I have a few quick moments to post a new video of my little man. Seems like he's gotten his dad's rhythm! He loves dancing to music (of course his dancing consists of waving his arms and kicking his feet) but it's definitely dancing. When music comes on (he has preferences, so far to The Script, Sting, Train and some salsa and merengue) he starts moving his arms and feet and smiling a lot! I'd like to think he'll get my musical talent and maybe a little of Tito's too!
Here's the link:
http://vimeo.com/11993303
May 24, 2010
May 18, 2010
Letter to Santiago
5/15/10
Dear Santiago:
It’s been two months since you were born. It’s been 11 months since we learned you would be joining our family. But you’ve been in our hearts for so much longer.
Over the past two months, you’ve changed so much. You’re smiling and cooing at us all the time. You’ve discovered yourself in the mirror and love smiling and talking to yourself. It seems you think you’re as handsome as we think you are!
You’ve already met Grandma Kathy and Grandpa John, Uncle Sean, Tio Dani and Ciocia Agi and a bunch of our friends. They are all as in love with you as we are! You’re attending baby/mommy classes once a week with mommy and you love looking at the other babies.
When we hold you, you now prefer to face out, so you can see the world and what’s going on. You stare at lights whenever you can see them. You’ve made it through your two month appointment where you got your first set of vaccines. Mommy cried more than you did! You’re such a strong, brave boy. We knew this when we met you and saw you go through getting IV’s and a central line in the NICU.
Here are some more things that you’re doing:
• Holding your fists open rather than tightly closed all the time.
• Signaling for milk by moving your fist over your cheek.
• Spitting up a lot (not mommy’s favorite!)
• You had your first official “blow out” in your diaper.
• You stand on your legs when mommy or daddy holds you for longer periods of time.
• You smile and laugh (without sound) a lot.
• You like to sit in your swing and “talk” to your friends (the toy birds and butterflies that rotate above you.)
• You’re sleeping an average of 7 hours when we first put you down at night.
• You love getting a bath.
• You’ve outgrown all of your newborn clothes, and mommy was a little sad that she had to pack them all away.
• You’re now wearing some 3 month, and some 3-6 month clothes.
• You love going for walks and always fall asleep after a bit.
• You love your bouncer and sit in it every morning while mommy takes a shower and gets ready.
• If you get too fussy, mommy will put the hairdryer on low next to you on the floor while you’re in the bouncer and you always fall asleep to it.
• You’re discovering your “sisters” (the cats) and they are discovering you. Monet will lay on daddy’s lap when he’s holding you. They both sniff you and both know you’re someone really important to us (and that you’re not going anywhere!)
• You do really well when mommy is out shopping, and usually sleep through the whole trip.
• You’re recognizing mommy and daddy and smiling at us when you see us.
We are so glad to spend every minute with you and watch you as you change and grow. We can’t wait to watch you over the coming months and years and see who you become. Most importantly, we love you very much, and thank God for bringing you into our lives every day!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
Dear Santiago:
It’s been two months since you were born. It’s been 11 months since we learned you would be joining our family. But you’ve been in our hearts for so much longer.
Over the past two months, you’ve changed so much. You’re smiling and cooing at us all the time. You’ve discovered yourself in the mirror and love smiling and talking to yourself. It seems you think you’re as handsome as we think you are!
You’ve already met Grandma Kathy and Grandpa John, Uncle Sean, Tio Dani and Ciocia Agi and a bunch of our friends. They are all as in love with you as we are! You’re attending baby/mommy classes once a week with mommy and you love looking at the other babies.
When we hold you, you now prefer to face out, so you can see the world and what’s going on. You stare at lights whenever you can see them. You’ve made it through your two month appointment where you got your first set of vaccines. Mommy cried more than you did! You’re such a strong, brave boy. We knew this when we met you and saw you go through getting IV’s and a central line in the NICU.
Here are some more things that you’re doing:
• Holding your fists open rather than tightly closed all the time.
• Signaling for milk by moving your fist over your cheek.
• Spitting up a lot (not mommy’s favorite!)
• You had your first official “blow out” in your diaper.
