Samuel's new favorite word is "DD". Samuel speak for dvd. He is allowed to watch one "educational"(!) (Baby Einstein, Sesame Street) DVD every day. We probably should allow more than one as they have helped him a great deal with his language development. For those of you that do not know, he is also seeing an orthophonist twice a week. Aurelie is Samuel's first girlfriend. She is all he talks about. Every time we tell him he is going out he says "orely" in a very excited voice.
We have spent the weekend washing, folding and putting away the six and nine month clothes for the boys. Benjamin has already outgrown his 9 month clothes and needs to be in 12 month. The 12 month clothes, in terms of length are a little big on Nathan but we are lazy and do not want to have to sort three different sizes of boys clothes so Nathan is also going into 12 month this weekend.
We have continued our laziness by keeping the boys in their pajamas on some days, instead of putting them in real clothes every day. We figure this saves us 2-3 loads of laundry every week.
Nathan is very close to crawling. He has begun to push himself up onto his hands and knees to the point where we can see space between the floor and his belly.
The cats hate us. We have begun locking the cats in the basement over night. Neither Julia or I are sleeping well. Our sleep problems are not helped when every morning between 0400-0600 one of the cats begins a mournful wail that can last for more than a minute. Our reaction was to put the cats outside every night but it has been falling to near 0 over night so we decided to be nice and only lock the cats in the basement.
The boys are doing very well with their solid food. They get rice cereal mixed with formula at the 1100 feed. They normally eat almost all of the cereal. The positive aspect is that we can give them their bottles and they are then still able to eat their cereal. This was something that Samuel was never able to do. If Samuel finished his bottle he was full enough and refused to eat after.
So far we have been very blessed. The boys are sleeping through the night. Samuel has slept through since he was two months. We have been very lucky being in France where both Julia and I have been with the boys every day. We also had the same fortunate circumstance with Samuel. Julia did not return to work until Samuel was 18 weeks old.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Une Greve
Welcome to our winter of French discontent. In summary, the French government is attempting to revise the retirement rules. They want to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. This, of course, has set off strikes across industries and the country since the beginning of September.
Living in the suburbs and with Julia not yet having returned to work we have not been that effected by the strikes. Except for having to cancel a couple of language lessons due to train disruption life has proceeded as normal.
The strikers have a good plan in that they are attempting to shut down the oil/gas refineries and ports so that fuel is unable to be processed or transported. As of today about 30% of petrol stations are closed due to lack of fuel. Julia spoke to one of our neighbors yesterday who spent an hour driving around looking for an open petrol station. We were smart and filed both tanks as soon as we heard about the refineries being struck and since we do not drive much we should be okay with petrol for a month or more.
The only other time we were effected by the strikes was when I tried to go to Castorama (DIY store) and when I reached the street on which it is located it was blocked by police motorcycles. Apparently there is a high school on the street and the students were violent that day and turning over and burning cars.
That is the one aspect of this strike that I did not understand in the beginning. Why were high school and college students striking to protest a rise in the retirement age? At first I was amazed at their participation and shocked at their lack of a grasp of economics as it is clear that France cannot continue within the current system as their are currently just over 3 workers for every retiree and within a decade the ration will fall to 2 to 1. A ratio that is clearly fiscally untenable.
Yesterday I finally found an article which provided me with the rationale behind the youngsters supporting the strikes. Apparently the age that a French person gets their first real job is 27. An astonishing fact that I was unaware of. Of course, there are temporary jobs that they can attain that will pay the bills but it is at an average of 27 where they get their first job that allows them to begin contributing to the social system to which the changes are proposed. The youngsters are upset because if the people that already have jobs are forced to stay in the jobs two years longer it means that there will be an even greater wait for the young French to get their first real job.
C'est la vie en France!
Living in the suburbs and with Julia not yet having returned to work we have not been that effected by the strikes. Except for having to cancel a couple of language lessons due to train disruption life has proceeded as normal.
The strikers have a good plan in that they are attempting to shut down the oil/gas refineries and ports so that fuel is unable to be processed or transported. As of today about 30% of petrol stations are closed due to lack of fuel. Julia spoke to one of our neighbors yesterday who spent an hour driving around looking for an open petrol station. We were smart and filed both tanks as soon as we heard about the refineries being struck and since we do not drive much we should be okay with petrol for a month or more.
The only other time we were effected by the strikes was when I tried to go to Castorama (DIY store) and when I reached the street on which it is located it was blocked by police motorcycles. Apparently there is a high school on the street and the students were violent that day and turning over and burning cars.
That is the one aspect of this strike that I did not understand in the beginning. Why were high school and college students striking to protest a rise in the retirement age? At first I was amazed at their participation and shocked at their lack of a grasp of economics as it is clear that France cannot continue within the current system as their are currently just over 3 workers for every retiree and within a decade the ration will fall to 2 to 1. A ratio that is clearly fiscally untenable.
Yesterday I finally found an article which provided me with the rationale behind the youngsters supporting the strikes. Apparently the age that a French person gets their first real job is 27. An astonishing fact that I was unaware of. Of course, there are temporary jobs that they can attain that will pay the bills but it is at an average of 27 where they get their first job that allows them to begin contributing to the social system to which the changes are proposed. The youngsters are upset because if the people that already have jobs are forced to stay in the jobs two years longer it means that there will be an even greater wait for the young French to get their first real job.
C'est la vie en France!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Go is going .........................
A refresher for those of you who may have just recently begun following the blog.
Our twins were conceived through IVF. We were not expecting twins. Therefore, the twins acquired the nicknames of Bo & Go. BOGO, buy one, get one free.
Back to the story.
Go (Nathan) is a very active child. He has learned to roll from his back to this stomach so now he can roll wherever he wants. Until he hits an obstacle and cries for help. The good news is that he is also active when he is at the halte garderie(HG).
The women at the HG tell us that Samuel ignores his brothers when they are there except when another child comes near the boys. Then Samuel will walk over and stand nearby, watching his brothers to ensure that they are okay.
It is quite adorable to watch the boys interact with Samuel. Whatever he does to them they just laugh and smile and look at him as if he could do no wrong. Nathan is especially taken with Samuel. We have tried to take video of their interactions but every time we break out the video cam Samuel runs over and thinks it is a new toy to play with.
Bo (Benjamin) is still very attentive if not overly active yet.
We have had a good week with the boys. It has now been 8 days since we changed their schedule from 5 bottles to four per day and changed their bed time from 2230 to 2030. So far (knock wood) they have slept through the night until we wake them at 0700 for their morning bottle.
Samuel had his first potty accident yesterday. He enthusiastically carried his potty into the living room just as we were sitting down to give the boys their bottles. He sat on the potty for a few seconds before jumping up and running off to the dining room with no pants or diaper. After a few minutes he returned and while he was standing in the living room he quite suddenly proceeded to have a poo on the living room tiles. I admonished him with a strong "Samuel" and immediately realized I was wrong to have done so. We both then encouraged him that accidents happen and tried to teach him so that the could learn from the accident. This parenting gig is not easy, but it is fun. Most of the time.
Luckily I was feeding Nathan so Julia had to clean up the mess. Nathan is a picky eater and we do not stop once he has taken the bottle into his mouth,. If we take the bottle out of his mouth he may stop eating even if he has taken only a few ounces of milk. Benjamin on the other hand, is a beast and will eat anything anytime we give it to him. He does become quite agitated if we take the bottle away before he finishes but he calms down and returns to drinking as soon as we return the bottle to his mouth.
I am still recovering from my vasectomy. No pain but I am still feeling groggy and queasy from the anesthesia. I have had three surgeries in the US and fully recovered from all of them in less than 24 hours. I am left to assume that the anesthesiologist used a inordinate amount of anesthesia to put me under as I am still feeling the effects 96 hours later.
Julia goes in for her surgery tomorrow. The boys will be in the HG so I will be able to take her to the hospital but she will have to take a cab home on Tuesday as I will be home with the boys. She has been told her recovery will be anywhere from 2-3 weeks. The primary restriction will be on lifting so she will be unable to be left alone with the boys.
-Dave
Our twins were conceived through IVF. We were not expecting twins. Therefore, the twins acquired the nicknames of Bo & Go. BOGO, buy one, get one free.
Back to the story.
Go (Nathan) is a very active child. He has learned to roll from his back to this stomach so now he can roll wherever he wants. Until he hits an obstacle and cries for help. The good news is that he is also active when he is at the halte garderie(HG).
The women at the HG tell us that Samuel ignores his brothers when they are there except when another child comes near the boys. Then Samuel will walk over and stand nearby, watching his brothers to ensure that they are okay.
It is quite adorable to watch the boys interact with Samuel. Whatever he does to them they just laugh and smile and look at him as if he could do no wrong. Nathan is especially taken with Samuel. We have tried to take video of their interactions but every time we break out the video cam Samuel runs over and thinks it is a new toy to play with.
Bo (Benjamin) is still very attentive if not overly active yet.
We have had a good week with the boys. It has now been 8 days since we changed their schedule from 5 bottles to four per day and changed their bed time from 2230 to 2030. So far (knock wood) they have slept through the night until we wake them at 0700 for their morning bottle.
Samuel had his first potty accident yesterday. He enthusiastically carried his potty into the living room just as we were sitting down to give the boys their bottles. He sat on the potty for a few seconds before jumping up and running off to the dining room with no pants or diaper. After a few minutes he returned and while he was standing in the living room he quite suddenly proceeded to have a poo on the living room tiles. I admonished him with a strong "Samuel" and immediately realized I was wrong to have done so. We both then encouraged him that accidents happen and tried to teach him so that the could learn from the accident. This parenting gig is not easy, but it is fun. Most of the time.
Luckily I was feeding Nathan so Julia had to clean up the mess. Nathan is a picky eater and we do not stop once he has taken the bottle into his mouth,. If we take the bottle out of his mouth he may stop eating even if he has taken only a few ounces of milk. Benjamin on the other hand, is a beast and will eat anything anytime we give it to him. He does become quite agitated if we take the bottle away before he finishes but he calms down and returns to drinking as soon as we return the bottle to his mouth.
I am still recovering from my vasectomy. No pain but I am still feeling groggy and queasy from the anesthesia. I have had three surgeries in the US and fully recovered from all of them in less than 24 hours. I am left to assume that the anesthesiologist used a inordinate amount of anesthesia to put me under as I am still feeling the effects 96 hours later.
Julia goes in for her surgery tomorrow. The boys will be in the HG so I will be able to take her to the hospital but she will have to take a cab home on Tuesday as I will be home with the boys. She has been told her recovery will be anywhere from 2-3 weeks. The primary restriction will be on lifting so she will be unable to be left alone with the boys.
-Dave
Sunday, September 26, 2010
ch, ch, ch, ch, changes....................
Julia and her friend Poonam are enjoying a relaxing 2weekend at a spa near Versailles. So it is a testosterone filled weekend of baby Einstein dvd's and Dr. Suess books.
All of us have had small colds for the last week. Saturday morning Julia took Samuel to the pool while I took Benjamin and Nathan to the doctor. Good news, Benjamin just has a cold with no infection. Nathan has a slight chest infection so has been put on antibiotics for a week. We expected this as they have been in the halte garderie for 9 of the last 10 business days.
After Poonam and Julia left I hosted a French/English conversation group at our house. It consists of an Australian couple, a French couple and us. We met the Australian couple through message, an English speaking support group in Paris. Joe and Kylie have three kids. Lily who is Samuel's age and Emily and Luka who are a few years older. Sebastain and Kattel have two kids, Joseph, Samuel's age and Katrine, who is 5. It was sometimes difficult to follow the conversation with the 6 kids have a raucous good time with Samuel's toys. The conversation group meets every weekend and will help me with my French as I will have people who will not be judgemental if I make a mistake. It will also be beneficial for Julia to practice her conversational French before she returns to work.
Saturday was the first day that we reduced the number of bottles that we give the boys. We had been feeding the boys 5 bottles at 0700, 100, 1500, 1700 and 2200. Starting Saturday they get bottles at 0700, 1130, 1600 and 2000. We had been putting the boys to bed at around 2230 and they had been sleeping through to 0700. We actually had to wake them up at 0700 in order to give them their bottles.
Saturday night our garde de nuit, Muriel, watched the boys. She fed them their bottles at 2000 and put them to sleep in their bouncy seats. They are sleeping int heir bouncy seats because of their congestion. Sleeping in an upright positions helps their sinuses to drain. And......................................they slept through to 0700. I know I am probably jinxing us but for at least one night everything is going according to plan.
All of us have had small colds for the last week. Saturday morning Julia took Samuel to the pool while I took Benjamin and Nathan to the doctor. Good news, Benjamin just has a cold with no infection. Nathan has a slight chest infection so has been put on antibiotics for a week. We expected this as they have been in the halte garderie for 9 of the last 10 business days.
After Poonam and Julia left I hosted a French/English conversation group at our house. It consists of an Australian couple, a French couple and us. We met the Australian couple through message, an English speaking support group in Paris. Joe and Kylie have three kids. Lily who is Samuel's age and Emily and Luka who are a few years older. Sebastain and Kattel have two kids, Joseph, Samuel's age and Katrine, who is 5. It was sometimes difficult to follow the conversation with the 6 kids have a raucous good time with Samuel's toys. The conversation group meets every weekend and will help me with my French as I will have people who will not be judgemental if I make a mistake. It will also be beneficial for Julia to practice her conversational French before she returns to work.
Saturday was the first day that we reduced the number of bottles that we give the boys. We had been feeding the boys 5 bottles at 0700, 100, 1500, 1700 and 2200. Starting Saturday they get bottles at 0700, 1130, 1600 and 2000. We had been putting the boys to bed at around 2230 and they had been sleeping through to 0700. We actually had to wake them up at 0700 in order to give them their bottles.
Saturday night our garde de nuit, Muriel, watched the boys. She fed them their bottles at 2000 and put them to sleep in their bouncy seats. They are sleeping int heir bouncy seats because of their congestion. Sleeping in an upright positions helps their sinuses to drain. And......................................they slept through to 0700. I know I am probably jinxing us but for at least one night everything is going according to plan.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
V is for.......
