Time Flies!

Its hard to believe, but G and I have been married for a year already. Halloween was a big day around here - our anniversary, Luna's 7 month "birthday," and of course my favorite holiday. We didn't do much, we went for lunch. Halloween isn't celebrated here, but as you can see, Luna dressed up! I also managed to find a few decorations here, and my mom sent some, so the house looked good.

My appointment with the new gynecologist went fine. He did not find anything wrong gynecologically, and suspects that whatever is causing my abdominal issues, its gastrointestinal. So we'll have to find a gastroenterologist I guess. As I write this I am entering another one of my "spells." My abdomen swells out (I cannot even wear regular pants, I have to wear stretchy things) and I have a great deal of pain. It gets worse and worse for about 3 days and then it fades. And around 3 or 4 weeks later, it starts over again. Its bizarre.

The big excitement in my life recently is that I managed to hack our DVD player to make it multi-region, so I can finally watch all the DVDs I brought from home. Its been great watching all my old favorites!

Luna is doing well, though she's in a cranky phase lately. For about 3 weeks now she's had a short fuse and hasn't been sleeping great. She's getting new teeth, definitely, and the two she already has are pushing through further. She's also growing and learning new things everyday, all of which can stress a baby out! We got her a walker and she's started running around getting into everything she can reach. She is rolling all over as a means of transport, but we haven't seen any crawling still. I've been trying everyday to teach her to say "Mama," and today she actually managed to say the "ma" sound, so who knows, maybe she'll be talking soon! She's the light of my life and every single day she does something amazing!

We're heading into the holiday season, which is going to be very very difficult for me. I'm happy to report my friend A (the American) and her husband have invited us to celebrate Thanksgiving, so rather than sitting home moping I'll be eating like I should be! It looks like G will have to work on Christmas, though, which will suck. I suppose I'll get through the holidays one day at a time, just like I get through everything.

Happy autumn everyone!

Growling Our Way Through October

As usual, time got away from me and its been weeks since I posted. Funny how a 6 month old keeps you busy!

First, as a follow-up to my last post, last week we met again with the imburgering worker and filled out paperwork that gives me an extension until September 2011, which is the earliest that any of the local child care services could provide us with a slot. I am so relieved that I will not have to wean Luna early! I also found out that I can test out of the Dutch classes that are part of my imburgering requirements, so if I manage to learn Dutch on my own before then I can skip 60 hours of classes. There is no getting out of the 120 hours of social integration, but I don't mind much. By September, Luna will be weaned and it will be good for her to get some socialization.

I've been having some pain issues that remain unexplained. Every couple of weeks, my abdomen swells and becomes hard to the touch and I am in severe pain for a few days. The last time it happened, I was in so much pain I couldn't go for a walk and I needed help to give Luna a bath. I went to the doctor the first time this happened, and he thought it was a hernia. However, a scan of the area did not locate any hernia. He did not bother ordering more tests, which I found a bit strange! It has happened twice more since then, for three or four days at a time. I made an appointment with a new gynecologist (no way am I going back to the one that delivered Luna), and I had to wait several weeks. However, that appointment is coming up Thursday. I am not sure if the problem is gynecological or gastrointestinal, I have no idea. When its hurting it hurts sort of all over, I haven't been able to pinpoint the source. Anyway, perhaps the new doctor can help.

Luna had her six month check up last week and the doctor was very pleased with her growth and development. She is back on track with weight gain, and she has two teeth just barely peeking through, one on top and one on bottom. The doctor said that her balance and coordination with sitting up is on level with an 8 month old, and also told us not to worry that she is not showing interest in crawling. Apparently it is quite common for babies with acid reflux to loathe being on their bellies and to skip crawling altogether.

My sister-in-law's sister, Bridget, sent Luna a hazel wood necklace, which is supposed to absorb excess acids and help with acid reflux, eczema, and a host of other problems. Though I had noticed some improvement in the days leading up to me putting the necklace on her, Luna's vomiting has been greatly reduced. Hard to say if its the necklace or if she was growing out of it anyway, but the necklace is adorable and Luna doesn't mind it, so we keep it on! Thanks Bridget!

Luna is standing up with only some minor assistance to her balance, and she has several amusing new noises she makes! One of them is a sort of growl that is just perfect for Halloween! She is now eating meat with her veggies and she loves her fresh food feeder. She's even drinking out of a sippy cup, though she needs help to really get a drink out of it.

Our Little Chick says: "Happy Halloween everyone, wish I was there to celebrate with you all!!!"

So Much For Mother Knows Best... Belgium Knows Best?

I'm angry, I'm sad, and I'm confused all at the same time. We had the intake appointment at the imburgering office today. They do not make any exceptions for breastfeeding mothers. In other words, I will have to put my child in day care and stop breastfeeding in order to go and sit in classes in which I will learn mostly ignorant things that anyone from a modernized country would know.

We were given a list of two creches (large daycare centers) here in Landen and the office that organizes the local onthaalmoeders (smaller home based daycares), and we must report to each of the three locations and inquire about daycare. If they have no slots available, they can fill out a form stating that and indicating when a position may become available. If there are no positions available at any of the three, we will get a six month extension to continue searching for childcare. HOWEVER, if there IS a position available, even if we find the creche or onthaalmoeder not to our liking for some reason, we MUST take it and I must start classes immediately.

Which would mean I will have to wean Luna. Even if we purchase another breast pump (mine broke, and the one I borrowed from my friend won't work for me - breast pumps clearly hate me), we have no freezer, so there is no way I could pump and store up enough milk to be away from her 8 hours a day. We tried her on formula this week (I'll explain later) and she was so disgusted that she gagged until she vomited and did not swallow a drop. So what exactly is she supposed to eat??? Geert was so astonished by the insanity of this law that he actually said, "You're telling me these classes are more important than the health of our baby?" Our intake counselors response was, "That's Belgium for you." He then started mumbling about lawyers, but we of course cannot afford to fight this. If we do not comply with the law, we'll be fined, possibly repeatedly, until I comply.

I am excited to learn Dutch. Those classes I actually look forward to, or I would if I could attend them without harming Luna. But the "social orientation" classes will likely be an insult to my intelligence. A big clue about what I am in for came when we used the bathrooms at the imburgering office. I did not have my camera with me, but the sign was similar to this one. Apparently the office caters to people who have to be told not to squat on the toilet seat. No wonder they feel these classes are so damned important!


I'll post an update once we find out about the availability of childcare.

In other news, Luna isn't gaining weight as fast as the doctor would like. This is unsurprising, as the vomiting from her acid reflux has gotten really bad in the past month to six weeks. She still nurses well, she just vomits a lot of it back up. Her solid food usually stays down, but not always. The doctor suggested we start giving her one bottle of a special thick formula they make for babies with reflux at night before bed. The idea being that it will give her some extra calories, and might help her to sleep through the night better. We bought the formula, which was ridiculously expensive (about a third more than the cost of standard formula), and Luna will not eat it. She was simply horrified, the looks on her face were hysterical, and she gagged and gagged and gagged until she eventually threw up. I tried it from a bottle and from a spoon, both times she gagged as soon as it touched her lips - before she could have felt the texture, so it must have been the taste. I tried two nights in a row to no avail. We've been in touch with the doctor, and she's arranged for some samples of another kind of formula that we can go and pick up. But I don't have high hopes. I've read, and the doctor confirmed, that solely breast fed babies frequently refuse formula. In the meantime, I have increased her nursing sessions almost two fold and I have started adding a little avocado to her fruits each day for the extra fats. I squeezed in an extra nursing session between her evening solids and her bedtime feed and she has been sleeping for much longer stretches the last several nights. She is not LOSING weight, mind you, but her rate of gain has leveled off. Hopefully it will pick up again.