• You stand on your legs when mommy or daddy holds you for longer periods of time.
• You smile and laugh (without sound) a lot.
• You like to sit in your swing and “talk” to your friends (the toy birds and butterflies that rotate above you.)
• You’re sleeping an average of 7 hours when we first put you down at night.
• You love getting a bath.
• You’ve outgrown all of your newborn clothes, and mommy was a little sad that she had to pack them all away.
• You’re now wearing some 3 month, and some 3-6 month clothes.
• You love going for walks and always fall asleep after a bit.
• You love your bouncer and sit in it every morning while mommy takes a shower and gets ready.
• If you get too fussy, mommy will put the hairdryer on low next to you on the floor while you’re in the bouncer and you always fall asleep to it.
• You’re discovering your “sisters” (the cats) and they are discovering you. Monet will lay on daddy’s lap when he’s holding you. They both sniff you and both know you’re someone really important to us (and that you’re not going anywhere!)
• You do really well when mommy is out shopping, and usually sleep through the whole trip.
• You’re recognizing mommy and daddy and smiling at us when you see us.
We are so glad to spend every minute with you and watch you as you change and grow. We can’t wait to watch you over the coming months and years and see who you become. Most importantly, we love you very much, and thank God for bringing you into our lives every day!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
May 16, 2010
Photos
My parents were out and visited with us and met Santiago for two weeks a couple of weeks ago. They were commenting how much he'd changed just in the time they were here...he definitely changes daily (and we think he gets cuter by the day!) We had a great visit with them, despite a few little hiccups, and are looking forward to them coming back in July for Santiago's baptism!
Here are some photos from the visit:
Here are some photos from the visit:
Videos
I created an account on Vimeo where I'm uploading all of Santi's videos rather than emailing them all out. You can check them out here: http://vimeo.com/user2821642/videos
2 months old!
Santiago is two months old (as of the 15th!) We can't believe our little guy has been with us for two months already and how much he's changed in that short amount of time. He's really gone from being a little baby who just lays there to a funny, interactive (most of the time) little guy.
Things that have changed in this month:
As of his 2 month appointment today he is 23 inches long and weighs 12.5 lbs. He got 4 vaccines today and did great with the shots. A little crying but I think I cried more than he did! We have a strong little guy!
Here are his 2 month shots:
Things that have changed in this month:
- Smiling - Santi is smiling at us (and it's not gas) and recognizes us. When we smile at him, he'll smile back. We can tell he is wanting to laugh sometimes but those will come soon enough. :)
- Recognizing - he recognizes himself in the mirror now. We usually put him in front of the mirror at least once a day and talk to him and tell him how handsome he is, and sometimes I'll point out his nose, eyes, etc. He thinks this is pretty great, and will stare for long periods of time at himself in the mirrors that are on his play gym and on his swing.
- Cooing - he's having "conversations" with us now and will coo at us, then we'll respond and so on.It's pretty darn cute.
- He's definitely a morning person. When he wakes up in the morning he's happy, smiley and wants to play. This is hard for a mom who is not so much of a morning person but I'm adjusting. :)
- He's sleeping "through the night"...I put this in quotes as people told me that "through the night" constitutes 6 straight hours at night. We moved him to his crib last week and he's been consistently sleeping 7-8 hour stretches. But we put him down at 7:30-8:30pm so that means he wakes up between 3 and 4am. But we don't really mind.
As of his 2 month appointment today he is 23 inches long and weighs 12.5 lbs. He got 4 vaccines today and did great with the shots. A little crying but I think I cried more than he did! We have a strong little guy!
Here are his 2 month shots:
May 10, 2010
Before I Was A Mom...
I saw this poem on All Things G&D and it rang so true for me, so I'm borrowing it for my blog here...
Before I Was A Mom
Before I was a mom, I made and ate hot meals, wore unstained clothes and had quiet conversations on the phone.
Before I was a mom, I never worried about how late I went to bed because I could sleep in as long as I wanted.
Before I was a mom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth everyday.
Before I was a mom, I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee while reading the
morning newspaper on a Saturday morning.
