Juliette's First Trip to the USA!

So much for posting more in December! Sadly, there hasn't been much to report on though. It turns out there is not much difference in life with a Baby no matter where you are! La Plata has been no exception - maybe even a little more challenging because I didn't have a car for the first two weeks! Without a car, you aren't going anywhere is America... well, most of America. 
 
One of the most amazing times of my life was the first two weeks of the trip when Andrew had to work in Baltimore and it was just me and Jules in the room together at night. She had a hard time adjusting to the time difference (it took probably a solid 5 days to get semi normal), so when she would get up in the middle of the night, I'd bring her into my bed with me. She is the best snuggler and that little face was the most gorgeously heart-melting thing to wake up to in the morning. It always had the cheekiest smile on it too :) 

Another highlight of the trip was Juliette meeting her cousin Erin! It was so cute to see them interact. It made me wish we lived closer to Celine and Randy so that the girls could get more time together. 

Juliette met my besties - Steph and Eileen, and Ashley and Greg - this trip. Everyone has been so generous to come to us, which has been great since Juliette HATES the car. Poor thing had never been in a car seat before this trip! We roll pram style in London!    

Jules has grown up so much this trip. She has been in a 9 months size since about 5 and a half months. She's sitting amazingly! She initiates conversation with people (shrieking at you to get your attention). She is babbling. I've heard a clear "ma" "da da" and "bah bah bah." She's started on solids - cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes so far. She has now switch to formula at 6 months. It's truely amazing. 

Last night, we went out in the National Harbor for our first complete family dinner with my family. Juliette was AMAZING at McCormick and Schmick's sitting in her high chair playing with her toys. It's always incredible to me how well behaved she is. 

We have seen tons of family this trip with more coming in today. I can't wait to celebrate her first Christmas! It's freaking me out how fast time goes. My baby is not much of a baby anymore - she's such a big girl!!!

    

November Summary!

Apologies for the severe lack of posting in November. It was an absolute blur and although Juliette is getting easier as she gets older, she is also requiring more engagement from mama! So here is a brief summary of our November: 

1. Auntie Jill's Wedding: We went to Luxembourg the first weekend in November for Jill's wedding! It was a HECK of a time getting there with just about everything going wrong that could, but we made it safe and sound in the end. Takeaway #1 - do NOT bring a baby to a wedding. We didn't have much of a choice though if we we. Takeaway #2 - always have a back up nice outfit... No one saw Juliette's beautiful wedding outfit due to the blow out poo in the car ride over. 

2. Baby Lab: One of my new post baby friends, Helen, introduced me to the Baby Lab through Birkbeck college. We were called to participate in a study looking into how a baby's short term memory develops. They played a series of peek-a-boo games on a tv screen and tracked where Juliette looked and if she expected something to pop out after she had seen it happen a few times. It was a really fun experience and she dominated - didn't even need a break! Before leaving she even received a "Baby Scientist" T-Shirt!

3. First Pediatrician Appointment: Juliette broke out with a rash on her chin, neck, back and a little on the upper chest. It was dry and bumpy like pimples and not overly concerning, but the patch under her chin was quite red and got worse so I went into nervous mom mode. The GP said it was a spot of eczema, but after a day or two of E45 cream it still wasn't getting any better. So I asked for a referral to a proper pediatrician because we have BUPA private insurance, we are about to travel for a month and that's how the system works here.  

So after I booked the appointment, obtained an authorisation number from BUPA and picked up my referral letter from the GP, we went to the outpatient Pediatric department at BUPA Cromwell Hospital. I LOVED doctor O'Connell. He started out by asking if I had family close by and if she's met her grandparents - just getting to know me a little better and our situation. He was like a sweet little youngish grandfather. Then he looked at me and said, "Well, there's not much to say other than she is absolutely delicious," which I absolutely loved! Nothing better than a doctor that loves his patients!

Then Dr. O'Connell gave her a head to toe examination, something that hasn't happened since the day after she arrived since they only treat the specific issue at hand at the GP appointments. He said on a scale from 1-10 her rash was a 1. It wasn't eczema either, which is good news since eczema is a reoccurring condition. Instead, she had some sort of an allergic reaction that would go away on its own...eventually. Since then, we have washed everything in really hot water and changed our laundry detergent. It's gotten so much better! 

