Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Airport Field Trip

To go a bit out-of-order... This weekend, we dropped off Chloe's Grandpa and Grandma Wildboer at the airport. Here they are saying good-bye to the happily unconscious babe... And here's a little family picture of the three of us...

And now for some Weird Japan! After seeing Mom and Dad to the gate, we decided to grab some Starbucks before heading home. The airport was having a little fair or something in their restaurant-and-shopping area - they seem to do this a lot on weekends - complete with the weird mascot below. This is the mascot for NHK, Japan's national television corporation. NHK is known for stalking and harrassing foreigners to try to get them to pay for the Japanese television they don't watch. See why they need a scary mascot? :) They have little toy action figures of this guy all over... but some things just shouldn't be life-size!

We also saw this man performing on some traditional Asian instrument. I don't know what it is, but I saw an old man on the street playing something similar in Taiwan many years ago. It was beautiful.

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First Walk

This weekend, Mike and I went on a field trip to the local discount baby store to buy a stroller. Our expedition was a success, and I love our new stroller! I can easily fold and unfold it with one hand - great for getting in and out of trains and up and down stairs in stations without elevators or escalators. Chloe went on our first walk today, and she liked it! She only fussed when I put on her lambie hat (too cute! how can she not like it??)... and laid there quietly for a WHOLE HOUR after that while her mom enjoyed the blissful silence...

She's Really Quite Advanced, You Know :)

Today I decided to give Chloe some tests. Our What to Expect the First Year book has a list at the beginning of each chapter that lists what your baby should, probably, and may possibly even be able to do each month. Here are some things that Chloe can now do:
  • Poop. She's made great strides in this area of late.
  • Focus on a face.
  • Respond to a bell by quieting.
  • Cry. A lot. She's also made great strides in this area recently.
  • Hold head (fairly) steady when upright.
  • Lift head 45 degrees when on her stomach.
  • Roll over from front to back.

Wait, what??? Roll over??? See below...

The events of today were as follows... Mama had to go to the toilet, so she laid baby down on her supercute Miffy playmat. Sadly, baby doesn't like the Miffy playmat nearly as much as Mama does, mostly because if she's on the playmat it means that nobody's holding her. :) Anyway, I noticed she was holding her head up as I walked off and decided that was worth a photo. When I returned a few short minutes later, she was teetering on her side, and shortly thereafter wound up on her back. It's amazing what a tantrum can accomplish!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

A Weaned Child

Zero to sixty in 1.4 seconds! This passage came to mind today...
My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. ...Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. -Psalm 131 This came to mind in contrast with Chloe's typical feeding behavior, especially in the last few days. Another translation represents the last line of verse 2 as, "like a weaned child I am content." So far from that is Chloe! Her hunger cues aren't too demanding until she's in position. Then, it seems, she suddenly realizes that it's time to eat, and she's hungry, she's hungry, she's HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY!!!!!!!! And she always has been, she always will be, and she is starving nigh unto death!!! When the blessed breast, the Giver of Milk, does appear, she approaches it with such desperation that she nearly misses her meal - fists flying, she hits herself in the face and more often than not ends up latching onto a fist, only spit it out screaming when it refuses to provide her with the much-desired milk. At not-quite-three-weeks of age, she has yet to learn to trust us. Of course we'll feed her; always. But she doesn't know this yet - and that's okay. She has plenty of time to learn. Will the same type of frantic desperation still be okay in six months, or a year? Well, no; in fact, it may be a cause for concern. Not because we're any less willing to feed her, but because by that time she can be reasonably expected to know that she can trust us to feed her and to calm herself accordingly (not to say that we won't get a tantrum if a meal is too slow in coming, but that I don't expect the immediate panic I see now). The psalmist, too, has learned to calm himself and rest in the belief that God is trustworthy. Rather than trying to control things beyond his control, rather than worrying about events that surround him or agonizing over personal fears and ambitions, he has calmed and quieted himself. Not without reason: he has chosen God's ambitions over his own, trusting God to provide and direct as God sees fit. He no longer comes frantically to God with his pressing and passing concerns, shouting in desperation and fear that he won't be heard. He's learned that the fearful desperation accompanying Chloe's cries for "MILK MILK MILK MILK MILK!" causes him to dive into his own fists and miss the meal that God has prepared. This season of Lent, I'd like to focus more on stilling myself before God. While I don't think I approach him with the frantic desperation I see in Chloe when she's looking for a meal, I also don't have the stillness of spirit that the psalmist describes here. I'll try to keep you posted with any progress. :)