I am beginning to appreciate French culture more every day. After the birth of the twins we decided that we did not want another children and decided that the best option to ensure this was for me to have a vasectomy. After our "scare" of a few weeks ago this became a priority.
Julia enthusiastically put it upon herself to make this happen. Her enthusiasm immediately turned into despair as she discovered that the word vasectomy does not exist in the French medical vocabulary. Apparently the French male is especially chauvinistic and birth control in this country is the sole responsibility of the female. One urologist she spoke to said "A man would not be a man if he did that to himself."
Fortunately, for all five of us, we were able to find through friend a doctor in St Germain-en-laye that performs vasectomies. Next Wednesday(29th) is the day. Of course the French are not quite up to the medical standards of the US and I will have to have a general anesthetic rather than a local and be in recovey in the hospital for 4-5 hours after. In the US it is an office procedure that the patient walks out of the office 30 minutes after the incision.
Julia enthusiastically put it upon herself to make this happen. Her enthusiasm immediately turned into despair as she discovered that the word vasectomy does not exist in the French medical vocabulary. Apparently the French male is especially chauvinistic and birth control in this country is the sole responsibility of the female. One urologist she spoke to said "A man would not be a man if he did that to himself."
Fortunately, for all five of us, we were able to find through friend a doctor in St Germain-en-laye that performs vasectomies. Next Wednesday(29th) is the day. Of course the French are not quite up to the medical standards of the US and I will have to have a general anesthetic rather than a local and be in recovey in the hospital for 4-5 hours after. In the US it is an office procedure that the patient walks out of the office 30 minutes after the incision.
A tale of two days.......
Yesterday(Tuesday 21st) I fed Samuel his dinner at 1830. His favorite food is mac and cheese. He has not yet taken to eating vegetables. So we had the idea of buying macaroni made of vegetables. Good idea, right? Well, for the first time Samuel refused to eat his mac and cheese. Half of the macaroni is green shaded not the normal yellow color. He refused to eat any of the green macaroni. If he was able to separate the yellow macaroni from the green he would eat it but the green macaroni never got close to his mouth. I also gave him a vegetable medley(peas, green beans carrots, potatoes) in addition to the mac and cheese. The good news is that he picked the carrots out of the vegetables and ate those. A light finally came on and we thought lets buy vegetables that aren't green and see if he will eat non-green vegetables. So we will be going to the fruitier to buy whatever non-green vegetables they have in stock in the hope that Samuel will eat them. Anyone have any advice as to how to break a toddler of a green food phobia?
The evening was better. Julia had gone shopping earlier in the day and bought two slices of chateaubriand. So I was outside grilling the meat and corn on the cob when the moon rose over the river and shone through the cherry trees in our backyard. Very beautiful, serene and calming. The memories of the fight over dinner quickly faded into the grey recesses of my mind.
The evening was better. Julia had gone shopping earlier in the day and bought two slices of chateaubriand. So I was outside grilling the meat and corn on the cob when the moon rose over the river and shone through the cherry trees in our backyard. Very beautiful, serene and calming. The memories of the fight over dinner quickly faded into the grey recesses of my mind.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Samuel has another girlfriend.........
All three boys have been going through adaptation at the halte garderie this week. The halte garderie is a state subsidized day care. It costs us 10 euros per hour to have all three boys looked after. The adaptation is a process where the twins have started by going for a hour on Monday and they worked there way up to 3 hours by Friday. Next week they will go for 3 hours on Monday & Tuesday, then 6 hours on Wednesday and Friday. If they adapt well the week after they will begin their full days on Wednesdaya nd Fridays.
Yesterday(17th) Samuel was in HG from 0900-1600 and the boys were there from 1300-1600. Which meant that we had a few hours without a child in the house for the first time since April. It was eerily quiet in the morning while Samuel was away. During the afternoon Julia had a doctors appointment so I walked the twins to the HG. After dropping the twins off I walked to the brasserie California and sat at an outdoor table drinking a beer and doing the IHT crossword. Julia joined me after her appointment and we both sat in the sun enjoying the sites and sounds of Chatou.
We both walked to the HG to pick up the boys. Another couple was there picking up there 15 month old daughter. As they and we were getting organized Samuel and their daughter chased each other around the entry way. Twice Samuel gave her hugs during this time. When the other couple was ready to leave Samuel chased after them and gave their daughter a final goodbye hug. Very sweet.
Benjamin is now in 9 month clothes. On Wednesday I went to pick up the twins at HG and they brought Benjamin out to me and his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. This was the subtle French way of telling us that they thought his pants were too tight. We took the hint and dug out the 9 month clothes. Now Benjamin is in 9 month clothes while Nathan is still in 6 month clothes.
Samuel is still a challenge when eating. I am very happy about one development. Samuel still loves cheese but now he only eats american cheddar cheese slices. His favorite meal is mac and cheese where we melt a cheddar cheese slice over macaroni. This is the only meal he eats regularly eats.
Yesterday(17th) Samuel was in HG from 0900-1600 and the boys were there from 1300-1600. Which meant that we had a few hours without a child in the house for the first time since April. It was eerily quiet in the morning while Samuel was away. During the afternoon Julia had a doctors appointment so I walked the twins to the HG. After dropping the twins off I walked to the brasserie California and sat at an outdoor table drinking a beer and doing the IHT crossword. Julia joined me after her appointment and we both sat in the sun enjoying the sites and sounds of Chatou.
We both walked to the HG to pick up the boys. Another couple was there picking up there 15 month old daughter. As they and we were getting organized Samuel and their daughter chased each other around the entry way. Twice Samuel gave her hugs during this time. When the other couple was ready to leave Samuel chased after them and gave their daughter a final goodbye hug. Very sweet.
Benjamin is now in 9 month clothes. On Wednesday I went to pick up the twins at HG and they brought Benjamin out to me and his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. This was the subtle French way of telling us that they thought his pants were too tight. We took the hint and dug out the 9 month clothes. Now Benjamin is in 9 month clothes while Nathan is still in 6 month clothes.
Samuel is still a challenge when eating. I am very happy about one development. Samuel still loves cheese but now he only eats american cheddar cheese slices. His favorite meal is mac and cheese where we melt a cheddar cheese slice over macaroni. This is the only meal he eats regularly eats.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The worst of having a baby in a foreign country.
Sorry, again, this is being updated in August, almost 5 months after the boys arrived.
Sorry for having been gone so long but we have been enjoying our new family.
Benjamin and Nathan are both over 3 kilos now. They are doing what babies are supposed to do. They eat, sleep and poop. They are spending a few more minutes each day awake so that we can see their beautiful eyes. I think they are already smiling but it is not yet possible.
We have been working on entries describing the birth and the days after but I thought I would share the worst moment of the birth.
They boys were born at 1056 and 1058. We were told that they would be allowed to spend an hour with us before they were to be taken upstairs. As we were sitting in the delivery room holding the boys, Benjamin developed a slight rasp to his breath. Our midwife said that he probably had fluid in his lungs and that it would take time to work its way through his system. During this hour the staff told us that Julia would stay in the delivery room until 1300 and then be taken upstairs to her room.
At 1200 the staff came and put the boys in a cart to take them to the neonatal unit. We told them that I wanted to go with the boys. They did not say that this would be a problem. We then left and took the elevator to the second floor. When we reached the neonatal unit they then told me that I would not be able to enter for 20 minutes as they needed to run tests and prepare the room. Feeling frustrated that they had not bothered to tell me this before I left my wife in the delivery room I decided to return to the delivery and wait with Julia. I returned to the first floor only to discover that the door to the maternity area was locked with a secure keypad. I waited a few minutes but no one entered or departed through the door so I decided to return to the waiting area outside the neonatal unit.
After waiting the required twenty minutes I pushed the button and they let me in. Being extremely tired I failed to notice the signs that I needed to wear protective clothing. As I started to walk down the hall and very frantic nurse came yelling toward me to return to the entrance and don protective clothing. I was then taken to the nursery where I was shocked to find only Nathan. Luckily a nurse spoke passable English and was able to inform me that Benjamin had been taken to the intensive neo-natal unit and that I would not be able to see him until his status had stabilized. Needless to say my heart rate and blood pressure rose exponentially. She told me that the problem was not life threatening but that he was having problems breathing. This was occurring around 1230. I sat down and held Nathans hand through the incubator. He was responsive and alert. It was distressing to see your newborn son with tubes attached to his nose and monitors placed all around.
For the next hour I constantly asked about Benjamin and was told that he was okay but that I was not allowed to see him yet. By now it was about 1330 and I was also beginning to become anxious about Julia. I had been told that she would stay in the delivery room for about an hour before being brought upstairs to see the boys. If that timetable had held she should have arrived or be arriving soon.
Around 1345 an intern, who spoke some English, came to take me to see Benjamin. It broke my heart to have to leave Nathan but I was overwhelmed with worry and guilt concerning Benjamin. As I walked into the intensive care neo-natal unit that held Benjamin I almost fell to the ground. There were two nurses and one doctor hovering over his incubator. He had at least 4 tubes and monitors connected to his 2.5 kilo body. His incubator was a boiling 36 celsius. The new staff did not speak English and all I was able to understand was okay and not urgent.
The staff left me alone with Benjamin and I sat holding his tiny little hand in mine with my mind racing between Benjamin in front of me, Nathan in his own unit and worrying about my wife who should have arrived by now. About 1430 a nurse entered the room and I was able to communicate to her that my wife was missing and that I needed to find her. I was able to have her take me to a phone and call Julia's cell. I have to admit at this point in time that I had done a very stupid thing. When Julia's water broke I had taken my phone and plugged it in top charge so that the battery would not die during the time at the hospital. Unfortunately, during the rush to leave the house I forgot my phone.
I used the phone to call Julia's cell and my call immediately went into voice mail. Of course, the nurse had walked away while I was waiting for the call to connect. After this I returned to Benjamin's room as I was unable to find any staff in the ICU neo-natal. After a few minutes a male doctor entered the room and thankfully he spoke some english. He told me that Benjamin was having respiratory problems but that it was nothing to be concerned about. After feeling re-assured about Benjamin's condition my thoughts settled on Julia. I told the doctor what I had been told about Julia and that she should be with the boys by now. He, in typical french style, said "Yes, she should be here" and he turned and left the room.
At this point I was mentally and physically drained. I made the decision to leave Benjamin alone and returned to the neo-natal unit to see Nathan and the english speaking Nurse. When I found the nurse and explained to her the situation she immediately grabbed another nurse and had her take me down to the delivery room where I was shocked and relieved to see Julia laying back on the delivery table. I pushed my way into her room and told her that Nathan was okay but the Benjamin was in ICU. She immediately began screaming for a nurse to take her to the ICU. Please understand that this now nearly 4 hours after the birth of our twins.
A few minutes later I was pushing Julia into the ICU neo-natal and with communication established we were able to ascertain that Benjamin was not in danger but they were just being cautious. It was then that we had to make the difficult decision to part as Julia stayed with Benjamin, due to being able to communicate with the staff, and I returned to Nathan's side.
It was only later that Julia finally told me that the english speaking nurse told her that she had never felt sorrier for a new father than when she saw me come back fro the ICU. I have never felt so helpless and torn. Who was my priority? My newborn son in ICU or my wife who may have been in the delivery room hemorraging blood.
Of course, the next 5 days were extremely trying as we had to balance two newborn twins in separate neo-natal units with maintaining our connection with Samuel. All of that will covered in another post which I promise will not take another 5 months to write.
Sorry for having been gone so long but we have been enjoying our new family.
Benjamin and Nathan are both over 3 kilos now. They are doing what babies are supposed to do. They eat, sleep and poop. They are spending a few more minutes each day awake so that we can see their beautiful eyes. I think they are already smiling but it is not yet possible.
We have been working on entries describing the birth and the days after but I thought I would share the worst moment of the birth.
They boys were born at 1056 and 1058. We were told that they would be allowed to spend an hour with us before they were to be taken upstairs. As we were sitting in the delivery room holding the boys, Benjamin developed a slight rasp to his breath. Our midwife said that he probably had fluid in his lungs and that it would take time to work its way through his system. During this hour the staff told us that Julia would stay in the delivery room until 1300 and then be taken upstairs to her room.
At 1200 the staff came and put the boys in a cart to take them to the neonatal unit. We told them that I wanted to go with the boys. They did not say that this would be a problem. We then left and took the elevator to the second floor. When we reached the neonatal unit they then told me that I would not be able to enter for 20 minutes as they needed to run tests and prepare the room. Feeling frustrated that they had not bothered to tell me this before I left my wife in the delivery room I decided to return to the delivery and wait with Julia. I returned to the first floor only to discover that the door to the maternity area was locked with a secure keypad. I waited a few minutes but no one entered or departed through the door so I decided to return to the waiting area outside the neonatal unit.
After waiting the required twenty minutes I pushed the button and they let me in. Being extremely tired I failed to notice the signs that I needed to wear protective clothing. As I started to walk down the hall and very frantic nurse came yelling toward me to return to the entrance and don protective clothing. I was then taken to the nursery where I was shocked to find only Nathan. Luckily a nurse spoke passable English and was able to inform me that Benjamin had been taken to the intensive neo-natal unit and that I would not be able to see him until his status had stabilized. Needless to say my heart rate and blood pressure rose exponentially. She told me that the problem was not life threatening but that he was having problems breathing. This was occurring around 1230. I sat down and held Nathans hand through the incubator. He was responsive and alert. It was distressing to see your newborn son with tubes attached to his nose and monitors placed all around.
For the next hour I constantly asked about Benjamin and was told that he was okay but that I was not allowed to see him yet. By now it was about 1330 and I was also beginning to become anxious about Julia. I had been told that she would stay in the delivery room for about an hour before being brought upstairs to see the boys. If that timetable had held she should have arrived or be arriving soon.
Around 1345 an intern, who spoke some English, came to take me to see Benjamin. It broke my heart to have to leave Nathan but I was overwhelmed with worry and guilt concerning Benjamin. As I walked into the intensive care neo-natal unit that held Benjamin I almost fell to the ground. There were two nurses and one doctor hovering over his incubator. He had at least 4 tubes and monitors connected to his 2.5 kilo body. His incubator was a boiling 36 celsius. The new staff did not speak English and all I was able to understand was okay and not urgent.
