Melody slept past 7am!

The last couple of nights Melody didn't wake til past 7 in the morning! She's sleeping a bit later which I'm sure helps. She's been going down past 9:30pm the last two nights and I've been getting pretty good rest. Although the other night I was super tired because Eric and I stayed up to watch 4 episodes of Mad Men.

Melody's 3 Month Birthday!

Hard to believe Melody is already 3 months old. It's even harder to believe my little Tyler is 2 years old! He started counting to 10 on his own this past week which was so awesome. Last night at Fatty Crab he even counted his crayons 1-2-3. Melody still has been sleeping well. She's been waking around 4:30-5 and will take her binky for another hour before she really wants to be fed. It gives and Eric and me a few more minutes of sleep before we really have to get up. I have to get up anyway usually to pump.

Melody and Tyler update

Melody will be 3 months old on Monday! I can't believe it. She no longer seems like a fragile newborn. In fact, she's a pretty solid baby and quite strong. She's been holding her head up on her own steadily for about 2 weeks now. She eats well and pretty much sleeps through the night! She went down at about 9:30 last night and it 6:15 now and she's still sleeping. Yesterday she woke at about 4:30 to feed, but she's been going pretty long stretches of sleep at night. If it weren't for me having to pump in the middle of the night would be able to get some good rest. But I'm not complaining.

Tyler is the big 2 now! We spent his birthday at Sesame Place and Bert and Big Bird sang him Happy Birthday. Eric took off work for a few days so we spent some time driving around western PA and went to Dorney Park and visited Aunt Emily and Uncle Mike as well. The last week or so he's been eating alot more too. He's been less picky for sure and eats quite often. I think he must be going through a growth spurt. Last night he ate shrimp and chicken with no objection. We kept him home from daycare this week so I could spend some time with him since Monday was a holiday and Eric took Tuesday off anyway. It's been a pretty exhausting week but quite fun having them both with during the day. On Tuesday we went to Robert Moses State Park and enjoyed the beach. On Wednesday we took the bus down to CMOM so Tyler could play. Thursday we went to the US Open day session and just walked around the grounds. And yesterday we spent the afternoon at Caroline's house. Sarah and Harolyn brought their kids as well. Tyler was not in a very good mood and pretty much was shy the whole time clinging to me. It wasn't until Caroline brought him downstairs that he left me alone. I think he prefers the company of adults.

Melody and Tyler update

Melody had her 6 week check up last week and is doing really good! She weighs almost 10 lbs. now and has outgrown all of her newborn outfits. She gets stronger and stronger each day and can pretty much hold her own head up now. She coos and smiles whenever she gets face to face contact and you smile at her. She really is a really good baby and I'm having a ball spending my maternity leave with her. We take drives to go shopping and I pump in the car when we're out and about for several hours. It's quite convenient and she's taken to being out of the house very well. We met up with Caroline and Harolyn and the kids last Friday at the Bronx Zoo. It was a beautiful day and Melody was a joy all day. That night Eric went to a Spiritualized concert and I had double duty with both kids that night. Eric thought it might be a good idea if I had a friend over for some help but I didn't think it was necessary. Both kids were very good and went down around 9:30pm so I had some time to myself even.

This weekend we spent Saturday in Sheep Meadow and met up with Eric's friend Oliver and his family, Irka, and Victor's family showed up as well. In the evening I went to Vince's birthday party in the West Village and it was Eric's turn for double duty. I think it fared very well without me! He's such a great dad!

On Sunday we made a trip out to visit Granddad and Grandma for some ribs and seafood chowder. Yum! Always a good feast at the Maurer house. Tyler had his nap in the car so he missed out on a swim in the pool but he had fun running around with Grandma nonetheless. It was good to spend some time with Lillian and catch up as well.

Melody's features are coming in and she doesn't furrow her brows as often as she used to. Her double chin is subsiding too. Her eyelashes are growing out as well as her eyebrows, though people are still mistaking her for a boy.

Tyler is so much fun these days and his vocabulary expands quite a bit every day. He's beginning to string words along and I can't wait until he can speak in full sentences. HE loves Yo Gabba Gabba and Thomas the Tank. Though he throws toys and jumps around everywhere, he's been very good with Melody and is pretty careful around her.

Melody weighs 9lbs 10ozs today!

Melody's red pimples finally went away

Yay! Her complexion got so much better today. She still has bumps on her cheeks and forehead but they're not as red. She is definitely much fairer looking again without all the redness.

