Dear Louna,

Publié par Analyse à 3/15/2007 06:45:00 PM

jeudi, mars 15, 2007

I have been reading my past entries about your developments and I just noticed how it sounded like a technical report. They talked about your height, your weight and your latest developments and nothing more. They lacked emotions. I seldom expressed how happy and proud we are to have you as our daughter. Yes, we are really proud of you. Of course, every parent has the same statement for their children, you would say. But what if I tell you, most of the parents around me complain about their kids (they're French!) and I just cannot take their lead because I cannot complain about you. Here's why:

- Sleeping Patterns. You started having a whole night sleep (8h!) at 3 weeks old. I was told that most children establish their sleeping rhythm at 3 months old or later. I was so worried about you that I went to the health center to talk about your case. The other mothers were jealously laughing because it was their first time to hear a mother complaining because she sleeps well at night. I was quite embarassed, I'm a first-time Mom and it shows. The health center's pediatrician adviced me to wake you up for a feeding session every 4 hours because you're still too young and it's easy for you to fall on hypothermia. But a week later, your pediatrician told me that I should leave you in your slumber as you would cry if you're hungry anyway. From then on, everybody in the household slept a complete night, not tired at all.

For quite sometime now, your degree of comprehension (in english and in french) just amazes us more and more. Each time I tell you it's bedtime and that we have to go upstairs, you automatically climb the stairs and follow me. Last night, we we're busy watching TV and nobody wants to accompany you to bed (yes, it happens sometimes, bad parents you have), so I told you the ritual 'It's time to go to bed, Louna'. To our amazement (and I have to admit, I was so proud of you), you started walking your way to the stairs. (I told Papa to wait and observe). You then hit the steps one by one, and arriving upstairs, you started to close the security barrier and off you went to your room. You're really amazing! We were so proud of you.

- Crybaby ??. Not at all. As infant, you cried when you had wet diapers and when you're hungry. You really gave me an easy task there. When you're sick, crying is really the last option. You would just talk less or should I say babble most of the time. Your teeth didn't even disturbed your mood. You cry sometimes, ok, but just a matter of few minutes, then it's finished. How could I complain?

- Eating Habit. Oh, you love eating. The good thing is that you still eat even when you're sick. That helps to keep you going. You knew how to eat on your own at barely 16 months old. Holding your spoon is probably the skill you learnt the fastest. The bad part is that you don't know when to stop and you hate drinking water.

This would make you laugh I swear, but do you know that most of the time, you don't want to leave your high chair because you still ask for mam mam? And when I do shop, you become my mam mam detector because you know when it's food or not? What a skill!

So how do we manage to give you just the right dose without succumbing to obesity? - Fruits. And if it's really time to leave the kitchen, we move you out of your high chair by force. You whine a bit and stop just after. I tell you, crying isn't your strongest point.

If you read and understand this, I should congratulate myself as I set that as my objective - you as a multilingual child. By the time you read this, France must have probably changed, but for now, everybody around me thinks that I'll just confuse you with all these languages. And I just limit it to English and French. Remember, you're half Filipino and every Filipino speaks at least 2 languages. Now that's a challenge.

Je t'aime bébé.

PS: Strictly no sugarcoat added.

6 commentaires:

kat a dit…

oh i am so jealous of louna's healthy appetite! talk about bon appetite! jakey's appetite is so-so, and we can never get him to enthusiastically eat his food. he'll start fine, but it'll turn into a struggle towards the end. *sigh* i just want him to get bigger and gain a bit of weight.

when did you wean louna off her bottle?

Anonyme a dit…

Kat, as long as he's healthy, that's essential. Louna's still with the bottle every morning.. and I think we will continue with that for as long as she likes. It's just so convenient having her with her bottle while me and Frenchguy prepares for work ;)

Anonyme a dit…

Wow when Louna knows how to read I am sure that she will be very proud to read this letter from her loving parents! Ana, this is just a wonderful presence! I am jealous my children are not a good sleeper they are more of early riser ! Yon nga lang walang problema going to school, am not oblige to wake them up ;) ! The appetite, well like parents like children, gourmand et gourmette !!!

tintin a dit…

I want her as my baby! What an ideal sweetheart! :)

Christianne a dit…

"By the time you read this, France must have probably changed"

I'm curious, what does this mean? :)

Analyse a dit…

Haze, hehe, she loves food. i guess that's more of frenchguy's side no?

Tintin, i accept babysitters hehe ;)

Christianne, oh because french people are really poor in learning another language, and they're reluctant to introducing two languages to a child at a very young age.. im preparing myself for critiques if louna talks later than her peers, im sure it would be my fault using another language at home.