The staff left me alone with Benjamin and I sat holding his tiny little hand in mine with my mind racing between Benjamin in front of me, Nathan in his own unit and worrying about my wife who should have arrived by now. About 1430 a nurse entered the room and I was able to communicate to her that my wife was missing and that I needed to find her. I was able to have her take me to a phone and call Julia's cell. I have to admit at this point in time that I had done a very stupid thing. When Julia's water broke I had taken my phone and plugged it in top charge so that the battery would not die during the time at the hospital. Unfortunately, during the rush to leave the house I forgot my phone.
I used the phone to call Julia's cell and my call immediately went into voice mail. Of course, the nurse had walked away while I was waiting for the call to connect. After this I returned to Benjamin's room as I was unable to find any staff in the ICU neo-natal. After a few minutes a male doctor entered the room and thankfully he spoke some english. He told me that Benjamin was having respiratory problems but that it was nothing to be concerned about. After feeling re-assured about Benjamin's condition my thoughts settled on Julia. I told the doctor what I had been told about Julia and that she should be with the boys by now. He, in typical french style, said "Yes, she should be here" and he turned and left the room.
At this point I was mentally and physically drained. I made the decision to leave Benjamin alone and returned to the neo-natal unit to see Nathan and the english speaking Nurse. When I found the nurse and explained to her the situation she immediately grabbed another nurse and had her take me down to the delivery room where I was shocked and relieved to see Julia laying back on the delivery table. I pushed my way into her room and told her that Nathan was okay but the Benjamin was in ICU. She immediately began screaming for a nurse to take her to the ICU. Please understand that this now nearly 4 hours after the birth of our twins.
A few minutes later I was pushing Julia into the ICU neo-natal and with communication established we were able to ascertain that Benjamin was not in danger but they were just being cautious. It was then that we had to make the difficult decision to part as Julia stayed with Benjamin, due to being able to communicate with the staff, and I returned to Nathan's side.
It was only later that Julia finally told me that the english speaking nurse told her that she had never felt sorrier for a new father than when she saw me come back fro the ICU. I have never felt so helpless and torn. Who was my priority? My newborn son in ICU or my wife who may have been in the delivery room hemorraging blood.
Of course, the next 5 days were extremely trying as we had to balance two newborn twins in separate neo-natal units with maintaining our connection with Samuel. All of that will covered in another post which I promise will not take another 5 months to write.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Random stuff
Have been remiss in not posting to blog. We are now on facebook and facebook is more convienent to our current lifesyle. Short blurbs that can be quickly shared. It is hard work to keep the blog updated and interesting with 3 young boys but we will try.
Yesterday (19th) we had tp take the boiys to the doctor for their month shots. Since the boys were receiving shots all 5 of us go to the doctor. It is unfair to the doctor and to the one of us that would take them to the doctor to do it with just one of us. Once the first twin receives his shots, if he does not react well, it is difficult to comfort the first while the second is receiving his shots. So our solution is all five of us go to the shot appointments.
Benjamin went first and weighed 7.57 k.. He has almost tripled his birth weight. His growth chart is practically vertical. From 10% at birth to 85% at 18 weeks. We are amazed at his growth. Considering that he was 5 weeks premature his growth is nothing less than phenomenal.
Nathan is growing but not at the pace of Benjamin. Nathan weighed in at 6.8 k. He is at the 75% but his line is not nearly as steep as Benjamin's.
The sad part of the trip was when we returned home. I got one of the boys out of the passenger side of the car and opened the gate and walked toward the front door. Julia got the other twin out of his seat and helped Samuel out of the drivers side of the car. As I reached the front door I turned around and Julia was placing the twin on the stoop, the gate was closed and Samuel was nowhere to be seen.
As I was asking Julia where Samuel was I saw his head pop up through the gate. He had been locked out.
Julia immediately unlocked the gate but Samuel ran away from her. Apparently she had closed the gate in his face as he was following her into the yard. Samuel ran directly to me and refused to look at or hug his mummy for at least five minutes. All was soon forgotten by Samuel. We tried to explain to him that it will not be the last time that he is forgotten and left behind. It will happen again.
Samuel does not like watermelon. Very disappointing. He loves what are called in France Yetigel. I cannot remember what they are called in America. Yetigels are the summer treat of fruit flavored frozen water in small tubes that you slowly suck on until they melt and then you drink the sugar saturated water.
I get my 36 hour break for August next week. I will leave for Antwerp on Wednesday morning and return early Thursday evening. What we have learned over the last 5 months is that Julia and I love each other and our boys very much but we have been together under the same roof since February 1st. We decided that a quick remedy is that each of us gets a 36 hour break every month. Our trip coincides with a visit by the garde de nuit so the one of us that stays behind is not left completely alone with the boys. In July we both spent our trip in Brussels. We try to visit spots that are within a 2 hour train ride of Paris.
Samuel can now say I love you. Well, almost. He says "I la."
Nathan is a smiley baby. Subsequently his nickname is Smiley. Samuel calls him "Miley."
Yesterday (19th) we had tp take the boiys to the doctor for their month shots. Since the boys were receiving shots all 5 of us go to the doctor. It is unfair to the doctor and to the one of us that would take them to the doctor to do it with just one of us. Once the first twin receives his shots, if he does not react well, it is difficult to comfort the first while the second is receiving his shots. So our solution is all five of us go to the shot appointments.
Benjamin went first and weighed 7.57 k.. He has almost tripled his birth weight. His growth chart is practically vertical. From 10% at birth to 85% at 18 weeks. We are amazed at his growth. Considering that he was 5 weeks premature his growth is nothing less than phenomenal.
Nathan is growing but not at the pace of Benjamin. Nathan weighed in at 6.8 k. He is at the 75% but his line is not nearly as steep as Benjamin's.
The sad part of the trip was when we returned home. I got one of the boys out of the passenger side of the car and opened the gate and walked toward the front door. Julia got the other twin out of his seat and helped Samuel out of the drivers side of the car. As I reached the front door I turned around and Julia was placing the twin on the stoop, the gate was closed and Samuel was nowhere to be seen.
As I was asking Julia where Samuel was I saw his head pop up through the gate. He had been locked out.
Julia immediately unlocked the gate but Samuel ran away from her. Apparently she had closed the gate in his face as he was following her into the yard. Samuel ran directly to me and refused to look at or hug his mummy for at least five minutes. All was soon forgotten by Samuel. We tried to explain to him that it will not be the last time that he is forgotten and left behind. It will happen again.
Samuel does not like watermelon. Very disappointing. He loves what are called in France Yetigel. I cannot remember what they are called in America. Yetigels are the summer treat of fruit flavored frozen water in small tubes that you slowly suck on until they melt and then you drink the sugar saturated water.
I get my 36 hour break for August next week. I will leave for Antwerp on Wednesday morning and return early Thursday evening. What we have learned over the last 5 months is that Julia and I love each other and our boys very much but we have been together under the same roof since February 1st. We decided that a quick remedy is that each of us gets a 36 hour break every month. Our trip coincides with a visit by the garde de nuit so the one of us that stays behind is not left completely alone with the boys. In July we both spent our trip in Brussels. We try to visit spots that are within a 2 hour train ride of Paris.
Samuel can now say I love you. Well, almost. He says "I la."
Nathan is a smiley baby. Subsequently his nickname is Smiley. Samuel calls him "Miley."
Saturday, July 3, 2010
I love France.....
I love France! Never thought I would write those words. We had a garde de nuit last night. Translates as night duty. A young woman, says she 21 looks about 12, stayed with the boys from 2200 last night until 0700 this morning. We both were able to get a good nights sleep. All for only 50 euros.
Old post that was not posted timely.
Old post that was not posted timely.
A typical day....
0700-Wake up and feed the twins. One feeds from a breast and the other gets a bottle. When finished with feed, Julia expresses milk.
0800-Wake up, dress and feed Samuel.
0900-1100-Do laundry, play with Samuel, clean up after Samuel, wash bottles and pump parts.
1100-Feed the twins. One feeds from a breast and the other gets a bottle. When finished with feed, Julia expresses milk.
1200-Feed Samuel.
1300-Put Samuel down for his nap.
1300-1500-Julia and I eat lunch and talk(imagine that!).
1500-Wake up Samuel from nap. Feed the twins. One feeds from a breast and the other gets a bottle. When finished with feed, Julia expresses milk.
1600-Feed Samuel a snack.
1600-1830-Do laundry, play with Samuel, clean up after Samuel, wash bottles and pump parts.
1830-Feed Samuel. Every other night the twins get a bath. When preparing Samuel's dinner we also make and refrigerate Samuel's lunch for the next day.
1900-Feed the twins.
1930-Take Samuel upstairs for bath, book(s) and bed. The one that does not take Samuel upstairs prepares dinner.
2000-Eat dinner.
2100-We alternate the evenings. One of us goes to bed while the other stays up and does the dishes and prepares the bottles for the evening feeds.
2300-Feed the twins. The one that feeds the twins then tries to sleep in the downstairs guest room or on the couch. We keep the boys downstairs so that the one who went upstairs at 2100 can, hopefully, get about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
0400-Approximately. When the boys wake up hungry, the one that was downstairs goes upstairs and wakes the other up and we switch positions. We are trying to get the boys to sleep through the night so we let them sleep as long as they can.
0800-Wake up, dress and feed Samuel.
0900-1100-Do laundry, play with Samuel, clean up after Samuel, wash bottles and pump parts.
1100-Feed the twins. One feeds from a breast and the other gets a bottle. When finished with feed, Julia expresses milk.
1200-Feed Samuel.
1300-Put Samuel down for his nap.
1300-1500-Julia and I eat lunch and talk(imagine that!).
1500-Wake up Samuel from nap. Feed the twins. One feeds from a breast and the other gets a bottle. When finished with feed, Julia expresses milk.
1600-Feed Samuel a snack.
1600-1830-Do laundry, play with Samuel, clean up after Samuel, wash bottles and pump parts.
1830-Feed Samuel. Every other night the twins get a bath. When preparing Samuel's dinner we also make and refrigerate Samuel's lunch for the next day.
1900-Feed the twins.
1930-Take Samuel upstairs for bath, book(s) and bed. The one that does not take Samuel upstairs prepares dinner.
2000-Eat dinner.
2100-We alternate the evenings. One of us goes to bed while the other stays up and does the dishes and prepares the bottles for the evening feeds.
2300-Feed the twins. The one that feeds the twins then tries to sleep in the downstairs guest room or on the couch. We keep the boys downstairs so that the one who went upstairs at 2100 can, hopefully, get about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
0400-Approximately. When the boys wake up hungry, the one that was downstairs goes upstairs and wakes the other up and we switch positions. We are trying to get the boys to sleep through the night so we let them sleep as long as they can.
Samuel is French.....Oh no!
When Samuel and I are outside kicking or throwing a ball around he does not say ball, he says "ballon." Not only does he say ballon, according to our neighbors, he says it with a perfect French accent. The battle is lost before it has even begun.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Great news
When Julia picked up Samuel from the halte garderie (French day care) today they told her that we have been allotted three spots on Wednesdays and Fridays for all 3 boys to attend. This is good so that I can recommence my french lessons as I still have about 36 hours remaining.
The best part is that we have been granted a floating day every week. We can call two weeks in advance to schedule this day but it will be subject to availability. What the floating day means is that we can drop one, two or all three of the boys at the halte garderie for an entire day of care.
Really nice to have so that one week we can drop off the twins and I can spend the day with Samuel, maybe go to farm or the zoo. While the next week I can drop off Samuel and spend the day with the twins. If Julia is able to get a day off of work she can spend a day with Samuel or the twins. Or Julia, Samuel and myself can go to a zoo or a museum.
We will take advantage of these days. Julia will not return to work until January so on days when the three boys are in HG and I have my lessons she may come into Paris with me and we will have lunch after my lesson and then spend a few hours wandering the streets of Paris, going to a museum or getting an Italian ice near the Jardin du Luxembourg.
We both realize, and have promised each other, that it is important that we spend time with Samuel without the twins.
-Dave
Monday, May 24, 2010
I feel loved ...part II
Later on Sunday morning. I was lying on the couch holding the boys while Samuel was playing with his truck on the floor. Julia was upstairs taking a quick nap.
Suddenly Samuel stands up and points to the ceiling and yells "Mummy, mummy". There was no noise from upstairs to inspire this comment.
I am the one that got him up, dressed him, went to the boulangerie to buy his croissant, fed him his croissant, gave him his milk and changed his diaper. And all he wants to do is play with the cat and his mummy. Yes, I feel loved.
Discalimer-The above is sarcasm.
Suddenly Samuel stands up and points to the ceiling and yells "Mummy, mummy". There was no noise from upstairs to inspire this comment.
I am the one that got him up, dressed him, went to the boulangerie to buy his croissant, fed him his croissant, gave him his milk and changed his diaper. And all he wants to do is play with the cat and his mummy. Yes, I feel loved.
Discalimer-The above is sarcasm.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Il est American!
We had the boys circumcised today. Our midwife knows a rabbi that makes house calls so we had the procedure done at the house today. Immediately after the procedure Julia was able to feed and comfort them.
The funny part of the day occurred when the rabbi was leaving. We were standing by the door receiving last minute instructions with Samuel standing between me and the rabbi. I gave Samuel the euros to pay the rabbi and he looked at it, gave a wry smile, and tried to run away. The rabbi said "Il est American." I hope it was meant as a joke.
We then told Samuel to give the money to the rabbi. He walked toward the rabbi with the euros in his left hand. Samuel grabbed one 50 euro note with his right hand, handed it to the rabbi, and turned to leave with the remaining euros still in his left hand.
The funny part of the day occurred when the rabbi was leaving. We were standing by the door receiving last minute instructions with Samuel standing between me and the rabbi. I gave Samuel the euros to pay the rabbi and he looked at it, gave a wry smile, and tried to run away. The rabbi said "Il est American." I hope it was meant as a joke.
We then told Samuel to give the money to the rabbi. He walked toward the rabbi with the euros in his left hand. Samuel grabbed one 50 euro note with his right hand, handed it to the rabbi, and turned to leave with the remaining euros still in his left hand.
I feel loved..................
