First smiles

I think they are not as random as they used to be…we’ve been trying to capture these magical first ones, but it’s been quite difficult: (1) they are not as frequent as we wish they’d be (impatient parents, I know…); (2) the phothographer – me/nene is not as good as I wish she’d be; (3) can I blame the camera?!

Ok, bad pictures aside, isn’t she gorgeous? And I’m not saying that because everybody says she looks like me (hehehe)…we did a recent survey comparing our baby pics and little Zoe, but that’s enough material for another blog.

Best places in the world

Just a quick update on Zoe’s development. She is really growing at the moment and her hunger is ravenous. Unbelievable how much such a small baby can eat. Interestingly one cannot see how much she consumes when she is breastfeeding but Nene is expressing some milk now, which I use then to give her a bottle once a day (also called “special Papa-Zoe time”). I am always amazed on the amount she consumes… and in which time. After that she can’t wait to fall asleep.

Based on these experiences it is not surprising that her 2 best places in the world are mamae’s breasts and papa’s belly – see pictures below.

Ah, the difficult life of a 5 week old.

We also started having a look at flats to rent and saw today one apartment in Coogee, which is perfectly located in between work and beach (1.5km to walk in each direction). However, there is a shortage of rental places at the moment in Sydney and so we were in for shock in that 30 (!) people were cueing in front of the house to have a look. Doors open – and hell broke loose. Actually, quite amusing to see how people were trying to convince the estate agent that THEY are the perfect tenant. Well, it seems we are not yet desperate enough to enjoy this spectacle. Let’s see what we will say next week…

One month, at the beach

So we managed to go to the beach!! Well, we were not exactly on the beach, but on the cliffs overlooking Coogee beach. Beautiful day, also the hottest of the year so far (31 degrees)… Little Zoe seemed very happy and relaxed – enjoying the trees, the clear sky and the sounds of the birds. They seem to hypnotise her (perhaps that’s what we should get to help her sleep!…). Papa and I also enjoyed the glorious day, the first trip to the beach with our little one. Coincidentaly, it was the day of her first month – in the outside world.

Little Houdini

After my first 2 weeks back at work, we all have started adjusting to the new work/private life share. Zoe seems to cope best with this new situation. Every evening when I come home and she hears my voice she stops moving & looks in my direction… and my heart melts every time. She got me already under her spell.

I can see though the dilemma for working parents, in that you really enjoy your work… but at the same time want to spend as much time as possible with your children. I knew from friends that this would be difficult but the reality has still overwhelmed me how divided one can be. Just incredible!

Zoe is developing so well. She is very active & loves to look around and at everything, especially her Baby Shapes book (see pictures) – thanks to Natasha! We even spotted the first few smiles!

As Nene said she is sometimes so active that she gets overexcited and can’t sleep anymore. Nothing is good enough then and we were at first puzzled what to do about it. Until we realised that wrapping/swaddling her was the best way to get her calm again and sleeping.

HOWEVER, we soon realised that she is a little Harry Houdini in that once wrapped/swaddled you just have to blink with the eyes and she has already an arm out followed, after the next eye blink, by the second arm. The arms are then triumphantly waved around to humiliate our swaddling skills and to demonstrate us that she is an escape artist who has to be reckoned with. This is one of her first talents we’ve spotted. To be honest, we are not sure if we should then laugh or cry because she wakes up once the arms are out and the cycle starts all over again. Ah, long live the ambiguous joys of parenthood!

Just to finish of, below 2 pictures. Spot the difference between Zoe and Houdini! Mmmm, not so easy…

The meaning of life

The books talk of a growth spurt and the importance of having plenty of milk. Reasonable but quite theoretical – so I had thought. Still, we’ve been freezing some breastmilk every day. I was asking myself “why?” the other day, until…she’s got into this frantic feeding feast for the past few days! And if you look at the pics, you’ll see why…She’s growing so fast! Last Friday she was 53cm, 4kg, but I guess she’s over that this week already. She suddenly fills up the pram, the bassinet, the bath, the bigger clothing. It happens so fast…So today we were outside pondering about the meaning of life…and whether to go to the beach by bus or not. We decided to wait for Papa to get there by car. PS. we didn’t manage going to the beach, only a very naughty gelato in Newtown. Perhaps tomorrow?

Exciting evenings

She is so active!! Really sweet – to start with…. but then it turns into a frenzy and she can’t manage it very well. So she gets OVER excited, very tired, and can’t sleep…last few evenings have been quite tricky. We’ve been trying to find a logic, but, surprise! perhaps there’s nothing to understand in baby-logic. Our evenings have become, hmm, very interesting to say the least…well, never boring!

Kangaroo style

OK, these pics are not great, but I just wanted to tell you how much she loves being carried in her Babybjorn. It’s like an “off” button, she falls asleep straightaway. We’ve been walking around the neighbourhood everyday, and it’s been really great for the two of us…(A great present, Oma!) I’ve also considered using it at home when she’s completely hyper and unsettled at night…but that would be too ridiculous – well, maybe not.

0000 or 000?

I can’t believe how quickly she’s growing, putting on weight and changing…Perhaps you can’t see that well on the pics, but I promise you she’s clearly growing out of her 0000 outfits. Funnily enough, the 000 seem too big still. And doesn’t she look more cute by the day?! OK, OK, I know, you shouldn’t trust my opinion…Today we got this discreet orange baby bouncer – perhaps we can keep her entertained and awake during the day, so that we ALL can have a better night sleep. Also, we can’t help trying to stimulate her a bit…and Papa was already discussing some data with her this morning. Oh, well, somebody needs to feed her intellect – mamae can only manage to feed Zoe’s stomach at the moment!

Party girl, passport pic and pampering

So she’s a true party girl – like her parents, HAHAHA. Late nights tend to be the rule, like when she was in the womb. Are they related?! This pic is from last night at 23h ish…

Other than that, things are going well. Passport pic was a success, she behaved like a true German, completely at ease half naked in front of the camera – we needed to take her jumpsuit off to wake her up! We took a pic with her eyes open but she looked quite grumpy…then as we gave it up, she decided to open her eyes very wide. So much about who’s in charge here!

And today we had to say goodbye to the Brazilian grandparents…all pampering and company will be much missed! Plus cooking, cleaning, tidying…

Now it’s official …or the arrival of the birth certificate

Today we’ve received Zoe’s birth certificate, which was another important step after registering her via the Australian government & health services. As Eneida and I have learnt through our experiences, the birth certificate is one of those silly documents you should guard with your life – even more important than a passport. (Basically a birth certificate allows you to apply for a passport)

This is exactly the next step for Zoe, we only have to do now some passport fotos for her (only!). The passport application instructions say that the person on the foto has to look straight into the camera with the eyes open – easy for any non-newborn person (the best we managed so far can be seen on the right). We will try tomorrow a professional photograph to get such a shot of her, which we will then take together with the birth certificate and us to the German consulate to apply for her passport. After the passport, we just have to sort out her Australian visa (easy!) and we are already finished with the bureaucratic hurdles.

Yes, I hear you say, why a German passport? Well, she actually doesn’t “qualify” (poor thing failed already a test!) for Australian citizenship. That’s why we decided to get her German & Brazilian passports. Are you already dizzy by all these procedures? Don’t worry, we feel the same but we see now the light at the end of the tunnel… or was that death again?

michi