Michael started green beans today. Can't say he was terribly impressed, but he usually isn't at new foods, unless it is a fruit. Although...he did like pumpkin quite a bit. THAT was surprising.

Today, Brian and I watched in amazement as we propped Michael up in the recliner and he just sat up (away from the back of the recliner). Then, he reached over for his teething ring and instead of falling over like he usually does, he brought himself back up to center and sat again. WOW.

This was immediately followed by him deciding he wanted to lean somewhere else and going head-first into the cushy arm of the recliner. Nice boy. At which point, he felt it was sufficient to use the cushy arm to hold his head up so he could chew on his teething ring. He utilizes his resources quite well.

Lately, he plays this game with us where he looks at us and goes "Pppppttthhhhhssaaa" and spits everywhere. This usually occurs while he is laying on his back on his changing pad and results in spit more so on his face than anywhere else. We echo in return and this continues between the caveboy and us for at least one minute. I usually have to mop up his face afterwards.

Yesterday, I put a spoonful of carrots in his mouth RIGHT before he sneezed. It gave me a good excuse to wash my clothes again.

When michael does not want to eat something, he mashes his lips together and purses them and I swear it looks like his lips disappear. When you look closely, his lips make a very thin line and is no longer than half an inch. It is amazing.

Today, Michael had lunch with us at an Italian cafe near our house. Then, we went to look at jeans for Mom that might actually fit since she is shrinking despite eating ravenously thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. He checked out Bricorama (hardware store) and then spent the rest of the day at home playing around.

Love,
P

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. It's just that we have not done too many interesting things and neither has Michael! Just the same old same old really!

Yesterday, Michael had lunch at a cafe and watched Mommy choke on a piece of lamb that she ate that was too big for her. Dad almost had to heimlich (sp?) Mommy, but good thing a good bang on the back got that piece of meat out. Then, Michael took a nap as we went to Montparnasse to buy a Navigo only to find that the fact that our bank still has not spelled our name correctly or have the right address.

Then, Michael went in the cold and rain to the Marais area, only to turn back around and go home. Not too fun for him but he took a nap on dad, which he LOVES.

Today, just more playing at home. We are trying to get naps/mealtimes/food intake back on schedule. I will post just some random information in case you are interested.

Michael's Meal Plan
(50g = ~1.75-2 ounces)

Breakfast: Breastmilk, rice cereal with 2-3 ounces of formula mixed in. Occasional fruit.
Lunch: Breastmilk, 50g fruit, 50g vegetable, 0.5 ounces of formula (to supplement)
Afternoon: Breastmilk (if he takes it), 50g fruit, 50g vegetable, 30-40g yogurt, 0.5 ounces formula
Nighttime: Breastmilk

For Michael, I have to catch him when he is a bit sleepy for him to nurse. Otherwise, he is just crazy and bouncy and will not eat. That is one reason I have started to add in formula, just in case. He won't take the bottle, so I give him extra formula on a spoon or mixed in with rice cereal that is imported from U.S.A! I am looking for a sippy cup here but it is hard to find!

Foods that Michael Eats and His Opinion.

Fruits

• Pears - ADORES them
• Apples - Indifferent. Prefers homemade puree of apples
• Bananas - Started out liking them. Now doesn't really care for them.

Vegetables

• Pumpkin - LOVES them
• Carrots - Indifferent. Started out hating it, but is ok now.
• Sweet Potatoes - Indifferent.

Others

• Rice cereal with formula - Loves this
• Yogurt - Loves this too

Next up:
Green Beans
Peas
White Potatoes
Prunes (mixed in with Apples)
Peaches
White Potatoes with leeks
Meats

THis will take like A MONTH to get to! Then we go onto more chunkier things!

Love,

P

Was looking at the Loire Valley pics and found this pic of Michael that cracked me up. It was one of the family pics that didn't make the cut, but when I saw this face, I knew it should have:

Michael had a boring day today. He stayed at home all day with his grandparents while Mom ran around town. However, he did start learning how to smack his lips to make a popping sound. That was neat for him but he has yet to do it again. Then, he got excited for when his mom and his dad came home. Yup, pretty boring, but a standard day really. He doesn't go to his weekend chateau every weekend!