I've been having some weird pain in my abdomen in the area around the C-Section. Our family doctor thought it was a hernia, but none could be found on ultrasound. He did not order any further tests, so I have just been living with it. We made an appt. with a new gynecologist, but its not until next month. The pain isn't debilitating or anything, but as is always the case with chronic pain, its exhausting. I've been way tireder than normal. Just one more thing to deal with I guess.

I haven't gotten around to cleaning out my Photobucket page and posting new pics, but will try to do so soon. She's getting big - she is sitting up on her own now and she eats in a high chair! Our little girl is growing so fast!

Adventures in Antwerp

On Sunday we journeyed to Antwerp to see the Royal De Luxe giant marionettes. The trains were crowded with teenagers returning from the Pukkelpop music festival and we nearly gave up before we started, but eventually we found seats on a very crowded train.

I had never been to Antwerp, but the park where the marionettes were that afternoon was in the opposite direction of most of the parts of Antwerp we might normally have visited. So I still need to go to explore Antwerp. We followed the people to find the right park - there were a lot of people! According to the news, 800,000 visited the marionettes during the three days they were in town.

The marionettes were amazingly detailed and a wonder to behold. We did not get to see them walk around or dance, as we got there in between the 2 parades. We did actually wait until 4 o'clock, even though the baby (and the husband for that matter) were getting tired and cranky by that point, but the parade did not start on time so we ended up leaving. But even just sitting and looking around they were fascinating. The Giant Little Girl was my favorite. She had a sweet, slightly sorrowful look about her. The Diver was a bit scary looking, reminiscent of Frankenstein. He did not have his diving helmet on while we were there.

The park where they were settled in the afternoon was pretty cool in and of itself. There were very neat fountains that had hundreds of children playing in them, and an enormous, tall, futuristic looking playground. There was a large exposition building with a craft fair going on. We bought Luna a knit hat for winter, and she was so cute in one of the hats we tried on her that the vendor asked permission to take her picture in it. We had hotdogs for lunch (not exactly the American hotdogs I'm used to, but not too bad) and fed Luna her veggies right there at the festival. Other than the occasional fussy time, she was great all day, despite being unable to get a good nap in. She doesn't mind interruptions to her routine at all.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day, but it was definitely a fun day!

All the pictures and video we took are here, but I encourage you to check out the videos of them in action I found on YouTube here, here, and here.

Photobucket Cleanout

Just got notice that my Photobucket page is getting full. I will be clearing it out at the end of this week, deleting some of the older photos and videos to make room for the ones still to come. So if there is anything you want to download, this is your last chance!

Brussels Flower Carpet, 2010

Luna and I went to Brussels with Ambre, Hannelore, and Kirsten today to see the Flower Carpet. Every other year, the Grote Markt of Brussels is transformed into a colorful carpet of flowers! 750,000 to 800,000 flowers, mostly begonias, are used to create the design, which is different each year.

We had our hands full with two babies (Kirsten is one day older than Luna) and Hannelore, who is almost three and very independent. But we had a nice time all the same, visiting the carpet, having pizza and ice cream, and strolling through the outdoor market. I had planned to go up to the city hall balcony for a better view, but the line was too long, so we settled for the close-up view from the ground. We bought some professional pictures to show it from above.

Check out the pictures and videos!

Soldiering On

Its been a bit longer between posts than usual, I apologize. I just haven't found the time to blog. Lots has happened, I'll do my best to update without making this tooooo long.

First on everyone's minds, I am sure, is Miss Luna. She is doing well. She is back on her acid reflux medication, and it started helping almost instantly. She began sleeping better within two days of being back on it. She has not miraculously started sleeping through the night, but most nights I am only up with her twice, which is fine with me! She usually sleeps about 12 hours a night, and I feed her before I go to bed and one to two times during the night.

We have introduced new vegetables into her diet, and she has so far tasted carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and zucchini. She doesn't seem to care much for the broccoli, but she eats it anyway - just cracks me up with her "yuck" faces. She is having trouble with constipation, a common problem after the introduction of solids apparently. We've been giving her glycerine suppositories as necessary (poor thing!), and today we are introducing fruits, which is supposed to help. So starting today, she will get one portion of vegetables mixed with potatoes and olive oil and one portion of fruit mixed with baby cereal and orange juice. And she continues to nurse regularly.

Luna got the last of her shots this past Thursday. She still has one oral immunization left, but that's it until her first birthday. Her height (63 and a half cm) and weight (6.710 kg) are right smack in the middle of the growth charts, so she is growing just right. Her head continues to be on the large side, but its growing at a smooth rate so the doctor is not concerned. Its got to be that big to contain all her brains! She is a little smarty.

Her biggest achievements this month have been perfecting rolling over (she uses it as a means of transportation now) and the discovery of her feet, which she chews on all the time. The doctor told us babies usually don't discover their feet until five or six months, so we're very proud of our little toe nommer. She has also started laughing big belly laughs now, which is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. The first time she did it, G and I looked at each other and discovered we both had tears in our eyes. Unfortunately, I haven't caught the belly laughs on video yet, but I will eventually!

As for mama, I've had a rough week. After much discussion, we decided its not financially possible for us to visit home this fall as we had hoped. I have been very homesick and the thought of that trip has been keeping me going, so I am struggling pretty hard now. I don't know when we will be able to make it home, and I am extremely saddened that my family and friends will not get to meet Luna while she is a baby. Many thanks to all the family and friends who have sent such touching and heartfelt emails to cheer me up and to remind me that being here is what is best for my family. Special thanks, also, to my friend Ambre here in Belgium, who has been great at helping to cheer me up this week. I will survive, I know, and eventually I will adjust to being so far from home.

In other mama news, we reported to the office regarding my integration classes. We don't know much more than we did before we went, though. I learned that I am required to complete 60 hours of social orientation and 120 hours of Dutch instruction. Which seems like way too much social orientation and way too little Dutch, but nobody asked me. :) Classes are in 3 hour blocks 2 to 4 times a week, so depending on which schedule I choose, I could be doing up to six hours of classes 2 to 4 days a week. Which means that the whole process will be completed within 3 or 4 months, but during that time I will be away from Luna a whole hell of a lot. The next step is to meet with our intake counselor, and our appointment for that isn't until September 20th. At that time we can explain our situation and they will supposedly work with us to find a solution. The woman we met with did say that they will pay for daycare and transportation, and pointed out that the waiting list for government sponsored daycare is so long that we may not have to worry about the breastfeeding issue because she will be weaned before we get a placement. So classes are not imminent. Which is a relief and a frustration all at once, to be honest. I do not want to put Luna in daycare, and I do not want to be away from her for 20 plus hours a week. The thought of that makes me tear up - I would miss so much - she changes so much every day! But, on the other hand, I am also extremely frustrated to not know the language and I will be happy to finally learn it. I wish I could start language classes now, somewhere closer to home for shorter intervals, and wait for the ridiculous social integration classes when Luna starts school. (Kids start school at two and a half here.) But again, nobody asked me. I will have to do whatever they tell me, unfortunately. I had all I could do to not roll my eyes when the woman we spoke with said, "So, I understand you received an invitation from us?" I think the word she was looking for was ultimatum.

G's toes are still giving him trouble, but he is back to work. He is not happy about that - he had gotten used to the extra time with Luna and is convinced she is already becoming less interested in him now that he is not here as much. I'm not sure if that is true, but I do pity him having to be away from her so much. I am very lucky to be able to stay home with her!

Enough for one post, I don't want to put anyone to sleep. I could write four more pages about the new things Luna has been doing every day, but I'll resist. Will try to update a little sooner next time. I hope everyone is doing well!

Someone Is Always Sick Around Here!

