Better Late Than Never

Oy, I've been so bad with my blogs! I tell you, being a baby is hard work. I have to eat and sleep and cry and fuss and generally keep my parents on their toes with all my monkey business. And business is good, my friends. I had one day last week where, I kid you not, I ate for 6 hours straight with only small breaks of half an hour, at the longest.

Any how, I've taken the liberty of once again filling out the missing days from last weekend with some pictures of my various activities, so check it out if you get the chance.

I haven't really slept today, so I'm off to bed. G'Night!


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Feed Me Seymour!

Yeah, I'm plumping up pretty nicely now. Get this: today I drank a total of 740ml of milk and formula. That may not seem like much to you grown up people, but consider that 1 ml weighs about 1 gram, and then consider that I weighed 720 grams when I was born. I am now capable of drinking my birth weight in a day!

I think I might be full in this picture...


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View Baby: $10, Hold Baby: $20

Step right up and have your picture taken with the cutest baby in town!

Cheap!


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p.s. This is my teta Zdenka. ---->
She's one hip lady!

Chillin'

Really hot day today, so I chilled out in the air-conditioned comfort of my parents room with my Baby Einstein DVD.

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Happy Birthday Uncle Zlatko!

Today I need to give a big shout out to my "Uncle Redz." He's been a great help to us these past few months, and I wanted to return the favour somehow. At first I offered to help him paint his new apartment, but there was a severe height issue, so I had to decline. Oh well. He promised to "pimp me out," but I'm not sure exactly what that means. It might have something to do with the baby Air Jordans he bought for me. Very slick!

Happy Birthday dude!


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SRETAN RODJENDAN TETA MELITA

Nisam Vas zaboravio i Vas rodjendan . Sretan rodjendan i puno poljubaca od Vaseg Andreja.
Zelim Vam puno zdravlja, srece, osmjeha i da sljedece godine zajedno ga docekamo u vasoj basti i da me malko prosetate.
This means Happy Birthday to my Auntie Meli, my huge fan, who I can't wait to see again to show her my favourite piece that she got me.
I love you Auntie Meli and come visit me again soon....
Many, many more and next year for your birthday maybe we can have some bear in your backyard. Mommy says if it is Guiness she will let you give me a sip.

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Three Amigos

What a great day today! I had a visit from two, count 'em TWO of my old friends from the NICU. It was an NICUnion! That's me, the little guy, in the middle, on the right is Etienne and Mattias on the left--he was my next door neighbour during his whole stay at the JGH. They came over with their parents for a little BBQ in the backyard. The moms and dads got to have burgers and chicken wings, while the babies had milk. Bo-ring! Maybe next time I can at least have a nacho or something.


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Even More Filler

I Love My Teta Adriana

And now for the third photo in my series entitled, "People Holding Me."

This is my teta Adriana, who is a very special person to my family. She and her family have been very supportive and helpful to us throughout this whole crazy thing. She was the first to arrive at the hospital when we were born, and our first pictures were taken with her camera!
Many stops at the hospital after work, dropping off home cooked meals, taking mommy away for a much needed coffee--she was a much needed anchor to the real world.
My mom says that I will enjoy being in her arms a lot, as you can see from the picture. She smells yummy and I love the cushioning . I think we will get along great just like my mom and her do.

I just can't wait until I'm old enough to eat her empanadas!


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p.s. "Teta" is a term of endearment. And she is a dear!

More Filler

Here's a picture of my great-uncle Stuart. He's been a big fan of my blog since Day 1, and was so excited to finally meet me in person. As a photographer, he's usually found on the other side of the lens. Smile Uncle Stuey!


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Opa and Oma

Hey Everyone,

Just putting in some filler. Here's a great shot of me and my Oma and Opa from last Sunday. This was a momentous occasion since this was the first time my Oma got to hold me! She was there when I came home from the hospital, but she was feeling a little sick so she didn't want to get too close. I'm glad mommy and daddy explained that to me since I thought she was avoiding me because of my poopy diaper.


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Six Pounds of Fury!

Hey everybody! I went to the hospital today for a check up and I have officially hit the 6 pound mark! Woo hoo!

