Six Months & Growing Fast

It's hard to believe that 6 months have passed since Nicholas was born.  He's changed so much since last November, and we can hardly believe he's the same baby.  

 

                                                       two weeks old          &       six months old

Babies are a lot of work, and I've completely neglected our blog since he was about 2 months old. I have a lot of catching up to do. Where to begin??   

Nicholas started eating solids (rice cereal) at 4 months old, and has fast become a lover of ALL foods. He hasn't met a food he doesn't like. We've introduced him to pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, sweet corn, avocado, bananas, pears, mango, apples & cinnamon.  He especially loves pumpkin, bananas and pear.  We are starting the weaning process, so he gets a bottle twice a day, one at 11 a.m and one at bedtime. He loves to nurse but he also loves the bottle and grabs it out of our hands so that he can self feed.  

He is generally a very happy baby. He giggles and squeals all the time. He loves to play with his small, stuffed soccer ball and he loves to chew on just about everything he can get his hands on. He is definitely a baby that explores by putting things in his mouth. He makes us laugh by his ability to destroy a block tower. If you build it, he will destroy it within seconds of seeing it.  Some other favorite toys are his stuffed Aussie animals and the moving, light-up ball Ryan brought home from Asia. Nothing gets a baby moving better than a ball that, when touched, rolls away just out of his reach.

He's been scooting around for a few weeks now. He will get up into the crawling position. But, as soon as he starts to move...he goes backwards. He can also pivot or rotate on his belly in a 360* circle. So, he tends to pivot, back up a little, pivot, back up a little more, pivot, back up some more etc. This gets him all over the living room. He is also rolling over.  Since he turned 6 months, we find him in his crib on his belly every morning. Seems he likes practicing tummy time when he wakes up.

 I love that his eyes light up when Ryan is near. I think he's going to be a daddy's boy. His favorite time of the day is bath time with Daddy. We've even made up a song (♪♫♪"It's your favorite time of the Night"♪♫♪) that we sing as we walk down the hall towards bath time.  Daddy does bath time and mum gives him his bedtime bottle and sings a few lullabies afterwards. We have a routine and, most nights, he goes right to sleep with no fuss.

We started to see teeth buds at the end of January.  So, it's been a long teething process for us since none have actually cut through yet. He was in a lot of pain the first month. We bought him a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace that he wears as an anklet and it seems to have helped. Recently, he started getting fussy again. We're not sure if it was from his 6 month vaccinations, a growth spurt, teething, reaching new milestones etc. etc...  The books say they can get fussy during all these times. Ryan says, "babies are just fussy".  Whatever the reason, he seems to have snapped out of it and is back to his happy, playful self. At least, until his next fussy period. 

He sleeps great at night. Like I said earlier, he goes to sleep, most nights, with no fuss. We put him to bed around 6:30 pm and he sleeps 'til 6 or 7am.  Some nights, he doesn't wake up at all. Other times, he'll wake up once around 3:30 or so and wants to nurse. We're REALLY trying to wean him off that middle of the night nursing.  We can't complain too much. He sleeps so good at night. The daytime, however, is a completely different story. He sleeps well in the car, the pram or the swing.  But, if we try to put him in his cot, the same cot he sleeps in at night, he screams his head off. For some reason, he HATES sleeping in his crib during the day.  We're working on it.

I think most parents will agree, raising a baby can be both the most satisfying thing in the world and the most terrifying . There are days that run so smoothly and go by so fast. Those are the days when I feel like Super Mom. And then there are days that I feel like a failure because he was too fussy or wouldn't take a nap.  I have to constantly remind myself that every day is a new day, and all we can do is our best. If the happy squeals and smiles coming from Nicholas are any indication of the job we're doing, I think we must be doing alright so far. 

                                 Our most recent family picture ~ Easter on Straddie 2012

Visiting the Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Garden

What better way to spend Boxing Day, December 26th, than to visit the Botanic Gardens? The Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens are a short drive from our house and are at the foot of Brisbane's tallest mountain, Mt. Coot-tha. We've been there a few times before. But, we've never taken Nicholas. Because we had spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the house, it was nice to get out and smell the fresh, summer air. We found a nice shaded area on Wedding Lawn #1 and plopped ourselves down for a rest. Nicholas nursed while Ryan made sure the giant water dragons stayed far away from us. Someday, I'm sure Nicholas will bring me lizards. However, I DON'T look forward to that day. I really do hate lizards!! And boy do they grow them big here.



