Friday, March 30, 2012

A post only a grandmother would love...

I don't know what it is about grandmothers, but, when it comes to their little grandbabies, even the most mundane things become cause for celebration. Or at least a proud smile.

Grandbaby has a dirty diaper? "WOW! Look at that! She did such a good job with this one!"

Grandbaby lays on the ground and does absolutely nothing? "Look at her. She is SO advanced for her age. Must be my genes coming through..."

The following video is in that vein... For some reason I can't email it to my mom - the only person in the world who will find it interesting - so I'm posting it here. Please do not feel obligated to click 'play' as even I (the mother) find it dull:

Note: All the poking and prodding and pinching is me trying to get her to smile and capture her in all her cute, stretchy morning glory. Instead, she just sort of squirmed around and sneezed. Ah well. She's still sort of adorable. Wouldn't you agree, grandma?


Thursday, March 29, 2012

#1 Cousin

Unfortunately, I don't have any cute pictures of Babycakes to post today as she simply would not sit still for any photo taking this morning. All she wanted to do was wiggle and stretch. Wiggle and stretch. When I first woke her up, she scrunched up her legs, arched her back, shot her itty bitt fists in the air and made tiny high pitched squeals like the air going out of a balloon. The cuteness was just too quick for my little iPhone.

(I really need to get the video camera out in the mornings, it's the sort of thing that needs to be remembered. One of those everyday moments that deserves capturing. The good stuff.)

Anyway. With no fresh Babycakes photos to post, I have no choice but to share a picture of her favorite person. She goes by many names – though you would be foolish to think you could use any old one at any time. These names are not interchangeable. And they are not bestowed at your whim. No, no. She will tell you which name the situation requires. For example, if she is pretending to be a dog and would like you to pet her or play fetch, her name is "Jordan Puppy." Or, if she is pretending to be a princess, she is "Jordan Princess." On several occasions we tried to explain that she could switch things around and be Princess Jordan, but that was shot down. It seems that once she comes up with a name, that is THE name. No alterations allowed.

While at home, I had a fun time learning all of her names and even helping her come up with new ones (I claim credit for Secret Agent Jordan – both for getting her to play secret agent games and to put the relevant title in front of “Jordan”). However, my favorite name was the one she gave herself when Babycakes arrived… “#1 Cousin.”

So, without further adieu, here is #1 Cousin (I dare you not to smile at her cuteness):

#1 Cousin

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wait. What? You want HOW much for that?

When I flew back home for my maternity leave in November, I was concerned that I had overpacked. When forced to answer "2" in response to the question, "How many bags will you be checking," I felt like my credibility as a seasoned traveler was shot. The mantra of the experienced traveler is 'pack light' and here I was - a solo traveler (Lou had flown back to the U.S. 3 weeks prior) with 2 bulging full size suitcases, 1 just-at-the-size-limit rolling carry-on and a fully stocked purse that was larger than the luggage of two Asian businessmen combined.

So. Embarassing.

(sidenote: the fact that I had to pack for 15 weeks and two different body types - my 3rd trimester self and my (hopefully!) much smaller post-baby self  - was of little consequence. I've seen people fit everything they need for a 6 month round the world trip in one large backpack. Granted, their definition of "clean" may be a bit suspect, but that's neither here nor there. Your status as a traveler is measured by the volume of your belongings, not your level of hygiene..)

Little did I know that at that point, the days of travelling light were behind me. Like, way behind. Way, way behind.

This was Lou and I at the Pittsburgh airport the day we flew back to Belgium:


Lou + Me + our 10 items. Missing: Car seat, car seat base and BABYCAKES.

Now, given my reluctance to overpack, one might ask why we needed to check/carry-on a total of 12 items. Surely they have stores in Belgium? Did we really have to bring the contents of the local Babies R' Us with us?

Short answer: Yes. And YES.