Stats from the appointment: 

Length: 68 cm (95% percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs (just under 75% percentile)
Head Circumference: 42.5 cm (50% percentile)

She's perfect! The doctor predicted that if Juliette continues on this path, she will be about 5'8" when it's all said and done. "Definitely taller than [me]" either way he said!

4. First Aid Class: We have a wonderful baby clinic near the house that offers an array of courses each month. It took me two months to get into the first aid course, but we finally got accepted for the November course on the 16th given by London Ambulance!

Darya - my NCT friend - came, and I also saw Tess and Henry from baby massage class. The guy giving the class was hysterical in a very blunt kind of way. It focused on choking and infant CPR - both excellent skills as Jules will be officially starting solids in the next couple of weeks.

The best part of the class (after being throughly freaked out at the thought of my child choking) was that Juliette LOVED the CPR doll. I held it over her and she would reach up and grab its face with her hands and lift her feet to give it an airplane ride, then shriek with delight into its face! It was soooo super cute. She will absolutely be getting a doll for Christmas! 

5. Starting Solids: Juliette started on a little rice cereal this month! She was doing all the signs my health visitor told me to look out for - staring intently at me while I eat, seems hungry all the time and is able to sit up well when supported. I got the cutest video of one of her first efforts :) Now she literally helps me put the spoon in her mouth...little piggy :)

6. Dinner with Andrew's Bon papa: Andrew's grandfather reached out to us saying that he would be in town on the 21st. The restaurant at their hotel was randomly closed so they arranged a private table in a cozy little room with a fireplace (and fire) and a Christmas tree! This was our first proper evening outing with Juliette and she was good as gold and charmed the group! 

 

7. Thanksgiving: Valentina was gracious enough to host Thanksgiving again this year so Andrew, Juliette and I headed over to Rob and her flat last Thursday for dinner. We brought our standard Whole Foods Pumpkin Pies. They were a huge hit last year and while I thought about making my own this year, I was worried they would be a let down.  They were a huge hit again!

Valentina had the most gorgeous set up, a Thanksgiving quiz with prizes and looked absolutely glamorous all while having a 2 month old at home. I envy those kind of moms that can do it all... I have NOT reached that stage yet!! 

8. Babysitting for Juliette: On Juliette's 5 month birthday, Juliette was babysat for the first time by someone other than family! They were friends though so it wasn't TOO much of an effort for me to leave her. Andrew and I went to Westfield in Shepherd's Bush to celebrate and buy each other belated third wedding anniversary gifts! 3 years is the Leather anniversary apparently so I went with lovely baby pink ugg slippers and Andrew got a fancy new belt. Thanks Natalie and Dave for hanging out with our nugget! 

We also met Diana this month. She came highly recommended from Andrew's cousin's wife and I am absolutely desperate for a few baby free hours a week to get a few things done. So starting Thursday, we will have Diana come over for the morning and look after Juliette and I will try to squeeze everything I need to do that week into a single morning! I get on normally with Juliette in tow, but sometimes, you just need a little adult time! This week, I am looking forward to taking my time to pack for our holiday in the good ol' US of A!

We also met Chiola through my friend Helen who we will use for evening and weekends where we need to go out! Juliette absolutely LOVED her... I have had severe anxiety in the past at the thought of leaving Juliette with anyone, so this is a huge win for me. Hurdle jumped!

9. Blast from the Past: We had a lunch last weekend with Dan Strosnider and his expecting wife! Dan and I went to High School together and he now lives in Manchester. We always have a great time when we get together and they wanted to meet Juliette. Again, she was very easy to have with us! I also highly recommend Brown Cow on Fulham Road!


10. Winter Wonderland: Winter Wonderland opened last weekend for the winter season and that being the last weekend we are in town for Christmas, of course we had to go and take Juliette! It was one of the coldest days of the season as of yet, but it was just a fun as I remembered from years past! This year, things were set up a bit differently, but it seemed to flow better. We took Juliette out of her pram for a few pictures (that she wasn't too happy about) but that was it for her! There was an entire Haribo stand that I LOVED but the mom that keeps coming out of me was horrified by all the rides and their potential danger. I'm so glad I have a few years before I have to REALLY thing about the rides...  

