Francesca Maria.
A Champion's Preemie Baby Diary.
Part 4: Gaining weight in Paris.
Welcome to my site www.francesca07.com. My name is Francesca Maria, I was born on April 22, 2007, a 29-week premature baby (preemie), weighing only 1.46 kilos (3 lbs. 3 oz.). This is part 4 of my diary, when at the age of a little over 3 months I flew to Paris with my parents (see on right links to previous parts). Next part is Page 5 when I am in Moscow.
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October 6: Quite an unexpected bath.
Boy what a shock I had today. The day started nicely with several friends coming over, and many nice gifts, all that attention put me in a good mood. Then my parents dressed me in a very nice white dress, and took me for a walk. I wondered why this fancy dress for a simple walk. Well I soon found out they had a plan, and I am still in shock from it. Just have a look at the photo below and all will become clear. I will give you more info and photos about the whole thing tomorrow, I'm too tired today.
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Yes you guessed it right: I was baptised today. At the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. |
October 4: Dinner at Fouquet.
This weekend I will have a special celebration, and have invited several guests from all over the world to come to it. Tonight my Grandma Mima invited us to dinner at the well-known restaurant Fouquet. Everybody liked the food very much, and I spent most of the time looking out of the window at passers-by on the Champs-Elysées Avenue.
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I like to look out of the window. |
October 3: Bath and After Bath Photos.
By popular demand, I publish my bath and after bath portraits.
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October 2: A whole movie about me!
If you want to see the progress I have made since I was born 5 months ago as a 29 week preemie weighing only 1.5 kilos, watch the short movie below.
I saw my pediatrician today, he said about me "Elle est top". I am 5 months old now but really less than 3 months old from the time I was supposed to be born (July 3). The doctor said that in several aspects I had caught up with babies truly 5 months old (in weight and in head size). In other aspects I have not yet (I am only 60 cm tall and at 5 months babies should be 62-65 cm tall). And I need to make progress in my motility, but I know that's coming, now when I take a bath I know how to make splashes and get everybody wet, I did not know how to do that just one week ago. Also, I now play with my mouth very much and I can almost put my whole fist in my mouth, that's also fun. My Mom promises also to move me soon to "petits pots" from the milk I am drinking, but I'm not sure about that, I like the milk fine.
The movie to the left is 6 minutes long and about 20 MB so it takes some time to load, please be patient. Make sure to put the sound up and press "PLAY". In case you wonder the language spoken in the video is Russian, one of my (at least) three future spoken languages. |
October 1: I met Tonton Gégé.
Today my parents and I had a visit from a good friend of my Dad. His name is Tonton Gégé, although I think it comes from "Gérard". He is a friend of Carole who came to see me about 2 weeks ago and he also lives in Montpellier.
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September 27: My parents and me.
An interesting photo, don't you think so?
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You can click on the photo to the left to enlarge. |
September 26: Photos from my trip to Switzerland.
Below you can find some pictures of me taken in Switzerland last week.
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September 25: I'm a happy baby.
You can see from the photos below that I definitely look like I am a happy baby. Who would have guessed that 5 months ago I was born as a tiny 3 pound preemie, and that I already have stayed at the hospital 58 day of my life? I have now caught up with full-term babies in weight (I am now over 15 pounds), and I keep eating with great appetite. You can, as usual, enlarge the little photos below by clicking on them.
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September 24: I love my toys.
It's great to be back in Paris, as I missed all my toys while I was in Switzerland. They are my friends and it's tough to be without them. Well in fact I got some new toys while I was in Switzerland so I can't complain. Thanks to Tiotia Lala, Elizabeth and family, and Janine for the nice gifts I received there!
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Click on little photo to enlarge. |
September 23: My stay with Lala and Mima.
My Tiotia Lala came all the way from Washington to accompany my Baboushka Mima and take care of me in Switzerland for a few days. I put the sweetest wide smile on my face to greet her. I know already that I have a beautiful smile, very different from those people who just widen their mouths, and stretch their lips. My smiles melt broadly onto my whole face and put twinkles into my eye. I may be little – or so they think – but I already know the disarming power of a smile. I am a champion of the heart…
I am also strong-willed. I know what and when I want something. And when I feel desperate for milk, or for the comfort of warm arms, I know how to show and communicate my desperation. Everyone is miserable when I am. Baboushka Mima was so unhappy when I cried and screamed that I ended spending most of my time there on her lap, while Tiotia prepared an uninterrupted supply of milk bottles. I like being there, in Mima’s arms. It is soothing and cozy. I cannot fathom why anyone thought of getting me a cradle. She ended up having a backache, and said it was because I am heavy and so strong, and because I now like to stand on her. Tiotia also had a sore back, but that was because she slept on the sofa near me, and because she spent much time on the floor while I was in my chair, playing with me and telling strange stories.
