Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Lilo

Lilo entered our lives last Sept. 22. My niece (and my parents' first grandchild) was delivered by caesarian section, weighing 5.8 lbs and measuring 16 inches long. She was the tiniest baby born that day, but don't let that seeming fragility fool you. Lilo is feisty and adorable, much like her mom, although for the first few days of her life some people claimed Lilo looked more like me (must be the eyes). Lilo was born with a shock of hair, and her daddy's nose. In three months we'll have a better idea who she looks like. When I held her for the first time I marvelled at her precious perfection, and fell in love.

Joy and Tristan brought her home from St. Luke's last Tuesday; in preparation the entire house was vacuumed and sprayed vs. insects. Our dad hurriedly went out and bought a new ceiling fan from Home Depot and had it installed in the living room before they arrived. We had flowers and fruit from all over. We saved the newspapers the day she was born so she'd have her very own time capsule. The entire condo building buzzed with the news, and our phones rang incessantly with congratulations.

When Lilo's hungry and starts crying she turns beet red all the way to her tootsies. She doesn't like people manipulating her arms; it's a struggle to put mittens on her (without the mittens she'd end up scratching her face). She's actually much stronger than you'd think. In fact, she scored an 8/8 on her Apgar test (the one that measures the senses, reactions and reflexes).

Tristan takes Lilo out in her stroller (a gift from Annie) to sunbathe for a few minutes in the early mornings. She luxuriates in her late morning baths. And when she's asleep she makes faces that make us all laugh. With a new baby in the house everyone's learning curve is steep: I can now add sterilizing bottles, preparing milk formula, burping and changing nappies to my auntie skills.

Lilo can now consume two ounces of breast milk/formula plus a half ounce of water every couple of hours. We all take turns feeding her, so that Joy can rest. Let me tell you, the amount of time and attention given an infant is exhausting, but when Lilo looks at you, you forget everything.

I even forgot to post a blog entry for more than a week!

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