I'm grateful that none of us has any life threatening illnesses, but it seems like one or the other of us is perpetually sick or injured, frequently several of us at once!

G's three week vacation was unpleasantly extended when at the end of the second week he injured his foot, leaving him housebound for two weeks. He is just now returning to work, and I suspect it will be a painful first shift, since he hasn't worn shoes for two weeks. Walking around all day is going to be tough on him. :(

Friday night I took the baby out for walk, and halfway through I got horribly ill and just barely made it home in time. I spent the next 24 hours miserable, and only returned to the land of the living Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure if it was just the flu, or if it was a reaction the the insect bites peppering my arms and legs. I have probably eight bites right now, we think they are mosquito bites but its hard to tell for sure because they are swollen up and there are large red welts ranging in size from a dime to a half dollar. Apparently I am allergic to Belgian mosquitos. The same thing happened to G last summer in Maine, but there are a hell of a lot more mosquitos in Maine, so he was far worse off than I am. Let's hope I build up an immunity fast. I haven't even left the house, so the mosquitos are getting inside somehow. G has a few bites, and Luna has one as well, but neither of them is reacting like I am luckily. G was very helpful in taking care of Luna while I slept all day Saturday. He'd wake me when she needed to nurse, and then I went back to bed.

Luna finished her eight week course of omeprazole for acid reflux on Wednesday, and at this point her reflux is AWFUL. She is choking and gagging constantly, and just seems utterly miserable. Further, she's experiencing what I understand is a common occurrence in babies just starting solid food - constipation. We don't see the doctor until Thursday. This morning I called the pediatrician's office and got one of our doctor's colleagues. Apparently our doctor is on vacation today. The substitute doctor told me to put Luna back on Gaviscon (which is available over the counter) until we see our doctor on Thursday. She told us to give Luna glycerine suppositories today and tomorrow, and to switch her food from carrots and potatoes to either broccoli or cauliflower and potatoes. Apparently carrots are known to cause constipation. So is rice cereal, which is what babies are started on in the states. Which begs the question, WHY do we start babies on things that are known to cause this problem when the very act of starting to eat solid foods already causes the problem?? Anyhow, she'll be experiencing new veggies today.

That will have to suffice for today's update, because little bird is making waking up noises over the monitor. Happy Birthday to my brother and to my sister-in-law!

Ferber-izing the Birdie

As you can see, Luna started solid food this week. The first day was a bit rough (and extra messy), but we've all gotten the hang of it now. Mama found her some smaller spoons and learned to take Luna's clothes off before feeding to avoid excessive laundry, and Luna has learned to eat properly and swallow. She has taken to it like a natural (hardly surprising seeing how much her parents love to eat), and screams if I don't shovel it in fast enough. She also enjoys holding the spoon herself and licking the excess off her bib. Videos and photos from the first day of feeding her can be found here.

Our biggest challenge this past week has been sleep. Luna all of a sudden began to hate sleep - she wouldn't nap for more than a few minutes at a time. One day she went 16 hours without sleep! Between that and the ongoing vomiting, she got pretty cranky. Everything we tried to get her peacefully into the land of Nod ended in hysterical screaming. And so, eventually, we realized we'd have to let her cry even though we hated the very thought. We've been using a modified version of the Ferber method for three days now, and things are greatly improved. She is napping again, and there is usually 5 minutes or less of crying when we put her down to sleep. She has been waking up more and more frequently during the night, but we'll tackle one problem at a time I guess. According to the official Ferber method, your supposed to kiss them goodnight, give a few reassuring pats, and then walk away. I can't bring myself to do that. We are still doing the little bedtime ritual of nursing and butt patting until she is asleep and then gently lowering her into the crib. She always wakes up when we lay her down, but at least she is sleepy before we leave the room. It seems to be working for us. But let me tell you - there have been a lot of tears in this household the past few days, and only half of them are Luna's!

Luna has been rolling over more and more frequently this week, and she has discovered her toes. She takes great pleasure in pulling her toes up to her mouth to chew on them. She has also begun losing her hair, quite a lot later than expected. She's got a couple of nearly bald patches! We've been encouraging her to play while propped up in a sitting position to help her strengthen those tummy muscles, and its quite amusing to see her propped in the middle of the pillows like a princess on her throne.

Bad Days

A crazy couple days here...

We took Luna to the U.S. Embassy yesterday to register her birth. She is now officially a dual citizen, and all the appropriate paperwork is coming soon. I felt like she should have a little mini flag to wave! It was fun to visit the embassy. While in Brussels we also ate at Pizza Hut, and we found a newsstand selling Real Simple magazine and Oreo cookies! It was an American morning.

Since around Monday, Luna has been vomiting much more than usual. She hasn't seemed ill, and hasn't had a fever or any other symptoms other than restlessness and trouble sleeping. After we returned from Brussels, she threw up a lot all at once, which made us nervous. We called the doctor, and she was concerned as well, enough so that she wanted us to bring her in immediately. It was already nearly 5, so she told us to call the on-call pediatrician and bring Luna in to see him. So long story short, we found ourselves frantically rushing to catch a train to get Luna to the doctor.

Luna and I left first, as G stayed behind to change his clothes and close up the house. I noticed before we left that the sky had gotten dark, so I grabbed the rain cover for the carriage. I began rushing along to the station, and about halfway there, it started to rain. It was very light at first, and I half thought about just tossing a blanket over Luna and trying to make it to the station without the cover. But I decided not to risk it, and stopped to put the cover over the carriage. I had no more than fastened the velcro when the skies opened up and it began to pour. Then out of nowhere, the winds began. Within minutes, it was as though I was in the middle of a hurricane. The winds became so strong that they were trying to wrench the carriage from my grip. The rain cover was barely staying on. I had to lay my body over the carriage to keep it on the ground and to keep the rain cover on, so I was laying over it and running at the same time. I finally realized I was not going to make it to the station without one of us getting hurt, so I found a little glass shelter (like a bus shelter, but on the train platform) and got us inside. Luna was screaming hysterically and I was drenched to the skin. She was mostly dry, just a little damp where some rain had leaked around the seams of the rain cover. But she was understandably terrified, and I could not comfort her without soaking her as well. I wrapped her up tight in the blanket and kept the rain cover over her. I was afraid of the lightning, but decided we were safer where we were than out in the elements. G finally appeared through the storm and joined us in the shelter. He was dripping as well. Once he was there, we decided to try to make it the rest of the way to the station, because we were freezing. We made it inside finally, where we attracted quite a lot of attention - two sopping wet parents and a baby screaming in her carriage. I managed to calm Luna down and she actually fell asleep while we were waiting. Eventually, though, she got upset again because she was cold. I was still drenched to the skin so I wasn't able to warm her against me. Since the storm had faded to just a steady rain by this point, we headed home. We arrived, wet and bedraggled, but safe at last. We got all of us into dry clothes, then we wrapped up in blankets and G and I had tea and cookies while Luna had some milk. Needless to say, we did not get to the doctor last night.

