El Dedo Magico

AHHHHHHH!!! Se me olvidaba. Anoche descubri que poseo dotes paranormales en mis manos. No no curo el reuma, pero si, tengo el don de calmar a los lactantes. Pulsen y vean!

Cultura Televisiva o Falta de Dormir...

Hola, muy buenas!
Me recordaran por otros "Post" y por algunas apariciones estelares en los "Post" de Alex.
Siiii!!, yo soy "El Padre", vamos el que cocina, limpia, y ayuda en general (Ahyy!, las que tenemos que servir...).
La ultima vez que me deje leer por aki aun estaba yo pensando en el sexo (de mi hija, quisir) y como seria la vida cuando fueramos tres. Bueno, ya somos trio y la verdad es que lo vamos llevando bastante bien. La ke mejor, Tara, que basicamente pasa de todo y se limita a comer y a hacer popos&pipis. Y creanme, como "cambiador oficial del nappy" (nombrado a dedo, y con mucha honra!) que soy, les puedo decir que lo de P&P me lo lleva muy bien y en potente abundancia (si no vean el retrato que me hicieron en el acto, donde Tara me disparo a discrecion muy traicioneramente).

Alex y un servidor estamos basicamente cansados y/o agotados, y es basicamente (x2) porque no dormimos, bueno, mas bien, porque no nos dejan dormir. Basicamente (x3), Tara ha decidido (sin previa consulta) que solo quiere dormir 2-3h y comer el resto del dia. Asi que, por aki, lo llevamos como podemos. Para ser honesto, todo es compensado cuendo le ves la carita o te hace cualquier cosilla.

Lo peor es cuando Alex, bueno sus containers de leche, no se prestan raudos y veloces a las demandas de Tara (las menos de las ocasiones, pq Alex esta siendo un verdadera estrella!!). En esas raras ocasiones, es cuando entra un servidor como artista secundario que es, e intento distraerla donandole parte de mi basta cultura televisiva y de otras cosas en general (esa EGB!!!)



Bueno, les voy dejando que mis nenas me requieren. La proxima vez habra fotos de Tara comiendo su primera Bratwurst (despues de todo es mitad alemana!!) y les hablare de lo dificil que es montar/ensamblar juguetes para bebes. Venga!! prometo mas retratos y menos rollo. Besos + cuidarseme caterva.

A Fashion Accident

There I was, starting to think that all there would be to write about for the next weeks and weeks to come was stories about sore nipples, sleep deprivation, baby poo and endless hick ups. But there is more indeed - fashion, and the accidents one may have possibly due to a reduction in the amount of brain cells the system can spare such a negligible subject area when it is busy with so much more rewarding areas like milk production or the colour of poo.
Tara and I were baby sling training today and I'd worked out in a few seconds that she preferred me to walk her up and down in her sling (brain is fully functional in that respect). So I decided to take her for a walk. Spontaneously, and off we went. She liked it so much she was asleep in two minutes (asleep! the joys of that!). Taken by my success, I just walked on, chatting to her, and only realised when I hit the bottom of New Walk that I'd actually walked out in my Schluffelhosen and other wildly mismatched items of nightwear. A particular sight were the grey flip flops with blue thick non-slip cow socks, not depicted below (and better that way). Do take note of the saggy bottom, my dotted undies showing, and my unkempt hair. I don't think my teeth were brushed, but that would have only been a prob with Pumpunita, and she's used to worse.



Tara Pumpuni is exactly two weeks old today (one hour and 27 minutes short of a fortnight to be precise). Ask me: Did I have an idea of what was coming my way, a fortnight ago? NOT A HUNCH! Yawn...

Infant Socks, One Pair (with Child), 2006

In the end I took pity on the much mentioned pair of socks and took their picture. With my beautiful child, of course (and who's the star of that picture?!).
Other than that, nothing much has happened today. I must have held Tara for at least 10 hours since we got up, either feeding her, or holding her sleeping (scared that putting her into her cot would wake her up and get us into another two-hour feeding session) or just holding her because she's so cute and cuddly.
I'm tired though. My arms hurt. My shoulders are sore. As are my nipples. And my beautiful child is rooting on daddy's neck, only two minutes after he's taken her off me. What a hungry beautiful child!

Day Ten and a Couple of Firsts

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Today Tara took her first walk outside and had her first bath at home. She is also wearing socks for the first time but we're not taking a picture of that.
Her first walk, she slept through (sadly, walking her in Victoria Park at night to establish a healthy bedtime routine is not an option) and only woke very hungry five minutes before we got home.
Mummy had to pick her up and talk to her constantly, promising the joys of two breasts full of milk in only a few minutes to keep her from crying. (Scenes straight from mother and daughter horror movies went through my head - I was seriously worried I could trip and fall with her or be knocked over by a car at the traffic light. Of couse there is no such genre as mother and daughter horror movies, it would not sell, but it's amazing what new fears having a baby gives you.)