When I went upstairs to get Samuel ready for the day he was laying awake in his bed. I walked into his room and threw out my arms saying it was time to get up and give Papa a morning hug. Samuel did not move. I said it again and he did not move. I proceeded to the armoire to get out his clothes for the day when Molson walked to the entrance to Samuel's room and meowed. Samuel immediately sat up, crawled out of bed and began chasing Molosn down the hallway, screaming "Ca, Ca ,Ca". Samuel still does not pronounce his t's. It left me feeling very loved and appreciated.
-Dave
-Dave
We're back......
Sorry for not posting for awhile but life has been rather hectic around here.
We had our first family outing on Friday. Samuel had to be at HG at 0900 and the boys had a doctors appointment at 1000. We were only 10 minutes late in leaving the house. Not bad since it was the first time we had to get all 3 boys out the door at the same time.
Everything is fine with the boys. Benjamin is 3.45 kilos and 51.5 cm while Nathan is 3.4 kilos and 49.5 cm. Both are growing at a pleasing rate. All they do is eat, sleep and poo. But that is what babies are supposed to do.
I think the boys made a pact in the womb. During the day they will sleep together on their play mat. During the night it is a different story. While one of them sleeps the other is fussing, not crying, but fussing loud enough to keep us awake. When we fed them they switch responsibilities so that they are each getting some sleep while we are getting very little.
Samuel is the perfect big brother. He is constantly hugging and kissing his brothers. He sits on the couch next to us and holds the bottles while we feed the boys. When they are done eating Samuel takes their empty bottles into the kitchen and puts them in the sink. When we feed the boys we take them out of the blanket we keep them wrapped in. When Samuel sees this he grabs the blanket and brings it to us and lays it on his brother so he stays warm and cozy. He is also very diligent in keeping his brothers supplied with pacifiers.
The car seats are arranged in the car so that Samuel is facing forward in the middle seat with a brother on either side facing the rear. When we brought the boys home from the hospital Samuel reached out with one hand on each brother. It was the sweetest sight. It was as if he was trying to tell them everything was going to be okay.
Samuel's new favorite words are key, shoe and bad cat.
Weather here has been perfect so today we took all 3 boys out into the backyard. While Julia and Samuel threw balls at each other I sat on the porch holding the boys. Quite enjoyable.
I have started 3 blog entries detailing the birth experience and the immediate aftermath but they are quite long and I have still have quite a lot to add. Keep checking back as I hope to have them posted soon.
-Dave
We had our first family outing on Friday. Samuel had to be at HG at 0900 and the boys had a doctors appointment at 1000. We were only 10 minutes late in leaving the house. Not bad since it was the first time we had to get all 3 boys out the door at the same time.
Everything is fine with the boys. Benjamin is 3.45 kilos and 51.5 cm while Nathan is 3.4 kilos and 49.5 cm. Both are growing at a pleasing rate. All they do is eat, sleep and poo. But that is what babies are supposed to do.
I think the boys made a pact in the womb. During the day they will sleep together on their play mat. During the night it is a different story. While one of them sleeps the other is fussing, not crying, but fussing loud enough to keep us awake. When we fed them they switch responsibilities so that they are each getting some sleep while we are getting very little.
Samuel is the perfect big brother. He is constantly hugging and kissing his brothers. He sits on the couch next to us and holds the bottles while we feed the boys. When they are done eating Samuel takes their empty bottles into the kitchen and puts them in the sink. When we feed the boys we take them out of the blanket we keep them wrapped in. When Samuel sees this he grabs the blanket and brings it to us and lays it on his brother so he stays warm and cozy. He is also very diligent in keeping his brothers supplied with pacifiers.
The car seats are arranged in the car so that Samuel is facing forward in the middle seat with a brother on either side facing the rear. When we brought the boys home from the hospital Samuel reached out with one hand on each brother. It was the sweetest sight. It was as if he was trying to tell them everything was going to be okay.
Samuel's new favorite words are key, shoe and bad cat.
Weather here has been perfect so today we took all 3 boys out into the backyard. While Julia and Samuel threw balls at each other I sat on the porch holding the boys. Quite enjoyable.
I have started 3 blog entries detailing the birth experience and the immediate aftermath but they are quite long and I have still have quite a lot to add. Keep checking back as I hope to have them posted soon.
-Dave
Monday, April 12, 2010
Quick update
Apologies for not providing better and updated information but it has been a trying 4 days.
Benjamin has been moved from the intensive neonatal unit to the regular neonatal unit.
Julia will probably be coming home on Wednesday. The neonatal unit has mother/baby rooms and she was given one of these Sunday night. But Nathan is attached to several monitors and these monitors constantly go off whenever Nathan movers. Imagine trying to sleep with an alarm clock going off every 15 minutes.
Benjamin is as we expected the active one. The nurses have called him "tres sportif." Nathan is very calm and very quiet. Much as Samuel was.
Samuel is continuing to grow up. Yesterday I asked him to put his socks on and he sat on the floor and tried top put his socks on. While he was doing this I sat next to him and pointed to his toes and said "Toes". Samuel responded with what sounded like "toes." I then pointed out that he has 5 toes and I counted them out. Samuel then repeated what sounded like "five toes."
I talk to him every night about what is happening and why his mother has not been home. I hope he understands but it is difficult to tell.
Both Benjamin and Nathan have had bouts of jaundice the last few days. They have spent a few hours each day under the light therapy and it seems to have worked.
The doctors tell us that the boys need to be autonomous in their eating habits before they are able to come home. Nathan has breastfed but hr takes a few swallows and then falls into a very deep sleep. Very cute but we would rather see him eating. Benjamin has yet to be breastfed as he had a tube up his nose to assist his breathing and a tube in his mouth through which he was fed expressed breast milk.
Our friends and neighbors have been wonderful. Last Thursday our cleaning lady took Samuel with her to a friends house, which she also cleans, and Samuel had an extended play date with our friends son. On Friday our cleaning lady dropped Samuel off at the HG. On Saturday I took Samuel to the hospital to spend some time with Julia and while she was watching Samuel I visited the boys. For Sunday we asked a neighbor to watch Samuel for a few hors so I could visit the hospital. This neighbor has a young daughter named Claire. We had told the neighbor that I would drop Samuel off between 1530-1545. I was quite touched that her daughter was hanging out in front of our house from 1500, riding her bike around, waiting for Samuel to make his appearance.
Benjamin lifted his head today. Later than Samuel did it but very early for a newborn to raise his head. Benjamin also almost rolled over yesterday.
Nathan lays very still and coos.
-Dave
Benjamin has been moved from the intensive neonatal unit to the regular neonatal unit.
Julia will probably be coming home on Wednesday. The neonatal unit has mother/baby rooms and she was given one of these Sunday night. But Nathan is attached to several monitors and these monitors constantly go off whenever Nathan movers. Imagine trying to sleep with an alarm clock going off every 15 minutes.
Benjamin is as we expected the active one. The nurses have called him "tres sportif." Nathan is very calm and very quiet. Much as Samuel was.
Samuel is continuing to grow up. Yesterday I asked him to put his socks on and he sat on the floor and tried top put his socks on. While he was doing this I sat next to him and pointed to his toes and said "Toes". Samuel responded with what sounded like "toes." I then pointed out that he has 5 toes and I counted them out. Samuel then repeated what sounded like "five toes."
I talk to him every night about what is happening and why his mother has not been home. I hope he understands but it is difficult to tell.
Both Benjamin and Nathan have had bouts of jaundice the last few days. They have spent a few hours each day under the light therapy and it seems to have worked.
The doctors tell us that the boys need to be autonomous in their eating habits before they are able to come home. Nathan has breastfed but hr takes a few swallows and then falls into a very deep sleep. Very cute but we would rather see him eating. Benjamin has yet to be breastfed as he had a tube up his nose to assist his breathing and a tube in his mouth through which he was fed expressed breast milk.
Our friends and neighbors have been wonderful. Last Thursday our cleaning lady took Samuel with her to a friends house, which she also cleans, and Samuel had an extended play date with our friends son. On Friday our cleaning lady dropped Samuel off at the HG. On Saturday I took Samuel to the hospital to spend some time with Julia and while she was watching Samuel I visited the boys. For Sunday we asked a neighbor to watch Samuel for a few hors so I could visit the hospital. This neighbor has a young daughter named Claire. We had told the neighbor that I would drop Samuel off between 1530-1545. I was quite touched that her daughter was hanging out in front of our house from 1500, riding her bike around, waiting for Samuel to make his appearance.
Benjamin lifted his head today. Later than Samuel did it but very early for a newborn to raise his head. Benjamin also almost rolled over yesterday.
Nathan lays very still and coos.
-Dave
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Officially at beached pregnant whale status
I went into a local Italian deli yesterday and realized I am now officially at beached pregnant whale status. It had been a few weeks since I had been in there - since I don't get out that much these days! - but the nice woman who runs the shop took one look at me and said 'They still haven't come??' I'm not even at 33 weeks yet!!! When I told her that, she pointed out that yes, well, of course it was twins, which would explain why I was so enormous....... Sniff. Even our cleaning lady pointed out that I grow exponentially every week (and that was before she saw me flapping my arms trying to sit up on the sofa). I am very happy that the babies are healthy and growing well... at the same time, my belly has taken over my body. I think I still have feet, but I'll get back to you on that in a couple of months....
Latest scan update
The twins now weigh 4.5 - 5lbs each! Just had the latest scan yesterday and all is well. Bo (on my left and the first one that will come out) still has his head down and is a little bit longer and skinnier than Go. Unfortunately we couldn't get any good pictures of them because they are so squeezed in together. Bo has his face right up against the membrane separating him from his brother's buttocks :-) and Go has his face turned firmly inwards, with Bo's feet resting on his head. Both the boys seem to be in very good shape... I thought Samuel was active when I was pregnant with him, but these days I can look down and see my entire belly moving dramatically!
Nearly at 33 weeks. From all the various medical opinions, it looks like we have a good shot of waiting until end April / early May before giving birth, which will be great for the babies.
Nearly at 33 weeks. From all the various medical opinions, it looks like we have a good shot of waiting until end April / early May before giving birth, which will be great for the babies.
Samuel's new bed
On Monday morning Julia took Samuel to the toddler playgroup so that I could have a few hours without Samuel "helping me" so that I could put Samuel's new bed together. The linen is a jungle motif to match the walls and curtains. What we like about this bed is that it can be expanded. The goal is that as Samuel grows the bed can either be turned into bunk beds or it can be built up with a play area under the bed. This may be important depending on the size of the house we are able to afford when we move.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
We have raised a very selfish boy......
Samuel no longer wishes to share his bread with the ducks. He chooses to eat the day old baguette rather than throw the crumbs into the river for the ducks/geese to eat. The ducks do not seem to mind but the geese look as if they are ready to come out of the water and take the bread out of Samuel's hand.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Allez les Blues!!!!!
Experienced my first live rugby mach yesterday. France v. Italy at the Stade de France. Not a compelling match as France won 46-20 and had a 46-6 lead with 10 minutes remaining but relaxed and allowed Italy two easy trys to make the score slightly more competitive.
Attended the match with John, an englishman, married to one of the women we have met through the local baby playgroup. I was supposed to go with our neighbor, Eric, but when I called him on Saturday to finalize plans he reluctantly said he could not go. He pretended to be sick but I think he just forgot to put it in his calendar. Their shades have been down since Friday morning so I think that they are out of town for the weekend. In the end it worked out best as John is a sports fan who used to play Rugby.
We met at the Chatou-Croissy RER station(John and Harri, his wife, live in Le Vesinet one RER stop west of us.) We took the train to Chatelet where we exited the station to have lunch at the Frog and Rosbif. An english pub in the heart of Paris. The food was not that good but I was able to have a cheeseburger with fries(Not even close to the quality of Quatman cafe in Cincinnati but you take what you can get when you can find it). The redeeming quality of the pub is that they have their own microbrewed beers. Very good and served cold.
We then returned to the startion and took the RER D to the Stade de France. Lesson learned, for future events at the Stade we will take the RER B as the station for it is much closer to the Stade. During the walk from the staiton to the Stade we passed a number of street vendors selling merquez, chipolatas and kebabs. French tailgating? Noticed that the vendors did not have sausage buns, instead they had taken a traditional baguette, torn it into 3 piece and cut a slit for the sausage. May have to try one next time I go.
The Stade de France is nice but spartan. The first thing I noticed upon reaching our seats is that their is not a scoreboard. There are two large video screens at each end but there is no where to permanently see a score or a game clock. Occasionally the video on the screen would include a score and a clock but you had to squint as it was a very small box in the upper left hand corner.
The match was a sellout but we(Julia) had found a special deal for the tickets. We bought 110 euro tickets but we found a bogo deal. Our seats were very good. We were on the 22 yard line about 6 rows up into the middle section. Close enough to the middle to have good depth perception and high enough to be able to see the angles and speed of the game.
There were two bands in the Stade. A blue clothed band to our left and a red clad band to our right. I always enjoy sporting events with live music rather than the piped up volume of most north american sporting venues.
The fans were very polite. The French clapped after the Italian anthem. They even clapped during the introduction of the Italian team. Not sure if this is typical or just because france was so obviously the better team and the Italians were not a threat. Wonder if the French will be as polite when they play the English on the 20th?
What is the French fascination with doing the wave? They must have tried to do the wave at least 20 times during the match. Very distracting.
The symbol of the France Rugby team is the gallic rooster. The fans wear what appear to be blue chickens on their heads in support of the rooster. The all-blacks have the haka and the French have the blue chicken. Not very intimidating.
The return home was interesting. We had to cross under a motorway to return to the RER station. There were two entrances to the underpass and French gendarmes were stationed at each entrance. They would alternately close the entrances. We were not sure why until we were finally allowed through and the underpass was jammed with people. They were singing and very happy but moving very slowly.
I finally made a male friend and he tells me that they are moving to Aberdeen, Scotland by the 1st of May for a new job. I may be stuck in the world of ex-pat mothers forever.
All in all a good time was had. Hoping to make another male friend in time for the world cup. Would be fun to return to the frog and rosbif to watch a few matches.