Soooo, first thing this morning we headed to the doctor. She examined Luna and asked a bunch of questions, and then decided to do some tests to see if there was anything wrong. She ordered a urine test to check for a bladder infection (I had noticed some dark urine), and ultrasound scans of the brain and the stomach. First stop was the pediatrics ward, where the urine collection bag was attached. They adhere a little plastic bag over her, well, you get the idea. And then you wait. While we were waiting, it was off to registration and then to radiology. Luna was awesome during the ultrasound - she laughed and smiled at the technician, and at one point laid her hand over his while he was moving the wand around her belly. She only fussed once - his machine suddenly made a loud noise and it scared her. The scans were quick and painless. We then went to the cafeteria for awhile to continue to wait. And wait. We kept checking her diaper, but the little bag was empty. We went back to the pediatrics ward and continued to wait. Twice she filled her diaper and they had to clean her up and attach a new bag. We waited for several hours, but she would not go. She got so tired and fussy, she couldn't sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. Finally, we asked the nurse to call the doctor and tell her we wanted to take the baby home. She came and did a catheterization - it took 2 minutes. No idea why she didn't do that to start with!! Luna cried, but just for a second. The scans were both fine - nothing wrong with her brain, and the little valve that closes off the stomach works properly. We haven't yet heard the results of the urinalysis, the doctor is supposed to call. In the end, after 4 and a half hours at the hospital, she sent us home with a prescription for medicine that is supposed to soothe her stomach, which we are supposed to give her three times a day for a week. After the first dose she puked twice, so its not especially helpful. So long as she doesn't develop any new symptoms, I think we will just deal with the vomiting and hope it improves next week when we start solid food.

Here's hoping the next few days are better! We're planning to stay the hell home tomorrow!

Sleeping Like... Well, a Baby

The big news around here is that Luna has started sleeping in her crib at night! We went to the pediatrician for vaccinations Monday and discussed a few things with her, and she said we should get Luna sleeping in her own bed, even if it meant crying it out. We were not very happy about the crying it out idea, but we came home resolved to suffer through it. Bedtime came and I nursed her and rocked her until she fell asleep, and then laid her in the crib. As usual, she awoke when I moved her, but I walked away anyway. I went downstairs and flipped on the baby monitor to hear.... silence. I went up to check, and sure enough, she had curled up on her side and gone to sleep as though she had been doing so every night of her life. I figured it was a fluke and that the first time she woke to eat she'd balk at the idea of going back in there. But she woke to eat at her usual time, nursed and rocked, and then settled right back into the crib with no fuss at all. She slept all night. She slept more than I did, I was so nervous I checked on her every fifteen minutes I think.

Last night I figured she'd scream when I put her to bed (especially because she had a fever last night), but no, she again settled right in. Maybe she was just ready, I don't know. I am hoping it continues to be this easy.

Naps are another story entirely - she still refused to sleep in the crib at naptime today, but it may be because she isn't feeling well today and has been extra clingy. I figured I'd tackle that challenge once she is feeling better.

Yes, unfortunately, Luna did not escape this round of vaccinations unscathed. She had a low grade fever last night. One dose of Baby Perdolan cleared it right up, but she continues to be whiney and clingy and her eyes look sick. She's thrown up her milk several times, too. Hopefully she will be better by tomorrow.

We also discussed the acid reflux again with the doctor. I told her that the current medicine seems to make the reflux about 50% better, and she said she expects that to continue to improve as she gets older. She suggested we begin solid foods at 4 months, as it minimizes reflux. Interestingly, the norm here is to feed babies pureed potatoes and vegetables right from the start - the doctor had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned baby cereal. So in just a couple more weeks, Luna will get her first taste of potatoes!

The doctor also mentioned that Luna has a larger than average head. I was not surprised to hear that, considering that her head got stuck despite my wide hips. The doctor embarrassed the hell out of us by measuring both of our heads and determining that both parents have large heads (who knew??), and that Luna's large head was probably just genetic and unlikely to be anything to worry about. Nonetheless, she is going to keep an eye on it and make sure the rate of growth runs parallel to the growth chart.

We are enjoying G's vacation. Not doing much, but its nice to have more family time. We're mostly hanging out.

I learned this week that my brother has joined the military. He will be thirty this month, so it was a bit of a shock to us. Supposedly there is no risk of him being shipped overseas in the position he signed up for, but I don't trust that. I love my brother dearly and I worry about his safety. Please keep him in your thoughts, or in your prayers if you are the praying sort.

Little Swimmer

We've been getting Luna used to her splash pool. The first try was a little rough, she didn't care for it much. But we tried again today, this time using the little seat from her bath, and she did much better. She even smiled a few times! We splashed a bit and squirted water on her and each other with the pool toys. She might have stayed in all afternoon if we hadn't heard her fill up her swim diaper and decided it was time to clean up!

More photos and videos of the swimming pool adventures here!

Another Facebook Whore

I finally gave in and signed up for Facebook. I had no choice, very few people can be bothered to read my blog and I do want to keep in touch with everyone from back home. Besides, I wanted to play Farmville. :P I've reconnected with a bunch of old friends already.

I will keep blogging, and I appreciate those of you who read it regularly!

New videos and photos up on Photobucket!

Luna is learning to talk, she makes the greatest noises!! She's growing so fast! Her sleep issues are getting worse and worse - she still will not sleep alone, and now she is starting to have trouble sleeping in the wrap as well. Her eczema seems to be better most days. The reflux medicine works, but not 100%. We love our difficult baby!

By the way, the hat I am wearing in this pic is one of two Red Sox hats I wear all the time! Spreading the Sox love here in Belgium. :)

Family and a Friend

This is Luna with the toy frog Grammy N sent her over with my mother. She loves to eat him. :D

Its been several days since my mother left, and I miss her very much. It was so nice to have her here. G says I was happier than he has seen me since I moved here. But, as she says to Luna, Gramma had to go back into the box (the box being the computer screen where she talks to us on Skype).

One thing that has made it much easier is my new friend A. I spent the day at her house on Tuesday, just hanging out and talking. Both babies slept most of the day, but at one point they were both awake and sitting on our laps and they just stared at each other. It was so funny! A and I get along great, its like we were meant to be friends. We have so much in common!

G had Wednesday and Thursday off, and we enjoyed two lazy days at home. He is working tonight, but he has the weekend off as well. We've been enjoying playing with the baby and watching her smile.

Luna continues to grow and change faster than I can believe. Unfortunately, she continues to refuse to sleep alone. I've spent hours over the past few days trying to convince her to sleep in her cradle, her crib, and her bassinet, but she absolutely refuses. When she's in a good mood, she lays in them kicking and talking and staring at a mobile or whatever, but never ever falling asleep, no matter how tired she was to begin with. When she is in a bad mood (as she was this afternoon), she lays in them and screams until I give up (I lasted 40 minutes this afternoon). She simply will not sleep alone. She sleeps in the Moby wrap and in bed with me, but if she accidentally falls asleep somewhere else, such as in the carriage or in the swing, she wakes up within 15 minutes and will not go back to sleep. So, does anyone have any suggestions??

Ghent

Yesterday we visited Ghent. It was a long day - we were out for 11 hours altogether. Luna travels like a pro, she was so well behaved! Our little world traveller!

Ghent WOULD be beautiful city, in fact, G says its his favorite city in Belgium. But we got there and discovered the entire city is under construction! Its massive in scope - imagine hundreds of tourists crowding through little makeshift bridges and walkways made of loose boards. It was nearly impossible to get a picture without scaffolding or a dump truck in the frame, and it was insanely dusty! We were all filthy when we got home.

We just wandered around the city, picnicking next to the river and meandering through streets. We had dinner at a little pizzeria called Pinnochio's. We first tried another pizzeria down the street, but the asshole waiter was giving us a hard time about parking Luna's carriage and was being extremely unaccommodating, so we got up and left. Some places are really not baby friendly! G said we should have taken a picture of the place so I could post it on my blog and warn others away, but we didn't. :)

Today is Antwerp, another long hot day. Hopefully Luna continues to behave like a little angel!

Shot to the Heart

Luna had her first immunizations today and it was awful! For me, that is. She screamed like crazy when it happened, but five minutes later was smiling again. I nearly cried. I asked the doctor to give them to me instead, but she said it doesn't work that way. :P I haven't noticed any fever so far, so hopefully she will escape reaction free, but we have a fever medicine handy just in case. She's been very restless today and hasn't really settled in for a good nap, but I don't know that its related to the shots.