Melody and Tyler update

Melody started cooing this past week. It is absolutely adorable! She's been eating 3.5-4 ozs. of breastmilk every 3-4 hours now and it's been getting more difficult keeping up my supply for her. I haven't had to give her formula in several weeks I'm bummed I may have to again. Tyler has been going to daycare most of the time and his vocabulary is improving alot more these days. My mom leaves back for LA next week which I can't believe already. Melody will be 6 weeks old by the time my mom goes back home and the time has gone by so fast.

Trying to stay cool at Jones Beach and Central Park

Well, it was pretty scorching and humid again this past weekend so we went to Jones Beach and Central Park. We stayed in Field 5 this time at Jones Beach since Field 6 was full. One of these days we'll get there early enough. But Field 5 is alot closer to the water than Field 2 was for sure. On Sunday we went to Central Park and headed over to Summer Stage. Eric's friend Neel was playing sitar for Global Family day concert. My mom and I stayed outside with Melody under the shady trees while Eric took Tyler inside to enjoy the music.

Melody weighs 9lbs 3 ozs today!

I weighed her at home on our baby scale.

The Hamptons and Eric's 40th!

We spent the long weekend staying in Sag Harbor soaking in the fresh
air and celebrating birthdays. We stayed at the Baron's Cove Inn in
Sag Harbor and got there late Sat afternoon. Sun was Peter's 2nd
Birthday so we spent the day at Maria's summer place in Southampton- gorgeous place!

Melody's 1 Month Birthday!

July 4th weekend

Sat spent in Sheeps Meadow in Central Park and then off to Mahwah to visit with Grandma and Grandpa in the evening. Tyler and Eric took a swim in the pool while Eric's dad prepared grilled chicken and the rest of us sat by the pool. By the end of the evening, I was stuffed and mosquito bitten all over my legs! But it was nice relaxing with the family and eating good grub!

Sun July 4th spent in Central Park and Mike Lee's rooftop to try and see fireworks. Melody pretty much slept the entire time.

Mon July 5th at Jones Beach. Only wanted to be there a couple of hours and get there very early but our plans don't normally work out as we hope. Figuring Tyler's nap and Melody's feeding schedule we didn't leave til late afternoon. We stopped by the lobster roll place in Pt. Lookout where Tyler fell off the bench and got a big knot on the back of his head. Thank goodness that's all it was.

We had a fun weekend and getting ready for a heat wave this week!

Staying Indoors and a visit from family

It was 103 degrees today in the city so mom, baby and I stayed in the
whole day. Other than doing some baby laundry, we kept it really easy
at home with the AC cranked all day. Later in the evening Roland and
the family came over from NJ to visit and meet Melody. Of course they
brought over food. Jillian has gotten so big already and Phillip is
going into the second grade. Roland and Fely couldn't get over how
much Melody looks like Eric, especially since she is so fair skinned.
Melody of course was an angel the entire visit and slept with no fuss
in my mom's arms. It's about 5am now and just put down Melody after
her feeding. I'm pretty much exclusively pumping now and once in a
while put her on the boob, but at least she doesn't have to have
formula. She still drinks 3oz every 3-4 hours like clockwork, though
she just went a 5 hour stretch just now. And when she's hungry she
yelps just a little bit just enough so I wake up. But she hardly ever
cries or fusses. I can't get over how easy her temperament is. Tyler
woke up at 4:30 just now so Eric's trying to get him to go back to
sleep- with not much success from what I can hear.

Eric and Tyler go back to work and school this week- Boo!

This week has been pretty mellow since Eric started working and Tyler went back to day care. My mom, Melody and I stayed home earlier in the week as it was scorching hot and disgustingly humid. It was a nice day On Wed and today so we finally ventured out. We drove into White Plains with Eric and Tyler yesterday so we could finally pick up my car from Mitchell's. (They didn't do the greatest paint job on my car.) My mom and I did some shopping errands and went home for the rest of the afternoon. Today was so nice I texted Eric to ditch work early so we could have a picnic in the park.

Oysters and Beer - Water Taxi Beach South Street Seaport

We got a late start to the day, but we finally trekked down to the South Street Seaport to say hi to Eric's friends Jamie and Nella and to hang out at Water Taxi Beach. Jamie and Nella were selling their maple syrup from Vermont at the New Amsterdam Market and we barely made it there to catch them as they were closing up and packing their wares. It was nice catching up with them a bit and hang out at the Water Taxi Beach before they had to head out. We stayed for a few more hours and met up with more friends. Melody and Tyler got us all in for free otherwise it would have been a $20 cover to get in. RIP off! The weather was hot and steamy but at least the rain stayed away so we could relax for some time drinking beers and slurping some oysters. Tyler played in the sand and Melody was being cradled by her lola for most of the time. Shimmy and Kane got to meet Melody for the first time and I made sure to take picture of Kane holding her so I didn't forget he came by to see her this time!