We didn't stay long. But, it was nice to get out and have a family day at the beautiful gardens of Mt. Coot-tha.

Our First Family Christmas

This was both mine and Ryan's 2nd Christmas in Oz. However, it was our 1st Christmas with little Nicholas. Being only a month and half old, Nicholas is too young to distinguish the difference between Christmas Day and any other day. But, to Ryan and I this Christmas was special.


We didn't buy heaps of presents this year. In fact, we didn't have any presents under the tree. Instead, we bought a family present. When Nicholas was 2 weeks old, we had professional pictures taken by Wild Spirit Photography. We fell in love with the pictures and decided that we would buy them and call that our Christmas present this year. I've already warned Ryan that next year, when we're back in CA, I might go a little crazy at Christmas since it's my favorite holiday and since Nicholas will be older and might enjoy unwrapping a few gifts. But, this year, I was happy to have the photos.

The 10 photos we purchased for Christmas

Nicholas and I started Christmas day by watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while daddy had a bit of sleep in. Nicholas seemed to be really paying attention and enjoying the movie. But, when the Abominable Snowman appeared he wanted out of his bouncy chair and to be held by mom. Funny how even at such a young age, he can get scared.


Later, after Ryan woke up, we watched old home movies from Christmas 1981 and had a bit of a laugh. After that, Ryan and Nicholas took a 2 hour nap in the bedroom and I had some alone time and was able to rest up a bit before we made our first family Christmas dinner. Ryan BBQed a whole chicken, and I made garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing and a green bean casserole. Nicholas went to bed early, and Ryan and I were able to enjoy dinner with a glass of home-brewed Belgian Triple. It was a perfect end to our first family Christmas.

A few days before Christmas, Marg and Howard invited the three of us over for a nice Chrissy dinner of slow cooked lamb, roasted potatoes, fresh green beans and the most delicious hot, lemon pudding. We dressed Nicholas up in his Christmas outfit and elf hat, and Marg took some family photos of us.

Our First Family Christmas Photo

Mama and her Santa Baby

Marg and Me...and Howard being a goofball

All in all, in was a fantastic 1st Christmas. It was a little bittersweet knowing that it'll be our last one in Australia, while at the same time, we were excited knowing that next year we'll be surrounded by family, many of whom will be meeting Nicholas for the first time. So, as we think about taking down all the Christmas lights and decorations, we smile knowing that the next time they're put up, we'll be back home in California celebrating with family.

Our 2nd Week Alone - Just Nicholas and Me

Nicholas and I successfully got through week one alone while Ryan was in Asia for work. When week two rolled around, we were well on our way to having established some sort of routine and the days were passing more quickly. I had plans for most of the days and getting out of the house helped to keep me busy so that I didn't miss Ryan as much.

On Monday, we were supposed to go with our neighbor, Louisa, and her 7 month old daughter, Sienna, to DFO (Direct Factory Outlets). However, after getting Nicholas and I both ready and out the door on time (not an easy task), I soon discovered that our car battery had died. Louisa and Sienna went ahead without us. But, made sure to stop by our apartment after for a play date and coffee. Ryan and I Skyped soon after and decided that I didn't need the car that week, and we would wait until he got home to deal with the battery. It was sort a new thing to know that I'd be taking public transport all week. Not so difficult to do in Brisbane, where there is a great river ferry system and three stops within blocks of our house.

On Tuesday, Nicholas and I took the ferry across the river to downtown Brisbane. We had an appointment with the American Embassy to get his Consular Record of Birth Abroad, Passport and Social Security Card. But, first we had to get his passport picture taken at a photo place downtown. Marg told us that she'd meet us just in case I could use a hand. I'm so glad she did. Nicholas had fallen asleep on the ferry ride and was taking a great nap in his pram. But since he had to have his eyes open for his passport photo, we had to wake him up. He is not a happy baby when he's woken up early from his naps. So, for the next hour I was left to deal with a very cranky baby while we waited for his passport pictures to be developed. After that, we met Marg at our Embassy appointment where things went much more smoothly. We waited a short time and our appointment lasted under 10 minutes. His passport should be here any day and then he'll "officially" be an American Citizen and be able to fly home to the US.

On Wednesday, Nicholas and I took the ferry up the river one stop to my 6 week OB appointment. Again, he slept GREAT on the ferry and during the walk from the ferry. But, once we got to Arrivals and stopped moving, he, of course, woke up just in time for Dr. Higgins to call us into the room. I then did the difficult task of feeding him while being examined myself. However, something makes me think that Dr. Higgins has seen this many times before. He even burped Nicholas for me at one point, and Nicholas thanked him by doing a loud pooh while the doctor was holding him. Talk about embarrassing! LOL. After that, we decided to skip the ferry and instead walked home through the Kangaroo Point Parklands along the river. It was a great day for a walk.