Though we saw some early improvements in the reflux with the new medicine, the last couple of days haven't been quite so good. She's been very fussy again and we've noticed some of the old symptoms returning. Hopefully things will continue to improve from the medication.

The most exciting thing happened today while we were at the immunization office! I had Luna down on the floor playing, and I heard another mother talking to her baby in English! We started chatting, and it turns out she is the "other American" that was on the maternity ward in the hospital at the same time as me! She's from Arkansas originally, and like me, she married a Belgian. We exchanged information, and will hopefully be getting together soon.



Mom and I took Luna to Leuven the other day, and we were out for about 6 and a half hours altogether. Luna woke twice to eat, but otherwise snoozed happily in the wrap all day. All three of us got new shoes - Luna's are the most adorable tiny pink sandals! Unfortunately, tiny as they are, they are too big still.

Dosing the Binky

With all the excitement of having my mom here, I completely forgot to post that my wound has FINALLY closed up. Its been several days now, and its staying closed. The nurses are still coming, but hopefully only for a few more days. It still looks like I have a second belly button, but its no longer an open wound, so yay!

We took Luna back to the doctor yesterday, and she took her off the Zantac and Gaviscon and started her on omeprazole. She also prescribed this antacid in a gel form - its a bright red gel and it tastes like Twizzlers. The delivery method of the new medicine is a bit bizarre. I am supposed to smear the gel on Luna's pacifier and then break open a capsule of omeprazole and roll the gel coated pacifier around in the the little seeds inside the capsule. My brother said its like that candy, Fun Dip. The idea is that she'll suck it off and swallow it down. As you might expect, it doesn't really work that way. She DOES like the taste of the gel, and will suck it off the pacifier, but those little seeds end up sticking all in her mouth and they do not dissolve! I've had to use my finger to try to get them all in, and then when I give her some milk to wash it all down with I end up with medicine "seeds" all over my breast. :-[ I may try dissolving them in milk tomorrow. Its too soon to say whether or not the medicine is helping.

After the doctor's appointment, G had to head to work, but mom and I stayed in Sint Truiden for a few hours. We wandered around shopping and Luna slept the day away in the baby wrap. I got another breast pump, an electric one this time. It was cheaper than the last one we saw, but still pretty pricey. I tried it out today, and my first attempt can be summed up as "epic fail." Lots of pain and maybe a teaspoon of milk to show for it. I pumped after the baby had eaten, though. So for my second attempt I pumped BEFORE she ate, and that worked better. I got three ounces, anyway. I fed it to Luna a short time later, and she made faces at me for giving her the bottle, but she ate it. I know my kid - I knew she wouldn't turn down food, no matter the form its delivered in! I'll keep trying with the breast pump, and maybe tomorrow Daddy or Gramma can feed her.

We have no major plans for the weekend, mostly just sticking around home. Mom and I did go out briefly this afternoon to pick up a couple things from town. It rained on us on the way home, but we had umbrellas. We got some pajamas for the baby since she has outgrown all of hers! I am currently enjoying a few minutes peace, as Luna has fallen asleep with the pacifier next to me on the couch.

She's Still Cute!

Check out the new photos and videos on Photobucket!

Forced Integration

I got a registered letter the other day, and as you might it expect, it was not good news. It was a falsely cheerful letter informing me that I am required by law to take integration classes if I am going to continue living in Belgium. At first it seemed almost like good news, as they mentioned I would get to learn Dutch for free. But it quickly became apparent that this was going to make our lives VERY difficult - it turns out that I am going to be forced to go to "school" for 4 to 5 days a week for 2 years! I will learn Dutch, which is certainly helpful, but other than that I will learn a lot of useless crap in classes designed for people from third world countries. These classes are not optional. If I do not take them, we will be fined.

We cannot afford childcare, and even if we could, I do not want someone else taking care of my baby. I recognize the fact that I am very lucky to be able to stay home with the baby, but this is how we both want it. I do not want a stranger getting all those little smiles and "firsts," I want to be there for everything! I could accept the inevitability of daycare if I had to go to work, but to force her into daycare so I can take some idiotic classes that will bore me to tears is just ridiculous.

G called and explained to them that I am not planning to become a Belgian citizen, but it doesn't matter, even legal residents such as myself have to take the classes. When he told them I was breastfeeding, they said we should report in to their offices as required (we have three months to report before we are fined) and that they will try to find a solution that allows me to continue breastfeeding, whatever that may mean. We are hoping for an extension at least.

Its clear this is going to make our lives much more difficult and unpleasant, its just not clear yet HOW unpleasant it will be or how soon it will be forced upon us.



In more pleasant news, my mother arrived on Monday and we are so happy to have her here! She had some trouble with her luggage, but they delivered it eventually. We have not been doing much, just hanging around the house mostly. Yesterday, Luna fell asleep on Gramma's shoulder and took a nice twenty or thirty minute nap. They seem to like each other! :D

Alternate Plans

We planned to go to Leuven today, as there is some sort of festival going on we wanted to check out and I need some shoes (my feet neither went back to their pre-pregnancy size nor stayed swollen, they ended up somewhere in between). We got to the station and settled onto our train, which was in delay. But after a few minutes of sitting there, an announcement informed us that our train had been cancelled. :( Since the next train would have gotten us there after shops were closed, we gave up.

Instead, we walked across town to a large park where we sat and enjoyed the sunshine. There were two fish ponds (one large enough for actual fishing) and a ginormous playground that would make any kid's eyes boggle. It was a beautiful day. After we left the park we walked back to town and ate at one of the new fry shops. We decided the place he usually gets our fries is better, even if it isn't as shiny.

Throughout all of this, Luna slept happily in the baby wrap, about 4 hours altogether. She literally woke up as we were opening our front door. She has graduated to a new hold in the baby wrap, the regular hug hold, which means her legs hang out, so I made sure to slather on the sunscreen. She was wearing the most adorable outfit with a slice of watermelon printed on the butt and a little hat that looks like a piece of watermelon, but since she slept all day we didn't even get a picture of her in it. Next time.

Tomorrow is a day to prepare for the arrival of my mother on Monday morning. We're all very excited for her arrival! Please keep your fingers crossed that her flight goes off without a hitch - no volcanic ash clouds to interrupt it!!!

Oh - one more thing. My pants finally fit again!! I was overjoyed this week to discover all of my old clothes fit again. Hooray!

Weekends Are Too Short

As usual, weekends are too short. Who decided the work week should be longer than the weekend? Granted, I no longer have to work, but we miss G when he is at work. I don't dare take Luna on big excursions by myself, she is too unpredictable and I cannot manage the carriage on the train. So other than trips to town, our outings are limited to weekends (or whatever days G has off, its not always weekends). This stresses him out, since he spends so much time running all over the country for work that the last thing he wants to do is do the same thing on his days off. He'd rather just stay home. Plus, he always has a ton of chores to catch up on on the weekends. But every now and then I convince him to go somewhere.

This weekend we went to Leuven, which isn't too far. We went to a large bookstore there, and they had an English language used books section! I spent the birthday money I had been saving, plus more money we counted as my Mother's Day present. Between that shop and another shop we visited that had new release English books, I ended up with nine books. I was so excited! With the baby, I no longer have time to read three books a week, I'm lucky to read three a month now. But I didn't have any books left that I hadn't read a dozen times already, and I still read whenever I can. So I was very happy!

After the bookstore, we found a baby shop where we looked for breast pumps. The only electric one they had was 120 euro, so we decided we'd keep looking. We have no idea where to look, but that is too expensive. So I continue to have no breast pump, which is frustrating. But if we can't find one cheaper than that, I probably won't be able to get one.

