Today(Saturday) was a good day. The background is as follows. For the prior two weeks Samuel did not attend HG as it was closed due to school holidays. Just before the school holiday we saw the pediatrician for Samuel's 18 month check-up. Samuel's weight had changed only slightly from his 15 month check-up. This obviously concerned us.
So, for the 11 days that Samuel was with us and not at the HG we decided to change his feeding schedule. We dropped him from 4 bottles per day to 3 and provided him a meal with puree and snacks throughout the day. If he refused to eat his meal we did not follow up with a bottle, he just waited until his next meal to eat. If you read the previous post you know this was mostly unsuccessful.
Well, last Friday(6th) Samuel returned to the HG. Julia dropped him off and picked him up as I have been sick all week. Off topic note-This is great house in which to be sick. Julia worked from home on Wednesday so I was able to spend most of the morning in our bed which has a huge sliding door leading onto a small terrace. Laying in bed staring out this large door looking at the clouds gently floating by, the river charging ever forward and the branches of the trees gently blowing in the wind is very relaxing.
Okay back to the main story. When Julia dropped Samuel off she was able to have an extensive conversation with the HG workers and they agreed plan so that Samuel would be on the same feeding schedule 7 days per week. We started that plan today and it was mostly successful. Samuel now starts his day with a bottle of 8 ozs. of formula with 4 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed in. For lunch he gets a 190 gram jar of meat/vegetable puree followed by 2 petite suisse(yogurt like snack). He then takes his nap. When he wakes from his nap we give him a snack of a 120 gram pot of fruit puree with a yogurt. In the evening we will give him a bottle of formula, puree, cereal and olive oil.
When Julia fed him his lunch he ate about 1/4 of the puree which is more than he has ever eaten for ether of us. He then scarfed down 2 petite suisse in record time. For his snack he consumed the entire 120 gram apple/pear puree followed by 1 pettite suisse. Where has this eating machine been for the last year?
Our only concern is that we do something to screw up his progress. But for now at least Samuel is eating and eating well.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Samuel and the twins
This morning Julia and I were siting on the couch discussing what needed to be done today while Samuel was standing on the floor between us. I looked at him and asked "Samuel, where are the babies?" He immediately took his hand and put it on Julia's belly. I need to keep the camera handy for such moments.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Samuel continues to amaze....
A few days ago I was doing laundry and Samuel was assisting in moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I decided to ask him to empty the dryer and take the clothes to the guest room. Much to my surprise he did exactly what I asked. He reached into the dryer, grabbed the small amount of clothes and proceeded to walk around the corner into the guest room where he placed the dried clothes onto the guest bed.
Not sure if he actually understood my request or if he was mimicking what I usually do when I do the laundry. There is no way to know for sure how he knew what to do but he is constantly mazing me with his understanding of what we ask him to do.
Not sure if he actually understood my request or if he was mimicking what I usually do when I do the laundry. There is no way to know for sure how he knew what to do but he is constantly mazing me with his understanding of what we ask him to do.
Twins? Just kidding!!!
When Julia was pregnant with Samuel it was like being single again. She would come home from work, take a nap, wake up, we would eat dinner and she would go back to bed. Life was good.
With the twins it is very much like being a single parent. My respect for single parents continues to grow.
Good news and bad news- Samuel is eating solid foods now. He eats at the HG the 2 days he is there. With us he sometimes eats a little bit of solid food. However, he loves his petite suisse. It is a yogurt like product that is designed to be a snack. He opens his mouth very wide when we give him a petite suisse. We actually have to use the spoon to scrape the sides of the bowl to maximize the amount of petite suisse Samuel gets. But he does not enthusiastically eat his puree. He occasionally takes a few teaspoons but never does he eat all that we offer.
Halloween is scary. We hosted our first Halloween party on the 31st. We had about 20 kids and 25 adults in attendance. Lessons learned-25 kids on a sugar high make a huge mess. Luckily the weather was nice so we were able to herd the more rowdy kids out to the back yard.
