor his memory by choosing an name that starts with the letter ‘G.’ We thought though hundreds of ‘G’ girl names until we narrowed it down to four we liked the most – Gia, Gemma, Genna, Guava. We decided to wait to name her until we she was born. Drew had never met a Gia before but as soon as he saw her, he knew her name was Gia. He didn’t know why it was just clear to him. Drew didn’t tell Amy for a few hours but when he did, she agreed with him. Tamayo – Gia’s middle name comes from her maternal grandmother who passed away August 26th of last year. They had a chance to meet while Gia was in the womb shortly before Tamayo passed way. She was an incredibly strong woman who was deeply devoted to her family. She had a large role in raising Amy after her father died. Tamayo is Japanese for “Generation Jewel” (not to be confused with “Tamago” which means “egg”).
Batshaw - We decided to stick with tradition and give her Drew’s last name.
It is strange that it suddenly seems normal to never sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. You would think that it would be impossible to function with so little sleep but somehow it is not the case. When we are home taking care of Gia and hanging out as a family, it is not so bad. However, when we go out to run errands we get tired very quickly. Now that feedings have gotten easier, Amy has been encouraging Drew to sleep through a couple feedings a day and get more sleep. Drew thinks he might have actually gotten close to 7 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours!
We continue to feel an abundance of love and gratitude for our little Gia and the lives we have been given.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Gia – Well, we would be lying if we told you that we chose “Gia” to honor our common Italian heritage (even though Amy looks very Italian
). We named her after Amy’s father Gene who died when Amy was 3. We chose to honor his memory by choosing an name that starts with the letter ‘G.’ We thought though hundreds of ‘G’ girl names until we narrowed it down to four we liked the most – Gia, Gemma, Genna, Guava. We decided to wait to name her until we she was born. Drew had never met a Gia before but as soon as he saw her, he knew her name was Gia. He didn’t know why it was just clear to him. Drew didn’t tell Amy for a few hours but when he did, she agreed with him. Tamayo – Gia’s middle name comes from her maternal grandmother who passed away August 26th of last year. They had a chance to meet while Gia was in the womb shortly before Tamayo passed way. She was an incredibly strong woman who was deeply devoted to her family. She had a large role in raising Amy after her father died. Tamayo is Japanese for “Generation Jewel” (not to be confused with “Tamago” which means “egg”).Batshaw - We decided to stick with tradition and give her Drew’s last name.
It is strange that it suddenly seems normal to never sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. You would think that it would be impossible to function with so little sleep but somehow it is not the case. When we are home taking care of Gia and hanging out as a family, it is not so bad. However, when we go out to run errands we get tired very quickly. Now that feedings have gotten easier, Amy has been encouraging Drew to sleep through a couple feedings a day and get more sleep. Drew thinks he might have actually gotten close to 7 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours!
We continue to feel an abundance of love and gratitude for our little Gia and the lives we have been given.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Trials and Tribulations of Breast Feeding
Things continue to go well for our little family but it is a very strange time. Night and day are beginning to blur. When Drew woke up from a nap today he looked at the clock which said 5:29. For a least 30 seconds, he was convinced it was in the morning when it was actually at night!
If we look at how we spend the hours of the day it roughly breaks up as follows:
15% - Sleep
5% - Eating
.001% - Doing all the things we used to do before the baby came
80% - Breastfeeding (including burbing, diaper changes, soothing, etc)
If we didn’t breast feed, I am not sure what we would do with all the extra time! They tell you that when your baby is first born, they will need to feed about every 2 hours. That doesn’t sounds so bad until you realize a few things. One, it is 2 hours from the start of the last feeding not the end. Two, when you add in all the things involved in a feeding including setup, getting a good latch, burbing, keeping her awake with diaper changes, etc. it can take 1 ½+ hours to nurse. That doesn’t leave much time in between especially when you consider it takes another 5-10 minutes to get Gia to go to sleep after a feeding. On one particularly bad night we had 3 back-to-back feedings. Amy was exhausted and no one got much sleep. Feedings are getting much easier as we all learn to feed more effectively (especially little Gia) and Amy’s regular milk has come in (new mothers produce something called colostrum for the first several days which doesn’t provide as many calories or volume than regular milk).
Yesterday was an emotional day. We had our first pediatrician appointment (outside of the hospital) and they noticed that Gia has lost 12.5% of her birth weight (it is normal to lose 7.5%-10%). As a result, we were all worried that she wasn’t getting enough to eat. This was especially hard on Amy. We tried to feed her has much as possible before her follow up appointment today but it was difficult. She was often upset when feeding and only seemed to like one of Amy’s breasts. Things seemed to turn a corner early this morning with a few really good feedings. We were delighted and relieved when we discovered that she has gained 2 oz which was double what the doctor had hoped for. He told us we had nothing to worry about and we didn’t need to see him for several weeks.
