Sunday 30 September 2012

Sebra.dk

A couple of days ago we received another package from our good friends Anya and Christian. I love receiving packages (who doesn't??!) and I love receiving packages from Anya. Her gifts are always so nicely packaged, it's an absolute pleasure to open them up! 

Remember when she sent me the pink package? This time the colour theme was purple. Inside the little packet there were lots of treats for mama Vale, different kinds of teas and chocolate all in purple and lilac packaging, and two lovely linens for Emilia. The linens are from a modern and beautiful Danish brand, Sebra. I discovered this brand only a couple of months ago; I absolutely love their cribs, too bad I had already ordered the Stokke before I found out about this brand!

Mums out there, if you don't know Sebra, check it out! There are so many cool things for your little ones.


Friday 28 September 2012

Busy Friday

This morning was a busy morning for little Emilia. 

First of all, she pooped! And let me tell you, after three days of not pooping, that required some energy investment. And it was all for mummy to enjoy.
Then, we had a visit from the health visitor, Bernie. Emilia is growing well and now weighs a whopping 4.25 kg. Not bad for a three-and-a-half week old baby.
To make the day even more exciting, we got the activity gym delivered this morning and Emilia tested it out straight away. I am not sure she loves it but I am sure she will eventually. Now, there is really no space left in our bedroom!


Thursday 27 September 2012

Out with baby Wanda

At the antenatal class back in July I made friend with a lovely British girl, Tamsin, who lives in the same area as us. She was due August 26th and her baby, Wanda, arrived right on time! We stayed in touch throughout the end of the pregnancy and this morning we finally met for a coffee at the Design Museum, just around the corner from our flat. It's a lovely day in London and it felt so good to get out of the flat to meet some friends.

Both babies behaved very well and allowed us to have a proper chat. Tamsin and I had a very similar labour and both babies had to be delivered with forceps, so we had a lot to talk about. It's funny how our conversation, apart from the occasional mention of work (we are both researchers at univ!) turned around brand of nappies, number of feeds and poops per day, breast milk and formula, sleep deprivation and baby clothes :)

And speaking of baby clothes, Tamsin thought that Emilia is a very stylish little girl. This is a picture I took before going out this morning, you be the judge! 

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Space Invasion

Apart from dealing with a new concept of time, we also have to live with a new concept of space. 

Rob and I are renting a two-bedroom, 93 square metres flat in central London. The flat is not too small for London standards but it's definitely not too big either. Before the arrival of baby O we had just enough space for the two of us and all our stuff; then when we started buying things for the baby, we had to rearrange everything. It's unbelievable how much space a tiny little human being needs.

Of course, the big gear takes up a lot of the space: the crib, the changing table, the pram, the bouncer...but it's the little things that are really making a big difference. 
The en-suite bathroom is now full of wipes, nappies, cotton balls, and baby toiletries. There is a whole corner dedicated to Emilia's stuff now in the bathroom.


She also has her own little laundry basket. My mum told me that her clothes should not be mixed and washed with ours, so she bought a sweet, bright pink laundry basket for the little dirty clothes, which we wash every two days with a baby cycle (we still care about the environment!) and Napisan.


And the bathroom is not the only place invaded by Emilia's stuff. The master bedroom is full of clothes and toys and the main room displays all the cards she has received so far. 


The kitchen is no better. There are milk bottles, pacifiers, formula bottles, breast pump, and steriliser everywhere on the counter. I am a rather organised person, so we still manage to keep things tidy but it's definitely more challenging now!

Tuesday 25 September 2012

A new concept of TIME

One of the first lessons Rob and I had to learn now that we have a newborn is that time has a complete new dimension and everything turns around Emilia's needs.

Emilia usually has three night/early morning feeds: one between 00.30 and 2.00am, the second at about 4.00-6.00am and the third one around 8.00-9.00am. Rob usually takes care of the first feed and I deal with the other two. Rob and I then have breakfast right after her third feed, so around 9.00am, at least now that Rob is on paternity leave; of course, things will have to change from next week when Rob is going back to the office. After breakfast we are on a roll: we change, clean and dress up Emilia and then we try to take care of ourselves. We also have to clean the kitchen from breakfast and I have to express milk. By the time we have done all these things, it's lunch time. And we start again: cooking for us, feeding Emilia and then changing and cleaning her. This is our schedule if we are at home. If we want to go out or we have people visiting us, it becomes even more hectic and complicated.

