It was not a proper BLW month. Being away for most of the month, it was more of a purees month more than he ever ate purees since we've started the solids.
Nevertheless, I still offered him bananas, mum-mums, biscuits, dried apricots, mainly fresh fruits and more vegetables purees.
Now that we are back home and grand ma' Rica joined us, the next BLW month would be so much more interesting to describe.
There have been 9 months of an unbelievable development. Even if people are telling you that "babies are growing fast", "enjoy these moments when they are babies", you just kinda live in the moment and don't understand what they are saying.
And then there are moments when you wake up in the morning and you ask yourself: "Where is my little baby?"
After only 9 months of unbelievable development, I need to write down some of the skills that he masters as of this age:
- sits perfectly;
- crawls very, very fast;
- pull himself to a stand with no problem;
- cruises from point A to point B;
- exquisite pincer grip;
- understands "no" but doesn't always obey it;
- says "baba";
- says "aaa" when he wants something;
- drinks from a sippy cup;
- waves "bye-bye" but not necessarily when somebody is leaving or waving to him;
- very sociable;
- smiles, returns smiles and interacts with people who are interacting with him;
- loves to bang on any firm surface;
- very, very interested in music;
- plays peek-a-boo;
- throws the food on the floor when he's done eating;
- has only one tooth;
I'm happy about the whole experience:
- happy to take Bryce to see new places;
- happy for everything I packed;
- happy for all the choices I've made;
There's only one thing I wish it wouldn't exist: jet lagging. :)
Can't hardly wait for the next one: TRIP.
The last week in Sofia was probably the easiest one. Bryce was sleeping well at night, my mom and my niece came to visit, we were all happy that pretty soon we would fly back home.
I've just got this article on poops, and I found it very useful for future references.
Sometimes, you just freak out when you see all the colors and textures so to have a picture guide in your virtual pocket is not something bad at all.
Take care and pay attention to the poop!! :)
Well, the second week was just calm with no too many adventures. Bryce got better at sleeping at night, he would go to sleep around 10:00 pm 'til like 7:00 am (not all the way through but just to drink some milk and then back to sleep).
We also, visited some friends of ours, the producer's family, we had diner with them and Bryce got the chance to play with their kids ( Sawyer - 1 y.o and Oliver - 3 y.o). He is such an amazing baby and so sociable; he really got along so well with the big one and chase him and did all kind of fun stuff.
By the end of the week, my best friend from Romania came and visited me and we had such a fun time together just hanging out and remembering things that we did together. Baby Bryce immediately bonded with her and just had such an amazing time with each other.
One more week in Sofia and after that we will close another chapter of our lives. We will go back home 'cause that's no place like home wherever you will go in this big world
He opens and closes the doors for a while. At home, he would love to smash the kitchen door to the fridge or close the tv room door and then starting to cry 'cause he doesn't see me anymore.;)
Now, we are away and there are more doors to be experienced. I love that he really understands the way they're working. He figured out what to do in order to open or close them.
Example:
I'm in the bathroom ( the door is not completely closed, it's more ajar), I can hear him crawling (lipa-lipa), he stops in front of the door (he probably wonders if the door is closed), he starts pushing it (the door opens), million of yuppies in his head, he's pushing it more 'cause he realizes that his fat ass doesn't go through, then I can see a full baby coming out from the door, he stops, looks at me, then wisely closes the door to make some more room to advance and lipa-lipa he goes straight to the....... toilet paper, it's yummy, he likes it, a very special flavor, he's the only one to understand it. :)He even figure out how the doors work just to get to it. :)
In Romania, when you are in school, they use to ask you about what you would like to do when you would be a grown up.
I strongly believe that if Bryce could talk right now and I would ask him what he would like to be when he would be a grown up, he would definitely answer: "A drummer". It's amazing what a precision and how fascinated he is every time he bangs on any surface (table, floor, dady's head :) etc
If, by any chance, in the future, he will be a drummer or he would only have it as a hobby, I would be more than thrilled to show him this video as a proof of his early talents.
I know this is a blog for my son, but, since we are back in Europe, there are some stuff that I really enjoy and that are soooooo European so that I can never replicate them in the States.
In no particular order, here there are:
- the bread;
- the expresso;
- the flavor of the food;
- the little, cobbled streets;
- the busyness of the streets;
- the taste of the chocolate;
- my favorite honey nuts cornflakes;
- the real pastry ("foietaje"), real croissant, real everything;
Today, my son decided to really let us know what he wanted.
So, this morning as my hubby was peeling an orange and Bryce was watching him carefully, he then said "hmmm", and more "hmmmm", looking very intensely at the orange.
We sat him in his highchair and gave him a slice of orange that he gobbled immediately asking for some more "hmm", "hmmm", so he ended up having 3 slices of a yummy orange.
I'm so thrilled when I see that he wants and tries to communicate to us. Since day one, I talked and talked to him just to get him familiar with sounds and words that later will develop into a language.
Way to go my baby boy.
The first's week challenge in Sofia was, of course, the jet lag. It's annoying for a grown up, imagine how annoying this can be for a baby. Add to this the teething and the unhappiness is there.
Anyway, the first days he would wake up like in the middle of the night, and be all wake and ready to play. The funny thing about it is that he would not sleep throughout the day as if it would be the night. He would rather have naps or maximum a 3 hours long sleep.