Attended the match with John, an englishman, married to one of the women we have met through the local baby playgroup. I was supposed to go with our neighbor, Eric, but when I called him on Saturday to finalize plans he reluctantly said he could not go. He pretended to be sick but I think he just forgot to put it in his calendar. Their shades have been down since Friday morning so I think that they are out of town for the weekend. In the end it worked out best as John is a sports fan who used to play Rugby.
We met at the Chatou-Croissy RER station(John and Harri, his wife, live in Le Vesinet one RER stop west of us.) We took the train to Chatelet where we exited the station to have lunch at the Frog and Rosbif. An english pub in the heart of Paris. The food was not that good but I was able to have a cheeseburger with fries(Not even close to the quality of Quatman cafe in Cincinnati but you take what you can get when you can find it). The redeeming quality of the pub is that they have their own microbrewed beers. Very good and served cold.
We then returned to the startion and took the RER D to the Stade de France. Lesson learned, for future events at the Stade we will take the RER B as the station for it is much closer to the Stade. During the walk from the staiton to the Stade we passed a number of street vendors selling merquez, chipolatas and kebabs. French tailgating? Noticed that the vendors did not have sausage buns, instead they had taken a traditional baguette, torn it into 3 piece and cut a slit for the sausage. May have to try one next time I go.
The Stade de France is nice but spartan. The first thing I noticed upon reaching our seats is that their is not a scoreboard. There are two large video screens at each end but there is no where to permanently see a score or a game clock. Occasionally the video on the screen would include a score and a clock but you had to squint as it was a very small box in the upper left hand corner.
The match was a sellout but we(Julia) had found a special deal for the tickets. We bought 110 euro tickets but we found a bogo deal. Our seats were very good. We were on the 22 yard line about 6 rows up into the middle section. Close enough to the middle to have good depth perception and high enough to be able to see the angles and speed of the game.
There were two bands in the Stade. A blue clothed band to our left and a red clad band to our right. I always enjoy sporting events with live music rather than the piped up volume of most north american sporting venues.
The fans were very polite. The French clapped after the Italian anthem. They even clapped during the introduction of the Italian team. Not sure if this is typical or just because france was so obviously the better team and the Italians were not a threat. Wonder if the French will be as polite when they play the English on the 20th?
What is the French fascination with doing the wave? They must have tried to do the wave at least 20 times during the match. Very distracting.
The symbol of the France Rugby team is the gallic rooster. The fans wear what appear to be blue chickens on their heads in support of the rooster. The all-blacks have the haka and the French have the blue chicken. Not very intimidating.
The return home was interesting. We had to cross under a motorway to return to the RER station. There were two entrances to the underpass and French gendarmes were stationed at each entrance. They would alternately close the entrances. We were not sure why until we were finally allowed through and the underpass was jammed with people. They were singing and very happy but moving very slowly.
I finally made a male friend and he tells me that they are moving to Aberdeen, Scotland by the 1st of May for a new job. I may be stuck in the world of ex-pat mothers forever.
All in all a good time was had. Hoping to make another male friend in time for the world cup. Would be fun to return to the frog and rosbif to watch a few matches.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Culinary disaster... or how not to make oven fries
In a moment of great hubris, I decided that I would take over making oven fries this evening... We had decided to have a rare meal of burgers & fries, but I thought I could make crispier and so better (to my taste) fries than Dave. HAH. Let it be known that the internet is full of lies. In my search for how to make the perfect crispy oven fry I googled away, full of trust. 121 positive reviews for a recipe... what could go wrong?! (As Dave would say... you need a RECIPE to make FRIES???? ... but I digress)
Full of innocent and happy anticipation, I prepare the fries and put them into the oven. Beautiful potatoes... delicately laid out on a baking sheet, filling the kitchen with mouth-watering smells... until the moment of truth: time to flip them.
Lesson: Never put potatoes on aluminum foil. Unless you want to demonstrate stronger sticking power than superglue.
These poor potatoes sacrificed themselves for nothing. A soggy, sticky and partially burnt mess was all that was left. And Dave and I (and Samuel) went fry-less. :-( Never again will I try to make fries. And the internet... sniff. My eyes have been opened. Lies... all lies... !!
Full of innocent and happy anticipation, I prepare the fries and put them into the oven. Beautiful potatoes... delicately laid out on a baking sheet, filling the kitchen with mouth-watering smells... until the moment of truth: time to flip them.
Lesson: Never put potatoes on aluminum foil. Unless you want to demonstrate stronger sticking power than superglue.
These poor potatoes sacrificed themselves for nothing. A soggy, sticky and partially burnt mess was all that was left. And Dave and I (and Samuel) went fry-less. :-( Never again will I try to make fries. And the internet... sniff. My eyes have been opened. Lies... all lies... !!
31 weeks and counting...
Just completed 31 weeks of pregnancy and so far, so good. One more week and the twins would only be 'medium premature'... 3 more weeks and they would only be 'small premature' and 5 more weeks... and they are considered almost full term. In fact the standard in France is to induce at 38 weeks (end of April) if we make it that far - although our doctor would probably be willing to let us go at least another week.
The great news is that the doctor is very pleased with how things are looking right now and believes that as long as I keep taking life relatively easy I may well hit the 38 weeks of pregnancy! Not quite sure how I will move at all at that point - I already feel like a pregnant beached whale flapping my extremities when trying to get anywhere... - but this would be great for the twins.
We've started sorting out clothes, etc., to get ready for the big day. Daunting to think that soon we will be a 5-person family (particularly on days when Samuel decides to be more stubborn or excitable than usual!), but equally we're very much looking forward to getting to know our two new sons.
The great news is that the doctor is very pleased with how things are looking right now and believes that as long as I keep taking life relatively easy I may well hit the 38 weeks of pregnancy! Not quite sure how I will move at all at that point - I already feel like a pregnant beached whale flapping my extremities when trying to get anywhere... - but this would be great for the twins.
We've started sorting out clothes, etc., to get ready for the big day. Daunting to think that soon we will be a 5-person family (particularly on days when Samuel decides to be more stubborn or excitable than usual!), but equally we're very much looking forward to getting to know our two new sons.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Samuel's new words
Chee is cheese. His new favorite food.
Peek-a-boo is now coo-coo. Last night during dinner Julia was trying to play peek-a-boo(putting your hands over your eyes, quickly removing your hands and saying peek-a-boo) with Samuel. When Julia said peek-a-boo Samuel responded with coo-coo.
Peek-a-boo is now coo-coo. Last night during dinner Julia was trying to play peek-a-boo(putting your hands over your eyes, quickly removing your hands and saying peek-a-boo) with Samuel. When Julia said peek-a-boo Samuel responded with coo-coo.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Samuel sets a new record
Samuel is constantly pushing the limits. Last week Samuel set a new personal best by stuffing 3 rolls of toilet paper into the downstairs toilet. Yesterday Samuel managed to climb into his Stokke highchair and jammed himself into it sideways. He needed our help to get out. This morning he moved his plastic dining chair in front of the bookcase so that he could reach the second shelf.
Samuel put his pants on all (almost) by himself this morning. He choose his pants fromthe drawer and he refused to give them to me so I had him sit on the floor and told him to put his pants on. It took him some time but he managed to get his pants on his legs. I helped him stand up and he was able to pull his pants up to his behind but was unable to pull them up all the way.
We survived the windstorm on Saturday night. Our terrace furniture also survived but was provided a scenic tour of our backyard.
Samuel put his pants on all (almost) by himself this morning. He choose his pants fromthe drawer and he refused to give them to me so I had him sit on the floor and told him to put his pants on. It took him some time but he managed to get his pants on his legs. I helped him stand up and he was able to pull his pants up to his behind but was unable to pull them up all the way.
We survived the windstorm on Saturday night. Our terrace furniture also survived but was provided a scenic tour of our backyard.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Other recent events...
A few other updates from Chatou...
Samuel has had a rough few weeks. He can now proudly display his first four molars (total number of teeth now 10!), but this has been accompanied by no doubt a certain amount of pain and also a period of reduced immunity to infection... which has led to him picking up a number of bugs. Over the last few weeks he has had 2 ear infections, a stomach bug (gastro), conjunctivitis, and this weekend, tonsilitis. The good news is that he is such as good-natured little boy that when he isn't well he generally just lies on one of us to cuddle and sleep, in between periods of running around and playing.
When he is well, Samuel is becoming increasingly energetic and active. He loves being outside, feeding the ducks and birds on the river (just outside the end of our garden) or walking with Papa around the town. He is very opinionated and stubborn - but while this can be difficult, like when he decides to throw a lot of things on the floor when he knows he shouldn't, it can also be very sweet as he is absolutely determined to help where he can - carrying in groceries to the kitchen, doing the laundry, carrying his bowl or spoon to the sink when he is done. Most importantly, though, any baguette carrying in the house must be done by Samuel... held vertically (practically taller than him!), so that he can chew on the end.
Samuel is gradually eating more 'human' (ie adult) food. So far, he adores croissants, baguette and cheese... it is good to know that even if he looks like a carbon copy of his father, he takes after me in part!! He has enjoyed banana and mandarin on occasion, and loves chewing on green beans or bell peppers - but most other foods get chewed on and then eventually spat out again. Samuel also does a great chipmunk impression... if we don't carefully watch what he puts in his mouth, he will store enormous quantities of food in his cheeks before spitting it back out again an hour or more later. Suffice to say, we still need to work on his table manners... !
Dave and I get to spend our days playing with Samuel, often going outside to feed the ducks and birds by the river, and watching Samuel chase the cats around the house. We are enjoying the relative peace before the storm that will come so soon with the twins.
Last weekend I went to a very French meeting at the Mairie (town hall) to sign up Samuel and the twins for the halte-garderie for next year. Of course, we still don't know where we will be living after my maternity leave - whether we will need to move again for my next job, or whether they will want us to stay here - but we have to get on the official town hall list for child care to have even a chance of getting a place. After an hour of listening to the person from the early childhood service describing the multitude of different options for child care in France (and all the bureaucracy associated with each one!) I filled in a form that we hope will allow us to at least have all 3 children in care two days a week - which will be good for them (socialization) and for us. We won't know any more until June... so we keep our fingers crossed until then.
We are still debating when to have Samuel's 2nd birthday party. Since he turns 2 on April 23rd, it is a bit too risky to assume we will be able to have a party either on or after that date... so we are thinking of moving the party forward to the beginning of the month, before the French school holidays. Let us know if you would like to come and help celebrate!
Samuel has had a rough few weeks. He can now proudly display his first four molars (total number of teeth now 10!), but this has been accompanied by no doubt a certain amount of pain and also a period of reduced immunity to infection... which has led to him picking up a number of bugs. Over the last few weeks he has had 2 ear infections, a stomach bug (gastro), conjunctivitis, and this weekend, tonsilitis. The good news is that he is such as good-natured little boy that when he isn't well he generally just lies on one of us to cuddle and sleep, in between periods of running around and playing.
When he is well, Samuel is becoming increasingly energetic and active. He loves being outside, feeding the ducks and birds on the river (just outside the end of our garden) or walking with Papa around the town. He is very opinionated and stubborn - but while this can be difficult, like when he decides to throw a lot of things on the floor when he knows he shouldn't, it can also be very sweet as he is absolutely determined to help where he can - carrying in groceries to the kitchen, doing the laundry, carrying his bowl or spoon to the sink when he is done. Most importantly, though, any baguette carrying in the house must be done by Samuel... held vertically (practically taller than him!), so that he can chew on the end.
Samuel is gradually eating more 'human' (ie adult) food. So far, he adores croissants, baguette and cheese... it is good to know that even if he looks like a carbon copy of his father, he takes after me in part!! He has enjoyed banana and mandarin on occasion, and loves chewing on green beans or bell peppers - but most other foods get chewed on and then eventually spat out again. Samuel also does a great chipmunk impression... if we don't carefully watch what he puts in his mouth, he will store enormous quantities of food in his cheeks before spitting it back out again an hour or more later. Suffice to say, we still need to work on his table manners... !
Dave and I get to spend our days playing with Samuel, often going outside to feed the ducks and birds by the river, and watching Samuel chase the cats around the house. We are enjoying the relative peace before the storm that will come so soon with the twins.
Last weekend I went to a very French meeting at the Mairie (town hall) to sign up Samuel and the twins for the halte-garderie for next year. Of course, we still don't know where we will be living after my maternity leave - whether we will need to move again for my next job, or whether they will want us to stay here - but we have to get on the official town hall list for child care to have even a chance of getting a place. After an hour of listening to the person from the early childhood service describing the multitude of different options for child care in France (and all the bureaucracy associated with each one!) I filled in a form that we hope will allow us to at least have all 3 children in care two days a week - which will be good for them (socialization) and for us. We won't know any more until June... so we keep our fingers crossed until then.
We are still debating when to have Samuel's 2nd birthday party. Since he turns 2 on April 23rd, it is a bit too risky to assume we will be able to have a party either on or after that date... so we are thinking of moving the party forward to the beginning of the month, before the French school holidays. Let us know if you would like to come and help celebrate!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A night at the Opera...
Last night, Dave and I had our last great adventure before the twins arrive. We went to the Opera to see Verdi's Don Carlo, after which we went to a very famous traditional French brasserie (Bofinger) and spent the night at a hotel nearby before coming home this morning. My cousin Fiona came to visit us from London and was kind enough to watch Samuel for the night while we were away.
It was wonderful to be out on the town - particularly for me, after so many weeks of mostly just sitting or lying on the sofa, trying to be good and not do 'too much' (lifting, walking, anything.. which leads to contractions and pelvic pain, and an increased risk of early delivery). The Opera was good... in parts. It is one of Verdi's masterpieces, and the singing and music were really excellent. However the scenery, staging and lighting were somewhat too austere/dark, the acting rather wooden and the concert hall much too hot. Added to which was the fact that the opera lasted 4 hours, which got quite uncomfortable for both of us, and we had forgotten that the surtitles would be in French, and while Dave's French is good enough that he understands a lot of it, it is impossible to understand all that is going on if you aren't really fluent. So... a good experience, and I'm very glad we went... but not sure we will be going to another 4 hour opera again, particularly if the surtitles aren't in english!
