Thursday, June 19, 2008

CASA MORENO

Doesn't always look like this -- especially not around 4 am.

Well, we're coming up on Ivan's two week birthday. Unbelievable! The past week has been packed with milestones. One of the perks of being brand-new is that there is a whole world of things to do for the first time!

LouLou's okay with her lower notch in the pecking order.

The main thing we've been working on around Casa Moreno is eating. Ivan has a hearty appetite, but we're still trying to get him back to his birth weight. Babies lose some weight the first week and then once the mom's milk arrives the little ones start packing it back on. Sasha feels like a 24-hour diner these days but it will be worth it to see Ivan's little chicken legs plump up!

We had our first pediatrician visit today and got the report from the doc that all looks well, so that's great news. Ivan seemed mildly annoyed by the whole ordeal, but has been such a trooper the last few days that we didn't hold it against him.

See, we've been battling the Mexican bureacracy to get this kid a name. We've had to haul Ivan out in the car and to a nearby military hospital three separate times this week to get his birth recorded with the Civil Registry, the first step for both Mexican and American citizenship. We've had all kinds of trouble with Sasha's name not fitting the Mexican standard; Mexican women don't change their name when they get married, and nearly everyone has two family names so our situation has been causing all sorts of civil servant distress. The fact that Sasha didn't mention her middle name on the hospital form just added insult to injury.

Ivan seemed to find a sort of narcotic effect in the whole administrative nightmare that had Sergio cursing (apparently "crap" is part of the Mexican lexicon) and Sasha weeping on the inside as we were sent back to the hospital to start the paperwork all over again -- through hours of traffic mind you. Ivan took a more sane approach and slept through each outing, thankfully. At last, today, we got this kid an official name and an official birth certificate. Actually, we got him 11 birth certificates, so he should be set for life. And best of all, we are never ever going back to the Civil Registry again --hooray!

Certified, for real.

As for Ivan's name, lots of folks have asked for some sort of story behind it (and there are some -- hint: watch the movie "The Right Stuff") but basically Sergio just digs the name Ivan. You can pronounce it EE-VAHN or EYE-VAN depending on how continental you feel. Here at home, we say Eye-van, but we like both. Gustavo was Sasha's idea and is a popular Latin name with a nice reference to all of her Scandinavian relations. We think the name could be either sophisticated or tough---and we hope for both qualities for our little boy!

We've also started grooming this little sophisticate, we've given him his first couple of baths. Sergio takes the reins at bath time because Sasha is basically terrified. For her, water comes in one temperature: too hot. One weird thing: Ivan is shedding his skin like a little snake---the doctor said this is totally normal though Sasha was rather alarmed. Alarmed is kind of the normal state of mind for her these days.


We know what you want, little man.
Ivan doesn't really love the water, but he is very relaxed after the bath so they're good before bedtime. And it is hilarious to brush his hair, which is a kind of strawberry blonde fuzz at the moment. We've been told it could end up any variety of colors. Same with his dark blue eyes. Time will tell!


He really likes to use his arms. His tiny, uncontrollable arms.

Bedtime overall has been a little rough. Ivan seems to fight against sleeping and prefer eating. All the time. But we're getting the hang of it.

Thinkin' about food...

Sergio is getting good at walking around with the baby, and is an excellent diaper-changer. Sasha's strengths are in the areas of twilight feedings and lightning- fast costume changes.

Also, one-handed photography.

Our final first to report today is taking out the stroller! Last week when Sasha was starting to feel game again (update: she got her fishing line stitches out on Monday this week and is walking fairly upright again), we ventured out for some short jaunts in the buggy.

Um, there's a sidewalk...

Ivan totally dug his first outing, and seemed to pretty much hate the second. Maybe that means he is more of an art connoisseur and less of a gourmand because our first outing was to an artesania gallery and the second was to an outdoor produce market.

At any rate, Ivan looks spookily angelic sometimes and Sasha is thrilled to have the bassinet so she can gaze dreamily at him as they walk around Polanco.

Never has on enough clothing, even in June.

Sergio is wrapping up his paternity leave, so it's back to the office next week -- time has flown!

Goodbye, Papa Homeless Guy!

1 comment:

leigh said...

great to hear about your first two weeks - quite alarming indeed!

sounds like you're having a blast.