Five of our neighbors graciously opened their doors to provide treats to the kids who wanted to trick-or-treat. Samuel, Julia and I went together. As we were leaving the 4th hose Samuel tripped and fell. Julia who was walking behind him tried to catch him and fell herself. My dilemma-my 18 month old son lying to my right with a bloody nose or my 3 months pregnant with twins wife lying to my left. Thankfully our neighbors came through again as they were able to help Julia while I and other parents took care of Samuel/ It was frustrating with julia as she was speaking french to the neighbors and I was unable to follow the ocnversartion so I was in the dark as to what, if anything, was wrong. Luckily, Samuel was fine. By the time we walked home(about 50 metres) he was smiling and happy. One of our neighbor kids, Claire, who is 10, took over watching him so that I could then spend some time with my wife. Julia had braced her fall with her hands so her right wrist/hand was very sore. No cuts, just pain.
Thankfully our partygoers understood that Julia and i were not the best of hosts and they took over and made sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink while I attended to Julia on the couch.
On the Sunday after Halloween Julia took a cab to the hospital, something I felt guilty about but neither of us felt comfortable either taking Samuel to the hospital with us or leaving him with a neighbor, because we had no idea how long she would have to be at the ER. In the end it was the right decision as Julia left around 1100 and did not return home until after 1600. All is well with the twins. Julia had a scan at the ER for the twins and everything looked normal. Unfortunately Julia then had to go to another ER in the hospital and wait there for someone to look at her hand. No break "just" a few sprained fingers.
With the twins it is very much like being a single parent. My respect for single parents continues to grow.
Good news and bad news- Samuel is eating solid foods now. He eats at the HG the 2 days he is there. With us he sometimes eats a little bit of solid food. However, he loves his petite suisse. It is a yogurt like product that is designed to be a snack. He opens his mouth very wide when we give him a petite suisse. We actually have to use the spoon to scrape the sides of the bowl to maximize the amount of petite suisse Samuel gets. But he does not enthusiastically eat his puree. He occasionally takes a few teaspoons but never does he eat all that we offer.
Halloween is scary. We hosted our first Halloween party on the 31st. We had about 20 kids and 25 adults in attendance. Lessons learned-25 kids on a sugar high make a huge mess. Luckily the weather was nice so we were able to herd the more rowdy kids out to the back yard.
Five of our neighbors graciously opened their doors to provide treats to the kids who wanted to trick-or-treat. Samuel, Julia and I went together. As we were leaving the 4th hose Samuel tripped and fell. Julia who was walking behind him tried to catch him and fell herself. My dilemma-my 18 month old son lying to my right with a bloody nose or my 3 months pregnant with twins wife lying to my left. Thankfully our neighbors came through again as they were able to help Julia while I and other parents took care of Samuel/ It was frustrating with julia as she was speaking french to the neighbors and I was unable to follow the ocnversartion so I was in the dark as to what, if anything, was wrong. Luckily, Samuel was fine. By the time we walked home(about 50 metres) he was smiling and happy. One of our neighbor kids, Claire, who is 10, took over watching him so that I could then spend some time with my wife. Julia had braced her fall with her hands so her right wrist/hand was very sore. No cuts, just pain.
Thankfully our partygoers understood that Julia and i were not the best of hosts and they took over and made sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink while I attended to Julia on the couch.
On the Sunday after Halloween Julia took a cab to the hospital, something I felt guilty about but neither of us felt comfortable either taking Samuel to the hospital with us or leaving him with a neighbor, because we had no idea how long she would have to be at the ER. In the end it was the right decision as Julia left around 1100 and did not return home until after 1600. All is well with the twins. Julia had a scan at the ER for the twins and everything looked normal. Unfortunately Julia then had to go to another ER in the hospital and wait there for someone to look at her hand. No break "just" a few sprained fingers.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Twins!!
As you can see from the ultrasound picture above, we are expecting two more little Charters to arrive most likely mid/end April! Both babies are doing very well so far and are almost the same size (6 cm from crown to rump). We had the 12-week scan yesterday and both of them displayed a very high level of activity and a rather worrying degree of stubbornness. (It is always rather concerning when you realize that you might be passing on certain genetic traits to your children... :-)) Just as Samuel did at the same stage, neither of them were still for an instant. They waved hands and feet and bounced around. There were times it almost looked like they could feel each other through their amniotic sac walls (they are side by side) and they were already pushing each other around!
