Monday, June 15, 2009

Opa, prunes and walks around the block

Loki's Opa Ruud (my dad) arrived last Wednesday from the Netherlands. This is the first time Loki and opa Ruud met. Loki is very impressed with his opa. When Opa smiles and laughs, Loki answers with a brought grin and cute giggle. When Opa tells Loki he needs to eat and sleep, Loki looks very serious, opens his eyes wide, frowns and seems a little intimidated. In order to deal with the situation, he smiles, figuring that everyone eventually is charmed by a smiling baby. Of course Loki is right. Our little charmer knows exactly how to wrap people around his little chubby fingers. Smart one, he is!

In the mean while it is great having Opa around. He helps unpack, hang up decorations, and keeps Mom and Loki company on some of our walks. We have been venturing out a little more. Although Loki is very interested in what there is to discover in our new environment, it does interrupt his sleep. We are constantly balancing going for a walk to the farmers market or to the lake, and getting Loki to eat and sleep. But it is great spending a little more time outside our home.

We also had a special guest today. Cheryl, faithful blog commenter and moral supporter extraordinaire. It was great seeing her, and after the initial "Hey I do not know you, but oh my are you interesting" look from Loki, he of course charmed also Cheryl with his smiles and shoulder shrugs. Seriously, the little guy tilts his head, lifts his shoulder and smiles with a big drooling smile. Wonder how long the drooling is considered cute?

More exciting news is the arrival of our new high chair. Donated by his little big friend Finn and "auntie" Emma. WE LOVE THE CHAIR!! Loki is still a tiny guy, but he does not seem to care. He behaves like a big boy. He sits down during dinner time, sometimes bobbing his head when tired, but screaming when taken out to sit with Mom. When we put him back in the chair he quiets down and smiles, completely satisfied with his accomplishment. Although we do not know if Loki has gained weight over the past week and a half, he does enjoy eating baby foods. And yes indeed, we found prunes without any additional ingredients (For Wyatt's mommy: we found Gerber prunes at Target). However, they are not organic. For now they will do though. That said, we loved the ideas given in the comment section, and when life calms down a bit, I will be making our own baby foods.

So far, Loki has tasted banana, pear, prunes and peas, in addition to the rice cereal with breast milk he has already eaten. Especially prunes with cereal and peas straight from the jar are a great success. When he is awake and hungry he pulls my hand with spoon and all straight to his mouth chomping away eagerly. It is such an amazing relief to see him enjoy food. We do not know yet if it is enough for him to gain weight but at least he has fun with it. Of course he still drinks from the breast eight times a day as well. All this big baby eating helps him with the reflux, which has gotten significantly better as well. Less drama, more smiles altogether. Let's hope his weight indeed goes in the right direction. He still fits some of his newborn clothes, but they are starting to look a bit tighter.

Finally, Loki found his feet and happily waves them in the air while pulling with his hands. Cute little guy is mesmerized by the extremities that will take him places in the future. I can't believe he's been around for eight months this week. Time does fly. Whether we have fun, lack of sleep or both!

Thanks for tuning in!

*photo by Opa

Eating like a champ:


Nom nom nom*


My spoon:


Sleepy?


Happy in the stroller*


Loki's first time in a restaurant. Low price Indian food!*


Hipster?*


Loki loves bathtime:

11 comments:

berkeleygal77 said...

I think the vegetables and fruits are making his hair grow, too! Congratulations on the liking food! I bet his poops are different, though. ;-) Hope to see your new home soon.

Heleen said...

Hey Loki,I am surprised by your progress, and happy with it too! You do look older indeed!
Smikkel maar lekker van al dat heerlijke eten dat mama voor je klaarmaakt, daar word je groot en sterk van!
Must be fun to have opa Ruud around, and go out for a walk, or even for dinner - that's nice, is'nt it? With your sunglasses on you look real sturdy!
Let us hope that the european edition of the swine flue is not going to cross our plan to visit you in oktober. We miss you, and dad and mom too. A lot.

XXX
Oma Heleen en Opa Frits

Mackenzie said...