When Phuong ordered a limonade at a cafe the other evening, she didn't quite know what the French had in store for her.

Crawling

Not quite yet! But Michael was up on his hands today and nearly all of his torso was off the ground. He also sat up well on the bad and one time, he began to fall over, caught himself and turned back the other way maintaining his balance. Then I had to repeatedly catch him as he tried to leap off the bed.

First Family Vacation in France: The Loire Valley

This Monday-Wednesday, we went to visit Chartres Cathedral and the Loire Valley for our first family vacation! Here are the highlights:

Cheverny

• The family still lives on the 3rd floor of this chateau. You could see recent family pictures in their exhibit rooms.
• A family tree which dated all the way back to 1400 with the most recent member being born the same year as Brian!
• Smaller chateau, but still cute.

Chambord

• This isn't the best picture of Chambord, but it has all of us in it! ;o)
• Filled with tapestries made from the Manufactures des Gobelins, our neighbor!
• Beautiful views from all 4 points of the chateau.
• Staircase with 2 different entry points, but the stairs never cross
• Horse show at 4:30pm, which we missed.
• Terrible audioguide. Don't bother!

Chenonceau

• Built to span across the river.
• Gorgeous gardens.
• Interesting rooms
• Pretty historically correct flower arrangements refreshed biweekly.
  

We also visited Chatres Cathedral, which has 2 stories of impressive stained glass and over 2000 sculptures. We had a great guided tour by Malcolm Miller, who authors the book about the cathedral. He was 73 and amazing!

We stayed at this amazing B&B in the Loire Valley called Chateau de Nazelles. It had an amazing garden, forests to romp in, delicious breakfast and great hosts.

Michael doesn't like to travel as much as his parents. On this trip, he woke up 3 times every night, wouldn't nurse because everything was so interested, and fussed almost the entire time he was in the car. It was pretty hard to travel with him so we are re-thinking about going anywhere until he is a bit older. So we say!

Love,

B&P

DATE NIGHT!

Brian took me out on our first date night since March when THE MOM came. We had dinner at Thomieux (sp?), which was excellent!!! The plates had the restaurant's name on it. FANCY. We shared an appetizer of foie gras and both had confit de canard, which wikipedia describes as:

The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salting (with garlic and spices) a piece of meat (generally goose, duck, or pork) and then cooking it in its own fat or broth. Usually the meat is placed in a crock or pot, covered and poached or braised for up to nine hours in its own fat.

DELICIOUS. See our happy fat faces below:

We were joined at dinner by the fattest cat I have ever seen:

And a view of the Eiffel Tower on the street where our restaurant was. Here we are walking home:

It was romantic and magical and such a nice treat for Brian and I.

Loire valley next.

Grandbaby has been bopping all over the Loire valley!

Monday: Michael visited Chatres Cathedral and took a tour by Malcom Miller. He slept while we learned about stained glass. He tried to eat at a little cafe near the Cathedral, but wasn't terribly interested, as was his disposition toward eating for the remainder of the trip. He was actually ok in the car until we were almost at Nazelles. At which point he started to fuss, but we were close enough.

Tuesday: Michael decided to visit Cheverny and Chambord chateaus. He liked being carried around mostly and decided that the stroller was for commoners. We then went to L'Epicurie in Amboise for dinner after driving around Bloise which had absolutely nothing. This night, Michael also discovered cats for the first time. Our B&B has cat who was sleeping on a couch. Brian set Michael down right next to the cat and Michael lovingly petted it. He liked the soft fur. Then, Michael decided to beat the cat like he does his other toys. Luckily, the cat seemed used to it and didn't care.

Wednesday: Michael visited Chenonceau and seemed rather tired of all the chateaus. As if it was a bit boring. Then, he decided to be the fussiest he has ever been in the car all the way back to Paris. My mom and I did everything we could to keep him happy. It was HARD.

