Mike the baby whisperer dropped by to pick up some stuff and managed to lull my baby to sleep. Hallelujah!
He also dropped off this beer from the new Tuque de Broue brewery that opened in Embrun. With Vero and the baby asleep, it’s time to crack this open and give it a try!
We made it to the doctor’s office in record time and I’m glad to report that Sierra’s weight looks quite good as she gained 150 grams in the past week! That’s always reassuring to hear considering Vero is working really hard at keeping the kid fed.
They did confirm a few things for us though. It is NOT normal for a kid to be on the breast for more than an hour at a time! So it’s time to shake things up and try and get her only on a breast for 30 minutes or less (for the time being). Heck, the nurse was saying that for women with a second kid, it can sometimes take only 3 minutes to fill up the baby from the breast! That’s crazy talk. This led to an interesting evening where it seemed like Sierra would feed for 20 minutes, then want to feed again shortly after, then feed again shortly after and then conk out for 3 hours. The same thing happened around midnight which was rough and in the wee hours of the morning. It’s currently 11:30 and both her and Vero are still sleeping while I’m updating this blog. At least Vero will hopefully feel like she has a little more freedom if she can cut down the feeding time!
Other than that, the doctor gave her a clean bill of health and we will drop by there next week for another check-in. I’m glad that they scheduled it for next week as that will be my final week before heading back to work. I have to say I’m not really looking forward to going back to work at this point, even though my days primarily consist of changing diapers and making sure Vero has everything she needs. But it’s great to see the baby squirm around and I’m always wondering if she will discover something new that day.
Mom and Dad left this morning to head back up to Kapuskasing. It was great having them here as they are seasoned veterans in taking care of children. They have given us the confidence needed to continue on with this adventure! They are planning to swing back around here in a few weeks time when I head back to work. I will have tripled the amount of chores to do by the time they get back! Thanks to the both of you for helping out for the past week.
Sierra conked out on top of Dad.
When Dad was off packing the car, she just conked out on Mom! Why can’t she sleep like that at night? 🙂
Sierra got a few more visitors this week. I have to say that it’s hard to be proactive and invite people over so we take no offence if you contact us and suggest that you drop by to see the baby.
Benoit and Cinthia dropped by for a quick visit the other night and brought what can only be described as the greatest hat known to man…a knit Yoda hat! I am getting Sierra to wear that everywhere, including when she takes a bath!
We also had Chantal and Jona drop by for a visit. Having Jona run around the house made me realize what I’m in for in a couple of years time! He’s a great kid to play around with. Chantal has also claimed the title of ‘baby whisperer’ as she has a knack with kids and the baby seemed to calm right down each time she held her!
The baby whisperer in action.
Jona playing quite nicely with Sierra.
Vero showing Jona her old toys.
A few months back, Vero told me that she would appreciate some cable TV in the house so she could have it on in the background when taking care of the baby. This was an interesting suggestion considering we haven’t had cable TV in years and resort to Netflix and other methods.
I did some research on antennas and over-the-air signals. Mike had a setup similar to this a few years back so there must have been something to it.
I bought an $8 directional antenna which is reminiscent of the old rabbit ears that were used years ago. I played for a day to find a tower and a signal with two channels on it. It was pretty amazing when I ended up finding two channels in high definition. IMAGINE THAT.
The only issue is that every time you would breathe in the same room as this antenna, it would move and I would have to readjust. So I decided to buy an omnidirectional Antenna which would eliminate the need for any direction.
Off to Factory Direct we went. As you can see, Sierra was excited to enter the Dollar store to look for chalk.
I was eyeing up a giant $100 antenna but the guy at the store said he has never heard complaints about this Kross omnidirectional antenna which comes with an amplifier for $40. Dad and I decided to give it a try.
We got home, went up into the garage attic, ran a cable down to the TV in the living room and lo and behold, we had 12 glorious high definition channels appearing on the TV. All for free! No need to pay for a cable bill! As Mom put it, it was the easiest job Dad and I ever got into because we usually end up spending triple the amount of time working on a project. We even ended up running a cable down to the TV downstairs in case visitors want to watch something down there as well.