You see, while there are plenty of baby stores over here, few are within our price range. Or, to be more fair, a range we find reasonable. I don't know why things are more expensive here, they simply are. Perhaps it's because most women receive expert prenatal care for FREE. And stay in the hospital a minimum of 4 nights post-delivery for FREE. And children's check-ups are FREE. And top-notch daycare is not only affordable but comes with tax-deductions. And Belgian employees get special vouchers for FREE house cleaning for the first four months after delivery. And every mother is guaranteed 12 weeks of paid time off.

I suppose the baby products industry took one look at this setup and thought "well, they are getting a free ride everywhere else, maybe they won't notice if we gouge 'em here!"

How big is the difference? Well, take a look at the cost of a "Baby Bjorn," everyone's favorite baby carrier:


Baby's R Us sells it for $129.99. However, if you have time to do a bit of comparison shopping and order online, Amazon.com sells it for $99.94 - and that's with shipping.

Meanwhile, the exact same item is on my friend's baby registry at Baby 2000 (http://www.baby2000.be/), the store that I am told is the Belgian equivalent of "Baby's R Us" for the low, low price of 113 Euros! If I were to buy that with my Capital One credit card and it's competitive exchange rate of $1.335USD to 1 EUR , that would be $150.88!! Nearly $50 more than Amazon. That's an upcharge of 33%.





 "So? Shop somewhere else" you say.  I've asked around. There is nowhere else. At least, no where cheaper. Not unless you want to start looking at second hand stores such as http://www.troc.com/ which are fine but incredibly hit or miss.

"Okay... well, what's $50?" you respond. And you're right. $50 isn't a big deal on it's own. But the extra $10 here and $50 there start to add up. I'm of the opinion that babies don't NEED much besides love and attention, however, one would be advised to stock up on diapers and invest in a car seat and perhaps a safe place to sleep. It's also considered good form to clothe the little munchkins. And, since they grow like weeds, it can be daunting when a sleeper at the local shops varies in price from 10 euros (ok, fine) to 40 euros (what the what??).
I guess what I'm saying is that even for the most frugal of parents, babies are expensive in Belgium. So, in an effort to avoid spending the entirety of last month's pay on outfitting Babycakes (and the apartment) for her arrival in Belgium, we brought as much as we could with us from the U.S. A suitcase and a half were filled with diapers, receiving blankets clothes in sizes newborn to 9 months and bottles. On top of that we brought a "Pack n' Play" (savings of $150 right there), a car seat (savings of approx. $50) and a stroller (savings of lots of dollars as our model isn't sold in Belgium).

I'm not sure how much we saved - particularly since we received nearly all of the items as gifts or hand-me-downs - however, I'm confident it was oodles and oodles of dollars. At least, that's what I kept telling myself (and everyone within earshot) as we struggled through the airport with our 13 bags...








Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bear with me

As you can see, I'm playing around with the format of this blog a bit. I have been following lou's brother's blog - http://www.georgeandsam.com/ - and wanted this to be as pretty as theirs. A homepage where you see pictures first and words second. I mean, at some point in the very near future we are going to get our act together and start taking photos of Babycakes from a proper camera and not my iphone. Which means we'll have lots of lovely images to share. (Looking at them will be far more fun than my run on sentences.)

Anyways, I haven't worked out the kinks yet - clearly - so pleae bear with me while I do.

In exchange, I'll show you some more cute pictures of Chubby cheeks - from before and after she earned the nickname.

sidenote: How CRAZY is it that a baby's looks change SO much in such a short time?? If I didn't know any better, I'd think the first two photos (from when she was exactly 1 week old) to the last two (taken when she was just over 2 months old) were of different kids.

Babies. Such strange, strange creatures.




I know I look different, but I'm still me, mommy! I swear!


Hehe. I'm still me. Just with 90% more cheek.





Monday, March 26, 2012

Lazy Leuven Weekend

Although a bit late to the "spring has sprung" party, Belgium decided to get its act together and sported the trifecta this weekend: warm(ish) temperatures, sun and zero precipitation. Amazing! Seeing as how we had little that "HAD" to be done, we made the most of all the pleasantness with two days of picnics, 'terrasking' and relaxing.

