our day

I am so glad it is friday night and Jason does not have to work tomorrow and hang out with Joaquin and I all day and all weekend.
It has a been a full on day, I have been up since 6.30 am and had breakfast with Jason. He then left for work and I pottered around the house. I also fed Joaquin at 7am till 8am and put him back to sleep in his moses bed and I can't believe it that he stays there and falls asleep by himself. He is such a good little boy.
I was able to have a long hot shower which is the first time since I have been pregnant that I have been able to do that at home alone (well I was not alone Joaquin was asleep). I also tided up a bit, rang my brother, sterilized some bottles, and wrote in this blog. At 9.30am he woke up and I fed him and got him ready and walked down to the beach to meet a friend Gaby and her 6 week old baby and we walked to the Palace hotel where we have the mother's group. I don't know really anyone's names but i recognize them all. There are many mothers and many babies of all different ages. Our group has babies between 10 and 12 weeks. I also met a chilian lady called Gimena and a mexican lady called Clara. Both have sons Gimena's son is 3 months and named Lucas, and Clara's sone is 4 months and named Daniel. That is great as we can start a spanish speaking mother's group.
I had a pot of tea and just sat around with the mothers talking and our babies sleeping or eating. Joaquin slept a bit, he ate, he looked around and is quite relaxed around the other babies and people, I think he loves the noice and all the activity.
After that Gaby and I walked to Randwick, we had lunch at Subways and then went to the Randwick Early childhood Community center and breastfed. Joaquin was ok he was hungry all the time. We met a Japanese lady there with a 7 month baby who was trying to find a mothers group to attend, by coiencidence her husband is from Argentina (he was born in Australia but his parents are Argentinian from Bariloche). I told her about the mother's group at the Palace in Randwick and told her to come along or if she ever wants to go for a walk. Her little boy was is cute. She sent me an sms saying "thanks for my kindness today". That is nice.
Well after that we went to Coles and Joaquin was crying and then fell asleep in the baby bjorn. He then woke up while we were getting ready to leave Coles and he cried and cried, loud cries and cried all the way home, all the way up the hill. I could not or did not want to try to put the pram in the car and just tried to get it in the building and him home. I placed him on the mat then went back upstairs to get the pram. He was still crying until I picked him u p and fed him. Then he was better, but afterwards had some reflux so I think he may have been upset by something I ate. maybe the raw onion in the subway sandwich.

At 6.30pm Jas finally came home and played with him and then bathed him. I fed him more and he seemed happier but had reflux. The Jason gave him an ebm top up and he was better. Even though he cried when Jason coughed and got so upset he stopped feeding. After his bottle of ebm Jason wrapped him and put him in his moses and started to read some nursery rhymes to him. Joaquin knows it is time for bed and starts to get upset and cry when Jason begins to wrap him. However he only cried a bit and fell asleep 5 minutes later. He must have been tired.
While this was happening I made dinner, left over chicken curry from yesterday and a greek salad with feta, olives, tomato, avacado, baby spinach leaves. It was great to be able to sit and enjoy a yummy meal.
Now as Joaquin sleeps Jas is using his laptop and I am writing about my day. I am so tired now and will go to bed very soon.

Joaquin is 9 weeks old

Joaquin is asleep and I am trying to set up this blog again. I am sure he will wake up by 11am and I will feed him again.
He has been a great little boy and yesterday I was able to do some work on a paper with a coleague from the University.
Jason took Joaquin for a walk and came back 1 and a half an hour later with some Hungarian cakes from the Hungarian coffee shop on Clovelly road and we had tea.
Today is a cloudy day and I would like to go for a walk to the beach with my brazilan friend who also has a little baby girl Isa who is 5 weeks old. But as it is cloudy I do not know if she will want to come. I should walk every day as it is good for both of us.
Jason is at work now and I chat to him every now and then, we are always connected. I think he likes to be a dad and had fun with him taking him in the pram to Clovelly beach. He told me that Joaquin smiled at him when Jas put him in the pram and was watching all around him as Jas took him for a walk. Joaquin has large eyes and he has always been observant since birth.

This post by Naturally Carolicious sums up what it is like having a two month old to a T

2 month vaccinations

I took Joaquin with the baby bjorn to the Doctors today. It was drizzling with rain outside so I walked as quickly as i could around the corner and he fell asleep in the bjorn.

Once I got there of course with me stopping and not moving he woke up. He looked around the doctors surgery, there were other babies there I think for vaccinations too. Then after about 10 min he got restless, I rocked him, he was more restless and cranky and wingy and so I breastfed him and he calmed down, ate and fell asleep. By the time it was our turn (over 30 min late) he was asleep and I took him upstairs and then he woke up.

The doctor did a double take on him and said " He is a big baby, I thought he may have been here for the 4 month vaccination". I just said well he is lean really but very long. He is also strong and holds his head up and very alert all the time.

The doctor gave him 2 injections in the leg and he cried a bit. I was breastfeeding during this time and so he kept on feeding after the intitial shock of the pain and his cry. He also had a oral vaccination for gastro and he seemed to like that and gulped it down.

The immunizations that he had now at 2 months are:

• Hepatitis B (hepB)
• Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (acellular pertussis) (DTPa)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Polio (inactivated poliomyelitis IPV)
• Pneumococcal conjugate (7vPCV)
• Rotavirus (the oral one that is a new vaccination given now since May 2007 for free).

• This info is from the Immunization site
• Hepatitis B vaccine should be given to all infants as soon as possible after birth. The greatest benefit is if the vaccine is given within 24 hours, and it must be given within 7 days.
• A total of three doses of hepB are required following the birth dose, at either 2 months, 4 months and 6 months or at 2 months, 4 months and 12 months.
• A total of 4 doses of Hib vaccine should be given (2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months) if using PRP-T Hib containing vaccines.
• Here is another link with Facts on Immunization for Australian children
  

His next injections are at 4 months of age. And then at 6 months, but we will be in Argentina then so he will get his 6 months when we are back in Early February 2008. The vaccinations are free under Medicare and I think that if your child gets all the vaccinations the parents get some money back from the Australian government.

This is Joaquin's stats:
Weight: 5.3kg (50th percentile) He is still a lean machine and this is with clothes on and without a poo.
Height: 61cm (90th percentile) I think he may even be more than 61cm as he was 59cm at 6 weeks of age.
Head circumference: ? don't know but over 40cm (75th percentile). He was 39cm at 6 weeks of age.

After the Doctor's visit I went to the chemist and bought infants panadol just in case he had a fever in reaction to the injections (this is what the doctor recommended) and I went to the local corner deli and bought an eggplant, celery, olive sourdough bread, milk and a croissant.
I guess the croissant was my treat as the doctor had told me now he will start to feed more and require more breastmilk and so i must make sure i was eating well. I mean a croissant is not a healthy option but I new that once i got home I would have to feed him and comfort him after his vaccinations and had no time to make a quick bite to eat.

So at home i heated the croissant and had it with jam and made a cup of milky tea and just breast fed him all afternoon. he was very tired and hungry and upset i think after the injections.
He cried all afternoon and then fell asleep in my arms as I paced the room and had "The Beautiful girls" on the myth tv.
Jason came home at 6 and he bathed him. I fed him some more and then Jas gave him an ebm (expressed breast milk top up of 50mls) and I started to make dinner (stuffed eggplants).
Jas put him to bed and miracously he slept from 7.30pm to 5.30am and then had a feed. I checked him all night to see if he had a fever or not but he was fine.