I can definitely say I am impressed with this little device for $40 and highly recommend it to people who want to cut their cable bill back, but at the same time, want a few channels that they can have on to watch the news. Off the top of my head, we get CityTV, TVOntario, CBC, CHRC and a bunch of French channels as well.
The past few nights have been pretty good with the baby. On Saturday night, she was sleeping pretty good around 8PM and I made the mistake of waking her up around 11pm for a feeding and she woke up frequently during the night for more feelings.
We smartened up on Sunday night and when she fell asleep around 8PM, we let her sleep until she woke up, and we went to bed as well! Whoever came up with the credo “Sleep when your baby sleeps!” Was a smart person.
She is definitely transitioning from the eat-sleep phase and sometimes stays awake after a feeding. I put her down on this activity mat and I’m not sure if she knew what to do with it. But she was mesmerized which is what counts. Mom and Dad are having a good time with her while they are here which is nice to see. If they hightailed it out of here, I would know how they really felt about her!
Thanks to everyone for the comments that are helping us out and don’t be offended if we don’t get back to you soon in replies. It’s nothing personal, we’re just taking things day by day!
Mike and Melissa dropped by yesterday since it was a rainy day (I’m glad for it! The lawn hasn’t seen rain in a month!) and had a Photoshoot for Sierra. We were super appreciative (and always are!) to have those two people in our lives and they had a great afternoon with Sierra. Mike, Mélanie and Maxime also showed up for quick visit which was nice and we managed to sneak Max into a few photos with Sierra! I have to keep my eye on that kid around here in about 15 years!
Deals, watch out!
Saturday, the family headed out for Sierra’s first garage sale out in Vars. Connie would be proud of us. While the Great Glebe Garage Sale (GGGS) is a great event to go to, it’s rare to find actual good finds when you are against 10,000 other people!
The Vars garage sale generally has a few good finds but I came out empty this year. But Mom found a toy car for $5 for Sierra when she is older and she found a ton of puzzles to bring down to Gaspe. There was also a nice woman named Cindy who loved Sierra so much that she gave us a few items for her, like a pair of shoes!
No garage sale is without it’s share of hot dogs so I treated the family to a good feed of them. As Mom put it “You always treat us right…either IKEA or garage sale hot dogs!”
Later on in the day, Melissa and Jeff came by for a visit. Sierra was excited to see some family drop by.
Pro Dad right here.
Benoit writes in:
Are you more excited by the next Star Trek film this Summer or the new upcoming tv show?
Sierra chimes in with her thoughts on the matter:
Well, while in general the films of Star Trek are a hit and miss, the TV show is generally what people think about when they think about Star Trek. So I am definitely more excited about the new show that is coming out soon enough. It’s also interesting to hear that it may take place across different eras which I’m not sure how will play out. Will they have ten episodes in the Original Series and then jump to another ten in Next Generation? Will they just mix and match the different eras in the same episode? Who knows what will happen, or if they will travel across different eras or not. Either way, Star Trek is awesome and it’s back! I’m excited to check it out with Dad and convince Mom to get into the show. P.S., did you know Dad ordered the entire Next Generation series on Amazon like a Geekus Prime? Come on over whenever you want to check out a few episodes!
Sierra out!
Live long and prosper, I will!
Sierra got a taste of the family as Mom and Dad came into town for a visit. It’s nice having them here and I’m excited to explore this thing they call “Oh, we can take a shift during the night!”
Trish also dropped by in the afternoon with some excellent meatball subs and dessert for supper. Yummy doesn’t even begin to describe it! Everyone that knows me knows I’m not one for the desserts, but it was pretty tasty! Could it be lack of sleep which is the power that unlocks my hatred for desserts? Perhaps!
We alost want to thank Maureen and John and Abigail for sending up TONS of clothes for Sierra. It much appreciated!
Mike and Joanne also sent up some nice outfits as well as a cool toque for her. Thanks guys!
Overall, it’s been a good day after a night with lack of sleep. Sierra is starting to look around a little more which is interesting. Mom also somehow has a good singing voice when it comes to putting people to sleep!