Saturday we left the house at the crack of 2pm (Babycakes slept on and off all morning so we did too) and hit up the shops in Leuven. First, we stopped at "Elsen Kaasambacht" for a a few pieces of cheese. According to one of our friends, this place is famous around Belgium for its fine cheeses. I don't know whether that's true or not, but I can vouch for it having a large selection and really helpful staff. Since I barely know the difference between parmesan and gouda, I genuinely appreciate being able to ask the staff for help without feeling like a bother. Usually, I just describe the type of cheese I'm looking for in broad terms - "creamy and bold" or "like blue cheese but lighter" - and they'll give me samples until I hit on just the right one. Which is pretty great. Until you end up at the checkout with 30 euros of cheese because all of the samples were amazing...


Elsen Kaasambacht (Source: Telegraph)

We picked up some fresh bread at Elsen to go with our two slices of 'sharp and hard' cheese (just two! I was so good!) and then mosied on over to the little grocery store for some juice and beer (what's a picnic without refreshments?). From there we checked out the other Saturday market stalls for jam, nuts and apples and, by the time we made it to the park, discovered that we had assembled a mini feast for ourselves. Fortunately, a friend joined us so we weren't tempted to eat everything on our own and the next hour or two were spent hanging out and people watching while Babycakes napped in her stroller. A lovely time was had by all... (until Babycakes woke up and decided she needed a change of scenery. And a bottle. pronto)


On the left: Babycakes enjoying the picnic.
On the right: (Hopefully) a future version of us
 After all the excitement of Saturday (after our exhausting picnic, we had a few drinks with friends at our place. Lou hung out with them until 1:30am or so but baby and I were asleep by 10:30), we decided to take it easy on Sunday. I did some cleaning and then took a nap with the baby while Lou did some "terrasking" (sitting on a terrace in the sun) with friends in the Oude Markt.


A view of the Oude Markt from Lou's "terrasking" spot

Meanwhile, Babycakes and I took a nap. I totally won the 'best way to spend the afternoon' contest.
Now, lest you think I spent the whole weekend eating or napping, please note that I did get crazy Sunday night. At the just-past-senior-citizens-dinner-hour of 6:30, I met up with my friend Devan for some Greek food followed by an 8:15pm showing of the Hunger Games! I was out til almost 11pm! On a work night! Who says things get lame when you have kids?

Anyways, that was our lazy - yet perfect - Leuven weekend. Hope yours was equally enjoyable!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

La Creche aka Kinderopvgang aka Daycare

Now that I am back at work we are slowly settling into a routine. It's only been two weeks and I don't think we've done the same thing more than 2 days in a row, but whatever, we are making an effort.

An integral part of this tenuous new routine is "la creche." (Also known as a "Kinderopvgang" in Dutch or "Daycare" in American.) Babycakes' creche is a warm, wonderful little place run by a caring woman named Catherine. I've seen her with the kids in her charge first thing in the morning, mid-afternoon and late at night, and, regardless of the time of day, she seems to genuinely care about all of them. Even the sticky, snotty ones. Suffice to say we are thrilled with the place and consider ourselves pretty lucky to have snagged a spot.


First sign that the place was filled with professionals - they got her to sleep in a crib! A CRIB!
(note: this is remarkable b/c I can only get her to sleep in her car seat, bouncy chair or my arms...)
Speaking of 'spots' and creches, I don't think I ever told the story of our search for one. Like everything we do that is even a little bit important, it was a disaster from the start and deserves documentation here. (If only for the chance to put it in the"Annoying Things We Did For You" file and guilt-trip Babycakes in the future...)

So. Babies. Creches. Where to start? Well. When we first discovered we were pregnant (circa April of last year), we knew we would need daycare eventually, but it was more of a fleeting thought than an item for the immediate "to-do" list. Much higher on the list were items such as "figure out where you are having the baby" and "wrap your head around the idea of having a baby." What to do with said baby just wasn't a priority.

Enter June. We announced the pregnancy to the world at large and, amongst our Belgian friends, the very first question asked was, "Which creche will the baby go to?"

"Erm. Do you mean, 'Is the baby going to go to a creche?'"

"No. Which one. Surely you already have a spot?"

"Erm. No."

Cue look of horror. And pity.