Yea, Loki, nice work buddy! He looks like such a little boy now and not an infant. It is so great to see him smiling and so active. Glad he is liking food. Its a lot of fun. xoxo and thanks for the prune tip. although Wyatt is a pooper so we don't have to worry too much about constipation :)

Greet said...

lieve Loki, wat een mooie stoel heb je, en je bent al zo groot als je erin zit, fijn dat je vast voedsel lekker vind, ik geniet van je foto's . ik heb een map gemaakt met Loki foto's. ik ben veel bij Bob ,dus weinig tijd voor andere dingen.
liefs van Greet

Mascha said...

I'm so happy for you that he thoroughly enjoys his food. The pictures are adorable. I love his smile. BTW, I still have a dozen or so baby-portion-sized food containers that I used to freeze home made food. I'll bring them next time, if you want them.

I am walking the neighborhood to the park and can't help but miss you. Weird, since you are not really that much farther away now.

Can't wait to see your new home, and cuddle my little Loki friend again. I am sure he will be noticeably heavier.

Big hugs.

Unknown said...

Well, I have to say that I was very impressed by how moved in you actually are--very impressive. And Loki is, as we all know, VERY charming. Seeing him sit in his high chair, gnawing on toys while his Mama and I chatted--i teared up on the way home thinking about how worried I was when he made his "debut" at 24 weeks and how well he is doing now. Of course, I continue to send "sleepy" energy and wishes to him, so he can take an actual nap sometimes...but the boy just doesn't want to miss ANYTHING. And the sparkle in those eyes--and that bit of trickster in the sly grin--Loki, you are an amazing little person. I was so happy to meet you at last.

Suzan said...

Wat een leuke baby! En wat een fijn bericht!

Fijne verjaardag gewenst over een paar daagjes, mom.

Liefs,
Suzan

marieke said...

That photo with the glasses is so cool! And great he can go with you for dinner, that gives possibilities. (somewhere shoult be an y instead of i in this word I suppose?) Loki realy becomes a little boy instead of a baby, wouw. He looks adorable. Have lots of fun with opa ruud, and mom, Have a very happy birthday!!
Kussen XXXX Marieke

I'm gonna buy a ticket to come over in oktobers last week if you agree.

Kyra said...

Loki, what a big baby you are! Wow. And already eating Indian food! I knew you were early with everything, but hold your horses, otherwise there's nothing left to explore. Now you cheer and shout for opa Ruud and tell him to give you extra Hollandse-mannen-les, for he can build houses and everything and also very interesting furniture!

In the meantime you may want to try a crayon drawing for your mom, who must feel she turns 4 years older on Saturday. Big hurray for the best mom in Oakland, the Bay Area and far beyond.... Last, give your dad a hug and tell him all will be much more fun once you have celebrated your first birthday. I am looking forward to see your new home, but well, I have two cuties (excl. Erwin) here who rebuild the house everyday. But keep up the good work and have fun, every day.

Lots of love,

Tante Kyra

Unknown said...

wow...what a big boy!! look at him, so active! and so happy to hear he is eating up his food, he looks really good!!! my goodness, he's so expressive. I love seeing pics where you are there too.. miss seeing you and being able to hang out. Hope the move is okay and the settling in is going well. Besos!

Anonymous said...

happy 8th month birthday to Loki, and happy belated birthday to mom! i love the new pics of the little guy - who's not nearly as little anymore. way to go, Loki! i am so happy to see how much he seems to enjoy his food. it's also so relieving to hear that his reflux is improving. i hope you're settling in to your new home smoothly.
much love,
courtney

About Loki Sky

Loki Sky is a special little man. He was a very early micropreemie, weighing only 610 grams (1 lb, 5 oz) after 24 weeks, 3 days gestation, born to an American Father and a Dutch Mother in Berkeley, California on October 18, 2008.

On January 11, 2009, while still in the hospital NICU, his one kidney stopped working. It was repaired after three surgeries. After spending time in three hospitals in three cities, Loki came home on February 17. He struggled with eating, and then stopped in July, leading to 8 days in the hospital, a failure-to-thrive diagnosis, and a NG feeding tube. On October 10, a minor surgery installed a G feeding tube. Another procedure replaced it with a new one, and then again with a Mic-Key button in Jan. 2010.

In August 2010, he and his parents moved to the Netherlands.

Read about his first name.
Read & hear about his middle name.
See photos.
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