Surprise Winters Trip-February 13-14, 2014

My anniversary with GK is on Valentine's Day which is nice because we basically kill two birds with one stone every year. This year GK told me that he was surprising me and to get ready for an overnight trip. T's first! 

One of the great things about traveling with an infant is that they sleep especially well in the car. T fell asleep as soon as we left Berkeley, through a leisurely coffee stop in Fairfield and the rest of the ride up to the surprise location-Winters! Of course she woke up as soon as my lunch was served and I had to feed her while GK spoon fed me chili and I sneaked few sips of wine. Afterward we walked across the street to the park for a public diaper change and some cuddles.

Then we went for a walk through the small but quaint downtown area. GK was particularly intrigued by the hook pictured above on the side of a building that was/is used for tying up your horse. 

T enjoyed her walk until she reailzed-OMG-I lost my Ugg!

We franctically searched for it in all the stores we had visited and I thought it was lost forever until we saw it waiting for us on a bench. Bless the good samaritans of Winters who have no use for a single baby Ugg.

After our walk we checked into our Bed & Breakfast that was just a few blocks from the downtown area. Any anxiety I had about staying at a B&B waas eliminated when I found out we were the only guests.

The downstairs area complete with electric fire place controlled by remote.

Our bedroom.

The B&B not only had good quality trashy magaznes that rivaled my favorite nail shop-but they were current.

T & GK playing before our pre-dinner walk.

Just in time for the sunset.

Winters is a cute agricultural town that has wineries, tasting rooms, cafes, art galleries but at the same time has maintined its architectural charm.

We had dinner at the Putah Creek Cafe. Our friends (and my coworkers), Noel & Alina, joined us which allowed me to get caught up on the office gossip. This was supposed to be a surprise but in his excitement-GK accidentally told me they were coming. T had a difficult time atthe restaurant starting pretty much the moment we arrived. So she spent the majority of the meal attached to my chest while I ate with one hand. Sadly this signaled the demise of even casually going out to eat with T.

My fire roasted pizza.

T slept like a champ in her Rock & Play that night. In the morning I bundled up T and took her on a walk to get coffee. When we returned  to the B&B the innkeeper had started breakfast. Pictured above was the vegan option-quinoa oatmeal with walnuts, fresh fruit, and stewed kumquats.

After breakfast we took advantage of the large tub with jets and took T for a float and photoshoot.

Since the next day was Valentines Day-we dressed T appropriately in an outfit from Soumya. It lasted about 3 hours until she required a wardrobe change in the Target parking lot on our way homethat somehow also resulted in T peeing all over the backseat of my car.

Our first family portrait.

On our drive back to the Bay Area GK stopped to snap a few pics at the dam. All in all this was a relaxing, successful out of town trip with T. Winters was a great weekend or even day trip from Berkeley and we plan to check it out this summer.

12 Weeks-February 26, 2014

T is officially ending her stint as a newborn and is now an infant! She's been busy the past four weeks-making new friends, traveling-she had her first overnight trip, but mostly she's just focused on getting cuter and she's doing an excellent job at that.

T s finally starting to outgrow her clothes! Above she is getting a last use out of her wild and crazy pink leopard beanie-newborn size. T also makes good use of her beautifully full lips these days by drooling and blowing raspberries daily.

Modeling session with GK. T can now spend a limited amount of time laying on the bed being entertained by us and at times she even entertains herself. She likes spending short periods on her exercise mat, swinging, looking at herself in the mirror, being carried over the shoulder, and going on long walks. 

T typically enjoys her baths-especially when we pour cupfuls of warm water over her head and body. Here she is pictured above in a makeshift tub that G-Ro fashioned together. She occasionally cries when we turn her over to wash her back and butt but calms down once she's wrapped up in her towel and held. T topped off her 12-week birthday by pooping in the tub for the first time.

T's first public transit trip on BART-as you can see, she's ecstatic. T was a trooper, I still have a lot to learn, like where the elevators are at each station and to push her stroller through the emergency gate (I tried to walk with her through the regular turnstile and it closed on me).

T at her weekly visit with G-Ro getting ready to dance. T loves to move around and is quite demanding in that she wants to constantly be held but you have to be moving around otherwise she sours rather quickly.

T's first hike at Redwood Regional Park which she slept through. The baby carriers have been a lifesaver these past few weeks. In an effort to get T to take quality naps I have been taking her on long walks in the baby K'Tan carrier-one evening she slept for over 4 hours in it. I have become a bit of an expert in accomplishing household chores while wearing T-I can take out the trash, put the dishes way, and have made simple meals with a sleeping T strapped to me.

T's morning music session with GK who is serenading her with a rousing rendition of "A Whole New World," from the Little Mermaid.

T is starting to explore her toys-she seems to especially like this doll that is decked out with that crinkle material that keeps babies intrigued.