You see, the universally known (except by us)  fact of life in Leuven is that creche spots fill up like woah. In fact, most couples put themselves on waiting lists when they first start trying to have children.

So, as per usual, we were way behind. I reacted to this news by contacting the creches in Leuven that were nearest our apartment. Not only were they full when we anticipated needing childcare (March 2012), but they couldn't guarantee an opening in 2012. Not one. For 18 months from the date of my inquiry. Not one freaking spot!

For obvious reasons, this stressed me out. While other pregnant women were nesting, I was busy calling and emailing every daycare on the Leuven child care site. Waitlisted. Times 48. (And that's not an exaggeration. When I was really nervous I would count them...) The earliest spot available would be September 2012. Better than 2013, but still not helpful considering I needed to go back to work in March.

So, I stressed some more. And expanded my search. I contacted all of the creches within a 20 minute drive of my work. Again with the waitlists. Except this time half of them were in French instead of Dutch.

Just as I was starting to really panic and consider looking into a private nanny (who might have cost more per month than I made...), we finally got some good news. On August 23rd, after nearly 3 months of nonstop searching, we received an email saying, "yes, we have availability for March." I all but ran to the place at that moment to reserve the spot, but then it hit me...

Why does this place have an opening? Is there something wrong with it?

If every place in the whole country was filled for the next year, why did this place have an opening at precisely the time we need one? We were torn between utter relief and guilt. Guilt that we would be forced to put our future baby in a place SO terrible it's waiting list was only 6 months long.

We were idiots. (though, in our defense, I'm starting to believe that's just another word for first-time parents...)

We visited the creche after work and could not have been more pleased. In our opinion, its highlights included:
- The facility isn't super large, but it's very well maintained with bright, hand painted murals covering the walls.
- They serve warm, homemade meals for lunch every day (for children that are eating solid foods)
- They let you bring in bottles for babies (something that not all creches do that is ideal if you are breastfeeding)
- Of the four employees, three have nursing degrees
- They provide unlimited diapers for just 20 euros per month (a very good deal in Belgium)

Most of all it was just a really warm place. It's obviously no substitute for staying at grandma's house, but, since the transport costs with that were a bit prohibitive, it really is the next best thing.

Babycakes went 3 days last week and every day this week and I've been very pleased with the whole thing. When I drop her off in the morning, she is like a rockstar. The ladies that work there scream "Aria!! Arrrriiiiia" and rush to hold her. When I pick her up in the evening, Catherine tells me about the number of times she smiled at her (3 the first day, a dozen yesterday) and whose arms she fell asleep in for her afternoon nap.

I know I'm supposed to feel overwhelming "mommy guilt" for leaving her and going to work, but it's just going so well I haven't gotten around to it. She is entertained and held and fussed over and cared for and... at this age... I think that is all that matters. In the meantime, I am able to contribute to putting a roof over her head and clothes on her chubby little body.  Ah well. Should we ever settle into a proper routine, perhaps I will work some "mommy guilt" into that...


You mean you aren't going to stay home and play with me all day?? My shirt says you love me. Don't you love me??




Meh. I'm over it. Now let me go back to sleep.











Monday, March 19, 2012

A Case of the Mondays: Infant Edition


Woohoo! I Love Mondays!! Weeee!

This is a snapshot of Baybcakes all dressed for the creche (i.e. Eurospeak for "daycare").

Don't you wish you were this psyched at 7:30am? On a Monday?

Me too.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

No returns, no exchanges.

Lookie what I found while shopping at Ikea:
In case you were curious, the answer is "yes." Yes, she IS smuggling items out in her cheeks...



Thursday, March 08, 2012

When do I go back to work again?


My maternity leave ends next Monday. And although it will be tough to leave babycakes, it may be best for everyone that I return to work as this whole domestic thing is not going quite as planned...

Please observe the events of yesterday:

"This swing is amazing! It makes me so happy! Let's dance!"
"Oh. Wait a second. Did you just hear something? From the laundry room?"
Pictured: Bath/Laundry room. Please note the reflection of the dresser in the floor.

