Major Breakthrough!!!

Newsletter: Month 7

In NY for Thanksgiving

Back at Work

On Monday, I went back to work. That dreaded 1st day of work came and went and then very quickly the 1st week of work came and went. I saw colleagues that I hadn’t seen in 7 months, attended meetings, was brought up to speed on what happened during my leave, blah, blah, and yes, I survived. I did OK, but I also really missed spending time during the day with my daughter. And I missed not having to go into work… I guess I need to do some soul-searching and figure out whether I what I really, actually like and want to do.

A part of me also enjoyed being away, finally starting life as I knew it BG (“Before Giulia”), interacting and having adult conversations, feeling challenged, feeling like a person again (whereas before, I could only feel like “mom”)…

I guess the anticipation was indeed worse than actually going back....

This is my last week, full-time at home with Giulia. I am having disagreements with people I love, I am trying to

Another great day with Giulia

Today was a stay-all-day-in-your-pj's kinda day. Giulia woke up in the middle of the night again, so I gave her to MS and got a bit more sleep. I woke-up, played with Gi, finished some scrapbooking pages for my in-laws, played with Gi some more and pretty much lounged with her all day... My idea of a perfect day.

Factoid: Giulia really likes sweet potatoes and have now started a love affair with...... water.

Vovo e Tivo Chegaram!!! NYC Pics

My mom and aunt arrived in NYC on 10/22. We all went to NYC on the 26th and 27th. We had an unforgettable time and I'll let the pictures tell the story....

26th: Walked around in Times Square, ate at Ruby Tuesday's, saw Grease, had drinks at Hilton

27th: Breakfast at Starbucks, shopping on 5th Ave, dressed up at Disney Store - look at my faerie!

Newsletter: Month 6

Giulia,

On October 30th, you turned 6 months old. That’s half a year, for crying out loud – where did this time go? We celebrated your ½ year birthday with a birthday cake, hats, noise makers, many, many smiles, and of course, happy birthday songs in both English and Portuguese. We all had so much fun celebrating you and the joy you bring into our lives.

Many things happened this month - you are clearly becoming more independent and self-sufficient, like, for instance, you are now sitting up, spinning around in the Exersaucer, blowing kisses, bouncing your body, as asking to be picked up and even dancing when we play or sing you a song. You are now eating baby food. You love sweet potatoes and carrots and you like apple sauce. You’ve started to hold your own bottle, which was devastating for us (you are growing up too fast!!) but wonderful for you. During this month the adventure continued with vovó Nair and with the return of vovó Rita and the arrival of tivó Maria coming to stay with us. Thanks to them, you have become a frequent shopper at the Clinton Outlet Mall. We also spent a weekend in NYC. You really enjoyed walking around Times Square, people watching, seeing all the beautiful, bright colors and lights and the craziness of the city.

On October 31st, we celebrated mommy’s birthday and we dressed up and went “trick-or-treating” for Halloween: mommy was Winnie the Pooh, Daddy was Tigger and you were the cutest chipmunk I have ever seen. So cute that the neighbors who we visited we taking pictures of YOU! We had fun handing out candy too. Mommy and Daddy felt that we truly experienced Halloween this year, since we got to trick-or-treat with you.

You had your 6-month apointment, got your shots, examined and more importantly, a clean bill of health.

This was a wonderful month spent with vovó Nair. Our relationship with her has become so much stronger. To me, she has always been one of the single most influential people and it was nice to, 10 years later, share my life again with her. Your daddy feels like he “has a new grandmother” – a feeling that, I know, is shared by vovó Nair, and Giulia, you’ve developed a very special bond with her. This time has left everybody with a desire to spend even more time with you, and hopefully they will all come back to celebrate the one year of absolute joy and blessings that your birth has brought to us all. Thank you for adding so much to all of our lives.

Stats:

Length / Comprimento: 27 3/4 inches / 70.5 cm (97%)

Weight / Peso: 19.2 pounds / 8.7 kg (95%)

Head Circumference: 43 1/4 (75%)

The inevitable has occurred.....

Giulia has a cold...

Carrots

We have now added a 2nd item in Giulia's solid-food repertoire: carrots! We started feeding her sweet potatoes and she wanted more, so I decided to try carrots and she loved it!

Sleeping Bunny

Giulia - today you slept so well, I wonder if you are going thru a growth spurt. You woke-up a NINE-THIRTY this morning and you slept again at noon for a whole hour and then, when grandma, mommy, Santana and you were out shopping, you fell asleep yet AGAIN for 2 hours! You even took your cat-"just before dinner"-nap tonight! I just wonder if all this means you won't be sleeping tonight?

Daddy came home and played with you. You wouldn't give up until he did and you guys played all night long together!

Grammy and Grampy will be here soon, visiting from NY.

Sitting already??

What's up with that??

Newsletter: Month 5

Giulia,

Yesterday you turned 5 months old. We have reached some major milestones this month and mommy and daddy still can’t believe how fast you are growing.

