mylène daily

This weekend, Jan, Lonneke and Mike came to visit us. They arrived in Warburg around twelve; I was just about to go shopping. When I returned from the supermarket, they had already seen and take the first pictures of Mylène. She was awake, and probably very curious about those new faces. She got some really nice presents (but delegated the unwrapping of those gifts to us): a very cute pair of red rubber boots, and a Walt Disney hummingtop.
Because the weather was excellent this weekend, we went out for a walk in town. A good opportunity, as Lonneke and Mike had not seen Warburg yet. It was a very nice walk; the landscape looked beautiful in those golden autumn colours against a blue sky. After an hour or so, we returned home, and set down to enjoy some real German "kuchen", a good appetizer for an early dinner. Jan, Lonneke and Mike wanted to drive home again, on the same day, so they did not want to leave too late. We ordered pizza and pasta, delivered home with a free bottle of Serbian wine. After dinner, our guests drove home to the Netherlands again.

It was a very nice day. We talked a lot, which brought back memories of many things we did together in the past. Walking through Warburg also reminded us of that wonderful "Hemelvaart weekend" in 2003. Looking over the old city, Jan and I recollected the road we had taken on one of our walks. The weather was very nice as well on that day. Agatha must have enjoyed it as much as we have.

Perhaps you were with us as well, on this sunny October day. In our hearts you were for sure ... But with every step of the way, I missed you, dear Agatha.

Mylène is playing with her tongue a lot, these days. It seems this is the first body part she actively discovered. Her hands and feet are moving a lot, but still randomly. Although her hands are in her mouth more frequently now, it is still not on purpose that they end up there, I think.
But the movements she is making with her tongue, in and out of her mouth, are not random anymore; she really seems to be making a game out of it. You can imagine that this is a very amusing activity for us to observe. Shiqi made a nice picture of it (see photo).

Almost every day, Mylène discovers new stuff to do. A large part of the day, she is actively observing her surroundings. She can distinguish between moving objects now and follow the one that appeals to her most at a particular moment. Shiqi told me that she already seems to develop a preference for certain toys. For example, the very bright and colourful flower/insect creature that makes noises when you shake it, is one that she likes. She seems to observe it very carefully when you move and shake it in front of her.

She also discovered parts of her own body. A few days ago, she started to put her hands in her mouth regularly (when the soother is not blocking that). And she is experimenting with mouth and tongue. Sometimes her small tongue comes out, or she moves her mouth while keeping it half open, occasionally even accompanied by soft and quick sounds.
Writing about that, I should not forget to mention that the "hebamme" came to visit again, yesterday, and measured Mylène's weight. She now weighs 5.160 grams (almost 280 grams more that last week)!! She is developing into a little fatty already :-) Don't her legs already start to look like those of the Michelin man?

But, the best of all new things is still .... that she smiles at us .... every day.

Since monday, I started working again. On the one hand, it's easy for me, as during the time that I am in the office I don't have to change diapers, comfort Mylène or do any housework. On the other hand, though, it is not nice to leave my family every day. In the morning when I leave the house, Mylène and Shiqi are still sleeping, and in the evening when I come home again, Mylène has to go to bed, a few minutes after I hugged her, kissed her, played with her, and changed her diapers. So, in effect, the only time that I can see and experience her longer is during the weekend. I really regret that, especially now, when the longing to witness every next step in her development is so big.

But, Shiqi is really doing a great job in taking care of Mylène. She feeds her, plays with her, comforts her, changes diapers and washes her. And at the same time, also taking it easy by not putting more on her agenda than taking care of Mylène. I really think she is enjoying the time with her daughter. This idea comforts me a lot and makes up a bit for the fact that I cannot be there the whole day. On some days, when Mylène is complaining a lot, I can imagine Shiqi would not mind to trade places with me.

Luckily, time flies, also in the office. Soon, it will be weekend again and I can spend some time with my daughter.

Today, Mylène has become one month old! And today is also the last day of my holiday; tomorrow I will have to get back to work again. What a shame, because the past four weeks were really wonderful. I am happy to have taken these weeks off. Especially during the first two weeks, Shiqi could use all the care and support she could get, after the operation.
Gradually, Shiqi was feeling better again, and so there was more and more time to enjoy the time together with Mylène.

Of course, it was not always easy and relaxed. Especially during day time, Mylène often needs a lot of attention. Luckily though, during the night she has slept very well, only waking up every four or so hours to be fed. So we got enough sleep, which gave us enough energy to get us through the day easily ... no black rings underneath our eyes yet :)

But most of the time, we enjoyed, watching Mylène, in our arms, in her bed, in her rocking chair, or on the commode, while changing her diapers. And during the past few days, even rewarded with a big smile every now and then.