Michael has been having a terrible go of going to sleep at night since we went to the hospital. he fusses and fusses and fusses. Brian wants to Ferber him and make him go to sleep by himself, but I can't bear to hear him cry. I usually give him and pick him up and hold him for a while. Last night, he cried for 40 minutes. :o( After I held him for a while, he slept ok for the night and didn't wake up until 6:20am. We'll have to see what we should do now for his sleep.

Today, I am making him make up for all the food he DIDN'T eat while we were away. The baby would not nurse because he was so interested in everything else. *sigh*

Love,
P

Playmat

After Michael's apparent head injury, we didn't let him play on his playmat anymore because he had a tendency to roll off it onto the hardwood floors. But today we put a thick blanket underneath it and put him on there. He liked it a lot, playing with all the toys, eating the mirror and sounding the chime toy. He tried to roll around on the mat while I was putting a new sheet on his mattress, but I devised an ingenious solution to the problem of continuing to work while protecting the boy from himself as this picture shows.

Between meals this afternoon, Mom and son watched a little television. It as really cute because Michael grabbed Phuong's arm and held onto it. He's been doing a lot of that lately, reaching for Phuong and looking for his mommy. And as these photos show, he has been sitting up increasingly well.

Much of the day is spent tickling Michael in various ways so that he giggles uncontrollably. This includes tickling his armpits outright, putting your hair in his face, tickling his back or playing various forms of peek-a-boo. It's really funny to hear him squealing and giggling.


He has also been saying dadadada alot and gurgling his breastmilk. Punk.

VOILA!

Yogurt, mon premier Danone!

We started the caveboy on yogurt this afternoon. He had some "mon premier Danone" and actually liked it. He still didn't eat very much of his bananas though. One time, he sneezed yogurt and bananas all over Phuong. That's always fun times when he sneezes or sits there spitting out food and drool. I've never seen a creature who generates so much drool. At lunch he ate a ton of carrots and pears, his favorite. We think his bananas need to be mashed better and then he'll love them again.

We took the boy out to Bercy, Place de la Nation and Picpus in the 12th arrondissement this afternoon on metro line 6. He slept a lot and didn't really indicate whether he liked Picpus or not. I liked it plenty. I liked Picpus and Nation was hopping. Bercy Village, an American style shopping area like Rice Village in Houston, was really disappointing. We won't be going there any more. Neither will the caveboy. I had a Magnum Blanc. Michael was jealous.

Phuong went out to get a sandwich grec tonight while the boy and I played fun games like Peek-a-boo and also had plenty of time for zerberts and tickling. I love to zerbert him near his neck because he laughs uncontrollably. He's very fun and silly. Then he got hungry and fussy. But to give Phuong time to eat, we watched some MTV. He likes to bop to the music.

Well, I found out through the grapevine that there are grandparents (and great-grandparents!) who probably would like to know what Michael does every day, no matter how mundane. So I am starting another blog just about Michael and his every day activities.

I will try my best to post everyday. It will be fast, quick snipits, and full of details only his loving great grandparents and grandparents will care about!

This blog will only be about Michael!

Love,
P

Yesterday, I went down to Grenoble in southeast France to present some results to colleagues from another research center. The meeting was scheduled for Friday morning, from 8:30 to 12:30 with a tour of their facilities afterwards.

I stayed with a coworker at his parents' house on the outskirts of Grenoble, and we set off for the meeting at about 8:00, running late. I've been to French meetings before and know they start late and lack structure, but I've never presented at a French meeting. In the US, I would have arrived early, set up the projecter and presentation, and been ready to go by 8:30. In contrast, we arrived at the entrance gate at 8:40. Two cars ahead of us at the gate was one of the guys with whom we were supposed to meet. It also turned out that because I am a foreigner, there were some special forms we had to fill out that we had forgotten to request. So we finally got into the facility at about 9:10. Then we met some other colleagues working there. We arrived at the meeting room around 9:30 and there was no projector. So after finding a projector that turned out to be broken and having some coffee and croissants (as it was croissant Friday) we started without a projector. It was a small group, 6 of us, so that was ok. A bit later, one of the guys left the meeting and came back with a projector that works. Then the technical director arrived about 10:30, halfway through the meeting, because he had some other things to attend to first. A second participant left about 15 minutes later. After all was said and done, it was actually very productive and went over well. So that's how French meetings work.

