My Mom arrived in Paris this past Friday for a two-week visit to meet Oliver, her first grandchild. She is the first family member to meet our little guy, since everyone lives across an ocean. These pictures perfectly capture their first few minutes getting to know one another - lots of love already! We timed her visit to be a few months after his birth, but since he was a bit late getting to he party, he was only five and a half weeks old at her arrival. At this stage, a lot his day is still spent sleeping and eating, so it's really a joy to have him awake and peaceful. The second best thing is to have him sleeping on your chest rocking in the glider... On Sunday, we hosted a brunch to introduce our friends from work to Oliver as well. Even though he has been quite fussy recently, he was a champion angel when everyone was over. They will never believe us when we tell them he screams like a banshee whose hair is on fire at times. And of course we are all taking advantage of the beautiful April spring weather to get out and about with Oliver - this mostly involves heading down to the Seine and then picking a direction to walk. This city is so beautiful at this time of year, and Parisians and tourists alike are thrilled to be out and about in such glorious weather!
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... is just like the first month with a newborn anywhere: it proceeds slowly and beautifully as you get to know your new son or daughter. It is a state of intense love and bonding, accented by moments of fear, anxiety, helplessness and exhaustion. We are living an ever-repeating cycle of eat-sleep-poop. At this age, babies are supposed to sleep anywhere between 15 and 20 hours per day, which really doesn't leave much awake time for much else other than eating and staying clean. We have definitely taken advantage of the fact that Oliver loves to sleep in his stroller with daily walks down to the Seine as the weather permits. It also doesn't hurt that there is a Starbucks conveniently located on the way, given our serious need for caffeine these days. A few more highlights from our first month home have included: Figuring out bath time (Oliver is a fan!) Tummy time (Oliver is not so much a fan)... Monsieur has sported his first pair of jeans... And we are figuring out how to wrap him up in a swaddle and baby carrier - the jury is still out on whether he likes either one, but he's sure cute hanging out in them!
After what felt like an eternity at the hospital (7 full nights), we were finally released last Tuesday to come home. And even though the car ride to get here was anything but relaxing with a newborn surrounded by aggressive Parisian drivers, we have settled in very nicely to our first week home with Oliver. I am sure every parent is totally in love with their newborn, but ours has totally stolen our hearts. Although he has his moments of hysteria like any new baby, overall he is a very sweet and calm little guy - in France, the word they use for well-behaved children is sage (which technically translates as a "wise child", but really implies good behavior), which we heard in reference to Oliver a number of times at the hospital. I couldn't agree more. Life at home was a bit daunting at first, having left the comfort of 24-7 help and meal service provided at the hospital.
The biggest challenge we've had so far has been feeding the little guy. Like everything else with this child, my milk came in "late" by about a week (it's supposed to come in at birth +3 days, so a week in addition is quite long). Because he wasn't getting enough to eat at the hospital, he was constantly nursing and upset, which also meant he wasn't sleeping well the first few days of his life. Introducing formula to supplement helped us get through the hospital stay, but also gave Oliver a raging case of constipation when we got home. Note to readers: constipated babies are not happy babies. Luckily, we made it through. We have also been learning a lot about what his facial expressions and different cries mean. We now know his hungry face (constant) and his poop face (hilarious). As of yesterday at two-weeks old, he has now started looking intently at our faces with some sort of recognition, as opposed to a vague, blurry-eyed glance around. More than anything, we are doing our best to do nothing but spend time together as a new family. The weather here is still quite cold here in March, which is a great excuse to stay sheltered in the cozy apartment. We are thoroughly enjoying the unstructured days to which we find ourselves living among a new human, who has no concept of day or night. I'm not sleeping more than 2 or 3 hours at a time, but somehow it's enough when strung together with several other blocks of sleep. Or maybe it's just the adrenaline, which has yet to wear off from the birth. In any case, we are extremely lucky to be living in France during this time, which I know I've said before. I have 4 months of maternity leave, to which I'll add at least a month of vacation time. While Michael's paternity leave is only 2 weeks, he's able to add an additional 3 weeks, so the first month of Oliver's life will have both of us here full time to bond with him. Having two sets of hands also helps ease the work that comes with keeping a human alive and clean. We have even managed to throw in a date night, which is probably going to be the new normal :) After almost 42 weeks in my belly, baby Oliver finally made his grand entrée into this world! Weighing in at 3.97 kilos (8.75 lbs) and 50 cm (19.7 inches), Oliver was born on Wednesday, 