Sad Day in Biscarrosse

Today has been a pretty quiet day. Grandma and Grandpa left this morning and things just aren't the same without them!

They went home?!

I have lots of photos I want to upload but I think I hear someone squirming in her cradle... so I'll leave you with a picture of her in the first outfit I bought for her.

Until next time!

Better late than never...

Yesterday was an important day: not only was it the 4 week anniversary of Aimy's birth, it was also her uncle's birthday! Happy Belated Birthday, Uncle Greg!

Am I really 4 weeks old?!

Things have been going well. It's been wonderful to have my parents here, not only because it's great to visit with them but also because they've been such a huge help. But of course while they're here it's not easy to find a moment to update! We'll definitely miss them when they go back home.

Wearing a new outfit from Grandma!

Aimy has been doing well, growing a little bit every day. She hasn't been sleeping a lot at night lately so Carlos and I are a bit tired, but she has only had one really fussy afternoon and evening lately. Here's hoping that at least doesn't change, though I wouldn't mind getting a few more hours of sleep every night!

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

A photo-heavy entry this time - been taking lots of pictures in the last few weeks that I hadn't had the time to upload!

Sleeping like an angel

My parents arrived here on Thursday night and Aimy has already got them wrapped around her little finger... and of course she is thrilled to have more faces to memorize and more arms to hold her and shoulders to snuggle on.

Aimy's gorgeous blanket already being put to good use!

Not sure what to do about all the attention she's receiving!

Invasion of the Paparazzi

Observing the world around her

Carlos is working this week so we are taking things easy and hanging around the house, though we are trying to go out for a walk every day, weather-permitting. It has been a bit chilly but we've still managed to get out to the beach and around town.

All bundled up

Guess where baby is?! A cold and windy but sunny day at the beach.

The midwife came again this morning and it seems Aimy has gained 220g this week! And just like last time she took advantage of being naked on the scale to pee everywhere... always on her best behaviour for guests!

Look at the position of their hands... like father, like daughter!

Hospital Stay

 Aimy is now two weeks old and is doing well. On Monday we had a visit from the midwife, who weighed and examined her, and it seems she has regained all the weight she lost after birth plus a little more! Now that she's sleeping and I have napped a bit myself, I'm going to try to catch up on the entries I've wanted to write since we got home.

As I said in my last post, I was hospitalized 2 days before Aimy was born. We stayed there 3 days after her birth, making for a nearly 6-day stay. And though it was not easy being away from home and my own bed, it was better than I thought it would be.

The room, complete with bed for baby.

Because our health insurance allowed us to have a private room at 1 euro per night, we jumped on the occasion and ended up being put in a nice room almost at the end of the hallway, which was great in terms of noise. There was enough space for a folding cot for Carlos, and he stayed overnight every night (Definitely an advantage of having a baby during the holiday season!)

All hooked up to the monitoring equipment

The birthing pool. The hospital was one of the few in France that have one.

The food was really good as well! On New Year's Day we even had foie gras and cake for lunch (though to make up for the calories, dinner that night was quite light. They make a point in the admitting brochure of detailing how a nutritionist plans out each meal, and I really got the sense of that on the 1st). Carlos' meals were also quite good, often a bit more complete than mine, but there wasn't a huge difference between what he got and what I ate.

Red meat, foie gras, cake... not a bad meal for a hospital!

I was really impressed with the staff in the maternity ward as well. The midwife and the auxiliaire de puériculture  (infancy and child care assistant) who were with me for Aimy's birth were fantastic, and the rest of the staff were very helpful, always reminding us that they were there if we needed anything. I did appreciate their advice and counsel, and it was nice to have those few days of help and encouragement after Aimy was born. The hospital has been awarded a "Friends of Babies" label, only one of 5 in all of France, and I definitely felt after my stay there that they deserved that designation.

Flowers from Carlos, orchids from the hospital, a baby book from the city and chocolates from a local business. We sure were spoiled!

All in all, it was a much better hospital stay than I though it would be. 

And baby makes 3!

Though this is a bit late, Carlos and I are proud to announce that Aimy Elise De Oliveira was born on December 30th, 2011 at 1:20pm. 

Sleeping like an angel. 3 days old.

I was admitted into hospital on the 28th because of a small fissure in my membranes, and when you start leaking amniotic fluid they consider that you and the baby are at high risk for infection so they hospitalize you right away for observation and induce labour within 24 hours. During that 24 hour window it seemed that I would soon go into labour, so they kept an eye on me to make sure everything was moving forward. But unfortunately things didn't progress on the 29th, so on the 30th in the morning I was induced, and Aimy was born just over 3 hours later!

Can't wait for all of you to meet her.