Tiotia knew all the stories of my toys. She told me how Mr. Green, my musical crocodile, came looking for me from Florida. It makes sense, because I was born in Miami, but I don’t remember seeing Mr. Green there, even though he insisted that he had been watching me. Poor Mr. Green. He went through many storms and had to cross the ocean, which he was shocked to discover was not anything like the sunny muddy pond that he likes to bask in. Luckily he met Mr. Brown in Alaska. Mr. Brown is a big furry bear, who knows the slippery icy spots and helped Mr. Green get through the risky path. In Iceland, they met with Mr. Clown, who travels the planet with his circus. He knew the rivers and lakes and guided them towards the Lake Léman. Thank goodness we will be accompanying them to Russia. That way they won’t get lost.
All in all, I had a great time in Switzerland and I hope to go back soon! Are you listening Mom and Dad?
September 22: I'm 5 months old today!
Today I celebrated my 5th month birthday with my Grandma Mima and Tiotia Lala in Switzerland. My parents are now in Austria and they will be back tomorrow. The photos below were taken by Tiotia Lala while she was telling me a story about Mr. Green from Florida and Mr. Brown from Alaska, you can see on the photos I was quite interested and amused. It's the first time I have been separated from my parents for 3 days, but it's not so bad, Mima and Lala treated me like I am a little princess (which I am, of course) and gave in to any and all of my wishes.
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September 19: I made a wish!
There is a Russian proverb that says that if you are between two persons with the same first name you can make a wish. Well today we went to see my Dad's Goddaughter, who has the same first name as my Mom, and it was a great opportunity for me to make a wish. No no I won't tell you, not only because the tradition has it that saying your wish will make it not come true, but also because after all I still don't know how to speak, I will only be 5 months old in 3 days. Well I was so pleased to meet her, she is so nice, and I hope one day she will take me sailing on the lake, she's very good on boats.
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September 17: I like Bureaucrats in Switzerland!
I had a great bureaucratic day today, quite a difference to what happened to us in France. The Consul was very nice, asked for fewer documents, and put his stamp of approval in no time at all, I was thrilled! Now I am covered, I've got practically all the official documents I could wish for. Well no, not all, I still need a driver's license, but I guess I can wait a little for that, I'm not even 5 months old yet...
To celebrate our success, my Grandma invited my parents and me to the Cafe du Beau-Rivage, and then we had a stroll on the Quai d'Ouchy, yes that's the famous embankment next to the lake Léman about which the poetess Marina Tsvetaeva wrote about (info).
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September 15: Tomorrow I go to Switzerland!
Today we went to my favorite market, at the rue Poncelet in Paris. On the way there, my Dad photographed me and my Mom in the little square next to rue Berryer, there is a statue of a mother holding her baby, very nice.
Apart from that, we are leaving tomorrow for Switzerland, my parents will continue from there to Austria and I will stay for a couple of days with my grandma and aunt, I haven't seen them since the USA and I miss them quite a bit. I hope they will show me the nice sights next to the Lake Léman (that's the correct way to name the Lake Geneva). On Monday we will also try to go to the Consulate to solve the issue we could not solve this week in Paris. It should go better in Switzerland, I hope.
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September 13: New photos by my Mom.
I hope you'll enjoy these 3 photos of me.
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September 12: Carole came to visit me!
Today I finally got to meet the nice person who gave me my beloved little black doll called "Chucha". Her name is Carole, although I think it would be more appropriate to call her "Caroleva" (only Russian speakers can understand why that is, sorry for the others). She is so energetic and kind, I liked her very much! She made me feel better after the bad experience at the Consulate this morning.
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September 12, AM: I hate bureaucracy!