22 February 2017 at 8:26pm at the Maternité Catholique Sainte Félicité in Paris. There are really no words that can adequately describe what it feels like to see your child's face for the first time, but it's in the realm of miraculous. This little human, who we had hoped and dreamed about for years, and who we feel like we had gotten to know over the past 10 months, is now a living breathing tiny fellow with a face and personality all his own. Mine was a long and tiring labor, having started with an induction on Monday night, and ending with the delivery on Wednesday night (22 Feb). Our hope had been to have as natural a birth as possible, and we basically ended up with the whole kit and epidural caboodle, but luckily (narrowly) avoided a c-section. After all was said and done, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Our doctor and midwives were excellent, and I had the best damn birthing partner a girl could ask for in Michael. Although I was the one carrying the little guy, Michael and I really went through this whole thing as a team. He is the kind of guy who never missed even a single doctor's appointment throughout the pregnancy. I have so much love and affection for my husband, and now we have a deeper shared connection through Oliver. Here are a few photos from our weeklong stay at the hospital... This is going to be my last post before Baby Hogge arrives. How can I be so sure? Welp, at 41 weeks + 2 days pregnant as of today I am considered "overdue" by both US and French standards ("full term" is 40 weeks in the US; 41 weeks in France). The longest they will let a pregnancy go in the French system is 41 w +5 d. Which for me means that if nothing has happened by tomorrow, my doctor will start the process of evicting our little guy by inducing labor (in case it takes a few days to get going). Apparently he has grown waaay too comfortable in his warm cocoon, and there is no amount of reasoning by either Michael or me to convince him it's better on the outside. There is so much advice out there on the internet if you google "how can I induce my labor?", and most of it I am convinced is a whole lot of rubbish. Some people swear by taking castor oil (yuck!), or eating spicy food, or dried fruit.
The one we have heard most often is to walk up and down the stairs; and then walk them again. I can confirm that walking multiple flights of stairs at 41+ weeks pregnant is about the last thing anyone wants to do at this particular stage in life. But on the bright side, by the end of this coming week, come hell or high water, we will get to meet our little miracle! The car seat is probably the most important item we have purchased and needed to install before the little guy arrives later this month. Even though the hospital is nearby, it would still be a 40 minute walk home - obviously not gonna happen. So it is with great relief that the car seat is now in place and ready to roll! The car seat we chose was the Nuna Rebl, which was by far the biggest purchase we made for this kid. The big draw for this particular seat was that in addition to meeting the highest safety standards for car seats in the EU (i-Size), it is designed to accommodate a child from a newborn to about the age of 4, as it swivels 360 degrees to face rear (newborn) and forward (toddler) and sideways (getting him in and out of the car). So we should be good to go with this one for a while - unless the little guy is a beast, in which case all bets are off. We did, however, have a few hours where it seemed that the car seat was not going to fit with our car. The manual showed that our car - the Honda Fit/Jazz - is one of the very few models that would not work for i-Size carseats like the one we purchased. In fact, not only would this model not work in our car, it appeared that all car seats sold in the EU starting in 2019 would have not work (requiring the iSize standard). I panicked and suggested to Michael that one option would be to sell the car. Ah, pregnancy hormones... making women say and do such rational things for centuries.
In the end, it turns out not to have been the case after some thorough investigation and research by Michael. Thank GOD I have a husband who is patient and rational in his approach to problem-solving. Left to my own devices, I think I might have traded in the car :) We have lived in a one-bedroom apartment in central Paris for the past three years. We love our apartment and have no intention of moving from in at least the next year or so, if it can be at all helped. However, we have a new addition to the family arriving in a few weeks who will need a little space of his own. Luckily for us, our dining room is about twice the size of the space we actually need for the table and chairs, so the second half of the room has slowly turned into the baby's nursery over the past several months. You can see a picture of Michael standing in the space on the bottom left picture below (he's clearly excited to be putting together the changing table, which came with the absolute worst instructions we have ever seen for a piece of furniture). With the changing table assembled over the Christmas holiday, next to arrive was the crib, which we found second-hand in great shape on the intranet at work. After securing a new mattress + sheets, and a cute hot air balloon mobile from Etsy, the sleeping quarters are now complete. Although the little guy won't actually sleep here much at first, as we're renting a side sleeper from BedNest so that he can stay in the bedroom with us for the first few months. Next and best on the list: decorate!