You’ve learned how to turn on your tummy! We think that you may have turned before, but last week was the 1st time that we have actually seen it. You’ve tried, for the 1st time, rice cereal. I had only added one little spoon of it to your milk and you liked it. Then yesterday, we gave it to you in a paste-like form (with less milk), with a spoon, and guess what? It was the cutest thing in the world. You had food all over your face and you definitely liked it!

These past few days you’ve been teething and this has interrupted “our” sleep at night. We see the outline of your 2 front teeth and expect and hope that they’ll be coming in soon. We’ve observed and can definitely tell that it’s been bothering you. We have given you many teething toys, and you put them and everything else you get little hands on, right into your mouth. You love to play on your gym-mat, with various toys and you love to pet Charlie and Daisy. You squeal in delight when your dad tickles your belly. Your eyes are turning browner, but today, when you were in the car and it became sunny, they were a beautiful shade of green, so who knows what color they’ll end up being. When we go out with you, you are a really smiley baby and your smile can melt the hearts of everyone we pass. Your personality is starting to develop into a strong-willed, happy, positive little person.

Your grandma Nair is staying in our home this and next month, visiting us. She loves to hold and play with you. In particular, you love to play “clappy-hands” with her: you participate by holding the back of your vovo’s hands while she claps and sings to you. Sometimes, you take naps in your vovo’s arms and the 2 of you look so peaceful together. Mommy can’t tell you how special this time is with you and vovo, because she is one of the most influential people in mommy’s life and mommy loves to share this special time with the 2 of you. Your middle name was chosen in her honor and in the hope that someday, you’ll become a bit like her. Another very important thing: in the mornings, she watches you, while mommy gets a few precious additional minutes of sleep and boy, is mommy thankful for that!

You were also reunited with Santana, who you met in Brazil, as she accompanied your vovo to the US. You really love to play with her, to dance to Xuxa DVDs and your walks in the backyard. Santana is very loving toward you and your friendship with her has continued right where you guys left it off in Brazil!

You are happy. You are healthy. You are smart. And you are still the most beautiful baby in the world.

Mommy feels really blessed that I’ve gotten to spend these past 5 months at home with you. After I return to work and for the rest of your life, for that matter, I want to continue to discover every little thing about you and root for you and be there for you, every step of the way, as, Giulia, your dad and I are, and will always be your number 1 fans. We love you, little monkey.

Hibachi

I am so lucky. 2 of my favorite people in the world, my grandma and brother, are both here, visiting us.

On Saturday, John and I took them to a Hibachi restaurant.....

She's the coolest lady in the world. Look below. Need I say more??

Gargalhadas da Giulia Nair

Daddy back to USA

Baptism

Newsletter

Brazil

Newsletter: Month 2

Giulia,

Yesterday you turned 2 months old. My suspicions that you are growing WAY too fast were confirmed at your pediatrician’s appointment: you grew a whole FIVE INCHES since your birth, putting you in the 97% for height and weight.

Your eyes can now track objects. You like playing with the mobiles in your crib and car seat. We let you sit in front of the TV for 5 or 10 minutes to watch Dora – it’s so much fun to watch you: you are attracted to the myriad of colors on the screen and you scream excitedly and laugh at times. (This prompts us to laugh with you!) - You can now really look at your dad and me, I mean, you can "see" us. We love it when we know that you are becoming more and more familiar with us, the 2 people in this world who love you the most. We want you to know who your mommy and daddy are, but especially, we want you to know that you are so incredibly loved by us.

We sing the “Charlie, Daisy, mommy, daddy and Giulia” song that your dad made up just for you. Once we start singing it, you give us the biggest smile in the world and you sing along by making the most adorable sounds. You are becoming one animated baby!

We went to NYC to get your Brazilian passport. This time we had all the required paperwork, everything worked out great at the Embassy, and we had a couple of hours to walk around beautiful NYC. You enjoyed the people, colors, lights and your dad and I had a blast watching you take everything in. You did great, you, jet-setter, you! We received your passport in a little over a week and now we can finally take you to Brazil to meet your Brazilian family.

You are still making your own daily schedule but I am learning different cues, you’re your different “cries”, the times that you are fussing because you are tired, or hungry or simply bored, when you want to be picked up, when you want to play. You don’t mind much laying in your porta-crib – so long as the mobiles are entertaining you. We KNOW when you are done with them! Actually, you are pretty good about telling us when you are happy and particularly when you are not. You are one opinionated little one!

Grammy and Grandpa spent a long weekend with you and they had a blast. You love to be held by your grammy. You spend a lot of time sleeping in her arms. Your grandpa can't believe how beautiful you are. You have quickly become everyone's little snuggle bunny!

I can’t believe it’s only been 2 months that you came into and completely transformed our lives. You are the most beautiful and the best baby ever and you are changing and growing so much every single day, it is hard to keep up with all the wonders. But no matter how big you become, I promise you that my heart will always be even bigger and that you will always be in it, as my love for you will exponentially grow bigger, each and every day, for the rest of my life.