It is amazing how much Mylène has developed during the first month. We are looking forward to every next step during the months that come.

... I hope Mylène saves the best moments for the evenings, and the weekends, when papa is home as well :)

Without a doubt, today, Mylène smiled! And if you don't believe it, the proof is on the pictures. Ok, it's not very clear perhaps, but both Shiqi and I saw it, several times. You can imagine how much joy that brought.

It was a funny situation in which I was opening my mouth widely several times, making some weird noises and moving my head. I admit, I looked rediculous on the picture ... anyone would laugh at me looking like that. Mylène was observing my performance for a while, and then started to immitate me, opening her mouth and making some noises, and ... really ... smiling.

She did not make the laughing sound yet, but we have good hopes she will add that to her beautiful smile, soon.

Today, we went to the doctor with Mylène. Don't worry, it was not because she is ill. We went there for the so called "U3" (Untersuchung 3). Translated, this means so much as Investigation 3. In Germany, children get a general health check-up regularly, from the first day they are born. There are 9 such investigations, the first one is done on the day of birth and the last one between the 60th and 64th month. The time between the investigations increases.

Mylène's U1 and U2 were done in the hospital, and for U3 we had to go to the children's doctor in Warburg. It was a small check-up: the doctor first asked us some questions regarding particular illnesses and allergies that that occurred in the family. Since we told him that Shiqi, and especially I have several allergies, we were told tot use baby food that has the addition "HA" in the name, if for whatever reason, the breast feeding would not work anymore. After that, he checked her heart beat and her longues, checked her body visually and squeezed her on some places (I guess he was checking a number of inner organs from the outside, though I have no idea which ones exactly). Also, Mylène's weight and length were measured (she is now 56,5 cm long) and she was given some drops that contained a nutrition additive.

Of course, we also had several questions:
-About the infection on the big toe. The answer: don't worry, no problem
-About some slime we saw coming out of her vagina. The answer: don't worry, no problem. This was actually a weird thing for me, but supposedly it is normal . It is a sort of woman's period, caused by the hormones she got through the mother milk. The doctor told us, that with some baby's even some milk can come out of the small nipples (can you believe it ?!!!)
-About the weird peeping noises she makes while sleeping. The answer: don't worry, no problem.
-About her eyes, that seem to be looking in different directions sometimes. The answer: don't worry, no problem.

So, we were delighted that there was nothing to worry about, and with a good mood, we left the doctor's place. We picked up some more vitamin D tablets at the pharmacy and walked home.

U4 will be carried out in two months from now.

Ok, one more, before going to bed.

I am beginning to develop a fascination for mother milk. It's unbelievable what you can do with it. Of course, everybody knows that it is baby's nutrition, primarily. This is already fascinating on itself. What I never new, for example, is that the milk changes over time. The first drops of milk after the birth are very different from the milk that Mylène is drinking now. And even on a particular day, the milk "in front of the breast" is different from the milk "in the back", which they call after milk in Germany. Fascinating.

But what makes it really stunning is that mother milk can be used for other purposes as well. Did you know, for example:

-that mother milk works very well to get rid of slime & dirt in the nose (as we know from our own experience)?
-that mother milk can be used to treat red spots on the baby's bottom?
-that mother milk can help to reduce infections?
-that mother milk is a good addition for skin care in a warm bath?
-that mother milk can be used very well as nipple cream?

Interesting stuff, isn't it?
It surprises me that no one seems to have made this into a business. I can already imagine that ads: anti aging creme with mother milk extracts ... or mother's body milk for a baby soft skin ... will that ever happen?

Sometimes I think: how could I have called this site "Mylène daily"? How can I write something new about her every day? But as soon as I start writing, I can continue for hours.

Don't worry, I won't. But there are a few things more, I'd like to record here. Even if it's only for us, so we don't forget.

The new thing we noticed, is that Myléne sheds real tears now, when crying. In the beginning, she always cried with dry eyes, which was already difficult enough for us. But now, tears come out of her eyes, which makes the crying really heartbreaking at times.

I'd better be careful with this. After all, it's a girl. These tears can turn into weapons pretty soon.

Today, Irina, our hebamme, visited us again. We had a lot of questions for, for example:

-Mylène's big toe looked red and there was something white underneath her nail. Should we worry?
-We had discovered some red spots on her bottom. Should we worry?
-Also in her face we discovered some red spots, that looked similar to the ones on her bottom. Was this fungus? Should we worry?
-We saw some white stuff between the wrinkles in her legs. Should we worry?
-We are thinking about buying something to carry the baby around, something like a bagpack, but than on the front. Should we worry? ... I mean, would she have any suggestions?