G also took me to get ice cream. Yes, I am supposed to be avoiding dairy. But he convinced me to cheat, and he was right, it was worth it. This ice cream was exceptionally good! Its a good thing I don't get to Leuven very often, or I'd weigh a ton!

Luna was pretty well behaved on the outing. At the end we went into a park to feed her and after she ate it took her awhile to settle down. But prior to that she mostly slept in the baby wrap. Once again we dragged the carriage around and she hardly spent any time in it. :( G says its crazy how many miles he has pushed that buggy without a baby in it! LOL Hopefully she will like it again someday.

Doctored

Luna and I both went to the doctor on Tuesday.

My doctor says I am healing slowly but surely, but that it will still be another 2 weeks before the wound is finally closed up. She also did an ultrasound to make sure everything inside was looking normal, and it was, except I have developed my first fibroid tumor on my uterus. So far its small, golf ball sized, but I know how these things can grow. I'll have to keep an eye on that I guess. G and I were both pretty worried when we first got there, because she asked if the wound was closed yet, and when I said no, she said it was "probably time for an intervention." We were both terrified she would put me back in the hospital for another operation! But after she looked at it, she decided it was healing well, just slowly. So as long as it keeps healing, she will leave it alone.

We didn't have an appointment, so we were very lucky that the pediatrician squeezed Luna in while we were at the hospital. It was one of the two female pediatricians Luna had while she was in the hospital, and we liked her. She speaks excellent English. She looked at the rash and agreed that it is eczema. She said it was infected as well, so she prescribed a cortisone cream and an antibiotic cream. For the acid reflux, she doubled the dosage of Gaviscon to 2 mL, which is a heck of a lot to get down a baby's throat without choking her! She also prescribed Zantac twice a day. She said she suspects an allergy of some sort may be exacerbating both the eczema and the acid reflux, so we've begun the exciting process of determining what she may be allergic to. For the next two weeks I am dairy free, as dairy is the most common allergy in babies. After two weeks we will add dairy back into my diet and see if there are any changes in Luna. After that I will try eliminating peanuts. Rinse and repeat until we find something that she seems to react to.

I realize the easiest way to eliminate the possibility of an allergy is to stop breastfeeding, but I still feel very strongly about that and I do not want to give up on it unless there is no alternative. The pediatrician agreed that this is not reason enough to give up on it yet - the benefits outweigh possible downsides. Speaking of breastfeeding, I had intended to start pumping this week so that Geert could give her a bottle occasionally. However, we discovered that the breastpump we bought before Luna was born simply DOES NOT PUMP. It is completely useless. I tried all of the troubleshooting hints, and nada. What little milk it does pump simply leaks out all over the place. So until we can find time to go buy a better breast pump, I will not be able to pump.

My mother is coming to visit in 9 days, and I am so excited! I have been extremely homesick lately, so hopefully her visit will help. She'll be here for three weeks.

My First Mother's Day

It is Mother's Day here in Belgium, too. Luna started off my day pretty well by sitting happily in the safety seat smiling and cooing while I took a shower. She then screamed through her own bath, but hey, you can't have everything! I got a card from G and Luna, and a huge bouquet of lilacs. G says I still get a present, but we had Chinese food last night which was present enough for me.

This afternoon, we went to a picnic in town with his mom. It was a nice afternoon in the park with decent weather - sunny but with a bit of a chill on the wind. There was free food (though we brought our own) and some displays by some kind of organic gardening club. There were pens with ducks, chickens, and various other fowl. There were really cute baby ducklings and bunny rabbits. There were lots of children there running around, which was fun to watch. We had a nice time, but it was a long walk and I carried the baby most of the day in the baby wrap, so I am pretty tired tonight.

Its been a pretty good first Mother's Day!

Doctor's Visit

Luna hated visiting the doctor - she started screaming as soon as the doctor undressed her and pretty much didn't stop until bedtime last night. The doctor did not speak English and G had to work, so it was interesting. We communicated as best as we could, and then at the end she had her daughter come in to help interpret. She believes the rash is eczema, and prescribed an over the counter lotion to be applied three times a day. She also said we need to avoid using any products with perfume, and avoid sunlight on her face or overheating. She also prescribed Gaviscon for the acid reflux. Luna hates the Gaviscon, which tastes like bananas, and is quite adept at spitting the majority of each dose out. She is not real thrilled with the lotion either, though I try to put it on while she is eating and therefore distracted. So far I have not seen an improvement in the rash. I don't know if the acid reflux has improved, since I can't ask her how her belly feels, but she does seem to have cried a bit less today. Could be a coincidence, we'll see.

One month old already!

Actually, I am so behind in posting - she will be five weeks tomorrow! She continues to keep me busy 24 hours a day. The baby nurse who visited us yesterday thinks she may have acid reflux, which is causing a lot of the crying. She shows all the regular symptoms of that, and of course, with my history of it its even more likely. We need to take her to the pediatrician to get medication - ironically enough they use the same medications as they do for me! She continues to cry a lot, and she is not happy unless she is being held. I do everything with the baby wrap on! Sleep continues to be difficult, and she continues to want to eat constantly, although part of that may be related to the acid reflux. When they have a belly ache or pain, babies instinctually want to suck. So she is most likely seeking pain relief rather than food a lot of the time. She also has a rash that is really bad, all over her face, head, ears, and upper chest and back and shoulders. Two nurses have looked at it now and both said they think it is just a very severe case of baby acne, because if it was an allergic reaction it would be all over her body, not just on the upper part. It doesn't seem to bother her, it just looks yucky. We'll get the pediatrician's opinion when we go.

Its not all misery though! In fact, even when she is screaming I am telling her how much I love her. I can't imagine how I lived without her! She is learning to smile real smiles now, and she practices all the time. The sounds she makes when she is sleeping are so adorable, and even though holding her all the time is exhausting, having her sleeping peacefully in my arms or against my chest is the most amazing feeling in the world. She is starting to enjoy baths now, she no longer screams the whole time, and seems to enjoy the warm water. She still screams before and after the bath, of course, but its because she gets cold when undressed. She enjoys long walks, as long as she is in the baby wrap. She enjoys her baby swing for short periods of time, she stares in fascination at the mobile that hangs from it with little red stuffed animals hanging down. She hates getting dressed, but once she's dressed, she's content with whatever clothes you put on her, even when it involves hair bows or socks. We love taking pictures of her!!

Its amazing, and terrifying, how quickly she is growing up!

Thank you Buffistas!

Years and years ago, I used to run with a crowd known as the Buffistas, an online group of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans that formed the closest knit clique you ever did see. All these years later, the Buffistas are still going strong, and I still check in with them now and then, even though I don't have the time to post every day like I once did. I still count some of those folks as amongst my closest friends.

Tuesday afternoon the most beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered, courtesy of a number of the Buffistas. I wanted to show them off and say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the lovely people responsible.

Surviving Parenthood

We're doing well here, but the little bird is keeping me busy! She wants to be touching mommy every second, even if she isn't eating. She cries quite a bit, not enough to qualify as colic, but enough so we are losing our hearing! Her hearing, however, is good - she passed her hearing test the other day. She is also growing like a weed. She now weighs 4.5 kg (9.9 lb), and measures 56 cm (22 in)!! If she isn't eating, she is usually in the baby wrap, which she loves. Thanks to my brother and sister in law for the baby wrap, I'd never get anything done without it!

My wound is healing, slowly but surely. The nurses are coming only once a day now, and I am taking very few painkillers. I lost a bunch of weight, between the breastfeeding and being sick, but despite weighing less than I have in years, I'm all lumpy still and my clothes don't fit. I am way more mobile, though, and we've been doing a lot of walking, so maybe the exercise will help. We were out for several hours on Friday, and again on Saturday. We did some shopping in Sint Truiden, which went relatively well. Luna does pretty well on our outings, considering how young she is.