After the Opera, we walked around the Bastille square to dinner at the Brasserie Bofinger. This is one of the oldest brasseries in Paris (built 1864), has beautiful art nouveau architecture / design, and is still very popular. The great thing about being nearly 7 months pregnant with twins is that people see me coming from miles away! When we made the reservation, we made sure they knew about the pregnancy, and as soon as they saw my belly we were wisked past the other waiting diners to our table - very close to the front door, but not in a high-traffic area. The food was fantastic and the waiters surprisingly friendly and chatty.
Our hotel was just a short walk away - opposite the Opera. My assistant had negotiated a great rate with them for us, as well as an accessible room with a big bed. The only downside was that this room was on the ground floor next to reception, so we had quite a bit of street noise during the night. Since I also snore like a freight train these days, poor Dave got very little sleep! But it was nice to be out until late for once and not to have to worry about waking Samuel up in the morning (thank you Fiona!!).
And that was the celebration to end our carefree days without 3 little terrors running around the house....!
It was wonderful to be out on the town - particularly for me, after so many weeks of mostly just sitting or lying on the sofa, trying to be good and not do 'too much' (lifting, walking, anything.. which leads to contractions and pelvic pain, and an increased risk of early delivery). The Opera was good... in parts. It is one of Verdi's masterpieces, and the singing and music were really excellent. However the scenery, staging and lighting were somewhat too austere/dark, the acting rather wooden and the concert hall much too hot. Added to which was the fact that the opera lasted 4 hours, which got quite uncomfortable for both of us, and we had forgotten that the surtitles would be in French, and while Dave's French is good enough that he understands a lot of it, it is impossible to understand all that is going on if you aren't really fluent. So... a good experience, and I'm very glad we went... but not sure we will be going to another 4 hour opera again, particularly if the surtitles aren't in english!
After the Opera, we walked around the Bastille square to dinner at the Brasserie Bofinger. This is one of the oldest brasseries in Paris (built 1864), has beautiful art nouveau architecture / design, and is still very popular. The great thing about being nearly 7 months pregnant with twins is that people see me coming from miles away! When we made the reservation, we made sure they knew about the pregnancy, and as soon as they saw my belly we were wisked past the other waiting diners to our table - very close to the front door, but not in a high-traffic area. The food was fantastic and the waiters surprisingly friendly and chatty.
Our hotel was just a short walk away - opposite the Opera. My assistant had negotiated a great rate with them for us, as well as an accessible room with a big bed. The only downside was that this room was on the ground floor next to reception, so we had quite a bit of street noise during the night. Since I also snore like a freight train these days, poor Dave got very little sleep! But it was nice to be out until late for once and not to have to worry about waking Samuel up in the morning (thank you Fiona!!).
And that was the celebration to end our carefree days without 3 little terrors running around the house....!
Last(?) date night
Huge thanks for Julia's cousin Fiona for making the trip over from London this weekend so that Julia and I could have one last big night in Paris before the twins arrive.
Julia and I went to see Don Carlo at the Bastille opera on Saturday evening. We checked into our hotel(directly across the street from the opera) around 1630 and found our way to a brasserie where we had a light snack, as the opera was 4 hours long and we would not have dinner until very late. While we were having our snack a few of the musicians wandered in and had dinner and drinks(coke only). Something we never experienced in Cincinnati with the symphony. We made a slight mistake with what we ordered as our assortment plate came with a half bottle of wine. Of course, Julia cannot drink and I hate to se good wine be wasted so I felt obligated to drink the entire half bottle. In hindsight I should not have done so as Don Carlo is 4 hour is long and the wine made me very, very sleepy.
The opera was very good. The voices of the cast were outstanding. The art direction of the production was disappointing. The lighting was quite unusual as the cast were mostly in shadows for the performance. Not sure if this was because they are not good actors, with the shadows their faces were very seldom fully visible to the audience, or if the director was attempting to add an element of suspense to the production.
I learned during the performance that my French, while improving, still has considerable distance to go before I can read and comprehend. We decided not to buy the program so Julia quickly used wikipedia to read the synopsis but I was confused throughout the performance concerning the plot. I found that I am able to understand the verb context and tenses but the actual subject of the sentence would most often elude me as the subject word was not part of my limited vocabulary.
After the performance we had dinner at Brasserie Bofinger. A classic French brasserie with glass domed ceilings and large pots of flowers and a great amount of brass. The food was very good and Julia was treated like a queen(4 carafes of water, one of which was served without it being requested. Unheard of in a French brasserie). We both had the filet de bouef with poivre sauce. Excellent. Julia had the profiteroles and I the mousse au chocolat for dessert. It was the largest mousse au chocolate I have ever been served in Paris. We then returned to the hotel and proceeded to pass out as it was 0100 and neither of us had been up that late in a very, very long time.
Julia and I went to see Don Carlo at the Bastille opera on Saturday evening. We checked into our hotel(directly across the street from the opera) around 1630 and found our way to a brasserie where we had a light snack, as the opera was 4 hours long and we would not have dinner until very late. While we were having our snack a few of the musicians wandered in and had dinner and drinks(coke only). Something we never experienced in Cincinnati with the symphony. We made a slight mistake with what we ordered as our assortment plate came with a half bottle of wine. Of course, Julia cannot drink and I hate to se good wine be wasted so I felt obligated to drink the entire half bottle. In hindsight I should not have done so as Don Carlo is 4 hour is long and the wine made me very, very sleepy.
The opera was very good. The voices of the cast were outstanding. The art direction of the production was disappointing. The lighting was quite unusual as the cast were mostly in shadows for the performance. Not sure if this was because they are not good actors, with the shadows their faces were very seldom fully visible to the audience, or if the director was attempting to add an element of suspense to the production.
I learned during the performance that my French, while improving, still has considerable distance to go before I can read and comprehend. We decided not to buy the program so Julia quickly used wikipedia to read the synopsis but I was confused throughout the performance concerning the plot. I found that I am able to understand the verb context and tenses but the actual subject of the sentence would most often elude me as the subject word was not part of my limited vocabulary.
After the performance we had dinner at Brasserie Bofinger. A classic French brasserie with glass domed ceilings and large pots of flowers and a great amount of brass. The food was very good and Julia was treated like a queen(4 carafes of water, one of which was served without it being requested. Unheard of in a French brasserie). We both had the filet de bouef with poivre sauce. Excellent. Julia had the profiteroles and I the mousse au chocolat for dessert. It was the largest mousse au chocolate I have ever been served in Paris. We then returned to the hotel and proceeded to pass out as it was 0100 and neither of us had been up that late in a very, very long time.
Bo and Go are 28 weeks 'old'!
We had our latest scan on Tuesday and all is well. Both little boys are growing well - they are now over a kilo each (approx 1.1kg for Bo and 1.3kg for Go) - and all seems perfectly fine with each of them. The good news is that Bo (who will be the first one out as he is positioned slightly lower down / closer to the exit) has turned around and now has his head down. This means that - as long as all goes well - I should be able to give birth to them both normally and without a c-section. Go is still in breech position (head up), but hopefully he will turn around once Bo comes out and leaves him some space! In the meantime the boys are in opposite positions, each of them with his legs curled around his brother's head. Not quite sure what a few months of them kicking their brother in the head will do for them... but no doubt it is simply the start of a long joy-filled fraternal relationship...!! This is apparently a normal position for twins as it allows them to make the best use of the available space, and since they are now starting to be pretty tightly squeezed into my belly, with any luck they won't move position again.
Unfortunately, no good ultrasound pictures this time - the doctor was in a rush as she was running late, and with the boys getting quite big and squeezed together, it is apparently harder. Hopefully we will have some next month.
It seems like every time I look down my belly has expanded further. At 6 1/2 months pregnant, I already feel almost as pregnant as I did towards the end of my pregnancy with Samuel - the twin effect. We are hoping and planning for another 10 weeks of pregnancy (ie to end April) so that the babies aren't born before 38 weeks - which would be the best for them. I have to admit though that I am beginning to think that by then I will be waddling around the house wearing a sheet and eating not from the table but from my own belly-table... since I won't reach the table anymore!!
We have been watching the winter olympics and I find it increasingly amazing just what the human body is able to achieve. Anyone that has seen the moguls skiiers (human springs!!) or the incredible stamina, determination and unbelievable dedication of these athletes has to be left in amazement. Equally, in my own small way, I find it astonishing to see how my body continues to expand and adapt to allow our two little boys to grow happily inside me.
Unfortunately, no good ultrasound pictures this time - the doctor was in a rush as she was running late, and with the boys getting quite big and squeezed together, it is apparently harder. Hopefully we will have some next month.
It seems like every time I look down my belly has expanded further. At 6 1/2 months pregnant, I already feel almost as pregnant as I did towards the end of my pregnancy with Samuel - the twin effect. We are hoping and planning for another 10 weeks of pregnancy (ie to end April) so that the babies aren't born before 38 weeks - which would be the best for them. I have to admit though that I am beginning to think that by then I will be waddling around the house wearing a sheet and eating not from the table but from my own belly-table... since I won't reach the table anymore!!
We have been watching the winter olympics and I find it increasingly amazing just what the human body is able to achieve. Anyone that has seen the moguls skiiers (human springs!!) or the incredible stamina, determination and unbelievable dedication of these athletes has to be left in amazement. Equally, in my own small way, I find it astonishing to see how my body continues to expand and adapt to allow our two little boys to grow happily inside me.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
I am reaping what I have sowed........
Yesterday morning(Saturday) I heard Samuel walking in the hallway. Suddenly the door to the room flung open and Samuel ran(as much as he can run in his sleepsack) to the edge of the bed and proceeded to crawl into bed with me. It happened so quickly I did not have time to issue an invitation or to stop him. This occurred about 0700.
Background-Friday morning Samuel had opened the door to the room and stood in the doorway until I said his name and he walked to the edge of the bed where I grabbed him and pulled him into the bed. It was 0730 and almost time to get up.
Background-Friday morning Samuel had opened the door to the room and stood in the doorway until I said his name and he walked to the edge of the bed where I grabbed him and pulled him into the bed. It was 0730 and almost time to get up.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A perfect morning?
It was a dark and snowy night(with apologies to Charles M. Schulz and Snoopy). It was 0641 and my slumber was suddenly broken by the sound of the slow approach of the inchworm(the inchworm is Samuel's bedtime toy and two of its many attachments are a rattle and a bell). As I rub the sawdust out of my eyes I realize that Samuel is standing outside the door to the room. I can hear him breathing. I hear him sucking on his pacifier(ala Maggie Simpson). Okay, I promise no more pop culture references.
As I am contemplating whether to get up or let a standing Samuel stand, the door is quietly and slowly pushed open. Revealing Samuel in the light from the downstairs hallway. Samuel is wary to enter the room. This is the first time he has opened the door but he has entered and destroyed the room on many previous occasions. I slowly raise up on my left elbow. Samuel sees this and begins to suck harder and faster on his pacifier. I hold out my arms to Samuel and beckon him forward. "Good morning Samuel. Do you want a hug?" He walks to the edge of the bed and places his head on my hip and stretches his arms out wide to encircle my stomach. I give him a kiss on the top of his fuzzy blonde head.
I then tell him that it is time to go back to bed. He frowns and lowers the inchworm, without dropping it. He slowly turns and begins the long trek to his room at the other end of the hall. When he enters his room he stops, turns and begins to cry. I get up and go to him. When I enter his room he is standing with his arms outstretched above his head. I offer him my right index finger which he tightly grasps in his left hand. We begin the short walk to his crib. He crawls into the crib and I lift his legs and little behind into the crib and stroke his back.
I return to bed wondering why I waited so long to have a child.
-Dave
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
A bedtime story.....
Put Samuel to bed this evening with the usual routine. Bath, book and bed starting around 2030 and finishing near 2100. I then came downstairs to share some time with my wife and was scolded for talking too much while she was working on the computer so I headed upstairs with my book. As I neared the bottom of the stairs I could hear the inchworm above me, meaning that Samuel was out of bed. My quiet but firm request of "Samuel, go to bed", was met with a resounding howl of protest. As I start up the stairs I spy Samuel standing near the office door. As I reach the top of the stairs I say again, "Samuel, time for bed" as I walk towards him with my finger extending toward him. He switches the worm to his other arm and grabs my finger and we slowly(as he is wearing his sleepsack and it is the only thing that slows him down when he walks/runs) walk toward his bedroom. With a soft squeal of protest Samuel crawls through the opening of his crib, I help him swing his legs into the crib while I bend down and give him another good night kiss on the head.
-Dave
-Dave
An extremely long post........
We are in the process of adapting to Julia being home and not working, well not working much as she takes about 1 phone call per day from work. With Julia being home, doctors appointments and illness we have yet to be able to establish a routine.
The weekend we bought Samuel's new bed he contracted conjunctivitis and a slight ear infection. This weekend he contracted gastro and Julia had it on Monday and I am recovering from it now. Samuel became ill on Saturday evening, he vomited a few times and became lethargic. Sunday was not any better as he vomited in the morning and we enjoyed a very peaceful day at home with Samuel laying on one of us for the entire day. On Monday he appeared to be better so we resumed his normal routine of food which turned out to be a mistake. His normal routine consists of fruit yogurts and petite suisse(A French yogurt children s dessert.) Unfortunately the reintroduction of milk so soon after the gastro causes a recurrence of vomiting on Tuesday morning. This afforded us the opportunity to meet the British doctor in the nearby village of Croissy. She seems very nice and has an easy to get to office. Sometimes I forget the conveinence of life in france. After Samuel and I left the doctor's office we drove to the Chatou city centre, parked and proceeded to go to the grocery(Super U) for bread and huedebert(small pieces of toast), the fruitier(for apple juice and fruit), the butcher(for diner for Julia and I) and the pharmacy(for Samuel's meds). All of which are located within a 45 second walk of the parking lot for Super U. We would have picked up a baguette for lunch but the boulangerie was closed for unknown reasons.
Julia and I had our next to last date night for awhile a few weeks ago. We went to a 1 star restaurant near the Arc d'triomphe called Le Chiberta. It was our most expensive meal ever but it was very, very good. I had more black truffles that night then I had had in my entire life. The only disappointment was that Julia was not able to partake in the wine portion of the tasting menu.