Today, for example, was one of those super busy days. We started the day as usual with the feeds, the cleaning, the cleaning and all that stuff. We also expected the cleaner at 1.00pm and then we planned to go out to run some errands, which meant we had to be all dressed and ready to go by 1.00. We took care of Emilia first and the Rob got ready. At 12.15pm we had lunch and then I very quickly showered and got ready. When Maria arrived, we were ready to go, well almost. We did forget to put a couple of things in the changing bag, but nothing too important! So we managed to go out. We ran our errands and then we even stopped at daddy's office and showed Emilia off. Though, she was sleeping the whole time; she really likes strolling, it puts her to sleep. She even skipped the 2.30pm feed!

We got back home around 4.00pm, and then the whole routine started again: feeding, burping, changing, cleaning, a bit of bouncer, and loads of cuddles! 

Time really flies when you have a baby to look after...

Sunday 23 September 2012

Three weeks old

Another week has gone by. 

This past week has been quite hectic. I had to go back to hospital for a check. Without going into details, on Monday night I started bleeding quite heavily and when I called the hospital to describe what was going on they asked me call in as soon as possible. So I quickly expressed some milk, got ready, called a taxi and left home. Rob was supposed to go to Zurich for three days, leaving on Tuesday evening. While I am very sorry he had to miss his work trip because of me, I am incredibly happy he was still at home when it all happened; I don't know how I could have dealt with my issues and a two week old baby at the same time. Thankfully, I was in hospital for just one day and after a lot of checks they couldn't find anything wrong with me; basically, I just had to clear my system and expel all the blood clots that were trapped in there since giving birth. We had a couple of tough days but we managed. Rob was great and helped out as much as he could. 

Once I started feeling a bit better, we tried to get our life back. On Friday evening we ordered sushi for dinner. After nine months, I was so thrilled to finally have a sushi feast! To be honest, this wasn't the first time I had sushi after the pregnancy. When Ilaria and Cristian were in town, we ordered some sushi from this place in Borough Market that delivers in the area, Feng Sushi. We loved it so much, we decided to make another order this week! And we had a guest for dinner, one of Rob's colleagues who wanted to meet Emilia. It was very nice to have company. Saturday was a glorious day of sunshine so we decided to take a stroll in the area. If it wasn't for a bit of lower backache, I really enjoyed being out with my family. But then, when we got home, Emilia started suffering from bad colic. It was painful to see her struggling. Needless to say, she screamed and cried a lot and we didn't sleep at all last night. So, this morning Rob went out and bought some Infacol which seems to be helping a lot. We all napped from 4.00 to 7.00pm and Emilia seems to be doing much better now. She even allowed us to watch a movie (we picked *I don't know how she does it* - sweet movie).

She is now peacefully sleeping and looks so cute I had to take a picture. Look at all those creases and rolls...just how mummy loves it! 

Friday 21 September 2012

Customised Gifts

Emilia has been receiving some super sweet customised, hand-embroidered gifts: a lovely travel bag from Ila and Cri and two beautiful bibs, one from Ilaria's grandmum and the other from Lucia's mother. We also know that zio Ettore and zia Lina have had towels embroidered with her name and can't wait to see them. She is so much loved! We thank you all.

 Now she needs a monogrammed Louis Vuitton bag with her initials and she is all set :)

Tuesday 18 September 2012

First rule broken: Do not let your baby sleep in bed with you!

Last night Emilia had no intention to sleep, while mummy and daddy were SO tired and really needed to rest. We tried a few tricks that usually work but since she slept all day long, from midnight onwards her eyes were wide open and she just wanted to play and be at the centre of our attention. So, at some point, a very desperate Rob brought her to our bedroom and placed her in the middle, in between us. All of a sudden she calmed down and so we all slept peacefully in between feeds. We know we shouldn't let her sleep with us but everyone is allowed to break some rules every now and then, right?

Sunday 16 September 2012

Two weeks later

It's hard to believe it has been two weeks already...


After such a long pregnancy and what felt like an even longer labour, it's unbelievable how fast the last two weeks went by. Once Emilia was out, time has really started to fly. We have enjoyed every single minute of our new life, even the diaper changing (and let me tell you, this baby poops a lot!) , the crying, and the sleepless nights. She can cry, scream, be up all day, fight you but we still melt when we look at her. I guess this is what they call parenthood. 

Several important things have happened in Emilia's second week of life. First of all, she took her first bath and I am happy to say she seems to really enjoy the water. We put her in her little bath tub and bathed her while she peacefully looked at us. 