So those are the November highlights! I hope to post more frequently in the upcoming weeks since I will have an abundance of babysitters in the form of my family members. Saturday can't get here soon enough. I can't WAIT to go home for the holidays!!!!            

JJ's First Halloween!

For those who know me, they know Halloween is one of my most FAVORITE holidays! It kind of kicks off the Holiday Season because after that, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then it's Christmas! And honestly, any excuse to dress up in costume is OK by me! I also really love The Monster Mash, which of course I play on repeat all day! 

Anyway, this was obviously Juliette's first Halloween so we had to do it up right! Thanks to all our friends and family in the States, we had loads of Halloween outfits to get through! We started October 1st with them all. The Nursery staff at my gym LOVED every time Juliette came in in one of her special outfits. This was really the first year that the UK was wholly into Halloween, so that was exciting in itself!

As for actual Halloween, we didn't have any special plans as there wasn't many festivities close by. We did have a lovely playdate with our NCT friends at Elis's house over in South Kensington. Everyone loved Juliette's costume! 

Play date at Elis'

Annabelle and Juliette

I can't wait for next year when she's a bit older and hopefully we are back Stateside because then I will really go all out and do family costumes!

Here is her Halloween wardrobe in pictures:  

Ready to be Baptized!

Today Andrew, Juliette and I went to Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church off of Kensington High Street to attend a Baptism Preparation Course for Jules. 

It was only and hour and a half, but it was nice to meet some of the other families in the Parish looking to have their new babies baptized as well :) 

We are thinking of having Juliette baptized while we are in the States over Christmas since it's the only time we will for sure be around lots of family for any extended period of time! I hope we can get it all together, but it was kind of exciting completing the course, knowing that we are free to go through with the ceremony! 

4 Months!

My little Angel is 4 months old! Where does the time go? Juliette is now "chatting", playing in her Baby Einstein activity center, able to keep her head up while on her tum tum as long as she wants and kind of half rolls (nothing seems to tempt her to go all the way). She is really starting to enjoy books when we read them together. 

I think this month, we will start looking for more baby friendly activities to get involved in now that she is more curious about the world around her! I hear Monkey Music is quite fun and most likely some swim lessons as the new term starts in November! JJ currently goes to the gym's nursery at least twice a week for an hour each time and we have once every other week play dates with Jaya (a new neighbor friend). Juliette is really starting to become enamored with other older kids!

Here are some pics and video to commemorate her turning 4 months! 

  

Date Night!

Because I am a total freak about not leaving Juliette with a sitter (as anyone we would get to sit her here would be a complete stranger), one of the great things about my mom being here was Andrew and I got not one, but TWO date nights! 

Our first one was last Saturday. It was the perfect opportunity to go to Kitchen W8 - the Michelin star restaurant in our neighborhood. I did my hair, my make up, put on a dress and boots other than uggs! And for a night, it was crazy...it felt like old times, before we were parents! 

The restaurant was deceptively big as it had a relatively small store front. The wallpaper was super modern in a black and gray pattern with green seating and lovely little corner booths for two so Andrew and I could sit next to each other instead of across from each other. We talked all night over a beautiful bottle of Pinot Noir and enjoyed each other's company.  

The food was exceptional, the company amazing, and it was just an overall perfect night! 

Wednesday, the night before my mom left, we also took the opportunity for another date night down the street from W8 at Whit's. Again, we had another exceptional meal, complete me a pop rocks style crackling fondant desert! 

It was these two date nights that really highlighted the importance of taking a little adult time for ourselves to ensure we don't get lost in all the diapers, bottles and baby gear! Guess I will have to get some REALLY good sitter recommendations so I can feel good about leaving the baby for a few hours in the future...

First taste of Disney

Juliette got her first taste of Disney in the form of two Minnie Mouses from my good friend Eileen! 