Her first bath at home was an entirely different experience from the one at the hospital, she did not complain at all (does that mean she liked it?), so I am now hereby officially endorsing and recommending tummy tubs to all mums, new mums and mums-to-be!



As for the socks, nothing much to mention there except that they are blue and have been bought by her nanna (with love). We did not, like I said, take a picture to celebrate the moment although of course we have paid it due attention and cooed over her in her darling tiny socks.

And while we're uploading pictures, let me just throw in one to show off her lovely belly button - it's an inny!

Tonight, Tonight...

Can you hear me singing? West Side Story! Serves the triple purpose of making sure that mummy doesn't go bonkers, that daddy doesn't return to the bedroom once he's been exciled, and soothing a very hungry baby. Rename it 'Tara's Theme' and sing along any time you wake up between 10pm and 10am (Tara's night by definition).

"Tonight, tonight,
Won't be just any night,
Tonight there will be no morning star.
Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight.
And for us, stars will stop where they are."

Tony and Maria had different things in mind (good for them!), mummy Alex and Tara, well... Last night daddy again threatened to have our little girl exchanged for a kitten, so he got himself exiled from the bedroom some time well after midnight - and my motivation was entirely selfish: I do need him to function in the daytime, to feed me while I'm sitting about incapacitated (aka feeding Tara), especially now that Tara's nanna has gone home much earlier than planned, poor thing didn't feel she was needed with Jose being such a star (albeit decidedly not a morning star).
But following the community midwife's visit today, Tara stands redeemed - we've been diagnosed with a growth spurt! (I say 'we' but it is really only her. My tummy is visibly shrinking back to normal, and I'm not discussing my breast in detail on the net!) There is nothing wrong with her need for four to five hour feeding marathons, followed by a max of two and a half hours of sleep, followed by another marathon, AND SO ON. There was hope, briefly, when it looked like she's disovered the use of her fingers this morning, but even with the well meaning help of mummy and daddy has she been unable to reproduce it. Poor little hungry soul!

To make things worse, today was the first day mummy and Tara Pumpunita stayed home alone for a few hours. Jose, being the daddy he is, set us up for a full five hour marathon before he left: dinner, desert, juice and water, reading material, phones on the back of the sofa, and a fully set up changing station (from left to right). He quite forgot toilet arrangements, unfortunately, but my inability to operate the laptop with my feet is my own fault alone. And yes, when Jose came back a few hours later, all that had changed was the level of food and drink, and we were one nappy down.



PS: Apologies to all that are waiting for me to return a phone calls. I know it looks like I have the leasure to talk on the phone for hours (well, four to five), but I actually have quite a headache (lack of sleep) and am unable to focus on decent conversation (milk production over brain cells I guess). Sorry. Hang on in there, your phone WILL ring one of these days.

Tara's Prayer

We didn't mean to have her baptized, but it seems the Spanish Catholic heritage will have it's own way with our Pumpunita! And being his daughter's father, Jose knows exactly what's on our little girl's mind and was able to put her prayer into (Spanish) words for mummy:
'Santa Teta, danos leche. Santa Teta bendita. Quedate chiquitita y danos leche.' (Holy Booby, give us milk, blessed holy booby. Stay small and give us milk!) (Excuse me?!! SMALL??!!)
This was two days ago, and the prayer did do wonders. Tara's and mummy's technique has improved, and dinner times are less painful now - it has even become safe to stay within kicking distance when she latches on. I am grateful. As a consequence, Tara's changed her feeding pattern and now needs a one-hour-snack every 1 1/2 to three hours, rather than a 1 1/2 hour feed every five hours. I'm not sure I'm grateful for that, as it means four feeds a night, but at least she is now displaying more traits of her mother, which again I am grateful for.
Of course, you can guess what I'm praying for. As is daddy: 'That's it! In the morning I'm taking her back! You can have a kitten instead!' Not a very holy thought...

(Sorry for display of breasts clad in nothing but my suckling child!)



She is a week old today! Exactly seven days ago I was building up to pushing, at 7.22pm still in a shared room and embarrassed about my, erm, vocalisations, until the other woman behind the curtain also started retching and moaning (I wonder, had she had a tuna sandwich too?).
Today the cord stump has come off, we're so proud! She's getting bigger by the hour, soon she'll be going to school...