I was talking about it afterwards in the railstation bar with an English coworker, who was also down in Grenoble for the day, and he told me a funny story about a meeting he had been to in Spain. It was to start at 10:00am. Since he has been in France for awhile, he was smart, arrived around 10:15 and was greeted by another Englishman and a couple of Germans. About 10:45 some other people start trickling in. At 11:15, the Spanish professor who had organized the meeting rolls in and starts setting up his presentation. Finally, after 11:30 the talk finally gets going.

BLOG CATCHUP!

With my parents here, I can finally catch up on some events in MARCH.

The Dirty D came in early March just in time to see our kitchen cabinets go in. Sadly, it was the reason we had to stay home ALL DAY. The first day was fine, since Devina was still getting over partying with Shravi in happenin' Munich. But by the 2nd day, we were a bit antsy in our pantsy to get out of the house.

Devina's first night was quite eventful. It began with finding Phuong cursin' up a storm b/c the fussy baby had been fussing for the last HOUR trying to get to bed. And it ended with Brian starting the battery operated pump on her aero bed only to hear it die down within 20 seconds with a FAR from inflated mattress. EEK. Probably should have done that before our guest came.

Then, we plopped a baby in her lap. And who would have thought...Devina is a BABY person. Michael LOVED her despite the quizzical look below. I think she may be the brownest person he's ever met:

After resting all day at home, we went to Rue Mouffetard for an "early" dinner at 6:00pm. We were the only people in the place and had to wait for our dinner because the staff was sitting down to theirs. Afterwards, Devina and I went to a cafe on the corner and enjoyed a nice Parisian coffee.

On Devina's last day, we finally get out of the house and head over to the Tuileries to sit beside this empty fountain. There were other Parisians sitting there too, hoping that it would turn on. But alas, Devina and I were content knowing what could have been, enjoying our fruit cake and coffee.

Then, we were off to meet Brian on Rue de Rivoli so we could walk Devina to Chatalet, where she flew back to Shravi for the rest of her European vacation. It was great to see her!

THEN, the TEACHER friends invaded Paris in mid March!

From our arrival in January to March, we had rain almost EVERY day except like 3. So imagine our surprise when the Teacher Friends brought with them SUNSHINE! Boy were we happy to see them and the SUN!

Brian met them at the airport and helped everyone with all of their luggage to the hotel. Considering half of the luggage was our stuff from the U.S., it was really only appropriate!

I met them all at their hotel and we enjoyed a nice Parisian lunch at a cafe on Rue Cler, another nice market street in Paris. You would have never guessed they had any jet lag by the way they were so happy and giggly!

The MOM organized a great tour of Paris for them called, "Paris on Speed" and we really did not see much of them at all! We hosted a "Teacher Appreciation Dinner," which consisted of food purchased at an Italian eatery and enjoyed a nice night of company. Good thing they came because it gave us a real reason to by REAL plates! ;o)

On Sunday, THE MOM came and baby sat for us so I could cook dinner, the 1st time in like MONTHS, and gave Brian and I a break for a date. Also, another first in months! Michael was happy to have his Grammy with him despite his cheeks:

Brian and I went to the Ile de la Cite and pretended to be tourists and spoke English! It was GREAT! It made me realize how "French" our area of town is. I never even dream of speaking English where we live! We went to a nice Italian gelato place where Brian got a cool cone with ice cream shaped like petals to form a rose. It was beautiful.

Then we had a crepe. It was awesome.