I went today to the Consulate with the simple goal of having my name inscribed in my Mom's passport so I could travel with her in October. To our surprise, the Consulate found a ridiculous reason why it was not possible, and advised that the best thing I could do is to go to a travel agency and book and pay for a hotel, then apply for a tourist visa, which is absurd since I am only 4 months old and my parents live in an apartment where I am planning to go together with them, so why would I need to go to a hotel? And please tell me what bank will give a credit card to a 4 month old little girl for the reservation? Tomorrow we will go and try to speak personally to the Consul. If he still refuses to cooperate, I will spit all my morning's ration of milk on his favorite carpet, now that's a strong threat, isn't it? Does the Consul realize what scandal I could make on the web, with thousands of preemies uniting and requesting better citizenship services, fast passport issuances, and automatic visa approvals. The Consulate will be drowned in emails from babies from the whole world. Have you ever seen a baby of less than 1 year old committing a crime? And babies are excellent consumers, they buy diapers wherever they go, so why be so strict? Okay, you got my point. I hope tomorrow we'll convince them to do their jobs. I'll let you know how it goes.
September 10: I like to wear blue jeans.
Today we had to go to an official meeting at the rue de Grenelle in Paris, right next to the Jardins des Invalides, it was a perfect day for a walk (well I mean perfect to have my Mom carry me in her arms, she doesn't mind). Note I am wearing fashionable blue jeans, it's the first time of my life I do and they are quite comfortable I must say. The Swiss T-shirt was a gift from Gritt she sent from a small town called Lenzerheide in the East of Switzerland, thanks, it makes me feel like a true little Swiss girl! Note that all 4 photos below can be enlarged by clicking on them.
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September 8, PM: My Magic Carpet.
I have a new hobby. My parents installed a magic carpet for me to lay on and play with the toys that are hanging from above. I find them quite entertaining and like to watch them move, they are so colorful. The photos below are by my Mom, click on them to enlarge.
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September 8, AM: My Self-Evaluation.
I suppose some of you are wondering what progress I have made since I was born a 29-week preemie. Below are some nice photos my Mom took of me today, I think they show I am quite alert, and know how to focus sight. I now like to watch what my parents are doing, I like to smile when they come to me, so that they know I like them close by. Smiling is my best form of communication, as for the moment I only know how to make noises and to blabber unintelligibly.
Apart from that I am developing quite well: I have passed the 6 kilo mark (from 1.5 kilos at birth), and even overheard my parents say I was "heavy". I have lost hair a few weeks ago but they are growing again. I now know how to lift my head and hold it for a few seconds, I also know how to turn from back to side. I have also started to relax my fist and fingers, and like to suck on them.
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August 31: What a difference 5 weeks make!
My dad made another collage of 9 portraits today in the same format he made 5 weeks ago. I must say that the difference is striking. I definitely have grown since then. Click on the little images to see them bigger.
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August 27: A new passport photo for me
To be frank, I was not too happy with the passport photo my parents took of me 1.5 months ago, just as I came out of the NICU. So today, before going to the Consulate to get me an official document, they made we wear a special monogrammed shirt and asked me to open my eyes wide for the photo. The photo came out quite nice and they even complimented us at the Consulate, saying that it was a mighty good photo for a newborn baby. Little did they know my Dad took hundreds of photos before this one, he's quite a perfectionist.
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August 26: Brunch at Mariage Frères.
You know it's not easy to find a place in Paris to eat with a baby in a stroller, especially if you'd like to avoid having smokers sitting next to you, it's so disagreable to smell their smoke while you eat. Thank God it seems that from next year 2008 on it will be forbidden to smoke in French restaurants, that will be a great improvement. I hope the same will happen in Switzerland, or else I'll boycott going to restaurants where smoking is allowed.
So now to the good news: on the way from the Church Alexander Nevsky on rue Daru, at the intersection with the rue Saint Honoré there is a nice place called Mariage Frères that serves a delicious brunch on Sundays. You can see a couple photos from that meal below.
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August 25: My Mom is a great photographer, too!
Today my Mom took a wonderful photo of me, which my Dad turned into black and white and you can see it below by clicking on it. It shows that I am not at all the skinny little preemie I was just a couple months ago, I have nice plump cheeks, and am now just over 5 kilos, coming a long way from my birth weight of under 1.5 kilos.