As usual, and to our relief, Irina told us not to worry, in general.

The toe nail was not so OK, though. The white stuff we saw, was pus, because the toe was infected a bit, as the nail was growing into the toe a bit. Irina cut something of the nail away and removed the pus. Mylène obviously did not like that and was crying loudly ... heartbreaking. But in the end, all was fine again. We got something against the infection and the pus, and hope that the toe nail will grow properly from now on.

And then came the shock .... our hebamme brought a balanced to check Mylène's weight. Well, let me say this: Shiqi does not need to worry that she does not have enough milk. Our daughter is developing into a Michelin girl .... she weighs 4.880 grams now. Can you believe it?

Luckily, mother milk can do no harm, and cannot make Mylène too fat, it seems. So, no diet yet :-)

Our Russian neighbours have visited us to see Mylène.

During the weekend that opa & oma were there, Saturday night, around 21:30, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there was Lilly, together with her six year old son Georg. As usual she did not wait for me to invite them in, and stepped inside immediately. She told me that Georg has been waiting the whole week, and now wanted to see Mylène. Difficult situation ... Mylène had just had her crying hours, and was about to fall asleep. Shiqi was comforting her in the bedroom. And exactly at that moment, they wanted to see Mylène. In the end, I decided to let them in and take a look at the baby: Georg had saved some money for Mylène, and so had his brothers and sisters ... I could not send him home like that, and disappoint him. Good decision; Georg was quiet and was very excited and happy to see Mylène.
Lilly was already in the living room, talking with my parents, or rather, with my mother, as my father had pretended not to understand German and had retreated to the sofa to study the video camera.
Well, the discussion did not last very long. After finishing her lemonade, Lilly decided it was time for them to go home again. Unexpectedly quickly actually.

Later that night, the doorbell rang again. Guess who that was? Lilly of course. Not in front of our door this time, but downstairs, outside. She asked me "Can you come downstairs". I replied "What for?" She said "I cannot tell you. Please come down". I replied "What for, Lilly?" Then, as she came closer to the intercom, she whispered "Could you please bring me to the disco?"
Many of you will probably laugh right now, while reading this. Actually, this is not an uncommon situation. Every now and then, she asks me to bring her to the disco in the city center, which I usually do, unless I already drank something. It's a bit of a win-win-situation: I bring her to the disco every now and then, and she sends her kids upstairs to bring us cookies or cake. And besides, it's a small favour, and what are neighbours for after all ;-)
This time, however, I did not feel like driving her to the disco. Partly because I already drank something, but mostly because of her persistence in ringing the doorbell so late at night, while Mylène was sleeping. Next time again.

Perhaps the neighbours had discussed with each other, that it was time to visit us, because the next day, on Sunday evening, the doorbell rang again. The Mrs. of three other families in our house came to bring us something for Mylène. I was just comforting my little girl (she was not willing to go to bed and was complaining about that a bit) as they came in. They brought some very cute baby clothes. They staid shortly for a cup of coffee, and left again. I think you can call it a courtesy visit. But nevertheless, very nice of them.

They must have discussed the issue with each other, because the next day, on Monday evening, the doorbell rang again. Victor, Lilly's wife, had come up to bring us some cake (well ... I think he really wanted to see Mylène, and used the cake for an alibi). I invited him in and asked if he wanted to see Mylène. His eyes were shining and he was smiling from ear to ear when I showed him my little girl. How proud I was!!
Victor is a very nice guy, and even though we hardly ever talk, it's always nice to drink a glass of wine with him and chatter a bit.
We chattered a bit longer, and after a while, somebody knocked on the door softly. It was Lilly, who was wondering what her husband was doing here so long. She asked me whether she had been quiet enough, and I said yes and invited her in.
Shiqi talked a bit with Lilly, and I talked a bit more with Victor. It was quite nice, but around ten, Shiqi was starving, and asked whether our neighbours had eaten yet. They got the point, wished us a nice evening and left.

In the past few days we talked with our neighbours more than we have during the past three years.
There are six appartments in our building. Four families have paid us a visit now. Only our direct neighbours have not, yet. Will the doorbell ring again tonight?

During the weekend, opa & oma Rancuret were in Warburg to see Mylène (and us ;-)) again. The weather was as good as it has been during the past weeks; beautiful early autumn weather, with a blue, sunny sky, which made the colouring leaves look magnificent. Perfect for a stroll outside with Mylène.

Both grandparants were very happy to see their granddaughter again, I think. At least, that was what there smiling faces told me.

Opa has made a lot of pictures, some of which I included into this post.


It was a very nice weekend. What a shame that it is not so easy for opa & oma to pay a visit more frequently.