I have been hesitant to put T on any kind of schedule at this point due to her age and because I just don't feel it's necessary right now. Of course I would love to sleep 6 hours straight but honestly I'm pretty used to getting up twice a night for feeds that often last up to an hour and am mostly over the sleep deprivation these days. Of course I wouldn't feel this way if I didn't have GK's support every day and night. However we realized a few weeks ago that T was not napping enough and this was creating a very fussy T so now we aim for three quality naps a day.

These days T typically goes to bed around 8pm and will sleep for 3-4 hours. She feeds again around midnight or 1am and then is up again around 3:30-4am. GK is sually pretty good at putting T back to sleep after a quick burp and diaper change but occasionally T decides to mix it up and a meltdown will ensue as detailed in GK's early morning post on Facebook below:

But it's mostly good times for us:

T smiles more and more everyday. It doesn't get much better than a toothless baby grin....

And just one more for good measure.

Two Months!

I can't believe just how fast 2 months have gone by. So much that I'm just now completing T's 2 month post at 11 weeks. So let's back up a bit and recap weeks 4 through 8.

T at just a few days old in her polar bear suit compared to 8 weeks old in the exact same outfit. Initially I thought it was just her head that was growing in size but nope-at her 8 week pediatric appointment T weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs., 7.9 oz. This still places her under the 3rd percentile on the growth chart but the doctor isn't worried as T's weight gain has been steady since she was 3 weeks old. T measures in at 22.5 inches placing her at the 50th percentile. Doctor says she's long and lean so it's official-we created a super model.

One of my favorite things about T's weight gain is that she is starting to fit into her 3-month clothing. It's like an endless fashion show of different animal prints, jumpers, baby boots, and crazy head pieces. Above she is wearing one of my favorite fascinators looking uber serious. Just like a model.

Since the polar vortex has left us-we've been venturing outside daily. T loves being pushed around in her stroller or walking through our neighborhood  in one of her many carriers. Here she is at the weekly South Berkeley Organic Farmer's Market searching for kale and brussel sprouts.

T also made it out to Walnut Creek to brunch with the Nath sisters (Soumya and T pictured above) and Vivek at Tender Greens. Afterwards we kept the party going on Lark Creek Cafe's patio with champagne cocktails. 

T spends her mornings exercising with GK. She propped herself up on his chest with her little elbows bent all by herself. I'm still amazed at this feat every time I look at the picture due to the enormous size of her head compared to her scrawny little arms.

Just another adorable pic of T.

The best thing about 2 months? Smiling. I hate to say it but during the first month or so-babies don't really give back that much. Not that I expected T to entertain me. But when they start interacting with you (i.e.-smiling), it's really quite satisfying-I get this feeling that I'm actually doing something right. Of course to coax a smile out of T at first took great effort-acting like an utter fool but it's completely worth it.

The Bradley Method

I knew that long before I ever became pregnant that I would want a natural birth. I also knew that in order to accomplish this I would need to be prepared. A coworker told me about the Bradley Method which is described as husband/partner coached childbirth. After doing some research online, I decided that this would be a good fit for me and GK and located an instructor in Oakland. There were 12 total  sessions once a week that we attended along with five other couples. The class proved to be probably one of our best investments in regards to T. We were successful in achieveing our goal of a mostly non-invasive birth with no pain medication whatsoever. More importantly, GK did not faint or throw up and the overall experience was just amazingly incredible. Ten weeks later-I still swell with pride and love to tell T's birth story.

One of the benefits of participating in this class is that you become connected to other couples who live nearby who will have their babies roughly around the same time as yours so of course we agreed to stay in touch. We typically meet on a Sunday, have a potluck brunch, oooh and ahhh over all the cute babies and exchange war stories. It's great to have a cohesive group like this as a new parent so I don't bore all my other friends with stories rearding T's exciting day-to-day activities like pooping, napping, and spitting up.

Our initial reunion in December of '13 hosted by Benji & Alicia in Oakland. T was only 9 days old! From left to right-Marcelo Luis (born in October '13), Percy to the left of T and Emilio to the right of T-these two little guys were born on the same day in November at the same hospital.

Our second reunion at Holly & Fernando's in Oakland in January (from left to right): Carolina with Marcelo Luis, Jamie with Lola; Alicia with Percy, Holly with Emilio, and me with T. Don't we all look lovely and confident as new mothers?

And then there are the dads..... (from left to right): David with Marcelo Luis, Jordan with Lola, Benji with Percy, Fernando with Emilio, and GK with T.

Baby line up! Marcelo Luis, Emilio, Percy, Lola, and T. T spent the entire time sleeping and making everyone way jealous of the giant white flower on her head.

Our most recent get together on February 9th back at Benji & Alicia's home. (L-R): Emilio, Marcelo Luis, Percy, Lola, & T. This time T was much more social during the get together but fell asleep towards the end when the pictures were taken.

Check out T's outfit. Following a diaper change-GK opted for the baby superhero look for the second half of the party.

Looking forward to many more reunions with this group!