Our last official date night before the arrival of the twins will be on the 20th when we goto see Don Carlo at the Paris opera. it is a 4 hour performance and we hope that Julia will be able to sit through the evening in comfort. Julia's cousin, Fiona, is coming over from England for the weekend to watch Samuel so that we are able to spend the night in Paris and not have to rush back after the performance.
Samuel has finally adapted to the section being taken out of his crib. In the evening he now goes to sleep almost immediately and does not roam around the upstairs. In the morning,m if he wakes before us, he will roam the halls with his inchworm bell ringing so that we wake up. He has yet to discover that he can actually enter our room and wake us up. That I am sure will come soon. His nap time is very inconsistent. We put him in his crib around 1300 but he always gets out and plays(or drops his toys down the stairs) at the top of the stairs so that we know he is there. He usually falls asleep after about one hour but he falls asleep on the floor at the top of the stairs or outside the office door. He is very cute when he does this as he is flat on his back with his legs flayed in a V shape and his arms stretched out at right angles from his body with the inch worm tightly grasped in one of his arms.
The other day we thought that Samuel said cookie but this would have been odd as neither of us use the word cookie. After much thought(neither of us have been sleeping well) we determined that Samuel must be saying gouter(pronounced gootay) which is French for taste or snack. A gouter is what the HG calls the afternoon snack that they give the kids.
Samuel has a girlfriend. One day when I went to pick Samuel up at the HG I was standing at the inside door and Samuel was in the far corner. Both the carer and I were calling him. He ignored both of us. A little girl, a few months older than Samuel, walked over to him, grabbed his hand and walked him to me at the door. Very sweet.
One other day when I picked him up they told me that he was starting to get aggressive, pushing and sometime shitting the other kids but that this behavior is perfectly normal. Which we already know as Samuel is quite aggressive with us, often hitting and throwing items when he does not get his way. It tests our patience when he does this but we try to be calm and tell him that hitting and throwing is unacceptable behavior.
The weekend we bought Samuel's new bed he contracted conjunctivitis and a slight ear infection. This weekend he contracted gastro and Julia had it on Monday and I am recovering from it now. Samuel became ill on Saturday evening, he vomited a few times and became lethargic. Sunday was not any better as he vomited in the morning and we enjoyed a very peaceful day at home with Samuel laying on one of us for the entire day. On Monday he appeared to be better so we resumed his normal routine of food which turned out to be a mistake. His normal routine consists of fruit yogurts and petite suisse(A French yogurt children s dessert.) Unfortunately the reintroduction of milk so soon after the gastro causes a recurrence of vomiting on Tuesday morning. This afforded us the opportunity to meet the British doctor in the nearby village of Croissy. She seems very nice and has an easy to get to office. Sometimes I forget the conveinence of life in france. After Samuel and I left the doctor's office we drove to the Chatou city centre, parked and proceeded to go to the grocery(Super U) for bread and huedebert(small pieces of toast), the fruitier(for apple juice and fruit), the butcher(for diner for Julia and I) and the pharmacy(for Samuel's meds). All of which are located within a 45 second walk of the parking lot for Super U. We would have picked up a baguette for lunch but the boulangerie was closed for unknown reasons.Julia and I had our next to last date night for awhile a few weeks ago. We went to a 1 star restaurant near the Arc d'triomphe called Le Chiberta. It was our most expensive meal ever but it was very, very good. I had more black truffles that night then I had had in my entire life. The only disappointment was that Julia was not able to partake in the wine portion of the tasting menu.
Our last official date night before the arrival of the twins will be on the 20th when we goto see Don Carlo at the Paris opera. it is a 4 hour performance and we hope that Julia will be able to sit through the evening in comfort. Julia's cousin, Fiona, is coming over from England for the weekend to watch Samuel so that we are able to spend the night in Paris and not have to rush back after the performance.
Samuel has finally adapted to the section being taken out of his crib. In the evening he now goes to sleep almost immediately and does not roam around the upstairs. In the morning,m if he wakes before us, he will roam the halls with his inchworm bell ringing so that we wake up. He has yet to discover that he can actually enter our room and wake us up. That I am sure will come soon. His nap time is very inconsistent. We put him in his crib around 1300 but he always gets out and plays(or drops his toys down the stairs) at the top of the stairs so that we know he is there. He usually falls asleep after about one hour but he falls asleep on the floor at the top of the stairs or outside the office door. He is very cute when he does this as he is flat on his back with his legs flayed in a V shape and his arms stretched out at right angles from his body with the inch worm tightly grasped in one of his arms.
The other day we thought that Samuel said cookie but this would have been odd as neither of us use the word cookie. After much thought(neither of us have been sleeping well) we determined that Samuel must be saying gouter(pronounced gootay) which is French for taste or snack. A gouter is what the HG calls the afternoon snack that they give the kids.
Samuel has a girlfriend. One day when I went to pick Samuel up at the HG I was standing at the inside door and Samuel was in the far corner. Both the carer and I were calling him. He ignored both of us. A little girl, a few months older than Samuel, walked over to him, grabbed his hand and walked him to me at the door. Very sweet.
One other day when I picked him up they told me that he was starting to get aggressive, pushing and sometime shitting the other kids but that this behavior is perfectly normal. Which we already know as Samuel is quite aggressive with us, often hitting and throwing items when he does not get his way. It tests our patience when he does this but we try to be calm and tell him that hitting and throwing is unacceptable behavior.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Samuel is French, Oh no!!!!......Part deux
This morning I was sitting on the couch with Samuel sitting on my lap facing me. I asked him to give me a kiss and pointed to my right cheek. He leaned in and gave me a very sweet kiss on the cheek. He then leaned back, reflected for a moment and then leaned to his right, my left, and proceeded to lean toward me and kiss me on the other cheek.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Samuel is French, Oh no!!!!
Samuel and I took a walk to the boulangerie this morning so that Julia could sleep in. It was a beautiful morning as the sun was rising and the snow(Yes, it is snowing again in the city where it never snows!) was gently falling. A very enjoyable but crisp walk. When we returned I asked Samuel to carry the baguette into the kitchen which he did enthusiastically. When he returned to the front door I was in the process of removing my coat and shoes, so I handed him the bag containing our croissants and pains au chocolat and asked him to carry those into the kitchen. Big mistake.
After I had finished taking of my coat and shoes I rounded the corner and spied Samuel standing in the living room with the bag on the living room table and a croissant in his hand. Samuel had not only taken a croissant out of the bag, he had torn off one end of the croissant and was eating it while trailing crumbs all over the floor. This is very much the French way of eating a croissant, not the crumbs, but the tearing off of a corner and eating a criossant by pieces is very French.
We need to move soon.
After I had finished taking of my coat and shoes I rounded the corner and spied Samuel standing in the living room with the bag on the living room table and a croissant in his hand. Samuel had not only taken a croissant out of the bag, he had torn off one end of the croissant and was eating it while trailing crumbs all over the floor. This is very much the French way of eating a croissant, not the crumbs, but the tearing off of a corner and eating a criossant by pieces is very French.
We need to move soon.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Glory, glory, Samuel slept through the night for the first time since we removed a section of his crib. The downside is that he is no longer taking 2 hour naps in the afternoon. For his naps we take him upstairs and leave him alone. He almost immediately crawls out of his crib and walks to the top of the stairs carrying his inchworm(it makes noise when he walks). He then proceeds to sit there, quietly, sucking on his pacifier, patiently waiting for one of us to come and get him.
One hour later. Had to go pick up Samuel early from HG. He picked up conjunctivitis last Sunday and had been feeling better since then. But the HG called saying that he had had a very runny diaper and was acting very apathetic. So I went to get him. When I walked in he looked very tired and pale(but he is half British). I asked him to come to me and he went to one of the carers and gave her on of his patented leg hugs. I was only slightly devastated.
Yesterday was family haircut day. My hair was cut first so that Samuel could see that it is fun to have one's haircut. When we had had our haircut individually both of us had failed to notice that our coiffure has a small table and chairs with toys for kids to play with. While I was getting my haircut Julia was sitting with Samuel playing at the table. When my hair was finished the stylist cut Samuel's hair at the table while he was playing with the toys. He was very happy while his hair was being cut.
Last Saturday Julia and i went to see Invictus. We had wanted to see it for awhile. When Samuel and I were at the city centre shopping on Saturday morning I happened to walk by the city centre movie theatre and noticed that, not only, was it playing Invictus, it was playing in V.O.(version originale). Which means it is English with french subtitles. Great to discover that our local theatre plays movies in English. We had thought that our only option was to travel to the Champs Elyssee to see movies in English.
Very French moment on Thursday(yesterday). Samuel and I went to the city centre to shop. One of our stops was at the cheese shop. A women entered the shop before us. Fifteen minutes later we were finally able to place our order. This woman ordered 92 euros of cheese.
One hour later. Had to go pick up Samuel early from HG. He picked up conjunctivitis last Sunday and had been feeling better since then. But the HG called saying that he had had a very runny diaper and was acting very apathetic. So I went to get him. When I walked in he looked very tired and pale(but he is half British). I asked him to come to me and he went to one of the carers and gave her on of his patented leg hugs. I was only slightly devastated.
Yesterday was family haircut day. My hair was cut first so that Samuel could see that it is fun to have one's haircut. When we had had our haircut individually both of us had failed to notice that our coiffure has a small table and chairs with toys for kids to play with. While I was getting my haircut Julia was sitting with Samuel playing at the table. When my hair was finished the stylist cut Samuel's hair at the table while he was playing with the toys. He was very happy while his hair was being cut.
Last Saturday Julia and i went to see Invictus. We had wanted to see it for awhile. When Samuel and I were at the city centre shopping on Saturday morning I happened to walk by the city centre movie theatre and noticed that, not only, was it playing Invictus, it was playing in V.O.(version originale). Which means it is English with french subtitles. Great to discover that our local theatre plays movies in English. We had thought that our only option was to travel to the Champs Elyssee to see movies in English.
Very French moment on Thursday(yesterday). Samuel and I went to the city centre to shop. One of our stops was at the cheese shop. A women entered the shop before us. Fifteen minutes later we were finally able to place our order. This woman ordered 92 euros of cheese.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Samuel sleeping
My heart stopped this morning. I went into Samuel's room to wake him up. He was laying on his stomach with his arms straight out from his body with his head hanging over the edge of the mattress, looking as if he had a broken neck.
Luckily, before I panicked Samuel snorted so I knew he was okay. I am almost 50, I do not need mornings like this.
Samuel has adapted to the opening in his crib. Last night I had to put him to bed 4 times. The first time I put him to bed I went into the office to check the news. Within a minute of having sat down I heard Samuel and his inchworm plodding down the hallway. I then put him to bed again and went downstairs. We both heard him get out and walk to the top of the stairs, where apparently he fell asleep. When he did wake up he started to cry while laying on the floor outside the closed office door.
The difficulty getting him to sleep last night was a surprise as he did not nap well. For the last two days he has crawled out of the crib and spent most of his nap time sitting at the top of the stairs, quietly(thankfully) waiting for me to come upstairs.
Luckily, before I panicked Samuel snorted so I knew he was okay. I am almost 50, I do not need mornings like this.
Samuel has adapted to the opening in his crib. Last night I had to put him to bed 4 times. The first time I put him to bed I went into the office to check the news. Within a minute of having sat down I heard Samuel and his inchworm plodding down the hallway. I then put him to bed again and went downstairs. We both heard him get out and walk to the top of the stairs, where apparently he fell asleep. When he did wake up he started to cry while laying on the floor outside the closed office door.
The difficulty getting him to sleep last night was a surprise as he did not nap well. For the last two days he has crawled out of the crib and spent most of his nap time sitting at the top of the stairs, quietly(thankfully) waiting for me to come upstairs.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Samuel has a new bed
We were finally able to get out and pickup Samuel's new bed today. Samuel is not spoiled but he now has a castle bed. Okay, maybe he is a little spoiled.
Sometimes things in life just work out. Call it karma, good luck, whatever sometimes life just works. We had been talking about buying Samuel a bed. Julia did some research and we had decided to look at a Flexa bed. The day after we decided this a thread was posted on this English language mothers support group in Paris we belong to that stated that a woman had just bought a Flexa bed but it was too big for their son's bedroom. They were offering a 600 euro bed for 400 euros. Sometimes life just works out.
To pick up the bed today I had to drive Julia's Audi for the first time. A very nice ride which I have to get use to driving more (trip home from hospital?). Driving the car is not a problem, the difficulty comes in parking the car. As long as the insurance is paid up, I will do my best.
We came home late(1230) so we immediately fed Samuel and put him down for his nap. When it was time to wake Samuel up I came upstairs and sat at the computer to check the news and I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hallway. Samuel turned the corner into the office with his pacifier in his mouth, a smurf in one hand, his inch-worm in the other and his animal storybook folded over his arms. He has learned to get out of his crib and leave his room when he wakes up from his nap.
-Dave
Sometimes things in life just work out. Call it karma, good luck, whatever sometimes life just works. We had been talking about buying Samuel a bed. Julia did some research and we had decided to look at a Flexa bed. The day after we decided this a thread was posted on this English language mothers support group in Paris we belong to that stated that a woman had just bought a Flexa bed but it was too big for their son's bedroom. They were offering a 600 euro bed for 400 euros. Sometimes life just works out.
To pick up the bed today I had to drive Julia's Audi for the first time. A very nice ride which I have to get use to driving more (trip home from hospital?). Driving the car is not a problem, the difficulty comes in parking the car. As long as the insurance is paid up, I will do my best.
We came home late(1230) so we immediately fed Samuel and put him down for his nap. When it was time to wake Samuel up I came upstairs and sat at the computer to check the news and I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hallway. Samuel turned the corner into the office with his pacifier in his mouth, a smurf in one hand, his inch-worm in the other and his animal storybook folded over his arms. He has learned to get out of his crib and leave his room when he wakes up from his nap.
-Dave
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The power of massage.
Last night, Friday, Julia received one of her two weekly massages. We always try to give Julia a massage on either Friday or Saturday night so that Julia can take full advantage and sleep late the next morning.
Last night Samuel fell out of his crib at 0130. When I went to get him, Julia was asleep snoring. When I returned 5 minutes later, Julia was still asleep snoring. Must have been a very good massage to sleep through Samuel screaming.
