Week three

We just came back from Rohan's three week appointment. The midwife said the jaundice seems to be almost gone and the weight is good: 9 lbs 2 oz, about 4.1 Kg. The little one is beginning to cry a little more, but we are not scared yet. Mostly he moans a lot, especially in his sleep, which is annoying but harmless. Today he lifted his head for a couple of seconds during tummy time and if that had not been exciting enough, he also sucked his fist (yes, the whole little fist) for the first time.




Appu is still being quite nice to him and he is being very patient about the constant noises that disturb his sleep in bed at night. In an unexpected twist, he has developed somewhat of an obsession for Rohan's socks. He tries every trick to convince us to put them on him. The words "too little" still don't ring a bell, I'm afraid.

Today it was the second day of Appu's music camp. We go for an hour in the morning to sing and make noise with a few other kids, then we have some coloring and some music listening and play to do at home. Rohan comes to class with us in the sling and so far he has slept through it all. I'm quite happy with the whole experience so far and Appu seems to enjoy it. He has fun with the musical instruments (today we got to use a really cool drum with beads inside) and he is very interactive. The only part he doesn't like is when everybody gets up to dance holding some colorful scarves. Somehow that scares him and I end up having to carry two kids in my arms, while waving the scarves around, so that is now also my least favorite part... :)

The sweetest thing

Oggi Appu ha insistito che suo fratello venisse a fare il bagno insieme a lui. Poi hanno messo il pigiama insieme e abbiamo letto un po' di storie (Rohan era un pochino distratto, ma lo scusiamo). Un buon segno, no?

After dinner we told Appu "bath time!". He pointed at his brother and he said "Rohan", then he went nearer to where Rohan was sleeping unaware and said "Rohan too!". So we woke up Rohan and we all went to the tub. I think the dad had tears in his eyes...

Domenica mattina al parco

These pictures are from last Sunday. We went to the park with our little neighbour Kalena and her dad, who brought along a couple of kites to make the most of a windy morning. The kite flying part wasn't very successful, but both dads and kids had fun and the photographer managed to get a few shots with the kite in the air. Rohan was sitting cozy in his sling, asleep for most of the time. The outing was then concluded with a stop at our usual brunch place for eggs and smoothies - and milk!

Happiness is ... washable markers

Felicita' e'... pennarelli nuovi con un sacco di inchiostro (lavabile!)

In search of that perfect brotherly picture

The search goes on, and in the meantime it is nice to see that Appu can hold his little baby brother on his lap without him receiving any harm. (It does help that the big brother is watching cartoons, of course...)

Week two

Rohan is two weeks old. He is drinking and growing well - he now weighs 8 lbs 4 oz (about 3.7 kg), so his older brother is not drinking all his milk after all... He had his hearing test today and everything seems normal, no worries so far.

Little Rohan is still a very quiet baby, but the combined efforts of the two brothers keep mom awake a lot at night nevertheless. Still, I am able to almost never leave the bed and that helps a lot in feeling more rested. I thought it was going to be much worse and I am very grateful for how things are going.

Yesterday we went to take Rohan's passport pictures. It was very stressful for him, but somehow in the end we succeeded in achieving the perfect combination of open eyes, mouth not too open, straight head looking ahead and no parts of mommy's hand visible. Appu needed to have a picture taken too and of course he loved it. I think "photo" is one of his favorite words, he will pose forever as long as he is allowed to see the result afterward. We will go back for a more relaxed photographic session at the end of the month, that should be a lot of fun.

Appu has still not fully adjusted to the new situation, but he rarely seems to be annoyed by his brother. In fact often he seems amused. Sometimes he brings a blanket for him, or wants to put on his socks, and if he is crying a little he "sings" (in his own Appu way) "the baby on the bus goes uah uah uah...". That was our idea of course, but Appu found it hilarious. One point for us!

Il tempo delle fragole

If my aunt were still alive she would love these pictures. I was a big strawberry fan as a child and every week she used to bring me strawberries or other berries from the market. I didn't care much for sweets, but one of the few exceptions was the pastry with "fraghe" (fragole, i.e. strawberries) that we could get from a bakery near her office. Appu says "fragu", almost like his mom.