With my ever and eternal thanks (and sometimes hatred) to Ikea, we installed a few shelves and frames to make the space feel a bit more cosy, and a bookshelf to hold his books and toys. I found a glider / rocking chair on Amazon Germany. Although gliders are a staple of nurseries across the US, they don't really exist here so this was actually the most difficult piece of furniture to find. We're super pleased with how everything turned out... now all we need is the baby to go in it! Today, Michael and I (and baby Hogge) marched in solidarity with thousands of women, men and children in Paris - and many more hundreds of thousands around the world - to protest the hatred, xenophobia, racism, sexism, ignorance, and fear that personifies the man who now holds the highest office in the United States.
Yesterday was a sad day for many of us; not because one party or the other won the White House, but because a person so full of lies and malice was able to convince enough people across America to vote him, and now has the power to roll back the progress that so many have fought so hard to achieve. It may have been a peaceful transfer of power, but this is not normal. I am sad for the state of the world that our son will be born into, but we will not watch in silence while it happens. And I am comforted that so many of us feel the same way. Days like today must be only the beginning. We have now officially had our first three-peat visitor! The honor goes to none other than our good friend Casey, which is not at all surprising as she also holds the distinct honor of being our first ever visitor to Paris. When Casey and I started mulling over ideas for a December visit to La France, we immediately started thinking about a trip to the Alsace region to visit the Christmas markets. With my work schedule a bit inflexible these days (no more vacation days for me until after the little guy gets here) we really only had the option of immediately after Christmas for a NYE adventure. Although it was a quick visit by Casey's standards, we hopped in the car for a mini road trip that brought us to the lovely town of Colmar, which Rick Steves calls "Alsace's most beautiful city." For the record, I have a love/hate relationship with Mr Steves, but he is spot on with this one here :) We arrived on December 30, checked into our AirB&B in the middle of town, and headed out to take in all the Christmas glory. And from a person who loves Christmas, trust me when I say that this town takes it to a whole new level. The historic city center of Colmar, with its centuries-old half-timbered houses and winding canals, provides a magical backdrop for the annual Christmas market. Colmar is part of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, which changed hands between France and Germany a number of times over the past several hundred years, settling with France only after the end of WWII. Given the historical German influence in the region (and the fact that Colmar is today only 30 minutes away from the German border), the Christmas market here is the real deal. Which makes it all the more devastating that the market closed a day early. Instead of the announced final date of Dec 31, the vendors all packed up shop on the evening of Dec 30, cutting our Christmas market dreams devastatingly short. We didn't even have time to purchase a single glass of hot wine, apple cider or hand-carved wooden ornament. It also turns out that the Christmas market season in Germany is almost universally and exclusively during the four weeks of Advent. In other words, before Christmas. The famous Christmas market in Strasbourg is no exception, so we were totally out of luck. Strong words of caution here for anyone reading this and contemplating a German/French Christmas market adventure - make sure you arrive before Dec 23! It is also a universal truth that Europe shuts down on New Years Day, with a few exceptions. One of which is Europa-Park, Germany's parochial answer to Disneyland, where the themed areas of the park are European countries. Luckily for us, this time of year also features ... a Christmas market!!! Hats off to Michael for discovering this strange (yet perfect) little adventure. You can view all of the photos from our mini road trip here.
One of the best things about working at the OECD is that it closes for a full week over Christmas and New Year. Which means that email traffic grinds to a yuletide halt as the whole organization collectively agrees to give our blackberries, laptops and brains a much-needed rest. This is one of the greatest gifts you can get at the end of a long and stressful year of work. But the real gift for me and Michael this year is celebrating Christmas with the promise of a little baby man headed our way in February! Our journey has not been as long as some to get here, but it hasn't been easy either, and there so much to be thankful for. At almost 8 months pregnant, I am grounded from traveling anywhere, which gave us a great excuse to stay close to home and enjoy this time together before we become a family of three. For Christmas eve dinner, we ventured out to the local Ramen joint to enjoy a steaming warm bowl of noodles - this picture doesn't nearly convey how happy Michael is at this moment, but trust me when I tell you that nothing I cook will ever make him this happy. Ever. Christmas day itself has also been nice and quiet. My big gift from Santa Michael was a gramophone and a few starter records. I have been eyeballing gramophones for a number of years now, and it's already a great addition to our apartment - time to break out the Ella and Louis! Right after I let go of the Christmas tunes... :)
Christmas trees (sapins de Noël) have taken over the prime real estate at the flower shops on Rue Cler. These particular beauties claim to come from Norway, and will cost you a pretty penny or two. Although we didn't buy a real one this year, our allergy-free and apartment-sized artificial Christmas tree is up and shining, decorated with a few more ornaments from our travels this past year. The best part of this picture is obviously the handsome guy sitting next to it, my best gift ever. Motorcycle Santa has been spotted on the streets of Paris, attempting to spread Christmas cheer to frosty Parisians stuck in rush hour traffic. Results are inconclusive. And last but not least... fire wine!