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Monday, February 19, 2007

A Few Minutes with Chloe

"Wowwwww... that's my Dad??" Chloe's either enthralled with the faces that Mike's making or with the lights behind his head. Happy baby! Too bad this isn't a motion picture - with Mike's help, this very placid baby is saying, "I love Coco Curry!" Whoops, maybe she doesn't love Coco Curry! Apparently Chloe had some thoughts of her own on this matter. :) This is a common sight. Chloe got herself a little worked up, and is now desperately trying to cram both of her fists into her mouth. This usually escalates into an ever-more-frustrated baby, as 1) she usually can't find her mouth, 2) if she finds it, she can't keep the fist there, and 3) both fists are never going to fit into that loud little opening. Poor baby. :)

Daddy's Girl

I was trying to get a cute picture for a Valentine's card for Mike here - see the "I love daddy" bib? She tired of this game pretty quickly and surprisingly enough, Mike still hasn't received his Valentine's Day card... A few days ago, our little zombie discovered the joys of being awake. Yesterday she had two or three stretches of awake time that lasted several hours! Wow. Unfortunately, she tried to carry that into the evening, as well. :) She likes hanging out with Daddy and staring at the lights.

Finally!

I've been trying to post new photos for days, but wasn't able to log in to Blogger! I was finally able to after leaving a comment on my site. Hopefully I'll be able to post these new photos! Grandpa and Grandma Wildeboer are spending some time with the new grandbaby the evening they arrive. Chloe is wearing the cute little outfit that Abby sent. Adorable! :) Mike's office wanted to get us a gift and asked what we still needed... but we've been so showered with generosity that there's really not much we need! We told them (gulp!) that she doesn't have many toys or books. A few days later, Mike came home with bags full of toys! I'm not sure quite what Chloe thought of the vibrating pig that played "Old McDonald", but we were entertained! :D One of the neatest things they got us was a Miffy playmat. Chloe doesn't appreciate it much now - she hates being on her tummy! - but I'm sure that she'll like it as much as we do soon. :) Look at those eyelashes! They're getting longer every day. Papa Mike captures a content baby smile.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Bath Time!

A couple days ago, we gave Chloe her very first bath at home. Unlike in the States, they give babies immersion baths (as opposed to sponge baths) very early here, even before the umbilical stump falls off. We think it has something to do with the way they are for umbilical stumps here, but never having had a baby in the U.S., we don't really know quite how the practices differ. We had everything laid out on the bed in advance: baby - check! diaper - check! outfit - check! We filled the bathroom sink with very warm water and plunked her in! At the clinic, they taught me to hold her around the back of her neck, folding her ears over with my fingers to keep water from getting into them. They also had me put a washcloth over her so she wouldn't feel so naked. The water temperature they had me put her in was surprisingly warm - 38-39 C was the recommendation, which is about 100 F. But she's only in it for a couple minutes, and really seems to like it - she gets really relaxed in the bath! And here is Daddy dressing her. We were a bit too preoccupied to take pictures of the crying that happened when we took her out of the nice warm bath or did the umbilical care, but rest assured that it did happen. She's not always so placid!

