One month!

We have survived! one month of:

• lack of sleep
• lots of nappies
• hours (it ads up!) of breast-feeding
• cuddles, burps and farts
• family visits, comments, compliments, "suggestions", etc.
• getting to know Emma

Our first visit to the pediatrician revealed that Emma has:

• grown 3 cm (now 53cm)
• gained 1kg since we left the clinic (now 4,3kg) Apparently this is very good especially on breast milk!
  

Also, as of today, we are:

• once again fully mobile having received Emma's passport and ID card
• officially first time owners having received the keys to our pad in France!

I think this definitely deserved some Champagne!

baby's own passport if you please

Yesterday I finally managed to get Emma's passport pics done. Hurrah!

She does not look exceedingly happy, but it meets the requirements.

We had tried before, but getting a newborn to keep her eyes open and "sit" with her head upright (or at least look like it) is no easy task!

Unbelievably, newborns now have their own passports - they last 3 years!!! which is crazy seeing as they change so much in 3 weeks!

Whatever....

If you ever have to do this, here are a few tips:

• don't try to do take the picture yourself - instead go to a proper photographer who will have done this a few times and know all about the requirements for a biometric passport
• take a white scarf or shawl with you to wrap your left hand in (this will hide the hand that holds the head)
• dress your little one in a top that opens in the front allowing you to hide your other hand while you hold her/him steady across the tummy
• sit down and cross your legs so that you can balance your babe on the knee of your upper leg, holding her/him away from your body

Good luck!

Thriller at Prison Break

Fellow blogger and Mum Duke from Confessions of an Expat's Wife, recently wrote a post on an innovative exercise routine carried out by inmates of the CPDRC (Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center) in the Philippines.

Granted, I am a music and dance fan and am convinced that both dancing and music are great ways to chill and get rid of any negative vibes, but I think this is absolutely brilliant!

I'd have cut the final scene though - I'm not sure I'd have prison inmates carrying out a murder even if it is in a theatrical form....

Whose nose is it then?

Very often when a baby is born into a family people start looking for resemblance to themselves and other family members - a way no doubt of linking this little miracle of life to the rest of the pack...

Of course babies change so quickly and so constantly that it's mission impossible to try to pin them down to someone in particular but themselves - which is just fine! - Nevertheless it is kind of fun to try to read a babe's traits and expressions and trace a feature back to a gran's or an uncle's chin, a grandfather's nose or a parent's eyes or hands or feet...

Yesterday was once of those rare family moments - rare not only 'cause a few of us were in the same country/ city/ room together at the same time, but also because there was a kind of easy "togetherness" where there was no tension nor fuss, just easy going time together. My Mom got out a whole bunch of pics from when sis and I and some of our cousins where tiny and so L, D, Mom and I started looking for similarities between our kids and ourselves as well as out cousins when we were toddlers.

We had a bit of a laugh at our parents' hairdo's and my mother's once-upon-a-time impressive bust. Mom recalled the funky Mothercare changing mat my parents had for me, and exclaimed that she still had the yellow baby blanket I was wrapped in and would get it out for me to use for Emma.
Funny to think we are now the parents and no doubt, if we're lucky, one day we'll be showing our kids their baby pics. Wow!

Anyway, back to family traits: on the left a pic of me and on the right is Emma - both feature my Mum's hands- any resemblance?

Emma and I "out there"

Emma and I left the Clinic on Friday and have been learning the life of new Mom & Baby around home and in town (where are all the pram friendly sidewalks, lifts, parking exits???!!!).

Let me tell you, those clinics have organization down to a tee. Not only is the staff superbly friendly and efficient – they really know their stuff – but the layout of anything you might need is really well thought out and makes your life so much more practical. Staying there for a few days post delivery means that you can learn from the mid-wives and nurses (breast-feeding positions, burping, bathing, creaming, nappy changing…) but also observe how to set up your gear at home so that your new routines can be as streamlined as possible and leave less space for careless accidents (where did I put that clean nappy?!)

So a great big cheer for the Clinique Générale Beaulieu (if we're anywhere around here next time around I will definitely do my best to go back there– but a bit soon to be talking about that now!)

Yesterday, Emma’s birth announcement came out in the Tribune de Genève.

I was surprised at my joy to see her name there in a little box with all the other baby announcements. It was like an official welcome to her as well as letting the world know (ok, Geneva!) that she’s arrived.
I always thought birth announcements in the papers were a bit “so what-?” but I actually bought 2 copies and am going to cut the announcement out and paste it in her baby book. Proud Mummy or what?!

For pics of babies born at the CGB- including one of Emma in her car seat gear (enter July 2007 in the date field and click on "ok")

Welcome Emma!

Live from the maternity clinic - so no pics yet I'm afraid, you'll have to wait until I can download them on my mac - I just wanted to let the world know that we welcomed our little Emma on July 30th at 6h09 am as she made a rather speedy entrance to the world.

At birth she weighed 3,450kg and measured 50cm, had some brownish hair, dark blue eyes as well as the cutest, though by no means little, nose.

We are over the moon with joy and look forward to a lifetime of love and adventure with the youngest member of our family.

Welcome Emma, we are so happy to have you!

Update: a pic of Emma taken as we were leaving the clinic on Friday, August 3rd 2007