Before I was a mom, I slept the whole night through.
Before I was a mom, my house was clean everyday and I didn't worry about whether or not my plants were poisonous.
Before I was a mom, I had never been puked on, pooped on, peed on, chewed on or pinched by little fingers.
Before I was a mom, I had complete control of my mind, thoughts and body.
Before I was a mom, I never held down a screaming child while doctors and nurses did tests or gave shots. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces because I couldn't stop the hurt.
Before I was a mom, I never knew how satisfying it is to feed a hungry
child. I never knew how fulfilling it is to soothe a baby's cries.
Before I was a mom, I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
Before I was a mom, I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
Before I was a mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never was up in the wee hours of the night just watching a baby while it slept. I never knew that something so small couldn't effect my life so tremendously.
Before I was a mom, I never knew I could love someone so unconditionally and completely.
Before I was a mom, I never knew the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
Before I was a mom, I never knew the warmth, the joy, the heartache, the
wonderment, or the fulfillment of being a mom.
Before I was a mom, I never knew I would love being a mom.
----------------
First Mother's Day
My first Mother's Day was perfect. Really I didn't expect anything other than spending time with my two guys. I was surprised to be woken up with Tito standing over me with a tray of breakfast and flowers. I looked into the pack and play next to the bed and noticed Santiago wasn't there, and Tito said that he had been "helping" cook, and he was cleaning up (really he was napping in the swing.) :) Tito brought him in and I opened two cards from Tito and Santi, and then opened a sweet gift from Tito. He'd arranged with his mom to get me a bracelet with charms on it and a "K" charm and an "S" charm and a necklace with an S on it from Peru. She'd sent a package about a week ago with some clothes for Santi and had hidden these items in there and Tito had grabbed them before I knew they were in there. They are sweet and I will definitely cherish them - that being said, the necklace isn't 100% my style. It's just a little larger than something I'd normally wear - the tag is like a mini dog tag. So I will wear it, but probably not as often as something I have been eyeing on Etsy for myself. The bracelet is cute though and I'll probably wear that a lot.
After I ate my breakfast, we played with Santi and then got showered and dressed and went to church. It was really nice at the end of the service as they called all of the mothers up to the front for a special blessing. I had been bottle feeding Santi and burping him so I actually brought him up with me. He was charming all of the other mothers around us. :)
After church we came back and had lunch and then went on a walk with our new to us jogging stroller (Thanks T for letting me know about this!) I love the stroller and it's definitely so much easier to walk with than the Snap and Go. So I will be using it often! After the walk we came back and ordered Chinese food, bathed Santi and put him in bed. He slept in his crib for the first time last night and we packed up the PNP! I was a little sad about that and really missed him being in our room, as did Tito, but he was only a few steps away in his room.
He slept really well and had a good night. We had a couple of scares though - he has been sleeping with a wedge/sleep positioner to help his tummy/gas issues. So we transitioned that to the crib. When he was in the PNP, when we didn't swaddle him, we used a blanket and tucked it under each side of the wedge where his weight would hold it down. We'd always only put it up to his middle section, never near his face and it was always tightly tucked and it never moved while he was in there. So we did the same thing in his crib. For some reason though, he was much more wiggly last night than he normally was. So I woke up at 1:30am before he woke up and went in to check on him. I heard him breathing, and didn't turn on the light and didn't see his face. When my eyes adjusted, I realized he had wiggled himself down the sleep positioner through the side portions and was lying with the blanket completely over his face with just the top of his head sticking out! So I grabbed him (he was fine and frankly more bothered that I had woken him) and threw the blanket out of the crib. I walked crying to our room and woke Tito and told him what had happened. Tito said he was fine and for me to calm down. I nursed Santi and changed him and then swaddled him in the idiot swaddler so there was no chance of him wiggling out of it and getting it around his face, and then put him down on the positioner. Two hours later we were woken to him crying as if he was uncomfortable, so we went in to check on him. The little stinker had wiggled down through the positioner again! So needless to say, we are done with the positioner! It's weird that he never did that in the PNP though. And, I have to admit I've been snuggling him a ton today after the scare last night! I am dealing with a ton of mommy guilt this morning!
