Protected: Sixth and Seventh weeks

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Fifth Week

This week has been busy, busy,busy … But I love it ! I still kind of remember what life was like before Helena came along…Gosh, was it ever meaningless?
There are always a thousand things I could do with her and for her everyday. No kidding 5 weeks felt like 5 hours.
We had two “events” at home this weekend and hubby was off both days. Amen to that!
I am part of an online group for moms to April babies in Canada and we held our first Edmonton playdate at my home last Saturday. Three mothers and their precious little angels came over. Being able to spend time with other people who are in the very same stage in life as we are is so priceless. I hope we can be friends and I hope our children can grow up together.
Then on Sunday, we held a baby shower for our friends and family to meet Helena.
The big highlight of the day was me meeting with Dan’s brother and his family for the first time in over a year and a half. It was awkward, but overall it went well. I guess we could say the cake was another highlight too.

During the time we were taking prenatal classes, the nurse who ministered our classes mentioned that the movie theatre chain called Cineplex had something called Stars and Strollers which were movie sessions for moms with young children. At the theatre close to my house, it is held every Wednesday at 1pm. You have two choices of movies which is great so you are not stuck with one boring movie, you can bring the stroller in and no worries if baby cries plus the volume is lower! Helena and I checked it out with a friend and her baby that we met Saturday. We watched The Hangover part III. I love going to the movies and I am so happy I can keep on going even after having a baby. My only concern is that it could be discontinued as the attendance seemed low to me. From now on I will promote it as much as I can to keep it alive!

Saying buy to my Honda

I used to have a Honda Civic Ex Coupe which I loved, but unfortunately I had to give that up as it had only two doors and was extremely tight. It was really hard to have a carseat in there let alone actually putting it in there. We had begun car shopping last Friday and this past Wednesday we acquired a white four door Toyota Corolla. I miss my Honda  but I guess this is only one of the many sacrifices to make along this parenthood journey. On the bright side, my insurance is so much cheaper now.

I have also started trying to get Helena’s travel documents ready so we can go to Brazil soon.
I already have her birth certificate so I can go ahead and get her Canadian passport. I went to Service Canada yesterday and got the forms. I tried to get the pics too, but it was not possible as she can’t hold her head yet and our hand can not be on the picture.
She will also need a Brazilian passport and, in order to get it, I need to apply for her Brazilian birth certificate to which she is entitled to. Long story short, it will be a time consuming process.
I am going to check this place I was told about which supposedly take passport pics of newborns.

Helena

We paid a visit to the nurses at Healthy Beginnings, the program that sent a nurse to visit both Helena and I at home the day following are hospital discharge (which I think I forgot to mention), just to check how Helena is doing. Her birth weight was 6lbs9oz and now she is 8lbs10oz and from 19 inches to 21, I believe … (I suck at understanding these measurements ).

So, in kilos, from 2900 kg to 3880kg and from 48cm to 53cm. She is a petite kind of baby, but she is certainly developing well which brings me relief as she is spitting up a lot and some of it due to the effort she puts into trying to poop. She suffers from constipation and goes many days without a bowel movement.
We switched her formula to a low in iron one and hopefully it will make a difference. The nurse gave me some tips on how to reduce spit-up, but I think I just suck at burping her 😦
She told me to feed her in a sitting up position and keep her in a sitting up position for half an hour after each feeding which sounds unrealistic as Helena is always falling asleep while nursing and gets really cranky if she can’t lie down, but I am trying.

It is amazing to witness her growth and development. The changes happen daily! Every day she looks somewhat different and acts somewhat more mature. She has been interacting with me and responding to my approaches, like peek-a-boo, with giggles. It is also amazing to see how she has a personality of her own already and she has preferences of her own too.

And last, but not least, I got Helena’s ears pierced. It was an impulsive decision, but I liked the outcome. I saw this baby whose ears were pierced at Walmart while trying to get those passport pics and her mom told me where she got it done, so we drove there right away. She cried a lot, but I gave her a bottle right away and it was enough to soothe her. I don’t think it hurt that much, I think it was mostly distress from the sound the gun made. The whole thing did bring me to tears, but not because I felt sorry for piercing her ears, but because it made me realize how helpless babies are. We can pretty much do whatever we want with them and they have no way to fight back. All they can do is cry and it broke my heart. I hope and pray to God I can always be around to protect her for as long as she can’t do it herself !

Lorena

How are you doing, Lorena?
Oh, thanks for asking ! I am exhausted…not complaining, just saying.
I am tired and overwhelmed. I keep on demanding more support from Dan, and trust me I feel bad about it, but I have noone else. I wish I could just do 100% on my own, but I am only human.
Either way, motherhood is really weird. I try so hard to get her to sleep in her bassinet,and when she does, I miss her in my bed. I keep on looking forward to little breaks away from her and when I get them, I miss her to death. Go figure!
Haven’t been able to clean after the baby shower yet, but oh well.
But I have never been any happier or any more fulfilled.
I love my Helena and my Daniel. I don’t know how it happened, but I have a family (my head is still processing things. In there I am still at the age of 15) and I love it !