Going Back to Work & Other Stuff

Tomorrow I am going back to work after a wonderful 10 weeks of maternity leave (8 weeks of which have been spent with Kai). I am, as you can imagine, not looking forward to leaving Kai for almost 12 hours M-F (including commute time). My only peace comes from knowing that Kai will be in Bianca's care for the summer. I imagine the two sharing in summertime activities--walks on the beach, stealing a movie matinée, walking around the hood, discovering new ways of expression (drooling, cooing, laughing). I am glad I am going back to a job I like and I can find comfort in helping to provide for my family. I feel so fortunate to have had these precious moments to share with Kai and Bianca. I will treasures these memories as we make new ones. (see pics below).



Kai's birth seems like it was eons ago. The pain a distant (thank goddess) memory. It has been true for me that I have forgotten the pain I experienced during labor and delivery. When I look into Kai's eyes as he discovers something for the first time or babbles constantly as if he is "telling it like it is." He is such an expressive baby. Of course, Bianca and I encourage him. "Really?" we ask, "YEA!" "I know!" He smiles, as if he understands. We have affirmed what he has just expressed. OK, so much of this purposeful communication is a figment of my imagination, but I will indulge, nonetheless.



My biggest challenge, to date, has been learning to breast feed Kai. I think he might agree. Initially he lost about 11% of his birth weight, but quickly gained it back. Now, he is a champion. He loves to nurse, often times cooing and caressing my boob as he falls into a delirious stupor (imagine an intoxicated baby). My boob (or more accurately, Kai's boob) is a great source of comfort. Bianca is great at soothing Kai too. She has developed this wonderful way of using music to sooth and put him to sleep. She puts him in our sling, plays music (loudly) and dances around the living room. Once he is in place and the music begins, Kai becomes settled and listens tentatively. What B listens to aren't lullaby's, but contemporary and ole R&B, Salsa and Caribbean music (the more base, the better). When Kai is tired he rubs his eyes, yawns and grabs his hair at the back of his head. Many of his expressions look intense to me. When he does this one and furrows his brow, he looks so stressed. When he just furrows his brow and looks into space, he looks like he is deep in thought. We speculate he is thinking about his Boob or possibly how he might play with his cloth cube next. It is marvelous watching him experience the world around him.



Kai continues to be a bit fussy, mostly when he is overtired. Bianca and I try to catch him when he is just getting tired so we can sooth him and get him to sleep. Sometimes we are hugely successful and sometimes we fail miserably. Kai's response to this failure is to cry and scream. His gums exposed all the while. We feel like we have just won the lotto when we get him to sleep without any crying. We are experiencing this more and more. We spent so much time thinking about getting pregnant, my gestational diabetes and the labor/delivery that we had little time to think about the day to day of having a little baby. Now that Kai is here, we read books about breastfeeding, vaccines, his development, etc., but mostly we ask people for advice and experiment.



Kai is already outgrown his 0-3 month clothes, as well as most of his 6 month clothes. He is growing and changing from day to day. His baby book is nearly put together and I have assembled a photo cube (complete with 6 photos) for my desk at work. We have also videotaped Kai in his swing, bouncy chair and on his first walk. Sometimes it seems like we are going overboard documenting, but then I dismiss this notion. After all, Kai will only be a baby for so long, and it is important to cherish every moment (as every moment is a gift).

Since Kai's birth we have had many visitors. Kai's grandparents (Jimmy and Joanne) have visited from Wisconsin, his grandmother (Linda) and aunts (Sabrina and Erica) have visited from San Diego and friends from SF (Lisabeth), Chicago (Herek, Gary and Kendra), LB (Lauren, Beth, Jude, Courtney, Ed, Shelly and Judah).

Our plan is to continue to update the blog as we can make time. thanks for visiting! xoxox