And lastly, a couple of pics of my boy and I:
After I ate my breakfast, we played with Santi and then got showered and dressed and went to church. It was really nice at the end of the service as they called all of the mothers up to the front for a special blessing. I had been bottle feeding Santi and burping him so I actually brought him up with me. He was charming all of the other mothers around us. :)
After church we came back and had lunch and then went on a walk with our new to us jogging stroller (Thanks T for letting me know about this!) I love the stroller and it's definitely so much easier to walk with than the Snap and Go. So I will be using it often! After the walk we came back and ordered Chinese food, bathed Santi and put him in bed. He slept in his crib for the first time last night and we packed up the PNP! I was a little sad about that and really missed him being in our room, as did Tito, but he was only a few steps away in his room.
He slept really well and had a good night. We had a couple of scares though - he has been sleeping with a wedge/sleep positioner to help his tummy/gas issues. So we transitioned that to the crib. When he was in the PNP, when we didn't swaddle him, we used a blanket and tucked it under each side of the wedge where his weight would hold it down. We'd always only put it up to his middle section, never near his face and it was always tightly tucked and it never moved while he was in there. So we did the same thing in his crib. For some reason though, he was much more wiggly last night than he normally was. So I woke up at 1:30am before he woke up and went in to check on him. I heard him breathing, and didn't turn on the light and didn't see his face. When my eyes adjusted, I realized he had wiggled himself down the sleep positioner through the side portions and was lying with the blanket completely over his face with just the top of his head sticking out! So I grabbed him (he was fine and frankly more bothered that I had woken him) and threw the blanket out of the crib. I walked crying to our room and woke Tito and told him what had happened. Tito said he was fine and for me to calm down. I nursed Santi and changed him and then swaddled him in the idiot swaddler so there was no chance of him wiggling out of it and getting it around his face, and then put him down on the positioner. Two hours later we were woken to him crying as if he was uncomfortable, so we went in to check on him. The little stinker had wiggled down through the positioner again! So needless to say, we are done with the positioner! It's weird that he never did that in the PNP though. And, I have to admit I've been snuggling him a ton today after the scare last night! I am dealing with a ton of mommy guilt this morning!
And lastly, a couple of pics of my boy and I:
May 4, 2010
I've been MIA for a bit because my parents have been in town visiting and spending time with Santiago and Tito and I. We've enjoyed their visit and I think they've fallen in love with Santi. :) It's pretty hard not to.
I will post photos soon, but wanted to share a few things about our little guy:
Be back soon with photos!
I will post photos soon, but wanted to share a few things about our little guy:
- He's almost 2 months old (officially two months on the 15th!)
- He's smiling real smiles now, on his own and in response to seeing us smile
- He's now officially crying with tears. This breaks my heart to see. It started happening today and I cried along with him. His face killed me. He has the biggest frown/pouty lip and his eyes welled up with tears. Then he cried a bit more and I think scared himself with the fact that he was "leaking" and cried more!
- He's standing up on his own a lot! (With my help supporting him under his arms of course!)
- He's getting better head control
- He's discovered the play gym and loves it. I can usually leave him for about 20 minutes or so and he's happy as a clam under there
- He's been able to see himself in the mirror and usually smiles and laughs when he sees himself. He cracks me up when this happens.
- He's had a few nights where he's slept 7-8 hours in one stretch, with the average being 6 hours.
- He loves his bath. Calms him down and he loves being in the warm water.
- He's "talking" quite a bit, making cooing sounds and great little baby sounds. Sometimes we laugh because his coos sound like words. We've definitely heard him coo and it sounds like "Ow" (this usually happens when we're changing his clothes which is so funny) and the other day we swear we heard him coo "Hi"...yes we know we're crazy and we're not suggesting our 7 week old baby is talking but it's so funny how it definitely sounds like words!
- He's very aware of other babies when he's around them. He's also very aware of people and alert when he's out (he used to sleep all the time, now it's about 50/50 when we're out.)
Be back soon with photos!
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