Eileen and lived together in Baltimore right after college for almost two years! She recently went on a family vacation to Disney world for her nephew's first Disney experience. Yesterday Juliette got a surprise Halloween package with not one, but two Minnie Mouses and some Halloween cookie cutters for me. Why is this a funny Halloween package? Because Eileen HATES Halloween! We used to have to force Eileen to dress up with us! 

It made me very nostalgic to get this for Juliette. And Juliette really loved her Minnie!

 

17 weeks!

Today Juliette is 17 weeks. She is officially 4 months on Thursday, but I took some cute pictures today so I thought I'd do a quick post. 

She is really out of her baby phase it seems. She coos or yells to get my attention constantly, she's incredibly interactive and she's dominating her Baby Einstein activity station this week! 

JJ loves being talked to and almost expects it when you are looking eye to eye. She just started sleeping 8:30 - 9:00 PM until 6:30 - 7:30 AM. That has been the BEST improvement. Although I don't really sleep because I am worried she will need me! I guess me sleeping through the night comes later! 

My mom is here this week as well which has been WONDERFUL! I have taken extra long showers, wandered around the supermarket absentmindedly, gone to the gym in record time... all activities that are done at the speediest of speeds on a daily basis when the babe is with me. And I still have almost three days left of this! 

It's weeks like this that make me really want to move home to be near family and friends because I still refuse to leave her with someone I don't know. 

Here are some cute pics of her from today and over the weekend:

 

Crazy Stage Mom?

With all the positive feedback I get on Juliette's pictures (and from random strangers) I decided to send a few pictures to two well known child modelling agencies here in London - just to see!  I figure we have plenty of time on our hands during the week and a city like London has plenty of fun experiences to offer.

Well, Jules was two for two with contract offers! We went with the bigger of the two agencies - Starfish Models - due to their impressive client list and overall business practice. 

There was a ton of paperwork to go through but it's been completed, note signed from the doctor that she's healthy to work and headshots taken (after several attempts by Andrew and me). Now we just have to wait for her child working license to come through and then we are good to go! 

She may not get offered anything, but it's kind of exciting to think when they get hundreds of applications a week and they only take 10%, that Juliette got chosen! And of course, if she does get work and doesn't like the experience, then we won't continue. 

Here are the headshots we submitted: 

Meeting baby Emilia

On Sunday, the JVM family ventured into the trendy neighborhoods of London to visit the Otremba family's new addition - Emilia! 

For the baby book and her time in London!

Emilia is a little doll baby! Seeing her at 4 weeks makes me realise just how much Juliette has grown! 

Pretty Mama and baby :)

I love her lips!

It was nice to chat with Vale - it had been awhile - and to swatch parenthood stories. It's amazing how everyone's experience is a bit different yet sometimes we do some similar tricks out of desperation to make the babies happy! 

I was very impressed that Valentina and Rob had a lovely food spread (because I can't even get dinner together on my own on a daily basis for my husband, let alone guests!) and how chill the night was with two infants in the room! It definitely makes it easier to go to baby friendly homes because A) they know what it's like to have a baby aka that babies aren't always happy! and B) they have anything you may have forgotten in the journey over. I think I'll feel better going to destination hang outs once I stop breastfeeding, but right now, it's just a lot of hassle. 

Watching Football with their dads

We loved meeting baby Emilia and can't wait for our next play date. It's crazy how different life was just a few short months ago. It's so nice to have friends going through the same life stages as you at the same time!

Juliette's First Swing RIde

We are lucky enough to live in a fantastic neighborhood in London. It even has it's own oasis in the form of a large garden/park for the square! 

Out in the square is a large grassy area for dogs, and kids and picnic-ers alike to enjoy. In the far right corner from our entrance, there is a swing set and a sand box. JJ is a bit young for the sandbox, but we gave the swings a whirl and she LOVED it! 

14 weeks - First laugh!

Juliette did her first laugh the other day! She has been silent laughing for awhile now, but the other day she made a squeak sound when she laughed! Each day it gets closer to a real laugh, but I actually got a little video on the day she started laughing! It's a bit longer than necessary and I need to learn to turn the camera sideways to fill the screen, but here it is!

Andrew and I also snapped some cutie pics last night just for fun. She has such a wide array of faces - it's precious!