So the day started out with a visit to the follow-up clinic with nurse Debbie where I got to see my file:
Woah. I think my file weighs more than me! How can such a little guy have so much paper?! Any way, it was my understanding that since I no longer live at the hospital, there would be NO MORE NEEDLES. I stand corrected. Just because I am a free bird they can still poke me whenever I visit. Not cool. Well, it was for a blood test, and at least I came up all aces. Next I needed to be weighed so I stripped down and tried stay composed, but when I found out that I was 6 pounds, I peed all over myself. Even managed to hit myself in the eye. Yep, I'm so suave.

Then it was off to the doctors office where I was reunited with my old friend Dr. Ferdinand. She was really pleased with my development, and even offered an explanation to why I've been so gassy and cranky lately: Mommy has been eating cabbage! Well, she's eastern European, so what do you expect? Just so we're clear mommy:

CABBAGE=BAD

and in case you didn't understand that:

KUPUS=NIJE DOBRO

After that we went visit to my ol' stompin' grounds, the NICU. Every one was so happy to see that I was doing well, and I even posed for a picture with three completely anonymous, random nurses:
Who were those ladies, any way?


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Pooped.

We had a fun time today at daddy's party. Although I think I got into a bad batch of milk because I was really cranky for most of the day. Now I'm all partied out and resting.

See you tomorrow!


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Don't cook the baby!

MY DAD

Let me tell you something about MY dad. He was the first to see us when we were born. We were supposed to cry but he did it for us. He is a very special guy. He was there for me and my brother Oliver from the day one. When my brother got very sick he told me everything will be fine and I wasn't scared. He spent countless hours reading and singing to me,massaging my foot when we thought I am about to lose it, cheering me up when things got really hard, and always, always believing in me and never giving up on me.
For that you are the most special dad one can have and I love you dad. You are my hero.
I know my brother Oliver feels the same way about you dad.

The fact that you love kung-fu movies is just a bonus to your greatness.
Happy birthday big guy
Love your son
Andrej Oliver

Little Brat

Hey! I'm 4 months old today! That's one third of a year, y'know. To celebrate this special day I passed another milestone in my development. It had nothing to do with my weight, or my feeding, or my health. Nope, today marked the first time in my life that I really, truly, and absolutely got on my parent's nerves. Oh yes my friends, I was a total brat today! I ate my lunch and then refused to go to sleep. I figured out a little while ago that if I cried when I wanted something, someone would come running. But I learned today that if I cried for no reason other than to be difficult, it makes my parents want to sell me to the gypsies. Heh heh heh. Watching them run around all confused was priceless!

Oh yeah, be sure to check out my guest appearance on Ana's website, www.nascerprematuro.org. There's a little congrats to me on the front page.

OK, time for me to wake up and fuss for no reason again.

Anarchy! Anarchy!


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Wolfgang Andrej Mozart

So as you know, my mommy is a piano teacher. She thinks that it's never too early to start. Hey, how about 4 months? Is that early enough for you? First she needed to show me how it's done:
Hmmm. OK, so you put your hands on the white sticks and the black sticks and then music comes out. Seems easy enough. Let's give it a try...

Hey this is fun! For those of you out there who are musicians, I am playing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor in this picture. Sorry, no video! But here is a video of mommy playing for me:



Carnegie Hall here I come!


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Full Speed Ahead

Hi everyone,

I had my first visit from the CLSC clinic today. They will be doing periodic check-ups on me to make sure that I'm in good health, and that mommy and daddy are taking good care of me, which they are, of course! Every day they make sure I have fresh sawdust in my cage and big bowl of apple peels to munch on. Kidding!

So the big news is that I'm now 2600 grams! That's about 5.75 pounds for you non-metric types. And everything else seems to be running smoothly. Mommy is convinced that I take after daddy when it comes to my behaviour. I sleep a lot, fuss only when I'm hungry or gassy, and I love to be social. I heard that when mommy was a baby she cried so much that her next door neighbour had to move out! That is one powerful baby!

And it looks like good news south of the equator as well. My buddy Augusto has hit 1800 grams, which is one of three requirements he needs in order to be discharged. Keep up the good work! Here's me cheering for you:

Go Augusto!

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Something for the Ladies

Grrrrrr....

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Checking my blog...