When I walked into Samuel's room after he fell out of his crib he was on his knees trying to crawl back into his crib. It hopefully won't be long until he learns that he can get in and out of his crib whenever he wants.
Last night Samuel fell out of his crib at 0130. When I went to get him, Julia was asleep snoring. When I returned 5 minutes later, Julia was still asleep snoring. Must have been a very good massage to sleep through Samuel screaming.
When I walked into Samuel's room after he fell out of his crib he was on his knees trying to crawl back into his crib. It hopefully won't be long until he learns that he can get in and out of his crib whenever he wants.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Samuel sleep update
Tuesday night Samuel fell out of his crib twice. The first time I went to him. By the time I got to him he had calmed down and was almost asleep. I helped him up and assisted him in crawling back into the crib and he went to sleep immediately. He fell out again around 0545 and Julia was the first to get to him. He had crawled/rolled off the blanket that we have placed on the floor to cushion his falls. Apparently it was not until he rolled off the blanket that he began to cry.
Wednesday night and so far during his Thursday afternoon nap he has not rolled out of the crib.
Now, if we could get him to eat his morsels, life would be good.
-Dave
Wednesday night and so far during his Thursday afternoon nap he has not rolled out of the crib.
Now, if we could get him to eat his morsels, life would be good.
-Dave
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Samuel update-part II
Woke up Samuel this morning a few minutes after 0800. When I walked into his room he was asleep but he woke up when I opened his shade. He was reluctant to get out of his crib on his own. I sat on the floor in front of the crib opening with my arms open saying "Vien a Papa".(Come to Papa)
Samuel then stood up and walked toward the opening, placing one hand on each upright to balance himself. He then proceeded to step out of the crib. This would have been a positive development if he had not been wearing a sleepsack. For those of you that do not know a sleepsack is like a potato sack with neck and arm holes that fully envelopes his legs and feet. He tripped and I caught him. Will have to teach him to scoot out of the crib on his belly.
Samuel then stood up and walked toward the opening, placing one hand on each upright to balance himself. He then proceeded to step out of the crib. This would have been a positive development if he had not been wearing a sleepsack. For those of you that do not know a sleepsack is like a potato sack with neck and arm holes that fully envelopes his legs and feet. He tripped and I caught him. Will have to teach him to scoot out of the crib on his belly.
Samuel update
Samuel fell out only once last night. It was early, just before we were going to bed. I walked into his room and he was sitting on the floor with his bedtime toy, the inchworm, laying on the ground next to him. I picked him up, hugged him and told him that everything was okay. I then explained to him again why we took the piece of his crib out. He is a big boy now and we trust him to be able to get out of his crib on his own. I don't think he believed me.
-Dave
-Dave
Monday, January 18, 2010
Samuel and his first Broncos game
For those of you that do not know I am a tried and true Denver Broncos (American football) fan. They will be playing a game of football in London's Wembley stadium. October 31st is the date. Samuel and I plan on attending. It is a bit early for Samuel to attend a game but with the twins on the way we are unsure of when we be able to return to Denver so we plan on taking advantage of them playing only a 6 hour drive away.
The only thing that would make the weekend even better would be if Chelsea has a home match at Stamford Bridge the Saturday before. The Chelsea schedule will not be published until the sumer so we will just have to wait and see.
The only thing that would make the weekend even better would be if Chelsea has a home match at Stamford Bridge the Saturday before. The Chelsea schedule will not be published until the sumer so we will just have to wait and see.
New restaurant-addendum
Long day-forgot something about the restaurant. It is typically French in that our meal lasted 2 hours. As we were trying to leave a women who we thought was a server came over to us and started to talk to Julia. She introduced herself as the wife of the owner, who had been our server, and asked us how everything was and how Julia was doing with the pregnancy. turns out that they have owned the restaurant for about 18 months and they have 2 kids, 2 & 4. The kids were sleeping in the back as they cannot afford a babysitter while working the long hours that they do. Very nice couple, He speaks some English. The evening reinforced to me again not to be too quick to judge as both Julia and I had assumed that the women who greeted us and showed us to our table was the owner as she was older(50ish) and seemed to be in charge. When it turns out that the younger couple who were working as the servers are actually the owners.
Samuel is asleep in his crib with the opening. I put him to bed and went downstairs to give Julia a massage fully expecting to hear a clunk followed by screaming but it has been quiet. After the lack of nap this afternoon Samuel should sleep through the night unless he falls out.
Samuel is asleep in his crib with the opening. I put him to bed and went downstairs to give Julia a massage fully expecting to hear a clunk followed by screaming but it has been quiet. After the lack of nap this afternoon Samuel should sleep through the night unless he falls out.
New restaurant
Saturday night we were able to have a date night. Through our typical blind luck, our sage femme (midwife) lives less than a kilometer from us and she has 3 daughters who are of babysitter age. Best aspect of this is that we do not have to drive to pick up or take home a babysitter.
We finally were able to go to a local restaurant that we had heard good things about. Normally a 15 minute walk we drove due to Julia not being able to walk far. The restaurant is located in a strip mall(an American concept?) that runs parallel to the main road entering Chatou across the Seine river bridge.
A small place, maybe 40 chairs, with an understated decor but excellent food at very good prices. A 3 course meal is only 30 euros. Julia had the pave with bernaise sauce and I had duck with pineapple. Excellent, we will definitely return. It is our new restaurant to take visitors.
It was a fun evening Julia and I actually had a conversation that lasted for 20 minutes before we mentioned either Samuel or the twins. That had not happened since August.
We finally were able to go to a local restaurant that we had heard good things about. Normally a 15 minute walk we drove due to Julia not being able to walk far. The restaurant is located in a strip mall(an American concept?) that runs parallel to the main road entering Chatou across the Seine river bridge.
A small place, maybe 40 chairs, with an understated decor but excellent food at very good prices. A 3 course meal is only 30 euros. Julia had the pave with bernaise sauce and I had duck with pineapple. Excellent, we will definitely return. It is our new restaurant to take visitors.
It was a fun evening Julia and I actually had a conversation that lasted for 20 minutes before we mentioned either Samuel or the twins. That had not happened since August.
Friendly Samuel
Forgot to post this when it happened.
One day last week Samuel and I were returning from a shopping trip to the city centre. Samuel is not as enthusiastic about riding in the stroller as he once was. I try to accommodate him when we return home by stopping at the corner and allowing him to walk home the final 100 meters. When we did this last week we walked around the corner and one of our neighbors, Nadya, was outside her house saying goodbye to a visitor. Samuel, who had not sen her since Halloween(October 31st) enthusiastically ran to her with his arms wide open and practically jumped into her arms. Nadya and I then had a conversation which was 2/3 French and 1/3 English. I may actually be conversant before we leave.
We are both very happy that Samuel is so very friendly and not the least bit scared to approach strangers or people that he does not know well. Neither of us have a clue how to teach him to be wary of strangers without reducing his infectious attitude toward meeting new people. Still trying to find the book with all the answers about being a great parent.
One day last week Samuel and I were returning from a shopping trip to the city centre. Samuel is not as enthusiastic about riding in the stroller as he once was. I try to accommodate him when we return home by stopping at the corner and allowing him to walk home the final 100 meters. When we did this last week we walked around the corner and one of our neighbors, Nadya, was outside her house saying goodbye to a visitor. Samuel, who had not sen her since Halloween(October 31st) enthusiastically ran to her with his arms wide open and practically jumped into her arms. Nadya and I then had a conversation which was 2/3 French and 1/3 English. I may actually be conversant before we leave.
We are both very happy that Samuel is so very friendly and not the least bit scared to approach strangers or people that he does not know well. Neither of us have a clue how to teach him to be wary of strangers without reducing his infectious attitude toward meeting new people. Still trying to find the book with all the answers about being a great parent.
Big weekend for Samuel
Our little boy is growing up.
Tomorrow(Sunday) we are going to take a section out of his crib so that Samuel will be able to get out of the crib if he so pleases. He should be fine for his nighttime sleeping as he seldom wakes up in the night. It will be interesting to see what happens during his daytime naps as he is usually awake for two of his naptimes during the week. He is n ot usually loud or screaming. We just hear him playing with his inch worm or his musical aquarium.
Well everything is now a day behind. Julia had an OB appointment in Le Vesinet on Saturday morning and afterwards we stopped at the official swine flu vaccination center so that I could get my shot, Julia and Samuel had received theirs over a month ago(french bureaucracy would not allow me to get my shot at the same time or place as it was designated only for infants and pregnant woman). Normally I would not have received the shot but because Julia is pregnant we thought it best that I receive the shot. Especially since most hospitals are limiting visits in the maternity wards to fathers only and some even require that fathers wear masks. We did not want my not having received the shot to be an issue when it is time for the twins to arrive.
Unfortunately I reacted badly to the shot and spent most of Sunday in bed. We were also supposed to go on Sunday and pick up Samuel's first bed. That trip has been postponed a week.
Well, Samuel just had his first nap in this crib with an opening. Did not go well. The positive aspect is that he did not fall out. The negative is that he spent most of his nap crying and screaming(sometimes quite loudly). He was awake when I finally went to get him at 1515. He was awake sitting in his crib. I had him crawl out on his own so that he learns that he can get out and not have to wait for me to come and get him
Tomorrow(Sunday) we are going to take a section out of his crib so that Samuel will be able to get out of the crib if he so pleases. He should be fine for his nighttime sleeping as he seldom wakes up in the night. It will be interesting to see what happens during his daytime naps as he is usually awake for two of his naptimes during the week. He is n ot usually loud or screaming. We just hear him playing with his inch worm or his musical aquarium.
Well everything is now a day behind. Julia had an OB appointment in Le Vesinet on Saturday morning and afterwards we stopped at the official swine flu vaccination center so that I could get my shot, Julia and Samuel had received theirs over a month ago(french bureaucracy would not allow me to get my shot at the same time or place as it was designated only for infants and pregnant woman). Normally I would not have received the shot but because Julia is pregnant we thought it best that I receive the shot. Especially since most hospitals are limiting visits in the maternity wards to fathers only and some even require that fathers wear masks. We did not want my not having received the shot to be an issue when it is time for the twins to arrive.
Unfortunately I reacted badly to the shot and spent most of Sunday in bed. We were also supposed to go on Sunday and pick up Samuel's first bed. That trip has been postponed a week.
Well, Samuel just had his first nap in this crib with an opening. Did not go well. The positive aspect is that he did not fall out. The negative is that he spent most of his nap crying and screaming(sometimes quite loudly). He was awake when I finally went to get him at 1515. He was awake sitting in his crib. I had him crawl out on his own so that he learns that he can get out and not have to wait for me to come and get him
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, January 14th
Another Thursday, another trip to the city centre.
Samuel gets very excited when he realizes that we are leaving the house. He says "go, go". He runs to the front door and points to his shoes on the desk and his jacket hanging on the coat rack. I have learned that it is best to get dresssed for the outside first as once Samuel is dressed he is very impatient and not willing to wait for others to get ready.
On our return trip from the city centre, Samuel was riding in his jogging stroller and I noticed hat his mittens had come off. I asked him to put them back on and much to my surprise he was able to use his right hand to put his left mitten back on. He then immediately took it of and turned his head to look at me as if to say "You did not tell me to keep it on." He is already smarter than either of us. We are doomed.
Samuel has a very funny routine when we return home. When we walk in the door the first thing we do is unfasten the strap of his wool cap. He then reaches up and pulls the cap off and places it on the desk. He then tries to unzip his jacket, he often needs help, but as soon as the jacket is unzipped he will take it off himself. He then drops it on the floor but a very stern look forces Samuel to pick up the jacket and hand it to us so that we can hang it on the coat rack. He then proceeds to sit on the bottom step and try to take off his shoes. For this he needs help. This morning was particularly funny as Samuel missed the step for the first time and fell on his behind. He had a tremendous grin when he did this.
There are many positives in having Julia work from home. One of them is that we are able to have regular evening meals. When Julia was working she would often not arrive home until 2000. With Samuel beginning his bedtime routine at 2030 it made it difficult to have a "normal" meal prepared. We had become accustomed to having Picard frozen meals, especially soups, which are very, very good(for frozen meals). Now we have established a routine where Julia will begin feeding Samuel his dinner at 1900 and I begin to fix dinner at the same time. Fifteen or twenty minutes after Samuel is finished with his meal we all sit around the table and eat a delicious(most of the time) home cooked meal. Samuel will then share part of our meal as we give him vegetables and potatoes from our plates.
-Dave
Samuel gets very excited when he realizes that we are leaving the house. He says "go, go". He runs to the front door and points to his shoes on the desk and his jacket hanging on the coat rack. I have learned that it is best to get dresssed for the outside first as once Samuel is dressed he is very impatient and not willing to wait for others to get ready.
On our return trip from the city centre, Samuel was riding in his jogging stroller and I noticed hat his mittens had come off. I asked him to put them back on and much to my surprise he was able to use his right hand to put his left mitten back on. He then immediately took it of and turned his head to look at me as if to say "You did not tell me to keep it on." He is already smarter than either of us. We are doomed.
Samuel has a very funny routine when we return home. When we walk in the door the first thing we do is unfasten the strap of his wool cap. He then reaches up and pulls the cap off and places it on the desk. He then tries to unzip his jacket, he often needs help, but as soon as the jacket is unzipped he will take it off himself. He then drops it on the floor but a very stern look forces Samuel to pick up the jacket and hand it to us so that we can hang it on the coat rack. He then proceeds to sit on the bottom step and try to take off his shoes. For this he needs help. This morning was particularly funny as Samuel missed the step for the first time and fell on his behind. He had a tremendous grin when he did this.
There are many positives in having Julia work from home. One of them is that we are able to have regular evening meals. When Julia was working she would often not arrive home until 2000. With Samuel beginning his bedtime routine at 2030 it made it difficult to have a "normal" meal prepared. We had become accustomed to having Picard frozen meals, especially soups, which are very, very good(for frozen meals). Now we have established a routine where Julia will begin feeding Samuel his dinner at 1900 and I begin to fix dinner at the same time. Fifteen or twenty minutes after Samuel is finished with his meal we all sit around the table and eat a delicious(most of the time) home cooked meal. Samuel will then share part of our meal as we give him vegetables and potatoes from our plates.
-Dave
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