That night, for dinner, I served Osso Bucco, which was pretty good. If you are adventurous, here's the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20137,00.html

Anyways, Candy and Annette spent the day at Fountainebleu and came home to tell us all about it over the Osso Bucco and gnocchi. Then, we had a slumber party with 3 teachers, 2 air mattresses, and 1 living room in Paris. We were so sad to see them go because it is great to have family and friends from back home around. Plus, funny giggly ones. Here is a great pic of them on the Seine river. Annette is back there, but she's hiding her bottle of wine!! ;o)

WHEW! That's IT! I have been meaning to blog that for MONTHS and am so glad to finally get the chance! My parents are here now so I can have a break!! ;o)

Love,
P

Phuong and I, well mostly Phuong, have been looking for baby food here in France that doesn't have additives like sugar or preservatives. Since we could seldom find anything suitable, we always asked ourselves why Gerber couldn't come over here and dominate the market with normal baby food that is just vegetable+water. Well, when I was doing my French homework, I found out why. The word gerber is a French verb meaning "to vomit". Little wonder they couldn't make any inroads to the French marketplace since I'm guessing that no French mother wants to feed her child vomit.

Latest update:

Michael's fontanelle is still a bit high, but it has gone down quite a bit. When he's sitting in his high chair or held up, it's actually pretty flat and you can see it pulsating again!

We'll see if he holds out and keeps being better. He is eating well again, which is great. Apparently, I was feeding him when he wasn't hungry. GO FIGURE. Now, the next challenge is to get him to take the bottle again!

After talking to Sara White, she pointed out something I had not yet realized about Michael. And that was that he is a person now with a personality. He can discern whether or not he is hungry, whether or not he wants to play, go to bed, or have fun. And I've still been thinking of him as this newborn that I had to wake up to feed. So this made me feel tons better!

Anyways, we really appreciate all of your prayers and support through this time for us. It is amazing how God provides you with strength through your family and friends.

Love,
B&P

I am writing you with much sadness because we are very worried here in Paris about our baby Michael. On Sunday morning, we noticed his fontanelle/soft spot on his head was bulging. After consulting our books/internet, it is indeed a very serious problem and I saw my pediatrician. He immediately put me into a taxi and sent me to Hopital Neckar, which is the Infant/Children's hospital here with a specialized infant emergency room. He sent me with a note and called a doctor who was already expecting me when I arrived.

There, they did a very thorough physical examination on Michael and found nothing physically wrong with him. He had no fever, vomiting, or irritability and was his normal funny disposition. They then decided to do a CT scan on Michael to take a look at his brain to see if there was any evidence of tumor or hemorraghing. Brian and I found ourselves quite in tears as they bandaged our first born to a little flat board so he couldn't move and sent him into the CT where he fell asleep. With a bulging fontanelle, the least terrible thing is Meningitis, which is very bad already. Other causes can be bleeding in the brain, head trauma, tumors, and various other awful things. All this and Michael had not eaten for 4 hours already.

After consulting the scans, the doctor said that everything looked normal and there was no evidence of tumors, bleeding in the brain, or anything like that. With no fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or irritability, that everything is normal. No meningitis since there was no fever. They sent us home and told us to watch for signs of any of the previously mentioned things and to return if they surfaced. The doctor also assured us that she has seen cases where the fontanelle is bulging and there was nothing wrong and that the baby was ok.

On our way home, they called us and said they gave us the wrong scan contact sheet from the CT, which immediately made us sick to our stomach that they possibly could have mixed up the scans/results. But they assured us that the doctor looks at the scan as it is being taken and makes his prognosis from a computer screen, not the actual contact sheet. The only mistake that was made was that we were given the incorrect one to take home. They also said that the child's scan that we had was fine, as was Michael's, so the prognosis would have been the same either way. However, I am still worried about it of course.

So now, it has been 6 hours since Michael has eaten and 2 hours past his bedtime and he is of course not feeling well after getting his temperature taken rectally 4 times in less than 6 hours and been poked and prodded at. I have a ton of milke and he eats too fast and vomits it up, which we are then worried because it is one of the signs we are supposed to pay attention to. HOwever, in this case, I believe it is because he was so hungry, ate too fast, and had an empty stomach. He has eaten 5 times since then and has not vomited at all.

We are very very worried and need lots of prayers from you guys because there is no discernible cause for his bulging fontanelle. Even my pediatrician is very worried. He called me at 8:00pm on my cell phone last night to get the results from Neckar and told me to immediately phone him if I see anything unusual in Michael. We are watching him like a hawk for anything abnormal. I talked to my pediatrician again today and he asked if his fontanelle had gone down and I said maybe a little, but it is hard to measure such a thing so I don't know. It is definitely NOT flat like it is supposed to be. He is going to call back tomorrow. Obviously, if my pediatrician is this worried, we are as well.