Bubble Battle Times Square!

There was a bubble battle in Times Square so of course we had to go. Hundreds of people gathered at 6pm to release bubbles in Times Square- why? For the fun of it of course! It wasn't as big as Improv Everywhere events but it was quite fun anyway. My mom thought Times Square was a really neat place to hang out too so we played tourist for a bit and posed for pictures. Afterward we took Tyler to Toys R' Us and thought maybe he'd like to go on the ferris wheel. He wasn't having it. But he had fun playing with the train set while I fed Melody by the books, amidst nosey onlookers. I guess you don't see newborns very often. Today was also Melody's first subway ride as well!

Melody the sleeping angel!

Melody slept from midnight til 5am this morning!  I guess I was so tired myself that I didn't even wake up to pump. I got about 5 ounces this morning and wasn't completely uncomfortable before pumping either!  

Popeyes and Beard Papas Feast with friends

Vince made up for eating my Popeyes with Tyler by bringing over a feast tonight! Vince, Mike Lee, Peter and Kate came over with enough chicken, mashed and biscuits to feed a small army. I brought some Beard Papas for dessert. Jinyi came over as well. Mike Lee flaunted his new iPhone 4. They were supposed to bring some over when I was at the hospital but there wasn't enough time since I was only in my private room one night. So we feasted last night!

Sprinklers at Museum of Natural History

We brought Tyler to the sprinklers right next to the Rose Center at the Museum of Natural History. It's one of my favorite water sprinkler places to take Tyler and so relaxing. When we got there both Tyler and Melody were asleep so Eric went over to get some lunch from Shake Shack. It was hot, though not too humid, but in the shade there was a very nice cool breeze. Once Tyler woke up he frolicked in the sprinklers and had a fun time. Melody pretty much stayed asleep the whole time, though I needed some relief for by boobs so I nursed her in public for the first time. On the way home Tyler and I dropped by Beard Papas to pick up some cream puffs for tonight. Tyler and I took the bus back home. Some 8 yr. old biy sitting next to Tyler kept kissing him on the arm. Ewwww....

Mommy / Tyler time at City Treehouse

I took Tyler to City Treehouse this morning where we met up with some of my mommie friends.  I was really happy to spend some one on one bonding time with Tyler and I think he was too.  He was so good the whole time. He wasn't very social and didn't really want to play at first, choosing to stick right by me for a while.  But he came around and eventually played with the toys and then the water table.  It was really nice spending time with the gals and the babies again.  I got to hold lil Zachary and lil Eliza and I can't believe how big they've gotten already.  Tyler and I strolled to Jamba Juice and Whole Foods and the bank and he fell asleep. Melody was at home with her daddy and grandma and stayed on schedule with her feeds.  She's such a good baby. Spent the rest of the afternoon at home and napped. Tomorrow is Eric's last day before going back to work on Monday and I wish he could stay out longer but it's best to save his vaca time until after my mom is gone when I need the help. 

Melody's Follow-up Doc Visit

Yesterday we took Melody to the doctor fir her second visit.  Her jaundice is pretty much gone and she gained about 1 pound since last week's visit.  Het weight and head size are right on average but her height is at the top of the charts at the 92nd percentile.  We see Dr. Gonzalez again in a month for another well visit and her shots. 

Birth Story

2:45am water broke Got checked in at Lenox hill at around 4am Eric left at 5:30am Napped for an hour bw 6:15-7:00am Walked around for 20 min 8:20-8:40 and talked to a crazy lady who just had a baby Eric mom and Tyler in at 9am 10am pitocin 1cc/hr 4:15pm contractions more intense. 6-7 on a scale from 1-10 Prob going to ask for Epidural soon 4:30 epidural 8:00pm Nurse Ellie's shift is over 8:00 Lillian takes Tyler home 9:48pm lil Peanut is born 10:48 they take her to clean and weigh 11:30 Eric gets me pastrami sandwich 12:00 am Eric and mom go home and stay in my delivery room 2:30am they bring peanut back 3:30am Eric comes back 4:00am peanut back to nursery 5:00am we get transferred to a private room 7:00am peanut brought to us

A visit from Sara, Maria and lil Zachary

Maria, Sara and lil Zachary came over for a visit this morning. They came bearing gifts and bagels. Tyler even got a Mr. Potato Head from Hallie and some trucks which fit on his train set from Peter and Henry. Sara and Maria are so sweet. I couldn't believe how much bigger lil Z got in just a few months! And, he rolled over from his belly to his back for the first time on our floor today! Yay! Of course it doesn't occur to me til now that I should've taken pictures when they were over. Sara gave me some BF tips which was great, especially now that she's a certified lactation consultant. And they both reassured me that Tyler's outburst are to be expected. Hallie and Peter have those same issues as well- guess it comes with toddlerhood. Oh, what fun! Can't wait til this phase is over.