Not much to write about Mylène today. She has been sleeping nicely almost the whole day (hope this doesn't mean she won't sleep so well tonight). This was especially nice of her, because it gave me the opportunity to lie down for a few extra hours as well this afternoon.
Shiqi was active all day, taking care of her daughter AND her husband ... isn't she wonderful?

It is Friday evening now, and we are already looking forward to the weekend: opa & oma Rancuret will be with us.

Today Mylène experienced her first IKEA visit; a must in modern times :-)

We still had a few things on our baby shopping list, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to make an excursion with the family.

It was the first big trip we made together.
We drove to Kassel; first to "Happy Baby" where we bought a nursing cushion (see picture). Upon entering the store, Mylène started to shout immediately. Nothing helped, so in the end, Shiqi sat down to feed her. That was the right thing; Mylène was happy again and stopped crying.

After that, and since Mylène seemed to agree with us (she did not complain anyway) we decided to make a second stop ... at IKEA.

I don't think Mylène will remember much about her visit, but we bought what we wanted to buy (actually, much more .... you know how that goes).

And so, another day passed. These days go by so quickly. But they are nice days, and we enjoy the time we spend together.

Today, we noticed that since Mylène is with us, our appartment is changing, slowly but gradually. Right now, you still have to look for them, but soon, the traces of the third person in our small family can most likely not be overseen anymore. We thought that Mylène's small jacket on the hallstand is so cute, that it deserved a picture.

I was already wondering when it would happen to Mylène: skin problems in the "pampers area". Today, we noticed a lot of red spots on her bottom. They were no wounds yet, but still, we were immediately worried, of course.
And what do you do in Germany when you worry about your new born baby? Call the "hebamme" (in Dutch this would be "verloskundige" of "kraamhulp", in Chinese, something like jie1 sheng1 po2)! So did we. Our hebamme Irina told us not to worry (pffew ..), to wash Mylène's bottom with warm water, to dry it well, use some "calendula wundsalbe" and NOT to use the wet baby tissues anymore. What a shame; I had just bought this handy Pampers-wet-tissue-box, and we still have a lot of wet-tissue on stock. Well, I think we will be able to use that later again.
So, happy with the advisery, we followed her suggestions, and even added some treatment ideas of our own to today's diaper changing ritual, as you can see on the pictures.

To us, it seems that the red spots are already looking better, but this might also be the result of our optimistic perception. I hope, that all will be fine again in a few days.

A few days ago, we experienced the first sign of development of Mylène: her eyes and head followed our face as it moved in front of her. So, her sight is getting sharper. As a consequence of this, you could see her actively observing her surroundings when she was awake (during the first days, she was mostly crying when she was awake). It was really nice to notice that she can see us and that she is developing every day.
Also physically, Mylène is obviously developing ... really growing: this morning when we weighed her (before feeding) the balance showed 4,3 kg! So, after she initially lost weight, she is now 250 g heavier than when she was born.

Above you can see some pictures that were made during the past week. They were all taken in the hospital.

Isn't she cute?

By the way, you will see more of that green zebra in the months that come. The zebra was a gift from auntie Karin & uncle Erik.

Arnoud

Mylène has been with us for almost two weeks now, already. Once again, it is amazing how quickly time flies.

The first week I spent, arranging stuff (the fathers amongst you will understand what I mean) and visiting my girls in the hospital.

Especially for Shiqi, it was good to be able to recover a bit from the operation, in the hospital. Because Mylène was taken to the baby room by the nurses at around 22:00, Shiqi could sleep well during the the night, and was only woken up when it was feeding time again.

But of course, home is better than any hospital. So, we were very happy, when the doctor released Shiqi on Saturday. I picked them up, and together we drove home. From that point on, we were on our own, and had to deal with everything ourselves, without any help of the nurses.

It is going pretty well, I guess. Mylène has been sleeping very well during the night, and also the breast feeding is going very well. The biggest difficulty at the moment is the fact that Mylène does not like to sleep in her cradle during daytime. After being put in there, she is quiet for about five minutes, usually, and after that, she starts shouting loudly, and won't stop stop until we take her out to comfort her. Interestingly, she does sleep very well in our arms, after singing some lullabies :-(

Did we already spoil the kid?

Experienced moms and dads amongst you, here is a question for you: "Can you help?"

Arnoud

Welcome to Mylène's weblog!!
On this weblog we will post all there is to know about our little daughter. You can expect stories about her and pictures from her.

We really hope you will enjoy visiting this web site and watching our Mylène grow. Feel free to leave your comments on any of the posts.

As much as we would like to keep you informed, we would be delighted to read your reactions.

Have fun reading!!

Arnoud & Shiqi