Emilia also had her first check from the health visitor, Bernadette. We all loved Bernadette, she is such a lovely lady and we are happy to have her on board until Emilia turns one. She visited Emilia for over an hour, she checked pretty much everything and it all looks good. Emilia now weighs 3.91 kg (birth weight was 3.6 kg)! She is such a little ball and is always hungry. Bless her. 

We also enjoyed visits from friends which means lots of gifts and cuddles. Lucia, Elena, Alessandro, Angela, Ilaria and Cristian: thank you all for your love!


Thursday 13 September 2012

Time to say goodbye

I don't like goodbyes, in fact, I hate them. I always have a hard time saying goodbye to friends and family when I depart from them but this time was particularly painful. My parents left London and headed back to Pescara just an hour ago. It has been wonderful having them here for so long. So many things have happened in the last three weeks. When my mum arrived on the 20th of August I was still heavily pregnant. She took great care of me and Rob, cooked for us every single meal, baked our favourite cakes and biscuits, did all the laundry, ironing and cleaning. And then, when Emilia came, having my parents with me was just what we needed. Not only for the help but also for all the love they gave us. When we got back home from the hospital the flat was absolutely beautiful, so full of flowers and baloons. It was the perfect welcome back for us and welcome home to Emilia. 
I knew they had to leave one day and I knew it was going to be tough but nothing could have prepared me to the way I felt. Let's just say: lots of tears. 

Here is to my parents. Thank you very much for all your help and love. I don't say it that often but I do love you very much and I feel very lucky and blessed to have you.

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Facial expressions

I can...

1. be amazed

2. think

3. cry

4. and peacefully suck the binkie

Monday 10 September 2012

1 week old

23.46: I am officially one week old! 

Life has been good so far. I have mastered the main activities: sleeping, pooping, peeing, burping, winding, eating, cuddling, and playing. My family is nice and they all love me very much, mum and dad, nonna and nonno, and grandmum and grandad whom I have seen on the computer via a thing called Skype. Oh the technology! I have also become friend with Molly, the bear, isn't she cute? Zia Ila and zio Cri sent it to me. I know, I like being spoilt! As I said, so far so good...

Saturday 8 September 2012

We are a family

Rob, Emilia and I took our first stroll as a family today and I was so proud to wander around with my little angel. The weather was glorious and there was a festival going on in our area with food stalls, music, dancers, games, and all sorts of attractions. Emilia got to wear a Summer dress and experienced her first Zumba class! As for myself, I struggled to walk a little bit, the stitches are still quite painful but it was very good to get out of the flat for a bit. One little step at a time...

 

Friday 7 September 2012

An eventful couple of days

Emilia is five days old today and has already started experiencing so many things. 

1. Receiving flowers
Every girl loves receiving flowers and Emilia is lucky enough to have had flowers delivered to her already. She takes a minute to thank you. When we got back home from the hospital the flat was full of lovely flowers in all shades of pink: thank you nonna and nonno, bisnonna, uncle Max and Patty, uncle Luciano, and  Ilenia and Alessandro. And then yesterday she received another nice bunch from our very good friends Elena and Alessandro and a beautiful flower basket with a balloon and a teddy bear all the way from Amsterdam from Ad and Angela. This morning she also received an unusual bouquet of flowers made of onesies, bibs, socks and mittens from the EY team. You are all so sweet, thank you very much.


2. Riding the bouncer
It may be a bit early for her but she seems to be enjoying it. She particularly loves the bear, or hates it since she keeps kicking it!



3. Strolling
Emilia took her first trip to the park today. It was a gorgeous day in London and it was good for her to get some fresh air and sun. She loved it. She is truly a Londoner!



Can you spot the Bugaboo??

3. Sunbathing and smelling the espresso
Well, not really sunbathing but we were out on the balcony. And for an Italian, it's never to early to start smelling the great aroma of espresso.


Thursday 6 September 2012

And the winner is .....

There was one vote for September-2nd on Baby O's birthday poll. Congratulations to the winner!

Voter, please reveal yourself and I will send you the prize.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

We are home!

Yesterday evening we took a taxi ride from the hospital and headed to Shad Thames. It felt so good to be home! 

This is how we were welcomed. I loved it, so much better than the hospital (apart from the views of the Thames, of course)! 

P.S. Emilia tested both the Bugaboo and the crib and slept like a little angel. 
Also, she sends a message to all of you: Thanks very much for all the nice wishes and compliments. I can't wait to meet you all and play with you :)