Stats:

Birth / Nascimento:

Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm

Weight / Peso: 8.6 pounds / 3.91 kg

Head Circumference:

6 days / 6 dias:

Length / Comprimento: 20.5 in / 52.7 cm

Weight / Peso: 7.15lbs / 3.25 kg

Head Circumference: 35

1 month / 1 mes:

Length / Comprimento: 22.5 in / 57.15cm (90%)

Weight / Peso: 10.6 lb / 4.82 kg (95%)

Head Circumference: 37

2 months / 2 meses:

Length / Comprimento: 25 in / 63.5cm (97%)

Weight / Peso: 13.3 lb / 6.05 kg (97%)

Head Circumference: 39

Blessed

She is peacefully sleeping next to me.
As I look at her little body,
she is so perfect, so beautiful...
I can't believe the how lucky I am
to have been blessed with
Giulia.

Gi's new toy

Daycare

I’ve been struggling with the idea of going back to work since the day that Giulia was born. Initially, just the thought of leaving her with someone other that my husband, a trusted family member or me would bring me to tears: what would go through my mind is that nobody would be as patient or know the little things about her, like lifting her legs to alleviate her gas cramps to make her feel better. I mean, who would do that besides us?!?

Now 49 days later, she has changed so much, and, with each change, I develop a completely new anxiety, which one way or another goes back to my not caring for her full-time. That said, I have also been changing, in that now, generally speaking, I am mildly more relaxed when it comes to Giulia. For instance, just last week, while in the car, Gi was cranky and exhausted, so on our way back to our house, she started to cry/scream. I talked to and comforted her and even though she continued to cry, I went ahead and resumed my conversation with John, who stopped mid-sentence to point out that had that happened a month ago, I would have freaked out and made him pull over so that I could sit next to her to try and have her stop crying. Moreover, I can now let her sleep without sticking my finger under her nose to make sure that she’s breathing. I can hear her cry when she has gas cramps and help her get some relief without crying also. I can have fun while I bathe her. I guess I feel marginally more secure and a bit more comfortable about being a mom.

My mind is in turmoil: it would make much more sense for us if I went back to work, but the thought of leaving her under someone else’s care is killing me. I’ve debated over asking my boss to go part-time or asking for a flexible work arrangement upon returning to work, but I started it with telling my boss that I would take the entire 16 weeks of FMLA, which, considering how important my job was for me, was a huge step. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that I learn to focus on today rather than obsessing over the future.

Now, the one thing that hasn’t changed is my overwhelming love for my daughter. I trust that God will give me whatever I need to feel better about this whole thing and the tools to be a wonderful mom, even if she ends up in daycare, full-time.

New York, New York

Yesterday, John, Giulia and I went to NYC to get Giulia's Brazilian passport. A menina esta totalmente documentada! We can now go to Brazil and I am extremely excited that we'll soon have both Gi's passports.

On a side note, it was such a nice day with my husband and our daughter. We had a blast together. I just love our family...

Cry Baby

Newsletter: Month One

Giulia,

On May 30th, you turned four weeks old. I can’t believe how you’ve changed in the past month. You now coo and you make the funniest faces and sounds when you are lying in your bassinette, nursing or when you see something that interests you, like when you see the colorful butterfly I hung on your car seat, which seems to distract you from the fact that, no, your dad and I are not holding you in our arms or carrying you around in your Snuggly.

Speaking of that, you have made it very clear to us, in the past couple of weeks that you want to be held all the time. It doesn’t matter if we are home, shopping at CVS or having dinner at Ruby Tuesdays: you want to be held, always. You can now see our faces and you recognize our voices and we are able to calm you down when we talk close to your face. You have also begun to smile. Giulia you have the most beautiful smile in the world and your dad and I live for those smiles.

You love car rides. You love going on walks. You love lying on your belly. You love taking baths. I was so nervous when your grandma Rita left to return to her home in Brazil, and I had to give you a bath all by myself, especially considering that you had liked it so much when your vovó Rita gave you a bath (while I stood there watching how much you were enjoying it all). Well, despite my fears, I did give you a bath, and luckily, you spent the entire time having fun while I spent it crying, not only because I was actually ‘doing it’, but also because I was missing my mom, who had helped me so much during your 1st month of life. Your baths have now become one of our super fun things that we do together.

You have quickly become our little sunshine and you so have your dad and I wrapped around your little fingers. Like, yesterday, your dad skipped golf to come home and hang with you. He then changed out of his black T-shirt to a white one because he is convinced that you don't like the color black. And even though we tell you every 2 seconds how beautiful you are and how much we love you, it is just not enough to express how we really feel. You are lovely, amazing and the best gift that God could have ever given us and we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

These days that I have had the privilege of spending with you have been the best days of my life. I have loved every single second that we’ve spent together and I look forward to the days ahead when I’ll be discovering more little nuances of you. I love you so, so much.

Mamãe

Stats:

Birth / Nascimento:
Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm
Weight / Peso: 8.6 pounds / 3.91 kg
Head Circumference:

6 days / 6 dias:
Length / Comprimento: 20.5 in / 52.7 cm
Weight / Peso: 7.15lbs / 3.25 kg
Head Circumference: 35

1 month / 1 mes:
Length / Comprimento: 22.5 in / 57.15cm (90%)
Peso: 10.6 lb / 4.82 kg (95%)
Head Circumference: 37