"Hehehe. Is that what I think it is?"
Did you think it was a bathroom floor covered in water due to the wash machine not draining properly?
Then you would be correct.
"Hehehehehe. That's going to take you forever to fix. Also, I just messed my diaper. Big Time."



Wednesday, March 07, 2012

So, what can I make you?

Now that we have a little munchkin, it seems our eating habits are going to have to change. Pre-babycakes, I used to grocery shop with the best of culinary intentions. I'd walk down the aisles and throw one healthy item after another into the cart. Assembling the ingredients for low-carb quiches, low-fat soups, high-vitamin salads, I had visions of being a Top Chef about whom Lou would brag, "Britt is the most amazing cook ever, I don't know what I did to get so lucky!"

As it so often does, reality clashed pretty hard with my domestic dreams. Regardless of how well the fridge was stocked, we would inevitably come home, take one look inside and then turn turn to each other and say "So, um, sushi?"
Cutest dinner ruiner ever...


But now... now there are 3 factors that put a little bit of a cramp in our eating style:
1. We have a baby whose manners are somewhat suspect. Judging by how she is with us, I can't trust that she won't scream and cry at the waiters, throw up her food and then fart and/or burp. Like a trucker. While sitting at the table. 

2. Grandparents and other family members who would offer free, on-demand babysitting are 62 thousand miles away. And no, mom, you can't babysit via Skype.

3. Diapers cost money. So does a college education. Our wallets would prefer it if we ate less sushi and more stew.

As a result of the above, I have resolved to cook at home more. And by "cook" I mean more than just boil water and throw in pasta. 

My first challenge was to do something with the kilogram (no joke) of white beans I discovered in the pantry. I scoured the internet and found a recipe that looked promising - White Bean Tortellini Soup courtesy of the blog "Cheeky Kitchen."

This is how her soup turned out:

And here is my version:

Would you like a closeup of this masterpiece? Sure you would.
Yum!
I'll spare you the list of excuses for why my "bean soup" turned into burnt bean sludge - it may have had something to do with an incorrect French translation and forgetting to turn the stove down during the simmer period - but let's just say it didn't inspire a lot of confidence in my abilities. I ended up boiling the tortellini separately (so much for expanding my repertoire beyond throwing pasta in a pot) and serving it with tomato sauce from a jar. Lou had 4 bites and then made himself a bowl of Frosties (the Belgian version of Frosted Flakes). So. You know. That was a success.

As I still have half a kilo of white beans leftover, I'm going to attempt another dish tonight. I'll let you know how it goes... 






Tuesday, March 06, 2012

How did we get here - Take 2

Not going to lie, last post got interrupted by an overwhelming need to sleep. (can't even blame the break on the baby as Meemaw - aka Grandma - took her so that we could catch some shut eye. thanks Meemaw!) So I did. And it was awesome.

Now we are back in Belgium. Here's a snapshot of part of the apartment:

Believe it or not, this is progress. It is also only 1/3 of the total bags that need to be unpacked.
Not sure if you can tell or not, but babycakes is a being a huge help in the unpacking process.

Babycakes helping me write AND unpack. 

Since I am having trouble coping with the (seemingly) monumental task of unpacking and coming to grips with the reality of being back in Belgium and 47 thousand miles from family, I think I'll continue where I left off in the last post...

- Between January 1st and January 11th, very little was accomplished by either Lou or myself as we waited on pins and needles for the baby's arrival. 

Actually, that's not true. Everyone else waited on pins and needles while I, believe it or not, was fairly content. As I saw it, the baby would come when she was good and ready and the longer she waited, the more time she would have to grow and develop. Besides, it gave me more time to prep what I could around the house and stock up on sleep. Had everyone I run into not asked, "Where is the baby???" or "How do you feel? Do you feel like the baby is coming soon??" it would have been a wholly relaxing period.

I think I'll save the in-depth story of Babycakes' arrival for another post, so, suffice to say that she made her appearance on January 11th at 3:47pm. 

