Living room

When we moved into our townhouse five and a half years ago, I said “no more Ikea furniture”. I love Ikea, don’t get me wrong, but I was done with the particle board furniture. I want real wood furniture. So slowly and little by little, we’d buy a piece or a set to fill a room. The biggest purchase so far has been our bedroom set. The downside of real wood furniture, of course, is the price. I’ve been wanting to complete our living room for years but based on my research, it would cost around $2500 for an entertainment cabinet and a bookshelf. Now that we have a baby, gone are the days when we can spend that kind of money on furniture. So, I decided to check out Ikea. I found the Hemnes collection which is made of pine wood. At least it’s not particle board! We bought an entertainment cabinet, a wall shelf and a bookshelf for $750. Ed, with little assistance from me, has assembled the furniture and finally, our living room is looking pretty complete! That only took five and a half years to do. I’m very happy with how it has come together. The furniture doesn’t even really look like it’s from Ikea. We’ve also created space for a play area for Sophia. I’ll post pics soon.

Next up, the dining room. Maybe by 2012 we’ll have that done too.

Bye-bye car

I had my Saturn coupe for ten years.  Ten years!  It was a part of my life for so long, that I was teary when the new owner drove away with it last week.  He assured me that he'll take good care of my car.  He said to me, "She's going to a good home", as he saw how sad I looked.  So funny. 

Bye bye car.  Thanks for all the memories!

Smile!

Sophia started to smile about a month ago. At first, they were random smiles - I don't think she even knew that she was smiling. In the last couple of weeks, she has started to smile as a response to something I do. When I talk to her or pinch her chin, she smiles. When she wakes up in the morning, she is very smiley. I love starting my day with her smiles. I finally was able to photograph her smile the other evening. So cute!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

It wouldn’t surprise anybody if I say that Sophia is at the top of my “what I am thankful for” list. She truly is a wonderful blessing. Of course, Ed would be a close second. He’s been very supportive at home and is taking to fatherhood very well. And to round up our little family, I am also very thankful for our cats, Bob and Neo, who always provides me such comfort and companionship (even when I have a lot less time and attention for them these days).

I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving. It was only when my family moved here to Canada that I got introduced to this holiday. And one of the things I will always be thankful for is the opportunity given to me by my parents to live here in Canada. Since I am an immigrant, I will always have something else to compare life in Canada with. And we really, really have it good here in this country.

As an example, the day after we came home from the hospital with Sophia, the community nurse came to our house to check up on us. There were a couple more follow-up visits and then follow-up phone calls to make sure I am doing alright. There is a 24-hour baby hotline that I can phone to ask the nurses any questions about baby care. And at the community centre close to my house, there are weekly parent/infant sessions (and they are free) where we can learn about baby nutrition, immunizations, infant developement, etc. Support like this does not exist in the Philippines! So I am very grateful that these support measures are in place for moms and I am very grateful to live in a city that have these things in place.

Six weeks

I can’t believe it’s been six weeks since Sophia was born. In some ways, time seems to move slowly but for the most part, time zooms by. The day is broken up into 3 to 4 hour increments now - this is Sophia’s feeding schedule. I just go from one feeding to another and I don’t think much farther than that. If I can squeeze in a nap in between feeds, I consider that a big win. If I can put the dirty clothes in the washing machine in between feeds, that’s another win. If I can post something to my blog, that is a huge win!

My friend Yvette told me after she had her first baby three years ago that you don’t really know what tired feels like until you have a baby. Yvette was right. I have had days when I feel so tired that I think, “I can’t do this anymore”, and yet I get through the day and night somehow. An hour nap here, a three hour nap there, and somehow the day does go by. And I say a “thank you” to the universe for letting me survive another day.

Sophia is amazing. It’s so interesting to watch her develop. Each day brings a new thing, a new development. She has gained 2 lbs since her birth (current weight is 8.6 lbs). Her eye lashes are thicker and her eyebrows are now thicker. She can hold her head up a bit. She can plant her feet and kick up, especially when she is upset (she’s wiggled up a few inches while on the change table). She can communicate - like sucking on her fist when she’s hungry, grunting in a satisfied way to say she’s had enough milk, and crying to let us know she’s not happy about something. When everything in her world is cool, she likes to hang out and look around. She likes to watch the mobile in her crib and she likes the swing. The thing she really, really likes is to be held by me or Ed. That may sound like such a wonderful thing (and it is) but it makes life challenging when we want to get some stuff done (like shower!) once she has fallen asleep. She senses it when we put her down. She wakes up and cries for us to carry her again. I’ve been told that this will pass or at some point, we will have to let her cry it out. For now, we give in and hold her.

Ed and I are getting better at this with each day that passes. Things are getting easier, that is true. I do try and enjoy each moment because I know that they are precious. Sophia will never be six weeks again so I constantly remind myself to focus not on how tired I feel but on the good stuff. Her cuteness makes it easier to do so.