Geert started back to work today, which will be a big adjustment. He's been like a house elf lately, keeping the house in order and running all the errands. Being back to work will probably be like a vacation for him!

New pics and videos coming to Photobucket soon!

Sleepless in Belgium

Hey, did you all know that newborns cry ALOT?? :P Our adorable little one does not like to sleep at night, or ever, really, unless we are holding her. She also likes to eat ALOT, enough so that she drains mommy dry at times and then screams as though we are starving her. She is keeping us very busy! But she continues to gain weight quickly (4.25 kilo now, over 9 pounds) and she is very healthy, so I guess we're doing a decent job.

I am not better, unfortunately. The doctor says my wound is healing, and as of Friday it was only 2 cm deep, but a 2 cm hole in your belly is still pretty nasty, and pretty painful. The nurses continue to come twice a day to change the dressings, and we are hopeful that its healing. In the meantime I am still not very mobile - I manage brief walks around the neighborhood, but anything overly strenuous causes me a lot of pain. G continues to have to do most everything around here, which sucks for him.

We had our first visitors the other night - G's dad and stepmother. They enjoyed holding the baby (who behaves like an angel whenever she is around anyone but us!). I also met some old friends of G's the other day - they have 4 kids, including a little girl named Luna! They live just around the corner from us, and we ran into them on one of our walks. The next morning they brought over a big bag of clothes to hand down to our Luna! I was very excited!

I apologize for the less than frequent blog posts, but finding the time to be online is remarkably difficult. I also apologize for all of the still unanswered emails cluttering my inbox - I have loads to go through still! We appreciate the love and support even if we don;t have time to acknowledge it individually!

Home Sweet Home

We finally made it home yesterday. We have help coming twice a day (either a nurse or a midwife) to clean my wounds and change the dressings. Luna was NOT happy to come home, her entire world changed all at once. She slept through the whole cab ride home, but that was pretty much the last sleep she got for about 24 hours. She hated EVERYTHING!!! The only sleep that she managed last night was when I was holding her, which meant all I got was a little dozing with a baby in my arms. Combine the lack of sleep with the extra pain I have been in (I have less pain medication than I did in the hospital and I am also moving around more), and I had a very rough night and morning. But finally, by this afternoon, Luna returned to a semi-normal schedule and started sleeping in her cradle and in her carriage. I even got a nap! Hopefully the worst is over and tonight goes better. G continues to be super-Dad, doing everything from cleaning to running errands to changing diapers. I am trying to help out as much as I can, but he does more than his share. Hopefully I am healing properly and this nightmare will soon be over. I have a doctor's appointment Friday to check the progress of my healing.

I Have a Good Excuse!

I have a good excuse for not posting more often. I am still in the hospital. We were due to go home on Tuesday, but a couple of hours before we were to leave an abscess in my C-section wound broke open, and I have been pretty sick since. I'll spare the gory details for now, but it is a large abscess and the treatment for it involves twice a day wound treatments that are very painful. They did a CT scan yesterday to make sure it hadn't gone below the fascia and infected my organs, and so far so good on that front. But I am in quite a bit of pain, and they tell me it could be weeks before I am healed from this. In the meantime, we are struggling to take care of the baby (luckily, we got a pretty good baby!) and get me healed, and the whole family remains stuck in this awful hospital (I'll share more about my hospital experience once I am free of here). If I continue to heal and nothing new goes wrong, we will be allowed to leave Monday, just shy of two weeks since we checked in. Once we are home, a nurse will have to come to our house twice a day to continue the wound treatments. If I have not healed significantly by next Friday (a week from today, and also my birthday, coincidentally), my doctor said she will have to operate again to close it up.


The baby is doing well, though. She is breastfeeding like a champ (my milk has come in to the point where she frequently chokes and milk sometimes comes out of her nose! Poor baby!) and has already regained her birth weight, which they tell us usually takes two weeks. She is smiley and lovable, and most of the time she only screams if she is hungry. She had jaundice, but has been doing better since Tuesday. We are sleep deprived like any new parents, and its very hard to establish any routines while stuck in the hospital. People come and go from our room with no regard for a sleeping baby, and the rules about visitors are lax and downright bizarre compared to home (for example, as I write this, it is 40 minutes after visiting hours have ended, and there are approximately ten people in the room next door, all of whom have either a beer or a glass of wine in their hands. I know because they leave the door open so they can share the party with the whole hall.) G is a diaper changing champion at this point, though he calls himself "daddy baddy" because he gets all the jobs that make her mad, like diaper changing and baths. But until breastfeeding is solidly established and I can start pumping for bottle feedings at night, he can't exactly feed her. I am doing my job as milk factory, and I guess its going well, she seems happy. We can't wait to get her home and get routines established, but of course it will be difficult for as long as I am having trouble walking around and being mobile. Hopefully my wounds will heal sufficiently before G has to go back to work.

It is very hard to find the time to get online, so pardon the infrequent updates. I thank all of you who have sent emails, but apologize for not having had the opportunity to read them yet. At some point I will go through them all and respond, but right now I use most of my limited internet time to talk to my family, who are having a very hard time with this whole situation. I appreciate all of the get well wishes and congrats that we have received!

Check her out!

New pics are up on Photobucket! They aren't great, just some snapshots taken via Skype by my mom and a few stills taken with my camera. Stay tuned for some great pics Geert took on the good camera, we'll upload those as soon as we can find the time.

Welcome to the world baby girl!!!

Please welcome Luna Doris, born at 4:52 PM on March 31st. She was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long. She is perfect and we are smitten!

It was a pretty awful delivery. I labored for 17 hours, and had plenty of troubles, from difficulties with the epidural to vomiting up blood (including a couple times on my poor husband!). Then after a solid hour of pushing, they decided her huge head was stuck and I had to have an emergency C-section. They didn't even wait for the drugs to kick in fully, so I felt everything during the surgery (I swore ALOT!!!). But it was worth every second.

My husband was AMAZING! He had been so worried he'd pass out, but he was with me every minute and didn't flinch at the blood or the slime or even when I puked on him (twice, or was it three times?). He even watched them cut me open! He is my hero!

We are both completely in love with this little miracle! We cannot stop staring.

Here she comes!

We're about to head to the hospital! The doctor has decided to induce after all, as Luna measured over 8 pounds at this morning's ultrasound and she is worried I will need a C-section if the baby grows much bigger. We'll begin the process tonight, and tomorrow morning the doctor will break my water and start the medicine to initiate contractions. Wish me luck! I'll post again once I'm officially an American mama in Belgium!

Prison Sentence Extended

So yesterday sucked, plain and simple. For a day and a half, I had been having trouble breathing. This is not abnormal during pregnancy, I realize that, but what I found odd was that the baby has dropped, so one would assume she is now putting LESS pressure on my lungs. My books all said that breathing difficulties and heartburn issues should ease once the baby has dropped. So I called the OB's office, and was directed to go to Maternity to be monitored.

G had to take a day off from work, unpaid, to accompany me. I felt terrible about that, but we of course had no way to know how the day would turn out. We were hopeful we'd end up with a baby! I knew I wasn't in labor, but we figured if I couldn't breathe they might end up inducing or something. I took a backpack full of essentials with me just in case.

We took the usual transport - taxi followed by train followed by taxi, so it took a couple hours to get there. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor, and Luna was doing just fine. I had a panic moment at one point when the monitor suddenly stopped picking up her heartbeat - it would drop out completely, and would then come back very slow, like 75 beats per minute, and then jump to 150 beats per minute, then disappear again. I freaked and called the nurse, but it was just that the sensor wasn't settled on my belly well. She wasn't especially active during the monitoring, just a few kicks, but the nurse was like, "Wow, she's so active!" She has NO idea, LOL. I'd like to see her reaction when Luna really gets going!