We had the scan done at the clinique where we plan to give birth. It's a 25-min drive from our house and has a good reputation as well as having a basic neonatology unit (important for us as there is a high probability that the twins will come early - typically at 36-38 weeks).
The doctor that performed the ultrasound for us was wonderful. She tried 3 different scan probes, kept jabbing me repeatedly, but nothing would get the babies to move into (and keep!) a position where she could get the measurements and pictures she needed to make sure that all was well with them. If they did move into position, it was only fleeting - and at one point we could have sworn that we could see one of the babies smiling at us as this was happening! The doctor spent an hour and a half with us, talking to and cajoling the babies, and even got me to walk around the building for 5 minutes to help the babies move around... and eventually we got enough detail that it seems that all is well with them.
We will have monthly scans from now on, so hope to know more (including maybe the gender of the babies) next month. In the meantime we are figuring out the French medical system, trying to book a doula to help us (and translate!) for the birth, and dealing with the twice-as-bad nausea that comes from having twins (2x the hormones).
We cannot say enough good things about New York Presbyterian/Cornell, where we did our IVF in August. They truly are the best in the field as after 2 visits we now have the possibility of 3 children - where before, after disappointing results elsewhere, we weren't sure of having any.
The great news is that we finally get to benefit from being on a French contract with P&G - I will have a 9 month paid maternity leave! I expect to stop work around end Feb (if not earlier) and return to work in Dec / Jan. Of course... we will need this as the babies will likely arrive around the time of Samuel's 2nd birthday, so our lives are about to get extremely hectic. We also don't know when (and where) we will need to move again. I will have to be replaced in my job in France, so will need to change country again for a new job. We will let you know more when we do!
In the meantime, we continue with life as semi-usual, with me spending most of my non-work time asleep and/or suffering severe nausea (hopefully all over in the next few weeks!) and Dave being his amazing self in looking after (spoiling) me and having to be a mostly single parent to Samuel. The strangest thing is the speed at which my belly is growing... I had to move into maternity clothes at 10.5 weeks and am sure that I will soon be as big as a house!
Julia (+ the 2 little bouncy bumps)
We had the scan done at the clinique where we plan to give birth. It's a 25-min drive from our house and has a good reputation as well as having a basic neonatology unit (important for us as there is a high probability that the twins will come early - typically at 36-38 weeks).
The doctor that performed the ultrasound for us was wonderful. She tried 3 different scan probes, kept jabbing me repeatedly, but nothing would get the babies to move into (and keep!) a position where she could get the measurements and pictures she needed to make sure that all was well with them. If they did move into position, it was only fleeting - and at one point we could have sworn that we could see one of the babies smiling at us as this was happening! The doctor spent an hour and a half with us, talking to and cajoling the babies, and even got me to walk around the building for 5 minutes to help the babies move around... and eventually we got enough detail that it seems that all is well with them.
We will have monthly scans from now on, so hope to know more (including maybe the gender of the babies) next month. In the meantime we are figuring out the French medical system, trying to book a doula to help us (and translate!) for the birth, and dealing with the twice-as-bad nausea that comes from having twins (2x the hormones).
We cannot say enough good things about New York Presbyterian/Cornell, where we did our IVF in August. They truly are the best in the field as after 2 visits we now have the possibility of 3 children - where before, after disappointing results elsewhere, we weren't sure of having any.
The great news is that we finally get to benefit from being on a French contract with P&G - I will have a 9 month paid maternity leave! I expect to stop work around end Feb (if not earlier) and return to work in Dec / Jan. Of course... we will need this as the babies will likely arrive around the time of Samuel's 2nd birthday, so our lives are about to get extremely hectic. We also don't know when (and where) we will need to move again. I will have to be replaced in my job in France, so will need to change country again for a new job. We will let you know more when we do!
In the meantime, we continue with life as semi-usual, with me spending most of my non-work time asleep and/or suffering severe nausea (hopefully all over in the next few weeks!) and Dave being his amazing self in looking after (spoiling) me and having to be a mostly single parent to Samuel. The strangest thing is the speed at which my belly is growing... I had to move into maternity clothes at 10.5 weeks and am sure that I will soon be as big as a house!
Julia (+ the 2 little bouncy bumps)
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