Sleep

Well, Alexandria slept through her middle of the night feeding last night. She didn't wake up until after 6:00. But Mom was awake anticipating that a certain someone would wake up.."any time now". So while Lexi seemed to sleep great, Mom is pretty tired today. Go figure.

Lexi goes to the doctor

I took Lexi to the doctor - or rather the 'professor' yesterday at the hospital. (It's a teaching hospital which is why I guess this guy doesn't like to go by dr. but prof.) For the EKG, she needs to be naked except for her diapers. The nurse was very surprised to see that she was wearing cloth diapers and wanted to know why we don't use the disposables. Her English was limited but I managed to explain that it was for environmental reasons (not the only reason, but too difficult to go farther). Then the professor's intern asked about them as well. She wondered if Lexi was allergic to the disposables. She had never seen a baby in cloth diapers before. No wonder our landfills are filling up!

But the hole in Lexi's heart is very, very, very tiny so she hardly has a heart murmur at all any more - the intern couldn't hear it but the professor could. In a year from now, we will have to get her checked again, but it should be gone by then.

Visiting the Hovicks

Sarah and I had a great time in Indianapolis taking Ben to visit his Great Grandma and Grandpa Hovick. It was a fun two weeks visiting family.

While we were there, all the men played golf for a week. Then we went on a fishing trip for two nights. It was good to spend time with my brother-in-law Jerry.

Sarah had fun alone with the girls too. They spent a lot of time at the mall and visiting over coffee at Starbucks. She managed to help her cousin find the perfect wedding dress for her wedding next month.

Ben had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Hovick. They read to him and Grandpa Hovick took him to the zoo. Elephants are now his favorite animal. He misses them now that we've returned home, but they plan to come visit us after they return from Florida this winter.

This blog entry is obviously just a joke. We don't have a son named Ben or Hovick grandparents who are still alive. It seems, however, that there's a family called the Hovicks (my mother's side of the family, and remember that my full name is Stephen Hovick Padre) living in a universe parallel to ours because in a search for "Hovick" on the Flickr photo-sharing website, I found these pictures labeled "Great Grandma and Grandpa Hovick with Ben."

Ready to Travel and a New Cousin!

Lexi had lots of exciting news today!

At 9:00 AM, her Uncle Brian called to say that Sophia Louise was born last night, the 19th. She was a couple of weeks early and a little lighter than Lexi was, but we are all very excited and can't wait to meet her and see pictures. Now we have a 3 girl cousins in the Bradway family (and all of their first names end with -ia!).

Then at noon, the door bell rang and it was the post woman. Lexi's passport had arrived! It is good for 5 years and so now she is ready to travel! Italy here we come (in two weeks with G & G Bradway)!

Oh ho, lay-ee odl lee-o, hod-l-o-dl-lee-o-lay!

O ho, lay-ee o-dl lee-o, hod-l-o-dl-lee-o-ay!
Happy are they, lay-lee o lay-lee lee-o! O lay-lee o lay-lee lay-ee-o.
Soon the duet will become a trio, lay-ee o-dl, lay-ee o-dl-o.
--From The Lonely Goatherd, The Sound of Music

On one of the last nights my parents were here on their five-week visit to Geneva for Lexi's birth and first weeks of life, I pulled out my Sound of Music accompaniment book and we had a Broadway show tunes singalong. We sang this well-known ditty, but I had forgotten some of the words and realized when we sang how they apply to us. Indeed, happy are we that the duet has become a trio, and we are yodeling from our giddiness here in Switzerland!

A little over a month into parenthood, things are still going quite well. Sure, Lexi still has some fussy periods during the day and is sometimes hard to get back to sleep after feeding at night. And she doesn't always follow the same schedule every day, which means she is still a bit of an enigma to us. But overall, we're not finding parenthood overwhelming or too taxing on our sleep or lifestyle.

In the past several days, Lexi has started to show a new level of awareness and engagement. She fixes her gaze on things for several seconds, and she can entertain herself while lying in her bassinet for a few minutes longer before the gas in her tummy makes her cry out to be held and comforted. She is also starting to hold her own head up and is gaining strength in her legs.

Lexi is also growing at an amazing pace. We notice how long she is, and she is putting on a healthy and visible layer of baby fat. I think she looks funny with her big bald head and chubby cheeks. I'm just afraid that I will drop her sometime when I pick her up because she's also getting heavier quickly. We're having a hard time keeping up with new clothes because she grows out of her pajama suits so quickly.

We got the paperwork in at the U.S. consulate to register Lexi's birth and get her a Social Security number and U.S. passport (remember that, although she was born on Swiss soil, she was born to American parents, and so she is a U.S. citizen, according to the Swiss). This all became possible once we finally got her birth certificate from the City of Geneva. She has left the country (illegally) already - we went with my parents one Sunday afternoon to Yvoire, just over the border in France. But she will take her first legal trip with us when Sarah's parents come in the second week of October and we all take the train together down to Venice for a few days.

Otherwise, we are busy with the daily (and nightly) routine and chores that come with a newborn.

Hodi lay-ee
Hodi lay-ee
Hodi lay-ee
O-de-lay-ee o-dl lee-e o-dl lay!

Happy one-month birthday!

Alexandria is one month old today - a whole month! To Mommy and Daddy, it seems much longer.


We've learned so much about caring for this little creature in the past month. We think we've almost figured out what her cries mean - which scream means "I'm hungry" and which one means "I have gas" (usually accompanied by vigorous kicking). Besides her crying, Lexi has another form of communication - various grunts and guttural noises. We haven't figured out what any of them mean yet, but when we decipher them, we'll let you know.

The best moments for me as a father/parent so far are when Lexi falls asleep in my arms or on me. One of her favorite positions for being held by me - although she's almost too long for it now - is tummy-down, draped along my forearm, with her head near my elbow. This position allows me to bounce her, which sometimes helps with the gas in her tummy. Sometimes she can fall asleep this way, and it's funny that when she does, her limbs and head just become limp.


But it was moments like last night that really melt my heart. It was probably the second time I figured out that Lexi could be comforted with her loud screaming from gas by holding her upright with her head on my shoulder and my arms wrapped around her fairly tight (a more traditional hold for a baby). She calmed down, and I was then able to lie down on the couch with her on my chest and watch TV at the end of the day. She curled up more into a fetal position and then fell asleep. When she does this - ahh, what better way does a baby show to a parent that she's comforted and is so totally trusting and vulnerable! Although I've just described what it's like for me, there's more to this feeling - as I've said, my heart melts, and it's a real tender, poignant moment for you and the baby.


Of course, the problem with Lexi is that it's hard to move her without waking her up. Once she falls asleep in your arms or on you, she's comfortable and likes it there. We're still trying to figure her out and learn what the tricks are.


But Sarah and I are enjoying our bundle of joy. It's been only a month, and we have many more months - and years - to look forward to!

Stephen as Dad

I have to admit I didn't quite know how Stephen would be as a father: I had never seen him interact with any kids really, especially young ones; he doesn't like to get dirty (I envisioned diaper changing with rubber gloves!); he's not a physical person (could he hold Baby for hours?).

I can now tell you that I think he loves being a dad. He is very attentive to Alexandria and takes great delight in playing with her and laughing at her funny expressions and sleeping positions. He has changed his fair share of diapers - and without gloves! And Lexi gets plenty of kisses from Dad. He's anxious for her to grow up so she can have conversations with him and tell him what exactly she wants.

I am very glad that he is home with us all day (well, he does have things he has to go out and do). It makes it easier for me and he gets to experience all the joys and frustrations of figuring out our baby!