For the third year in a row, we have partaken in the most excellent German tradition of lighting a rum-soaked sugar cone on fire and allowing it to drip sweet alcoholic goodness into hot mulled wine below (in German called Feuerzangenbowle). It is really as amazing as it sounds. While I could not partake this year, the smell was almost enough to bring back the memory of last year's cup(s) of fire wine. And combined with a successful gift exchange and lots of laughter with good friends, the evening was an excellent way to officially launch the Christmas season! When my good friend Joumana offered to throw me a baby shower, I was super excited to officially celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Hogge with my girlfriends here in Paris. But as we talked about the guest list and who I would want to be there, I quickly realized that many of my closest girfriends and all of my family would not be able to join in the celebration. This would also be true would the party have been hosted in California or DC, which is the downside of calling a number of places 'home'. The solution? A "virtual baby shower", made possible by Google Hangouts, which allows up to 10 sites to join one video feed at a time. The setup on our side looked like this: And for guests calling in from afar, it looked something like this: In total, we had groups of ladies join from San Diego, Orange County, Ontario, the Bay Area, New York, Washington, DC, Charlotte NC, and of course Paris. Our time zones ranged from 9am to 6pm, so while some were drinking their morning coffee (or mimosas, way to go Corissa!), others were sipping champagne - or in my case a nice glass of non-alcoholic champomy (like Martinelli's sparkling cider). We were connected online for about 1.5 hours, and apart from catching up and getting to see all the smiling faces, we played a few shower games so that everyone had a chance to participate. My mom won 2 of the 3 games, which I guess means that she knows what she's doing when it comes to babies. Good thing she'll be out here to visit in April! After we disconnected from the virtual part of the shower (yes, I teared up a bit - hormones, ok?!), the ladies in Paris had dinner, played a few more games, and decorated some onesies. The evening was one of the most amazing and special things that anyone has ever done for me. Here are a few more photos from the party: Thanks Mémère and Pépère for the new stroller (and baby swing, not pictured)! We are going to get so much mileage cruising around Paris in this baby :)
Other than the crib, which is serving double-duty as the baby storage space, this is the first big baby item to enter the Hogge household. Starting to feel real! It's that time of year again for the annual Burns-Hogge Parisian Thanksgiving Potluck! For the third year in a row, we have hosted turkey dinner at our apartment, and this time managed to squeeze in 16 adults and a 3-month old. This was our biggest Thanksgiving potluck dinner yet (we were 14 and an infant last year). Turns out this may actually be our physical capacity of seated people. Our turkey - Teddy - was a delicious French bird who was accompanied by some seriously good sides and excellent pies, including a killer pumpkin pie that was flown in overnight from the US! That's going to be hard to top next year. Unfortunately, all of the photos I took during the dinner itself have mysteriously vanished from my phone, but I did manage to capture half of our pre-dinner table and our first few guests arriving for cocktail hour in the living room I've been looking forward to wearing my shirt for the evening since my Mom brought it over from the US last month. Unless we cook another turkey for Christmas, this may have been it's big moment to shine. The little baby Hogge booties also made their appearance for a photo shoot, as did my breakfast of champions this morning: pumpkin pie, pecan pie and a steaming hot mug of coffee. Another successful Thanksgiving dinner in the books!
So technically the third trimester of pregnancy starts at week 28, but I'm a bit late on the post here so you're getting my 29 week photo. Which seems appropriate given the size of the little one being compared to an acorn squash, and today being Thanksgiving in the US. All is still going great with my pregnancy. I have really been extremely lucky throughout in terms of no real complications. Other than a wriggly acorn squash attached to my stomach, the biggest signs of pregnancy I have had so far are (in no particular order):
My doctor recommended that I start teleworking one day a week to cut down on the transport time to and from work, which I've now started to do on Wednesdays. Also starting next week, I will start driving to work instead of taking public transportation, which is normally totally fine, but the bus has been a bit unreliable recently and the metro is horrible during rush hour. The additional challenge of being 7 months pregnant in the winter is that my coat is so big, people often can't tell I'm pregnant so don't offer me a seat (which is actually very much needed these days). On the flip side of the coin, Michael and I have both been feeling the little guy moving around in my stomach like an acrobat throwing his own dance party at the best nightclub in town. There is NO mistaking the kicks these days, which are starting to turn into being able to differentiate limbs from one another. He's currently hanging out sideways, with his head towards my right side and his feet on the left. Feeling him move is one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and to get to share it with Michael is beyond joy. |
AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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