On Thursday, we had our mums/bubs meet up group at the Powerhouse Cafe. We took the ferry down river a few stops and then walked from there. It seems like all the other babies are so quiet and always sleep through the whole meet up. Maybe their mums time their feedings a little better. Nicholas, however, is always hungry right when we get there even if I've fed him just before leaving the house. Then, he wants nothing to do with the pram afterwards and instead wants to be held the entire time. Don't get me wrong, I love holding my baby. But, it makes it difficult to drink a hot coffee or eat anything when you have a very alert and active baby in your arms. That's alright. It's not the coffee we go to the meet ups for anyways. It's the interaction with other mums of babies Nicholas' age and being able to compare notes with them. It was another fun morning with the mums/bubs group.

On Friday, Marg was going to come over and we were all going to go for a walk around Kangaroo Point. But, she asked for a rain check since she had a lot going on that day, and Howard had just flown in after a 3 week work trip to the US. So, instead, Nicholas and I stayed around the house and had a rest day. Well, Nicholas had a rest day while Mommy cleaned so that Daddy would come home to a clean house. I guess after almost a week straight of plans every day it was nice to have a semi-lazy day at home.

On Saturday, Nicholas and I woke up smiling because Ryan would be home that afternoon, and our two weeks alone would soon be over. When I first learned that I would be alone with our newborn baby for 2 weeks, I panicked slightly. I was so unsure of myself. But, in retrospect, it turned out to be a very positive experience. It forced me to stop being so nervous with Nicholas, and I found out he's not going to break as easily as I thought he would. Being alone with him also helped me to discover more about him. I was immersed in the maternal role and I learned quickly how to determine when he was hungry, tired, bored, awake, social etc... and I adjusted myself accordingly so that we had a good time together. It also gave us time to start establishing some routines. Routines that we are keeping even now that daddy is home.

Don't get me wrong... I don't like when Ryan travels for work. I miss him, and it's hard work taking care of a baby by yourself for days on end. But, if/when he does have to go away again, I know that Nicholas and I can handle it. We'll miss Ryan. But, we'll get through it just fine!!

Our First Week Alone - Just Nicholas & Me

When we got notice that Ryan would need to travel to Asia, to say that I was disappointed would be putting it mild. I was not happy AT ALL. But, I can't really complain too much. Ryan didn't travel for four weeks before Nicholas was born just in case he arrived early, and Ryan took 3 weeks of Paternity Leave after Nicholas was born. Also, I guess one of us has to work to keep us living in this beautiful place. So, even though I didn't like it one bit... I had to let him go. Nicholas and I were going to be just fine.

I made sure to make lots of plans to get us out of the house so that we didn't miss Nicholas' daddy so much.

On Monday, we met our neighbor, Louisa, and her 7 month old daughter, Sienna, downstairs and then walked a block to the Dockside Cafe for a coffee. We live in Tower 1, and they live in tower 2. But, our balconies face each other. We've yelled across and said hello before. However, this was our first meet up. It was fantastic. In fact, we're doing it again tomorrow. Except this time, we decided to go to the outlet stores and go shopping before our coffee.

On Wednesday, we had a follow up doctor appointment for Nicholas. That was pretty uneventful, except leaving the appointment is where I learned that it's NO FUN putting a baby in a car seat when it's pouring down rain and you're not in a covered parking space. Oh my gosh!! I was soaking wet by the time I got myself buckled in. You can't really avoid the rain during the wet season in tropical Queensland. However, in the future I think I'll avoid places that don't have covered parking. That was ridiculous!!

On Thursday, we went to our first Mums and Bubs group. Ryan and I had taken Nicholas to a Chemist (=Pharmacy) in New Farm a couple of times to have a midwife weigh him and do a quick exam. That same midwife called us a week later and let us know that a new group had formed with moms of babies around Nicholas' age. Generally, I'm not one to join a group like this. But, being over here 7,000 miles away from all of our family and friends convinced me that maybe in this case it will be a positive thing. We had a great time. Or maybe I should say, "all the moms had a great time" since all the babies slept right through our coffee date. All the babies are between 3 weeks and 7 weeks so it's no wonder they were a little sleepy. We're meeting up with the group again this week.