Life is chaotic but very rich. It is sometimes hard to remember what life was like without Gia. Sometimes when we nap for a long time, we wake up missing her. Mother nature sure knew what she was doing…
Love,
Amy & Drew
If we look at how we spend the hours of the day it roughly breaks up as follows:
15% - Sleep
5% - Eating
.001% - Doing all the things we used to do before the baby came
80% - Breastfeeding (including burbing, diaper changes, soothing, etc)
If we didn’t breast feed, I am not sure what we would do with all the extra time! They tell you that when your baby is first born, they will need to feed about every 2 hours. That doesn’t sounds so bad until you realize a few things. One, it is 2 hours from the start of the last feeding not the end. Two, when you add in all the things involved in a feeding including setup, getting a good latch, burbing, keeping her awake with diaper changes, etc. it can take 1 ½+ hours to nurse. That doesn’t leave much time in between especially when you consider it takes another 5-10 minutes to get Gia to go to sleep after a feeding. On one particularly bad night we had 3 back-to-back feedings. Amy was exhausted and no one got much sleep. Feedings are getting much easier as we all learn to feed more effectively (especially little Gia) and Amy’s regular milk has come in (new mothers produce something called colostrum for the first several days which doesn’t provide as many calories or volume than regular milk).
Yesterday was an emotional day. We had our first pediatrician appointment (outside of the hospital) and they noticed that Gia has lost 12.5% of her birth weight (it is normal to lose 7.5%-10%). As a result, we were all worried that she wasn’t getting enough to eat. This was especially hard on Amy. We tried to feed her has much as possible before her follow up appointment today but it was difficult. She was often upset when feeding and only seemed to like one of Amy’s breasts. Things seemed to turn a corner early this morning with a few really good feedings. We were delighted and relieved when we discovered that she has gained 2 oz which was double what the doctor had hoped for. He told us we had nothing to worry about and we didn’t need to see him for several weeks.
Life is chaotic but very rich. It is sometimes hard to remember what life was like without Gia. Sometimes when we nap for a long time, we wake up missing her. Mother nature sure knew what she was doing…
Love,
Amy & Drew
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Home From the Hospital
We came back home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. It already feels like the hospital was a week ago. Amy is experiencing a very fast recovery from her C-section. She was up and walking 24 hours after the surgery and several nurses commented how “strong” she is. She still has to be careful getting up and down from the bed but other than that she is in great shape.
Drew is also doing great, although understandably sleep deprived.
We had really wonderful care at the hospital but are so grateful to be home. When we arrived, we were greeted with a wonderful lunch thanks to Amy’s mom (Nancy) who had recently arrived. It has been such a blessing having her with us. After lunch, Nancy spent some time getting to know her grand daughter while we took a much needed 2 hour nap (more sleep than either of us had gotten the night before)!
Gia is wonderful. Every hour we fall more and more in love with her – the cute noises she makes, the funny hand gestures when she nurses, the sweet contentment we feel when we hold her.
We are so grateful for the love and support everyone has shown us. A special thank you to all the people who brought us meals and visited us in the hospital (Amy’s sister, Wendy, even flew down to visit for just for the day!).
It is challenging to find enough time and energy to sit down and write for more than 5 minutes at a time, but we will make an effort to keep everyone updated.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Drew is also doing great, although understandably sleep deprived.
We had really wonderful care at the hospital but are so grateful to be home. When we arrived, we were greeted with a wonderful lunch thanks to Amy’s mom (Nancy) who had recently arrived. It has been such a blessing having her with us. After lunch, Nancy spent some time getting to know her grand daughter while we took a much needed 2 hour nap (more sleep than either of us had gotten the night before)!
Gia is wonderful. Every hour we fall more and more in love with her – the cute noises she makes, the funny hand gestures when she nurses, the sweet contentment we feel when we hold her.
We are so grateful for the love and support everyone has shown us. A special thank you to all the people who brought us meals and visited us in the hospital (Amy’s sister, Wendy, even flew down to visit for just for the day!).
It is challenging to find enough time and energy to sit down and write for more than 5 minutes at a time, but we will make an effort to keep everyone updated.
Love,
Amy & Drew
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Gia Tamayo Batshaw has arrived
We are excited to announce the happy arrival of Gia Tamayo Batshaw! Thank you for being an important part of the loving community to welcome her to the world. We look forward to introducing you soon!
Born January 10, 2008 at 9:44 AM
In Los Angeles, California
8 lbs, 7.4 oz, 18.75 inches
Mom/Dad/Baby are all doing great!
More details to follow in the days, weeks and months ahead. We welcome your contact and appreciate your patience, knowing that we may or may not be able to respond in a timely manner.
With Love and Gratitude,
Proud Parents Amy & Drew
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