blog@maumae.net

The sharpness of your crest-lines,
The color of your lagoons,
Infinite variations of blue.

We just spent 2 weeks in Tahiti. A wonderful experience. We kinda decided at the last minute. We chose to spend one week in luxurious hotels (4 nights in Moorea and 2 in Bora Bora) and the next in a small, cosy pension (like B&B) in the neighborhood of Papeete. Everything was great. The highlight of our stay was an afternoon snorkeling with Black tip sharks and sting rays at Bora bora. I have put some pictures in our gallery for your browsing pleasure. I am attaching a few more below for immediate perusal.

Posted by francois at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quick news about Anaïs (she doesn't allow us much time to write up blog entries):

• She loved Tahiti where she stayed 2 weeks with her mum & dad mid-august.
• She now weighs over 7kg.
• She almost can sit alone. It's a question of days now...
• She still makes a lot of bubbles, but elevated it to a communication tool.
• She now uses several tones for communications: Crying, of course, but also moaning, and shouting when she is not happy.
• She is very cute and her parents are more than ever in love with her.

Posted by francois at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't posted anything in the past 5 days. Partly because things are settling down (everything is relative: what I mean is, compared to the rush of delivery) and partly because there is much to do. These two statements seem incompatible, but they're not. As all parents in this period, we are a bit overwhelmed by the newborn routine: Change diaper, feed her, put her to bed, start again. With every now and then a short period of awareness for the baby, during which she is with us, watching here and there stuff with bright color -mostly. We've to arrange our schedule around this, for simple activities like lunch or dinner.

So, we came back home 2 days after the delivery. The three of us have been out together only once since then, to visit Anaïs's pediatrician, Dr Wilson. She has only lost 80 grams since she was born, which is good (most babies lose way more than this). She is feeding very well. Sometimes too well -we have the feeling she's gonna burst. At night, she wakes up every 3 hours, so that's not too bad. Bottom line: the parents are enjoying every minute of it.

Je n'ai rien posté dans les derniers 5 jours. En partie parce que les choses se sont calmées (par rapport au rush de l'accouchement... tout est relatif), et en partie parce qu'il y a beaucoup à faire. Ça parait imcompatible, mais ça ne l'est pas: nous sommes rentrés dans la routine du nouveau-né: changer la couche, la nourrir, la mettre au lit, et recommencer. Avec ici et là une période où Anaïs est reveillée et alerte, pendant laquelle elle est avec nous et regarde à droite et à gauche, son regard attiré par les choses de couleurs vives. Il nous faut arranger notre emploi du temps autour du sien, même pour des activités aussi simples que les repas.

Pour revenir à ces 4 derniers jours; nous sommes sortis de l'hopital 48 heures après l'accouchement. Nous ne sommes ressortis tous ensemble que pour aller chez le pédiatre d'Anaïs, le Dr Wilson, Vendredi matin. Elle n'a perdu que 80 grammes depuis la naissance, ce qui est bien (la plupart des bébés perdent bien plus que ça dans les 15 premiers jours). Elle mange trés bien. Quelque fois trop bien - on a l'impression qu'elle va exploser. La nuit, elle se réveille toutes les 3 heures environ, ça pourrait être pire. En conclusion: les parents savourent chaque minute.

Posted by francois at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by francois at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friends,

Baby Anaïs (Gabrielle Leilani) was born this morning (May 22) at 11:39!

Labor was relatively short (for Céline's first born), and extremely well timed. We arrived at the hospital at 7:20, Céline got an epidural at around 8:30, and the baby was born at 11:39. She weighs 7lb10oz (3.450kg) and is 20inches tall (or long...she doesn't stand up yet). Céline and Anaïs are doing very well and they are both recuperating right now.

Below are some pictures of the event. The first two ones are *before*, the rest is after. Click on the image to get a large version.

Cher amis et Famille,

Bébé Anaïs (Gabrielle Leilani) est née ce matin (22 Mai) à 11:39!

Le travail a été relativement court (pour le premier né de Céline), et trés bien orchestré. Après les premières contractions à 4:50, nous somme arrivés a l'hopital à 7:20, Céline a eu sa peridurale a 8:30 environ, et le bébé est arrivé à 11:39. Elle pèse 3kg450 et mesure 51cm. Céline et Anaïs vont bien. Elle récupère à l'heure qu'il est (le père essaye de trouver aussi quelques heures de sommeil à la maison).

Voici quelques photos de l'évènement. Les deux premieres photos ont été prises *avant*, les autres après. Cliquez sur les images pour une version plus grande.

Posted by francois at 09:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Céline has had contraction for over an hour now, every 2 and a half mn now. I just called the doctor and she is sending us to the hospital for monitoring.

The bottomline is that it seems it has started.

Ca commence! Céline a des contractions toutes les 2 mn et demi. Ca a commencé a 4:50, il y a plus d'une heure. Je viens juste d'appeller le docteur qui nous envoie à l'hopital pour monitoring.

Posted by francois at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Still no baby. We even went to the movies today to watch "da Vinci Code". Céline is feeling well.

Toujours pas de bébé. Suspense. Nous avons même été au cinéma voir le "da Vinci Code". Céline se sent bien.

Posted by francois at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Céline just told me she felt like the Darshanid princess in Lanfeust. For those who don't know Lanfeust, here is an excerpt (click on the image to enlarge).

Translation of the comics:

• "The heart of the child beats. He is well."
• "I know that! But why doesn't she deliver? It's been now three years that she is due!"
• "For forty month I have contemplated her round belly, waiting for my heir."
• "Medicine does not have an answer for everything my lord. There are mysteries that only the gods can explain."

Céline vient just de me dire qu'elle se sentait comme la princesse Darshanide dans Lanfeust. Une petite planche pour se rafraichir les idées...(cliquez sur l'image pour une version plus grande)

Posted by francois at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're receiving lots of calls from many of you. So I've decided to "go public" and post progress here on this blog. This way you can satisfy your curiosity and we can keep our sanity.

So at this time, no real progress. Céline is overdue by 3 days now. Baby keeps moving a lot, but does not seem to find the exit, or even to make any sign he/she wants out. So this morning we went to the hospital and did a "non-stress test" (baby's stress that is), to determine if everything was still good for the baby. It was. Heart rate between 110 and 160, baby moving often, which we were told is a sign he/she is healthy.

I will keep you guys posted. In particular, I will really try to post when we go off to the hospital.

Note: and by the way, for those really impatient, you can see pictures of the baby here.

Nous recevons beaucoup d'appels de nombreux d'entre vous. J'ai donc décidé d'utiliser ce blog pour tenir tout ceux qui le désirent au courant de l'évolution de la situation.

Pour l'instant, pas de réel progrès. La date prévue est maintenant passée de 3 jours. Le bébé bouge beaucoup, mais ne semble pas trouver la sortie, ou ne le veut pas. Ce matin, nous sommes allés à l'hopital pour passer un test de "non-stress" pour le bébé, histoire de vérifier qu'il est toujours a l'aise. Ca semble être le cas. Son rythme cardiaque est entre 110 et 160 batements à la minute, et il bouge effectivement beaucoup; on nous a dit que tout cela était bon signe.

Bon, dans tous les cas, ne vous impatientez pas: je ferai tout mon possible pour tenir ce blog à jour, heure par heure si cela est nécessaire. En particulier, je ne manquerai pas de vous tenir au courant d'un départ à l'hopital ou bien entendu de la naissance elle-même!

Note: Pour les plus impatients. Des photos du bébé sont déjà disponibles ici.

Posted by francois at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)