On Friday, we met Marg at the Indooroopilly Mall. There was a bit of a mix up about where we were meeting. I thought we were meeting at the mall, and Marg thought we were meeting at my house. It was pretty comical. Once we figured out that I was at the mall while Marg was outside of my house, we decided that I would go wait by Santa while Marg drove to the Mall to meet up with us. It was the first time Nicholas saw Santa. He was seriously uninterested. It might have been due to the fact that I was feeding him at the time. It was pretty funny to watch the reception that Santa got as he came out to start his picture taking shift. Some of the kids reacted as if they were seeing a ROCK STAR. While others threw themselves on the ground and started throwing a holy hissy fit! Maybe they don't want gifts from Santa for Christmas. Who knows! It was funny to watch, and it made me wonder how Nicholas will react when we try to put him on Santa's lap for the first time.

Today is our apartment complex's first annual Christmas Party. Everyone is meeting down by the pool and media room. I really wish Ryan was here to go to it with me. But, since that isn't possible, Nicholas is going to have to be my date. I think he'll make a pretty good date. Ryan has lived here for 3 years, and I have lived here for 2. I think because it's a secure building ~ meaning no one can get into the building OR up to our floor without us buzzing them up ~ we haven't really met anyone that lives here besides two men who live on our floor, Louisa in tower 2 and our on-site Property Managers Roger and Cheryl. So, it will be nice to meet some neighbors. Although, I'm looking outside and it looks like rain is coming. I sure hope there's enough room for everyone under cover and out of the rain.

We have 6 more days without Ryan, and Nicholas and I have something planned for each of the 5 days leading up to Ryan's return (I'll write more in a future blog) It hasn't been easy having Daddy away this soon after Nicholas was born. But, having some outings has made the days go by a little faster.

A Month of Firsts

We've had a lot of firsts this month.

• Nicholas had his first car ride when he was just 4 days old. Here is a picture of us as we're leaving the Mater Mother's Hospital.
  
  
  
  
• He had his first visitor when Ryan's mom, Grandma Linda, flew over from California and stayed with us when he was just one and two weeks old.
  
  
  
  
• He visited the International Airport for the first time when we picked up Grandma Linda
  
• He had his first (and second) dinner party with Marg and Howard when he was just 6 and 11 days old
  
• He went to the grocery store & to Target for the first time with Grandma Linda, Ryan and me. It took all three of us to tackle our grocery list. Ryan minded the baby, grandma pushed the trolley, and I pushed the stroller as I put the groceries in the trolley. And, of course, he had a pooh explosion at both stores :)
  
• He took his first ferry ride across the river to downtown Brisbane in order to get his Queensland birth certificate, and he slept through the entire thing.
  
  
  
  
• He took his first walk around Kangaroo Point in his new pram

• He took his first City Cat ride & went to his first Powerhouse Farmers Market when he was 10 days old

• and he had his first professional photo shoot when he was 2 weeks old
  

♥ I'd say we've been a pretty busy family this month.

❤ Your Birth Story, Nicholas Edward Kearn ❤

The books, apps and midwives at the prenatal classes all told us to write out a birth plan. However, family and friends cautioned us about how labor is unpredictable and how a birth plan can't always be followed. We decided to outline our plan anyways and hope for the best. No where in the birth plan did we write that at midnight we'd like to have an emergency C-Section (called a "Caesar" in Oz). But, on November 2nd, 2011, that's exactly what happened. Our little October baby ended up being born via C-section a week late.

On November 2nd, 2011, we arrived at The Mater Mother's Hospital at 7:30 pm for our scheduled induction.


Speaking of things NOT going according to plan. Even our induction didn't happen like we planned. The plan was to have prostaglandin gel inserted on the night of November 2nd. The gel would start to ripen my cervix overnight, and I would hopefully start labor contractions by morning and have you on November 3rd. That was the plan.

Before inserting the gel, they monitored your heart rate for an hour. I guess they needed to establish a baseline. Your heart rate was good at around 130-140 beats per minute. Just what we wanted to see. After an hour, the midwife inserted the gel and we needed to continue to be monitored for another hour before being sent up to the 10th floor to sleep for the night.

Sucking on some nitrous to ease the pain and nerves

Everything was going "according to plan" for about 30 minutes or so. Your heart rate was good and mum and dad were happy. Then, I had to pee. They left the heart monitor hooked to me. But, unhooked it from the machine so that I could use the toilet. When they hooked us back up to the machine, they noticed that your heart rate was lower than they'd like to see. It was hovering around 106 . Then, it dropped to 88. The midwife monitored us for a minute and watched as your heart rate climbed again. Phew!! Before she left the room, she told us to use the call button if we saw the monitor hovering in the 80s again. A few minutes after she left, your heart rate dropped to the 80s and then I saw 56. To say I panicked would be an understatement. I was so incredibly scared. I told your dad to get the midwife QUICK!

