Xavier’s first visit to the doctor’s office was Tuesday. There was a lot of waiting, but he behaved like a man his age should and obediently sleeped the morning away. Woke up to whine a little bit when the doctor poked and measured him, but went right back to sleep – which is all his mommy could have asked.

Here are some quick specifics:
Age: 7,5 weeks
Weight: 12,5 lbs
Height: 23″
Head size: 16″

Essentially, he’s just a tad short for his weight, and he has a big brain. Guess he’ll be a nerd like his dad? *ducks* Just kidding… hugs and kisses to both.

PS. Also, mom’s 2 months follow up at the obstetrician was this Friday – all healthy. Ready for a second one, doc says. …heh.

I’ve started a gallery for Xavier’s 2nd month, even if it’s still going on. We’ll add pictures throughout the month, but here are some.

I’ve also created a gallery of pictures of my cats, to show how much they are copycats. I’ll add pictures when I capture them doing the same thing…

Well, it’s been a few weeks now, and though I knew a couple notions on how to take care of a baby, I found out there’s another series of tricks that come along handy or show up naturally. So here’s the stuff that doesn’t appear in books:

Fast bites
It used to take me twice the time it took Frank to eat anything, masticating my food properly, tasting stuff and all. No more. Tip for mothers-to-be: learn how to chew fast, and swallow big bites, if you want to eat whole meals when daddy’s away.
Disappearing
Like many mommys, I’ve started referring to myself to the third person. “Mommy’s gonna be right back, sweetie, she’ll just go wash her hands.” “Mommy’s glad you’re falling asleep, baby.” It’s an odd habit, but it just caught on. Whether it’s a reason for repeating the word Mommy over and over again, hoping baby will learn it fast, or an unconscious way to acknowledge the fact that there’s no “I” that counts anymore – your needs are second to baby’s – I don’t know.
Multitask
Like eat/make faces for baby so he doesn’t get bored. Shower/sing to reassure baby waiting on his little chair. Or even sleep/hold baby on my tummy to make him sleep too.
Logistics
Going down to the basement to fetch something isn’t an efficient use of any alloted time. Best to bring some stuff that needs to go downstairs, then come back with what I need. Same thing for a walk with the stroller, that can be combined with a trip to the mailbox, the convenience store or the bank.
Learn lullabys
François V. did tell me before to learn some songs, which I didn’t, and I find myself stammering through half-remembered tunes from when I was young (it’s ok for now, he’s young enough not to understand the words anyway).
Animal sounds
Making animal sounds makes you look weird, but it sure scores some smiles with baby. And his happiness is what’s important after all.
Be rude
My mom’s keen on dropping by to rock baby or play with him for a couple of minutes. I’m getting keen on using that time to unload the dishwasher, picking up stuff around the house or taking a shower.

I’m sure I can find other examples, but that’s it for now.

PS. I got jealous of Frank’s new homepage, so I had to redesign my own. It was ok before, but was getting old. It’s nice enough now.

Since Emy decided to take all the blog space with her reading list, I will overpost her right away with my new super flashing, css, web 2.0 personal website. I just purchased 2 domains fgelinas.com and 4cotes.com.. (4 cotes is french, and means 4 sides)..

Visit the website at http://fgelinas.com or http://4cotes.com, also, you can now mail me at my new email addresses : anything @ fgelinas.com or @ 4cotes.com and it should works.

I’ve removed my reading list from the sidebar links, and will use posts to update it. They’ll all be filed under the “Émilie’s reading list” category.

Since I’m removing the old links, though, here is the archive of my reading list. Oldest first.

Yet more renos! Frank (with some help from my dad) put up that wallpaper mural we bought almost a year ago now. It’s awesome. Thanks honey!