With the help of grand ma' Myrna, we've managed to somehow survive (we would take shifts, like she would sleep more in the evening and be wake for him in the night, while I would be awake during day time and sleep during night time). But, all in all, if you travel somewhere where the difference hour is significant (more than 3 hours) then you need to take in consideration having someone with you to help you with the shifts, otherwise is just 1 week of sleep depravation.
By the end of the week, he started sleeping a little bit better: he would go to sleep somewhere around 9-10:00 pm sleep till around 4:30- 5:00 am ( with some little waking for the feedings), stay awake for another 2 hours or so then go back to sleep for another hour. All in all, around 7:30-8:00 am he is totally awake, ready for a new day.
The city challenges:
- no sidewalks for pedestrians or/and strollers ( I mean the sidewalks exist but they are full of parked cars);
- the remaining sidewalks are full of holes making the stroller stride a real adventure;
- smoking everywhere ( in the streets, on the terraces, in the parks, in the restaurants, even in the hotel- I smell smoke coming under the door of our apartment); basically, it's smoke everywhere, you can barely smell the nice breeze of the spring;
- no high chairs in the restaurants ( so far, the first one that we found was in the Hilton), but for one week we didn't find any restaurant that would have a high chair for the baby; (this was kinda of hard as we are going out a lot in LA and Bryce would always have his highchair, basically he would sit with us at the table and eat with us, one of the concepts of BLW); here, instead, he would either sit in his stroller or in our laps;
- not so many but still here and there some stray dogs and you never know how they will react so, you just need to be cautious when you pass them by;
- stairs, stairs, stairs, lots of stairs and no other choice for people with disabilities or moms with strollers; even the shops have lots of stairs but no ramps or some other access ( malls not included, as they do have elevators);
As for the food and water: to be on the safe side, we are drinking only bottled water, even Bryce's fruits and vegetables I wash them with the same bottled water; I still do a little bit of BLW ( I don't cook too much but I offer him carrots, apples, bananas, grapes etc) and I also bought some little bio Hipp jars that he eats from time to time; he was only one day constipated right in the beginning but after I gave him some prunes puree, he started pooping on his daily routine.
It turned out to be great to have a a lot of Orajel tubes with me, as he started teething right here and right now; so, having the Orajel helped a bit as well as cold cucumber and apple finger cuts.
My hubby was free for the weekend, so we spend some time just the three of us as we needed it so much. It was just great.
Now, the first week is over, we're looking forward to the 2nd one and some more things to discover.
It's finally there...Not all the way up, but I can feel and see its little head.
So.....8 months and 3 weeks....the first tooth...with some pain and some tears...but we had Orajel...now I'm waiting for it to come all the way up so I can take a picture....:)
The whole flight I found quit easy. Probably the night flight helped but anyway I can not say that it was a big struggle for any of us.
We checked in at LAX, very quick process, got the tickets, they weighed the luggage, I didn't have to pay for anything extra, so, basically, I could travel with two big suitcases ( max weight 23 kilos/each).
Having the baby helps as you don't have to stay in the long line, you're directed towards an express line, but the security check-up is a big pain in the b..., as you have to basically put everything on the x-ray conveyer belt (even the stroller), the baby shoes etc. Ughhhh.....
We had the bulkhead seats ( I highly recommend them especially when you travel with small kids, infants); the people from Lufthansa were great, they gave Bryce a little toy and they were very, very nice with all of us; half an hour after the plane took off, Bryce fell asleep in the nice bassinet that the airline provided us with (btw, great thing this bassinet - really helpful for both the parents and the baby) and he slept for about 7 hours out of the 11 that the flight had. We ate, played, napped and finally we got to Munich.
In Munich, we had a very little layover just enough to have a good cup of expresso and change Bryce's diaper and clothes, and after that we've boarded on the plane to Sofia. Short trip, only 2 hours, small plane, a little nap for Bryce.
And finally Sofia: but wait, we got to the Balkans and the change was so obvious: we got there and there was a huge line by the custom booths and no organization what so ever. And it the midst of all this mess, a police guy sees us and let us go in front. DONE!!
So, after around 13 hours of flight and 1 hour layover we've managed to get there safe and sound and to hold and give million kisses to our papa.
Imi doresc din tot sufletul ca atunci cind Bryce va creste si va avea familia lui si o sotie si copii, si de va fii sa uit ca-i sunt doar mama si bunica pentru copii sai, si de voi incalca acele legi nescrise ale intimatatii unei familii sau a unei mame la inceput de drum care nu doreste decit sa-si stringa in brate odorul mult iubit, atunci va trebui sa caut acest post, sa-l citesc si sa-mi aduc aminte de aceasta zi si ce a insemnat pentru mine si ce lacrimi in suflet am avut.
Sper sa nu fie nevoie......
Since today, my little baby found a new sign: the waving. So, here he is, doing his first bye-bye's. They are not quit intended for when somebody leaves but he is mastering it for sure.
Some more cool stuff to come, I'm sure.:)
My journey as a mom began on August 18th 2009 at 7:27 am when a handsome baby came out from my womb and intoxicated me with a lot of love.
This is the story of that journey.
EVERY TIME I HOLD MY SON I MEET THE ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS
First and foremost, I'm a MOTHER.
I was born in Romania, studied foreign languages (French and English), worked in the movie making industry, fell in love with the most amazing guy, moved to the States, became a MOTHER.
That's just for telling the story short.
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