The Zombie

This would be why we were wondering if she was getting enough to eat... she doesn't like waking up to eat! Feeding time can mean as much as a half an hour spent undressing, changing her diaper, poking her with cold hands and even cool cloths, and tickling her tummy and feet before she's awake enough to even think about eating! Mike elicited her first "opinion" yesterday while tickling her feet in the form of a "knock that off!" squeal of protest - he found the sweet spot! :) I'd say we're thankful to have such a good sleeper - but she'll sleep for six hours without waking up to eat! Our little zombie. :)
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Milk-Drunk Babe

Last night, after feeding Chloe, I handed her off to Mike and had a marvelous bath. :) Mike got the full show of milk-drunk smiles and even managed to capture a few on "film!" We were just noticing yesterday that at one week of age, she's already getting bigger! We'd been a little concerned that she wasn't getting enough to eat because she loves her sleep so much and wasn't pooping as much as The Book said she should... but her fingers and face are already getting chubby!
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Thursday, February 08, 2007

We're Home!

Our little family arrived home from the clinic shortly after noon today. It feels great to be home! We're all a little tired, but are doing really well. Thanks so much to everyone for all the congratulations, omedetous, and well wishes! We feel well-loved. :) I'll fill you in on the details of this past week in the next few days, hopefully including Chloe's birth story. For now, though, I'll just post a few of what everyone wants to see most - baby pictures! Big yawn! Chloe is always very tired during the day. At night, not so much... Way too cute for a gas bubble. :) I was reading the other day that babies do actually smile - even inside the womb - when they're happy or content, although social smiling doesn't happen until they're about four weeks old or so. I like thinking she's content more than that she's passing gas (though that's definitely one of her skills). Chloe smiles a lot right after she's been fed. Close-up... A content baby.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Chloe Jean Weiss' Birthday!

Wow! What a gift from God!
Chloe Jean Weiss Born: February 3rd, 2007 @ 7:06pm Weight: 3480 grams (7 pounds 11 ounces) Length: 51.5 centimeters (20.3 inches)
Mom and baby are doing great! I'm making a quick stop at the house to spread the excitement. Meika is an amazing woman. The first contration was at 3am. From the regular 5 minute contractions to birth made for 10hrs of labor (natural birth - no epidural). I'm in awe of her strength.
There will be more to come! Stay tuned!

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Friday, February 02, 2007

Going to Clinic Now

Owie

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Update

I had a marathon doctor's appointment this morning - things go longer after the due date passes. Here's the update, in brief...
  • I'm not really any further progressed than I was last week. I don't know the specifics, but the computer says that I still have a 26% chance of going into labor this week. That sounded a *little* more promising last week. :)
  • We discussed the pros and cons of how long to wait, basically between weeks 41 (this coming Monday, February 5th) and 42 (next Monday, February 12th). As time passes, the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrition to the baby, tends to degrade. Eventually, this can make the baby weaker and less able to withstand labor, which can lead to more last-minute c-sections and other health problems. We decided that if Gussie doesn't make her appearance this weekend, we'll begin inducing at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, February 5. They do things a little more slowly here, so I may not actually have the baby for a couple days after that - it just depends on how my body responds. I will be in the clinic beginning on Monday, though.
  • We also had a non-stress test after the consultation. That basically has me lay on a bed in the clinic with a couple electrodes strapped to my belly which measure the fetal heart rate. The idea is that there is supposed to be a fluctuation as the baby moves, say from around 140 bpm to 160 bpm and back. At the beginning of the test, the doctor wasn't getting that variation, which is called a "non-reactive" test and is a little worrying; that variation did begin to occur, however, toward the end of the test period. He thinks that the baby was just asleep then - that's not unusual - but my impression was that he'd hoped for a little more reactivity. I'm not excited about the idea of an induction at all, but this made me feel better about deciding on the 5th - let's just get this over with!

So that was my adventure for the day! We would greatly appreciate your fervent prayers for the baby to be born this weekend so that we can skip the whole induction thing altogether - I'm shooting for Saturday. :)

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