Most evenings we try to go on an adventure between his afternoon bottle and bath time. We've gone to the beach, the grocery store, The Grove, Santa Monica and for walks around the neighborhood.
Santi loves these adventures and so do we. He is always very calm and he loves checking out new surroundings. By the time we get home he is more than ready to take a bath and go to bed. It's the perfect way to end the day.
I must confess, my son is almost 5 months old and he doesn't have a nursery yet.
Once we decided to deliver in LA and have his first two surgeries at CHLA we knew he wouldn't be home (home) until he was about 6 months old. Sadly, during my pregnancy, I couldn't bring myself to even think about creating a space for him. HLHS is awful and lots of people lose their babies in the first few months. That's just the reality of it. I was afraid. I didn't want to do a nursery and then not have a baby to bring home to it.
But here we are, just two more weeks in LA, (6 months has never passed so fast)! Preparing to move back home to Carlsbad and our baby is nurseryless. Well, not completely. We've been in Carlsbad all week and the nursery is now underway. The furniture is set to arrive in mid September. Here's a sneak peek at where Mr. Santiago Banks will reside.
My Grandmother Lula and Aunt Mary came to visit this week and got to meet Santi for the first time!
Aside from my parents and sister, all of our relatives live in Texas. Abe's family is in El Paso and I have family in East Texas, Dallas and San Antonio. It is so fun getting to see Santiago meet the rest of his family. He certainly knows how to make a good first impression! He smiles and flirts and is just a cute as can be.
Of a Santi fix.
Here's our favorite times of the day, nap time and bath time.
We are in Carlsbad this week getting his nursery set up. Can't wait to show you the finished project.
EAT- Santiago is still our hungry hungry hippo. He's eating close to 7+ ounces of breast milk every 4 hours during the day. I have to maintain a rigorous pumping schedule to ensure that he always has a bottle ready.
Back when he was in the hospital I had a pretty big scare, I thought I was losing my milk. It was right after his heart cath, when he got the fever and infection. I was so stressed out and not eating enough. One night I was 2oz short of what he needed. He was asleep and due to wake up in less than an hour. I really started freaking out. I thought I was going to have to ask the nurse for formula, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but at the time I felt like it was. I drank about 60oz of water and pumped 15 minutes on, 15 off, for an hour. I barely got those last 2oz. Since then, I've been scared straight. If I don't eat enough calories I see a big difference in my supply. Poor Abe has to suffer through eating ice cream with me almost every night.
I started researching rice cereal and why we feed it to our babies. In "Bringing Up Bébé," I learned that French mothers do not give their children rice cereal as their first food, they give actual food. Like steamed and puréed vegetables packed with flavor and nutrients. Rice cereal is processed white rice. I've read that it's somewhat controversial. Some doctors claim its just like feeding your baby a spoonful of sugar and a gateway to obesity. Others say its harmless. We are planning on giving Santi his first food around his 6 month birthday, September 23. Oh! the pressure to give him the most perfect "first food!" They do make brown rice cereal and whole grain rice cereal, but I've read that babies don't have the enzymes in their bellies to properly digest these types of grains until they are 1 year old or so. I'll keep researching and let you know what we decide. I'm open to suggestions too....
SLEEP- I have NO complaints in the sleep department. His first week home after the Glenn was the worst. He was waking up twice a night. We have been so spoiled with his good sleep habits that it was pure torture! Luckily, it was only a few days. He is now back on his regular sleep schedule. We start bedtime around 7pm. He takes a bath, has a bottle and goes to sleep around 7:45/8pm. He sleeps until 5/6am, has a bottle and sleeps until 9am. The times vary slightly, but he's pretty consistent. There is no crying at bedtime. We keep everything very quite and soothing. I don't talk to him much during his bath. I keep the lights dim and I play soft music. This routine has really worked for Santi. By the time I lay him in his crib, he smiles, cuddles up to his blankie and goes to sleep. No joke. He tends to get hot easily, so we keep a fan oscillating nearby. He also has a sleep sheep that plays ocean and stream white noise.
During the day he usually naps 3 times. He gets sleepy about every two hours. So if he has a bottle at 9am, I know he'll be ready to nap around 11am. Once you know this rhythm, you know when to time certain things, like outings and playtime. You know when to stimulate and when to soothe. If I know he's going to be sleepy around 11am, we play, practice sitting up, cruise around the house and I make sure he gets a clean diaper before he's too tired and fussy. By 11, I'll lay him in his crib and let him soothe himself to sleep. If he's fussy or just not having it, I use my secret weapon, a small handheld fan. The hum of the fan and cool breeze do the trick almost every time.
PLAY- Oh man, he has gotten so FUN! He is entertained by the simplest things. He loves to watch my hands. I'll hold them high above his face and let my fingers float down like a jellyfish. He loves blankets. If he's laying on the bed or couch, I'll fling the blanket over him and let it float down. He squeals with excitement. Or I'll lay with him and pull the blanket over us like a tent. He is fascinated by the new surroundings. Ever since his hands discovered his feet and his mouth, he spends lots of time touching his toes and sucking on his fingers. He has toys he likes too of course, but I love to see him use his imagination and get lost in the world around him.
POOP- Its not as bad as you'd think. Since he only has breast milk, it's not smelly and he only has 4-6 poopy diapers a day. Sometimes less. He has had a few "blowouts," but they're not that bad either. When it's your baby, not even a little poop on your shirt can ruin your day.
Can you believe it's only been 4 weeks since Santi had his second open heart surgery?! Look at this guy, he's doing fantastic. No oxygen, just one med, he's such a show-off.
Santi met his paternal Great Grandparents and Great Uncle Ruben last weekend when they were in LA.