They took my blood pressure and checked my oxygen levels, and pronounced both fine. The nurse told me the problem was simply that I was "breathing wrong." Which I took with a grain of salt, because first of all, why am I suddenly breathing differently than I usually do, and second of all, the breathing problems are the worst when I am asleep, and I don't have much control over how I breathe then.

After the monitoring, they sent me down to see my doctor, who just said what she always says, "Its because of the pregnancy." Duh. She did an ultrasound, and low and behold, Luna is back to measuring exactly on time (just over 7 pounds now, and about 19 inches long). So she is no longer suggesting early induction, though she did say we could schedule an induction for April 6th if we want to (the day after my due date). I wish she had never even mentioned the possibility of the baby coming early or inducing on the 30th, because it got my hopes up. Now my prison sentence has likely been extended by two more weeks. :( I'm telling you, she is never coming out, and I will be trapped in this house forever.

Needless to say, I was pretty depressed yesterday. G did his best to cheer me up, but I was determined to be miserable. I'm trying to do better today.

In happier news, my sister-in-law's sister had her baby yesterday, a healthy and beautiful little boy. I'm jealous as hell, since we had the same due date! :) But I am very happy for them, and can't wait to meet the new arrival!

Spring Has Sprung, but the Baby Has Not

We've been enjoying some beautiful weather. Yesterday we spent a lovely afternoon in the garden, G working hard with the new lawnmower and weedwacker and me waddling around in his wake, supervising. There are flowers sneaking up through the ground in several places, and some have already bloomed. The birds are singing so loud they could wake you up in the morning. But Luna does not seem to be inspired by all the signs of new life, she continues to nestle cozily in mommy's womb. G looked at me yesterday and said he thinks she may have dropped lower, which could be true, considering I had to pee even more frequently than usual yesterday! But dropped or not, I haven't had any concrete signs of impending labor. Everything still points to, "She'll come out eventually."

We got some frustrating news a few days ago. The only cab company in town has gone out of business, apparently. Their telephone number no longer works, anyway. That means the only options for getting to the hospital now are either calling a cab from another town, which will be horribly expensive and will take forever, or calling an ambulance. I guess our choice will depend on how eager she is to emerge once the time comes. We're finding it very difficult to cope without a car these days. Even though its normal for G, with all of the large items we've had to get for the house these past few months and with my limited mobility, he's wished repeatedly for a car as well. But its just not in the budget anytime soon.

I hope everyone is enjoying their little glimpses of spring!

EDIT: Excellent news, the taxi company is not gone after all. G decided to try the number again today, a few days later, and it works fine. They apparently just had some phone trouble or something. I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief!

Still STILL Pregnant. Sigh.

Unfortunately, my husband is not a psychic. The 18th came and went with nary a contraction. As of tomorrow, Ms. Luna will be an Aries baby just like her mommy, instead of a Pisces like her Daddy. We continue to try everything we can think of to lure her out, including outright bribery (we've tried to tempt her with everything from ice cream to Easter baskets), but she continues to bop around in there as though she has no intentions of emerging. Which means I continue to do not much at all. I've been trying to get out walking most days, as the weather has been so nice and warm this past week. Today we went for a relatively long walk on a path near our house, but it wasn't long enough to invoke labor. We continue to wait impatiently!

Still Pregnant. Sigh.

Not much to report, I am still pregnant. :) I am beyond ready to get this show on the road, but until Luna is ready, there isn't much I can do. I don't sleep much at all anymore, which means I don't do a hell of a lot when I am awake, either, because I have no energy. I am just sitting around waiting for labor. Sometimes I pace around the living room or go out for a walk, just to try to get things moving. But mostly I just wait, my nose in a book.

Geert has decided she will be born on March 18th (2 days), though I don't know how he chose that date in particular. I have decided that I will be pregnant for the rest of my life, and will likely have to attend her college graduation while she is still in utero.

Needless to say, I haven't much interesting to report here. Hope you all are well!

Growth Spurt!

Its been 2 weeks since my last doctor's appointment, but at today's appointment, Luna had gained over a pound! She went from 5.2 to 6.3 pounds in 2 weeks! She also gained three inches in length. I am now measuring ahead, and the doctor is saying to expect her by "the end of the month" (my due date isn't until April 5th). She said if I haven't gone into labor before then, and Luna continues to measure ahead at my next appointment, she may induce me. My next appointment was SUPPOSED to be in 2 weeks, but because of scheduling difficulties (the doctor is going on vacation), the next appointment we could get isn't until March 30th. We'll see if I make it that long. The good news is, I have plenty of amniotic fluid and we were able to watch her pretending to breathe on the ultrasound and the doctor said her lungs are fully developed. So she's in good shape, even if she decides to make an early appearance. I certainly wouldn't mind, but I'd rather she decide to come on her own, I don't want to be induced.

I've discovered I have passed that magical milestone where I am SO huge that I make strangers smile. LOL You know how when you see a hugely pregnant woman waddling around it just makes you smile? That waddler is now me. The whole time we were out today, strangers were doing double takes and grinning at me, and more than one person asked me when I was due. Happy to amuse the masses....

Last night around 8 PM, the police finally made an appearance! They scared the hell out of me arriving at that hour, but they looked at my passport, filled out the paperwork, and kindly overlooked the phenomenal mess the house was in (its bad enough to begin with, but I was in the middle of cooking and there were meatballs cooling on all the counters!). Now I can get my permanent residency card, and I am a legal resident for five years. We are still waiting on my insurance card to show up in the mail, hopefully soon.

UPDATE: My insurance card arrived in today's mail! By the time G checked the mail it was late in the evening and I was too worn out from unpacking to do the "yay-my-insurance-card-came" dance, so G did it for me. :D I immediately let Luna Bean know that all systems are go and she's welcome to come check out the world anytime! She celebrated the news by dancing on mommy's ribcage for approximately three hours, non-stop. Sigh.

A Baby is Going to Live Here!

We are pretty much as ready as we are going to be for Miss Luna! On Friday we went to a shop in Sint Truiden and made the owner's day by spending an astonishing amount of money (no really, take whatever you imagined and then triple it, we both nearly had heart attacks) getting the remaining things we needed. They delivered all the packages to our house, everything except the stroller system, which we had to order and will not get before the end of next week. I'll definitely post pictures of the stroller when it arrives, its very European, nothing like the stroller systems we have at home. Its more like a modern pram.

We have been working very hard all weekend, and as of about six o'clock this evening, we are finished! The baby stuff is all assembled and her room is put together! I do still have more laundry to do before all of her clothes and blankets are clean, but laundry is slow when you can only do one load a day. Both G and I are so proud of how it turned out, we both expect to keep peeking in there every ten minutes. After all, its not only adorable, but its the only room in the house that is put together!


Here are a few pictures, more can be found on my Photobucket page. The crib went together relatively easily (G barely swore at all compared to the last piece of furniture he had to assemble), and the bedding set looks great with it. For those that haven't seen it, this is the rocking horse that was mine when I was a child. My dad refinished it for Luna. He also refinished a cradle that was mine when I was a child, it looks lovely. Its not in these pictures because it is in our bedroom, where she will sleep in it for the first couple months.

The "changing table" is a cupboard my grandfather made me many years ago. It has been spruced up with some removable stickers and a changing pad has been placed on top. We didn't have anything for her clothes other than some plastic drawers, so I dressed those up with stickers as well - I may no longer be living in Maine, but I haven't lost my Yankee ingenuity. And finally, the light fixture G picked up and installed yesterday. I just love it!

Having her room completed is making this all much more real for both of us. Tomorrow I will be nine months, and before we know it, our little family will be three!