We cancelled our weekend in Dinan, which is a 4 hour drive away and any meetings/appts for the week so we can watch MIchael. The nanny is also here helping and I have notified her of the things to look for even though I am also here as well.

We are just so worried for our little boy. He is just our sweet little baby who IS perfect so we just can't even think about such terrible things. I am reduced to tears each time. I slept in his room with him for part of the night and have just babied him all day by holding him, playing with him, and comfort nursing him for the both of us.

We wanted to keep you guys in the loop because this appears to actually be a very serious problem. Now, Michael is fussing at the breast, won't take a bottle, not taking formula so he is not eating well either. Calls to the doctor are daily and we are just very worried about our little baby.

Love,
B&P

A Day about MOM
and her
Random (Absolutely Frivolous) Musings

• Shouldn't pick your nose in public lest you accidentally wipe it on your patent leather wristlet. Bougers are HARD to get off of patent leather.
• Yesterday, I broke a porcelain lid off of a jar in a store. The shopkeeper did not look too happy about it. I am glad I didn't know the French equivalent to "You Break, You buy." Je ne parle pas francais has never come in so handy before.
• When am I going to stop wasting my time at BHV?? It is a department store, but it's like going to Randalls to get something you can get at HEB for much cheaper. I think I am lured into BHV by their nice plastic bags with handles. Sadly.
• Michael has had bananas the past 3 days and his poop looked like banana bread and could only be accurately measured in kilos.
• I found my sunglasses today after looking for them for 2 months.
• I tried some mascara from L'Oreal that says it is supposed to make it look like I have fake eyelashes. Interesting selling point...I tried it...and I LIKE IT. They also have some super fabulous lip glosses...one that is easy to put on and tastes like fruit, and another that is in an applicator like LIPSTICK and isn't all goopy! YUMMM....if you want to know how I came upon such fun things...e-mail me. I am not at liberty to discuss it here.

Brian has noted that I've gone from a "glass is half full" girl into a "what glass? There's no glass here" girl. True. But today, I may have had a change of mindset. While I was riding the bus (to the wretched BHV), I looked out of the window in time to see...Notre Dame. Tons of tourists with cameras were milling around, pointing, and looking up in awe. And I realized, I never have to look like them if I don't want. I can hop on the bus, ride it for 10 minutes, and at any given day/time see Notre Dame. With or without a camera. And it is because I live in Paris.

I LIVE IN PARIS. So I better quit acting like a spoiled brat and just enjoy my time here. Even if I have to listen to sirens all night, not have air conditioning, and see dog poop in the street all the time. The rest of my family likes it here so I better get on with it.

I just finished "Shopaholic and Baby," and it was quite a guilty pleasure. I loved the last line in the book:
"I am the Mother with the fabbest baby in the world. And we're going to have a blast. I know it."

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Love,
P

Michael has been making this face A LOT lately. Have not figured out why yet, but we are shocked by how FAT he can make his cheeks. Impressive.













The big news this weekend: Michael started solids! Mashed bananas made their debut and Michael seemed happy to try it out. The first bite went in and there was a bit of confusion for him...but he ate it anyways. GOOD BOY. Wait until he gets his first whiff of FISH SAUCE! ;o)












He kept most of it down. Today, I gave him a little bit more again and he ate it like a champ. Then had some reflux come up with some banana bits. Must be hard to be a baby.

I am looking into preparing meals at home. France has this thing called a BabyCook which steams and purees his food with the touch of a button. Click on this link, then "Dietary Diversification," then "Baby Cook." In other words, if you are bored, click below.
http://www.beaba.com/en/index_collection.htm

There is an organic market in Paris so I'd have to go there for food. Somehow, this may be a lot of trouble!! But I was reading in my MessageParis Message boards that one mom asked her pediatrician whether to use canned food or homemade and he said, "Which would you rather? Canned or Homemade?"

Touche...

Love,
P