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Hanging with Baka

What a lucky boy I am to not only have super parents, but super grandparents, too! I'm sad that I don't get to see my Oma and Opa a lot since they live in Ottawa, but fortunately I see my Baka every day since she lives directly below me. Seriously! Her room is exactly below mine. She keeps banging on the ceiling every time I play my music too loud.

Tonight she gave me a bath for the first time. I'm used to baths by now, but I thought I'd give her a taste of the old drama-baby to break her in a bit. "Wah! Wah! I'm wet!" Sucker.

An added bonus for my mommy and daddy is that she comes up and feeds me at least once a day, giving my poor folks a much needed break. I personally think I'm not a high maintenance guy, but the bags under their eyes seem to suggest otherwise. Maybe it's my snoring at night...

My only concern is that I am causing a lack of productivity at her salon. She phones every day to talk to me (I'm usually sleeping or eating) and she often closes an hour early to rush home to see me. She also has to keep the Balkan crowd up to date on every last minute detail of my life, like how much I'm eating, how much I'm pooping, and how big I'm getting.

Some day, when I'm able to talk, I hope to tell her how much I love her. She's one awesome Baka!
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A Walk in the Park

A great day today: I had a visit from my ol' buddy Blake! He came over tonight for dinner (with his parents, of course) and after we went for a stroll through the park. It's funny because way back when Blake and I were in our isolettes, hooked up to all kinds of machines, our mommies could hardly believe that the day would come when they could walk their sons in the park. So when the day finally arrived, they could hardly believe that they ever hardly believed. It all seems so far away now.


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Very Nice!

Here's me and my dad hanging out in our Cuddlywrap. Very comfortable, I must say! Sometimes I get cranky lying in my bed all day, and so I feel the need to get up and cruise around a bit. Unfortunately I can't do this myself, so I have to recruit the big guy to carry me around.

I don't think he minds.


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The Great Outdoors

Today I hung out in the back yard with my parents. I like it out here, all the plants and stuff, but I wasn't allowed to play with any of the toys lying around. Those are for the dogs, apparently. By the way, I still haven't met my dogs yet--they're still visiting Antonio until things settle down here a bit. I don't know if that's referring to me or my parents, because as you can see, I'm pretty chill.


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Reflections on My First 48 Hours at Home

Andrej's Top Ten List of Reasons Why Being Out of the Hospital is AWESOME!

10. No more monitors beeping.
9. No more wires attached to me.
8. I have a lot more toys.
7. Being able to see my parents all the time is very comforting.
6. Being able to see my parents without sleep is freaking hilarious.
5. Toys! So many toys!
4. My physical presence at home inspires people to buy me stuff.
3. My bed is 5 times bigger.
2. Did I mention the toys?
1. 24-hour boob access.


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Party Animal!

What a great day! After a tearful goodbye to everyone at the NICU, mommy and daddy and uncle Zlatko wheeled me outside into the real world for the first time. They strapped into my car seat for my first car ride, which I didnt' enjoy all that much, and moments later I arrived at my house greeted by a bunch of friends and family, some of whom I met for the first time.

Baka could hardly contain herself. She was busy all morning decorating the backyard and preparing food, and there was sooo much food! Here's a tip if you are ever invited to our house for a party: starve yourself for at least a day before. Of course she couldn't do it all alone--she had the help my tetka, Vule, Zdenka and Maria. Then Adriana, Emma and Antonio arrived and they all greeted me as I made my grand entrance.

Then everyone started arriving! My oma and opa, and uncle Rob and aunt Lisa even showed up from Ottawa. And I was thrilled to finally meet my cousins, Luke, Ella and Maggie. Thanks for the great gift and the strawberries (even if I'm too small to eat them just yet!). James was there and so was some guy also named Andre (what a weird way to spell it!). I was so happy to finally meet Melita. She would have been there to greet me as well, but she was so excited to see me that she passed out. That must have been one major "brady!" So Mladen revived her and they arrived just in time to see me while I was still awake. Lets see, Meg was there, so was Brad, all the way from Toronto, and even my girlfriend, Andrea!

Thanks so much to every one who came, and to everyone who was there in spirit. Your love and support means so much to me!

Now it's time to spend my first night in my new house with my parents. Pleasant dreams, everyone!


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Home.

Day 111, 2380 grams

It's done. It's over. I'm at home with my parents.

More later...


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Let's Go Home.