She came back into the room and pushed the "panic" button behind my bed. I call it the "panic" button. But, they would call it the "team" button. As she pushed it, she said, "there are going to be a lot of people in here in a minute". My first thought, "OH SHIT!" I knew this was NOT the plan. After the team monitored us for a minute or two and saw that your heart rate was fluctuating with contractions, they called Dr. Vincent Loh, our OB from Arrivals, who was on call that night. He was there in minutes and let us know that my contractions had started and that with each contraction your heart rate would drop. After the contraction was over, your heart rate would return to normal. He thought it in your best interest not to go through hours and hours of contractions since they were causing you stress. Instead, he thought it best to preform a C-Section right then. What?? This was DEFINITELY NOT according to plan. I hadn't even read the sections in the books about C-sections because I was sure it wasn't going to happen to me.

Your Daddy was rushed off to put on surgery scrubs as I was wheeled into Theater (the surgery room). I remember taking a deep breath as they wheeled me through the double doors into the bright room, and I remember thinking, "Here we go...There's no turning back now!" I also remember thinking that there were so many people in the room. There must have been 10 people waiting for us in Theater. I remember my body shaking uncontrollably and crying like crazy. I had never had any kind of surgery before. That fact plus the fear that something terrible might happen to you before they could get you out, was more than I could handle.

Once Daddy returned wearing scrubs, the anesthesiologist gave me the epidural and they got started. I had been so afraid of the epi for 9+ months, and in the end, it wasn't bad at all. Your daddy held my hand and sat near my head while Dr. Loh and Dr. Seto (your Pediatrician) preformed the C-section. Three minutes later, at 11:52pm (Australia time) on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011, they asked us if we wanted to meet our son. As they lifted you over the curtain, I said, "Oh my gosh! He's so big".


I remember thinking that you looked HUGE! I don't know if I could have pushed you out. I know they say you find the strength and that your body knows what to do. But, you were one big baby. I guess you didn't listen to me throughout the pregnancy when I told you that you weren't allowed to get any bigger than 7 lbs. You were born weighing 8 lbs 5 oz.

Once we got a quick look at you, you were taken to the other side of the room to have your Apgar scores taken, to be weighed, cleaned and to let Daddy trim your cord while I was sewn up.


I could hear you crying, and I can't tell you how happy that made me. I always thought that I would cry when you were born. Instead, I had a perma smile that made my cheeks hurt. I was so damn happy to hear you cry. Your Apgar scores at one and five minutes were both 9. You lost a point for having pale arms and purple fingernails, which I guess is pretty normal.

A few minutes later, you were bundled in a hospital blanket and brought over to me. Your face was so squished up and had signs of water retention. Something else which I guess is normal. Daddy has our first meeting on video, and someday we'll show you.



o



Soon after, Daddy and you went to wait for me in the recovery room for a few minutes. They had to get me off the surgery table and onto a regular bed before I could leave the Theater. When I got into the recovery room, your daddy was holding you and had the biggest smile. He was one happy man to finally be holding his son.



We stayed in the recovery room until my temperature was normal and the feeling in my lower half started to come back. During this time, I nursed you for the first time and we talked to Dr. Loh about the procedure.




The next four days were a whirlwind. We stayed in the hospital for four nights, one night less than we thought we would. We met many wonderful midwives who gave us heaps of advice and tools for our tool box. Our favorite midwife was Charlotte. She was a riot. She not only educated us, but also made us laugh. She is the person who gave you your first bath.





Your Daddy was wonderful during those four days and nights, as well. I was recovering from the C-Section and couldn't even get out of bed the first day. He took such good care of both of us. He changed all of your nappies (diapers) and stayed awake with you so that I could sleep in between feedings. When one of us needed him, he was there. He's always been that way, so I shouldn't have expected any less from him. You are a lucky boy to have such a fantastic Dad.



On Sunday November 6th, 2011 we excitedly loaded you into your carrier (car seat) and took you to your new home on Kangaroo Point, where we will raise you for the first year of your life. ❤ Welcome Home Sweet Baby Nicholas



Edited by Ryan - And after the excitement of the homecoming had worn off, you and Mum took your first naps.