Baby with a cold

Well, it happened. Patrick caught the cold I had/have. I must admit I do feel better, but still am a bit congested with a harsh cough every now and then. Well, Patrick caught it. He´s been congested and coughing for the last couple of days. Luckily, he´s still a very happy baby...except when he´s laying down. (I think the congestion builds up in his head when he´s lying down making life just tough for a small baby.) The days are a lot easier than the nights. The nights are chilly causing more congestion and the hot days are great to stop it. So, needless to say we´ve been up a lot at night and have been startled by his crys of "bloody murder".

Does anybody know of home remedies for the common cold for a small baby?

I´m on lemon, honey, hot water to get better unfortunately he can´t take any of that. I´d prefer to use something natural before resorting to cough and cold medicines.

Also, those of you that have had babies...how did you get back in shape after birth? I, appartently, look the same...but I have a gut...Ughh! And don´t know how to get rid of it. How did you find time to workout, if you did? Did you use some sort of girdle? How old was your baby when you got back into a workout routine? Let me know. I´m struggling. I just need an hour 3 times a week...but that seems pretty tough...just to find somebody that can take care of Patrick just for a lil bit each week. Ideas? Let me know.

Cold while attending baby

You know I hate complaining but catching a cold is the worst thing nursing with a small baby. This is the 2nd cold that I´ve had since Patrick was born. Its tough because not only does my dear lil one not have a strong immune system yet...but I´m nursing and the only one that takes care of him. Christian helps when he can, but stays pretty busy studying, work, church calling, etc. So most of the time until around 10pm we (Patrick and I) hang out. Its fun...but really tough being sick.

So, Patrick is now laughing more...not just a cute squeal. He lets it all out when I hide behind a piece of fabric and say "Boo!" He also laughs when we play in front of the mirror. His reflection totally fasinates him.

Anyways other than that like is pretty normal.

3 Months!

Well, he´s definately the CUTEST lil boy! Ok, so I´ve been soooooooo out of the blogging world. I´m back. Honestly, the first 3 months were tough. Patrick was really really really colicky at the beginning. But now, he´s the cuteset funniest flirty lil boy. We LOVE playing. He´s quite a playful guy. Now he only cries when he´s tired or hungry or wants attention and wants to play. He´s a very good boy and now we are actually able to get things done...a bit slower than before, but by the time the end of the day gets here...we´ve finally made the bed. :) He laughs and smiles. He´s quite a flirty lil boy. You only have to smile at him and he gets all excited and smiles back...its doesn´t matter who you are...he loves smiling at people when they smile at him. The other day I heard his first REAL giggle. It wasn´t just a squeal...but a real Ha Ha Ha! It was soooo cute! We are STILL struggling with sleeping through the night...though he has gotten better. Now he´ll sleep about 4-4.5 hours alone and the we are back to every 2-2.5 hours at night. He loves to eat. He´s grown sooooo much that he´s only 3 months old, but he where´s clothes of 6-9 months and is about to grow out of them. I just LOVE being a mom! Its sooooo much fun...a lot of work, but I love it.

Name Change

Well, we tried the other name out for a while...then 2 days before our lil guy received his baby blessing, we opted for a name change. His name is Patrick Emmanuel Diaz Taylor. We like it...and you can pronouce it easily in both languages. So, it doesn´t matter where we end up living...as far as his name goes.

Welcome Christian Jeremiah Diaz Taylor

Well, he´s finally here. He was born Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 1;45pm. Weighing 3.360 Kilograms and 50 cm long. And I must say he´s the cutest lil boy ever! We are sooooooooooooooo thrilled to have him. Newborn babies are a lot of work...but he´s worth it. Labor and delivery wasn´t exactly like I expected it...all natural...lots of pain. Luckily, the pain wasn´t too bad until about 8am. (Labor pains started at about 3am, and at 9am we went running to the clinic when my water broke. What an experience! We were blessed that baby´s and mom´s health are fine and there weren´t any complications. What a blessing! Now we are learning how to be parents...I sure hope we are doing this right. Its definately different than babysitting. Isn´t he cute, adorable, handsome, and perfect?

Baby Diaz

Ok, so it looks like our lil baby is right on track. We took the last ultrasound. He´s in position and has already dropped. That means that he could come anytime. 36 weeks...but the doctor is almost sure that he´ll come before Jan 15th...the due date is approximately Jan 27th...but we´ll see what happens. What´s really funny is that I don´t think the doctor is used to part north american babies. They are usually a lil bigger than latin babies. So, she´s pretty sure that he´ll come out early and a perfect size.

You know what I love! I love going to the doctor and she checks out everything and says...PERFECT! Or what a good strong heartbeat your baby has...or perfect size...or...your gaining the perfect weight...good job...perfect, no dehydration, good level of iron. I just leave the doctor feeling much better about my baby. She said that at this point it is very very very unlikely to present any kind of complication...I just have to keep taking care of myself.

Anyways, I´m feeling good. A little overwhelmed with all the baby preparations and cleaning/disinfecting that I have to do before the baby gets here. I was planning a relaxing extra month to do it all, but the doctor says that it wouldn´t surprise her if he´s here next week. So, its time to get on the ball. I´m just glad that there´s a lil flex time between the holidays. Can you imagine Christmas preparations and a baby coming at the same time!?!

Oh, and we have a problem. We still haven´t decided on a name! IDEAS!?! SUGGESTIONS!?! We seriously need help. We want him to have to have an english name and a spanish name. IDEAS??? His last names will be Diaz Taylor...so basically something that goes well with _______ ________ Diaz Taylor. HELP! Anyways, that´s life. I really don´t know why I´m blogging when I have a TON to do...I guess I´m just looking for an excuse to sit down and rest a lil bit. :) Ok, gotta run. And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Funerals

Ok, so I know its never all that great to talk about funerals, but its wearing on my body. Here funerals are quite different. The stake patriarch died on Tuesday and was also in the ward. Now with Christian in the bishopric there are a lot more responsabilities. The bishopric has really taken a hand in all the preparations for the funeral service, and of course I´m there to support in whatever needs to be done. Especially since the patriarch´s wife and 2 daughters are good friends of the family and have always been soooo kind to me.

So what´s so different about funerals here in Peru?

1. There´s a thing called a "velorio". That means that the day that one dies all the family and friends go and "pay their respects" by sitting around the coffin all night long until the early morning. So, yesterday night and the night before we stayed until 12am Tuesday night and almost 2am Wednesday night. I´m exhausted. I can´t even imagine how tired the family is. In these "sittings" generally they serve some kind of soup or crackers and a drink. Its really quite costly. Anyways, we stayed so long mainly because the bishopric needed to be there to make sure everything went smoothly and to close up the church building.

2. After the funeral service everybody walks behind the car with the coffin for about 5 blocks stopping all traffic. Then, everybody gets on a bus to go to the cemetary.

3. The burial ceremony is about the same, just a lot of catholic traditions unless you talk to the coordinators first. Oh, and generally they let the family members and close friends throw a handful of dirt and say a few words over the coffin once it is in the earth.

You know its interesting, but while living in Peru I´ve gone to/participated in 4 funerals. Today is the funeral service and burial. Just a note about Brother Villavicencio. He was a great man with a kind, loving spirit. He always had a smile on his face and thought of everybody individually. I feel privelleged to have known him.