Victorian Gardens in Central Park

We took Tyler and Melody to the Victorian Gardens in Central Park as part of the Central Park Conservancy's Family Night. WE got some refreshments and Tyler got to ride the rides for free. First he rode the boats with his dad, although it was almost a bust as he started getting upset when it was time to board the boat. Eric calmed him down and it seemed he had fun for the rest of the ride. Then we saw a train ride which Tyler loved. He rode it three times. Melody wasn't much into the Victorian Gardens, choosing to sleep through the whole event. 4 hours later at home, she is still sleeping.

My Melody- letting momma sleep!

The last couple of nights, Melody has been sleeping in about 3 hour stretches! She hardly fusses and usually just needs to suckle a pinky finger after her meal and goes back to sleep. She's such an angel. I've been mainly expressing my breastmilk and a couple times a day supplementing with formula. I need to give my boobies a rest from her strong sucking power! When I do put her back on the breast she hasn't had trouble so far with nipple confusion. She is just a doll. She eats about 3 ozs each feeding time now. When we first brought her home she was only having 1-2 ozs per feeding.

Melody's First sponge bath

I gave Melody her first wipe down yesterday after she peed and pooped on herself while Eric was changing her! She was quite content being washed down. I guess I would be too if I had pee all over myself too.

Father's Day dinner at Mermaid Inn and Melody's first outing!

My mom and I took Eric out for Father's Day dinner which was also Melody's first real outing! I made reservations for 5:15 which I'm sure will become our normal dining out time from now on with two kids in tow. Despite having a complete meltdown at home just before we were going to leave, Tyler did really well at the restaurant. Thank goodness for the iPhone which kept him entertained the whole time. Almost every table had a family with a young child out for dinner. Eric and I started out with half dozen oysters to share and they were so delicious ! I haven't had oysters since before I was pregnant and it was exactly what I was craving. Both Mom and Eric had the trout Blue Plate Special and I had the Sunday special spaghetti with clams, mussels, calamari and scallops. Yum! And for their complimentary dessert, of course their chocolate pudding with whip cream! It was a lovely dinner for a really awesome dad- the best two little kids could have. Tyler and Melody are really lucky to have Eric as their papa!

Little Melody napping beside me on the couch.

Melody's First Post!

Today Melody is 6 days old today! She's been such a great baby and such a little angel. I'm not sure who she looks like more, Eric or me. With Tyler I thought he definitely looked like me more. Melody has Eric's head shape- more oval and longer. She also has dark grey/blue eyes. Tyler clearly had dark brown eyes like his momma. She doesn't have much eyebrows either just like Tyler when he was born. I don't think his eyebrows came in for a while. Melody is usually pretty mellow and sleeps alot like most newborns. I still haven't introduced a pacifier so use my pinky finger if she needs to suckle to fall asleep after a feeding. That usually does the trick. She occasionally smiles- though I think it's really gas. Nevertheless, it completely warms me up. And when she does smile, she has a cute dimple on her left side by her mouth- yet another trait from her daddy. She also has a double chin- which Tyler didn't have. And of course, she has that oh so dominant Filipino nose. Melody doesn't have any mongolian spots either- not even on her butt. Tyler still has his and I wonder if they will ever go away.

Before she was born it didn't occur to me to ponder about who or what she would look like. I suppose I was more worried about going too much past my due date and if she'd be a huge baby. At 7lbs, 8.5 ozs she was about on target from what the nurse said at Dr. Lescale's. A week and half before she was born they estimated she was about 6 lbs, 4 oz then. That relieved some of my anxiety quite a bit.


Eric is out now taking Tyler to the park while my mom, Melody and I hang out at home. Tyler is feeling really out of sorts and has many tantrums and outbursts. He insists on being picked up often and really does not like it when he hears Melody crying. He's been really attached to his daddy since Melody came home. He doesn't understand why mommy always has Melody on her lap.