We met them at Mel's in Hollywood for brunch. We get so nervous taking him to restaurants, but he was an angel. He smiled, he ate, he slept and then he smiled some more. Mr. And Mrs. Aguilar follow the blog (Hi guys!) and they were so excited to meet him in person!
Around the same time that we moved to LA, Abe was offered an awesome opportunity to do multiple installations at a new apartment building in downtown San Diego. I say "new" but it is actually a 100 year old building that has been renovated by a very influential developer.
Last week, when we were in town, Santi and I got to see Community @ The Carnegie Building for the first time. Abe's art is on all 5 floors and on the exterior of the building. It's so gorgeous. The community essence of the building is awesome too. They have chalk boards on every level (so fun!), and nice lounge nooks throughout the property. I bet the tenants love the homey, uniqueness of this building.
We spent the past few days at home in Carlsbad. My parents have been watching Stella for the past month. They have two adorable Bischons, Tanner and Marley, that Stella loves to boss around. When we picked Stella up, Santi showed interest in the dogs for the first time. He pulled Marelys' hair and Marely licked Santi's hands...which I was quick to sanitize!
My best friend Melissa is due with her first son and Santi's future BFF on my birthday, August 27! Okay, not really. She's due on August 28, but we can pretend like she's due on my birthday. Doesn't she look amazing for being 9+ months pregnant! Santi can't wait to meet Kaison!
We really had no intention of cutting his hair. Ever.
But the combination of the summer heat and his hot nature left him miserably uncomfortable. We took turns with the scissors. Abe did most of the cutting and I did the holding of the wobble-bobble head. To our delight, no one was injured and Santi has a sweet new do!
Santi had his post-op check up today. He had his chest sutures removed, with just a few tears. He also had an X-ray, echo cardiogram and an EKG. Such an eventful day :)
We were relieved (and thrilled!!) to hear his cardiologist say that everything looks great. He is currently only on one medication, furosemide, a diuretic, and he will probably be able to get off of it in the next few months. It's really incredible to think about everything he's been through in the past four months and how fantastic he's doing now. He's truly somethin' else.
This time last year I was pregnant with you, but I didn't know it yet. I had no idea what the future held for us. I had no clue that my eyes and heart were about to be opened to love in the wildest, purest form.
You haven't just changed over the past two months, you have evolved. Maybe its your hair, but you don't even look like a baby to me anymore. You look like a little boy! Everyday, more of your personality reveals itself. And everyday I fall in love with you over and over again. You have the sweetest smile and a laugh that is hesitant. It crackles in the back of your throat, like you don't know what to do with it. I can't wait for the day that you stop holding back and you laugh your head off!
You are major flirt. I don't know how a four month old knows how to flirt, but you do. When you were in the hospital, every time a woman came in the room, your eyes would light up. You'd smile your big gummy smile, tuck your chin and melt her with one bat of your long eyelashes. We continued to listen to a lot of music while you were in the hospital. Your dad would sing "Beautiful Boy," by John Lennon to you. He's learning how to play it on the guitar for you right now. I sing to you all the time. My current favorite is the Bright Eyes song, "First Day of My Life."
You are currently recovering from your second open heart surgery. Oh my love, you are doing super fantastic. You are healing faster than I ever imagined. You amaze me.
Beautiful Boy
"...Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient...
Before you cross the street
Take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you're busy making other plans
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy..."
First Day of My Life
"...Yours is the first face that I saw,
I think I was blind before I met you.
Now I don’t know where I am,
I don’t know where I’ve been.
But I know where I want to go..."
We love you so much.
Love, Mama
There goes Santiago, growing up all fast, already sprouting teeth. As you can see, he's thrilled about it.
15lbs
26 inches tall
Smiling, giggling, finger sucking, bath loving, bundle of goodness!
Last Thursday, Abe and I had our first, and much needed, date night since Santi was born. Abe's parents were here to watch him, so after putting him to bed, we went to Universal Studios, which is less than 5 minutes from our house.
We were so nervous to leave our babylove for the first time. We knew Abe's parents would have everything under control, but we couldn't help but be nervous that he'd wake up or that something would happen. We made a conscious effort to relax. We did and we had a great time.
We got there with a little over an hour before they closed. So it was a quick romp through the park, to say the least. We both enjoyed a beer and rode two rides, The Simpsons and Transformers.
Grandma Coco and Grandpa Rick are great babysitters. Santi never even woke up!
Being home is amazing. It's the best.
The first 24 hours of being home consisted, solely, of sleeping and eating. That goes for me and Santi. We were both so exhausted and as you know, there is nothing as comforting as your own bed.
I was (and still am) nervous about getting Santiago back on his sleep schedule. I've been keeping track of his naps and overnight sleeping and I'm hesitantly happy to say we're moving in the right direction. He has been waking up to eat only once every night since we've been home. And the time that he wakes up is getting later every night. For example, he goes to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. The first night he was home, he woke up at 2:30am, the next few nights it was 3 or 3:30am. Then last night he slept 8.5 hours before waking up at 4:30am. He had his bottle, then slept 5 more hours. I like where this is going!
During the day he is alert, playful and calm most of the time. Of course, he is a baby, and he does freak out from time to time, but for the most part he is happy and a pleasure to be around. He's getting to the age where he's actually fun. He laughs and smiles at our songs and games. I've seen him spend an hour staring at his feet and kicking the mobile in his crib. He's so rad.
When Santi was released from the hospital, he was welcomed home by Grandma Coco, Grandpa Rick, Uncle Ricky and Aunt Renee. Before they all headed back to El Paso, we made sure to get some photos. At the rate Santi is growing, he'll look like a totally different person the next time they see him. It is so important to us to capture these sweet moments.