She came complete with 10 fingers, 10 toes and a cute button nose:

Babycakes on her birthday, January 11, 2012

To be honest, everything after her arrival is a giant blur. We had many visits from family and friends which were not only heartwarming but incredibly helpful in that they reinforced that we had made the right decision in coming home to have her. As we spent time with siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and old friends and they held her it all just... made sense.

I'm sure there were some exciting events between January 11 and our flight back to Belgium on March 2nd, but, at the moment I'm hard pressed to think of them. OH! I do have one - Lou's Dad & stepmom, Cindy, hosted a party at their house in Cleveland. In attendance were Lou's sisters, his brother, George, George's girlfriend since forever, Sam, and approximately 43 of his aunts & uncles from his dad's side. It was a really special opportunity for both babycakes (and myself in some instances) to meet family.

Well, it's now 4:18am (baby woke up not long after that last picture and insisted I pay attention to her rather than the computer) and - I think - she has finally fallen asleep. Since this jet lag is kicking us both in the butt, I suppose I'll try out that whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing. Night!




Monday, March 05, 2012

How did we get here?

It's the eve of our return to Belgium and, as I type, I can't help but be distracted by the 11 or so pound chubby cheeked wonder lying on my chest. She's making these soft cooing noises (I say "coos" but the less enlightened might say "grunts.") and as I watch her chest rise and fall I find myself befuddled as to how we got to this point.

How is it March? How have we been Home for 14 weeks? How is it already time to go back to that other place that has come to feel like home? How are we the parents of a 7 week old?

How did we get here?

Where is here? Well, let me just spell out the highlights of the past 14 weeks:

- Lou flew back to the U.S. for work on October 24th and traveled to Chicago, Indiana, Austin, Tampa, Columbus, Ann Arbor and Cleveland before meeting me in Pittsburgh on November 20th.  From there he traveled pretty much nonstop between Ann Arbor, Cleveland and Pittsburgh until Christmas. Long story short, poor guy lived out of a suitcase for 2 months straight. (While he was doing all of this crazy travelling, I set up camp at home in Pittsburgh and mostly stayed put for the duration of our time in the U.S. Being the mommy has its perks...)

- For the first time in 4 years we spent Thanksgiving on American soil. Cranberry Twp., PA & Cleveland, OH soil to be exact. It was wonderful. Not that our Thanksgiving dinners at the American Club in Brussels or last year's feast at McDonalds weren't lovely, but, there is no substitute for family. Or proper pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce (as opposed to cranberry jello).

Thanksgiving at the Keppler's in Cleveland (we also had Thanskgiving with my whole family in Pittsburgh but failed to document the occasion because we are awesome like that...).
- I went to approx. 47 appointments with my U.S. obstetricians. Although the process got old after awhile and I couldn't help but scream "Just get here already!" at the baby bump from time to time, it all went well. All of the doctors in the practice were amazing.  Just amazing. They were friendly, patient with my questions and, most importantly, fluent in English.

- We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in Pittsburgh and then Lou drove to Cleveland for Christmas Day festivities while I stayed with my family for the day (first time that has happened in 5 years!). Why the separation? Welp. The docs had us in full on 'baby watch.' At my appointment on Dec. 15th, the doctor said I was 85% effaced and 2cm dilated. Which she interpreted as sure signs I would go into labor ahead of my Jan. 8th due date and should stay close to the hospital. Since Cleveland was a good 2 hour drive from my docs, I had no choice but to stay home. Although it was odd to be away from Lou, it was wonderful to just relax with Kels and my parents for the whole day. We saw the return of the Christmas afternoon nap and the nice steak dinner. Will have to find a way to reinstate them for future Christmases...

Jordan (aka the BEST part of Christmas morning) and I opening her present from me (a Dora Mega Block set)

- Despite having our hospital bags packed and never venturing further than a 30 mile radius of Magee Women's Hospital, New Year's Eve arrived and the baby was still very much content where she was. As such, we abandoned any hopes of a tax break for 2011 and rang in the New Year with Kelsalump and her friends. Although I was the lamest party attendant ever (I spent most of the night sitting on her couch watching tv and drinking V8 splash), fun times were had by all.

The hostess and I celebrating 2012