My parents are a little worried that I eat so much, and asked the pediatrician if they should limit giving me my milk since I seem to always be hungry. My pediatrician said that no, they should give me milk anytime I ask for it. He compared me to a Ferrari, who has some catching up to do with the other cars and therefore goes faster (i.e. eats more). He said that one day, when my body will "feel" that I have caught up with the other non-premature babies, I will suddenly myself limit my food intake.
In reality my parents' question is a little naive, thinking that they can control how much I eat. I know pretty well that when I "tell" my parents I am hungry they have no choice but feed me in the minute that follows, I certainly have a strong character...
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Click on the image to the left to see it bigger. |
August 24: I need a real cell phone.
Today my parents gave me a phone to play with. At first I was amused, but then I realized that it does not work like a real phone, and so I lost interest. I am counting the days till my parents get me a real cell phone, and of course preferably a good one, like an iphone for example. Well no hurry really, I'll wait till they iron out the initial bugs and will settle for a later improved version.
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August 23: I like my baths in Paris.
Here in Paris my parents got me a nice inflatable duck-bathtub, and I like it very much. You can see how much from the photos below.
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August 22: I'm 4 months old today!
I forgot to tell you in my last post, today is my 4th month birthday! I'm growing every day, I should be close to 5 kilos now (I'm not sure because my parents don't have a weighing machine here in Paris), and thank God my hair is starting to grow again on my head. All in all I'm fine and enjoying Europe. I'll tell my Dad to take some pictures of me in good lighting so you can see how I am growing.
August 22: L' Entrecôte de Paris.
Tonight we made it to one of my parent's favorite restaurants in Paris, right off the Champs Elysées. Last week they tried to go there with me in my stroller, but the staff turned us down saying that it would be too tough with the stroller. So this time we went with my Mom's trainer, and only with my car seat, so it was possible to take a table for 4 and I was quite comfortable. My parents like the sauce they serve with the meat, but to me it seemed quite greasy, so I prefered to stick to my milk, much better, lucky my Mom brought some along.
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August 19, PM: I met Ludivine!
This afternoon, my Mom and Dad passed by to see their friend Almira, who recently gave birth to a little girl, with the very beautiful name Ludivine. She was born on January 30 of this year, so she's a little less than 3 months older than me. I hope we'll be friends when we grow up.
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Ludivine is the the left, I'm to the right. |
August 19, AM: I visited the Sacré Coeur.
Today was a nice day, we went to the beautiful Sacré Coeur cathedral in the heights of Paris, it was quite an impressive sight. I was quite tired and napped most of the time, but the air was nice and fresh, I liked it.
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August 13: I met my new French Pediatrician.
Today we went to Neuilly to meet my new French pediatrician, and he was very nice. It was not at all like in the U.S., he greeted us personally and took his time, without sending us to his nurse for the technical measurements. He even told my parents that I was "parfaite, magnifique, splendide", which made me very happy (and my parents too, of course). So as far as my weight, I am now 4,630 grams, quite heavy already.
Another good thing is that is was much cheaper than in the U.S. (both the consultations and the medecines). I guess there is some truth in that movie "Sicko" by Michael Moore (although the movie is somewhat overdone and a caricature of facts, as opposed to his other movie Fahrenheit 9/11, which was quite good according to my Dad).
But the day was not limited to the doctor. We went to a large shopping mall in La Défense to try to get a stroller that fits in our elevator. Yes, you would not believe how small our elevator in Paris is, the door is only 56 centimeters wide, and it fits 2 persons of small size with great difficulty. My stroller is 65 centimeters wide, it cannot enter the door, and folding it is inconvenient at best. But no, nothing available for small babies (only for babies over 6 months). Also my parents wanted to get me a bed, and out of a large choice, the saleswoman told us that we'd have to wait till September to order one (vacations), and it would be ready in November, at a price 3 times that of the one I have at home... How does Europe's economy function, I cannot understand. I guess I'll have to sleep in my current stroller, well it's not so bad after all. Unless we go back to the other baby shop one of these days, we went today, but only to find out that they are closed on both Sundays and Mondays...
Oh, let me give you the answer to yesterday's puzzle. As correctly pointed out by my very smart aunt Laura, the only item on the table which was not purchased in Paris was in the top right of the photo: the bag of Swiss cookies called "Basler Leckerli". They taste very similar to the Russian "Prianiki". I wonder who copied the formula from the other? If you know, please let me know.
August 12, PM: I love the Poncelet Market!
Wow do French people know about good food! Something you should be aware of is that while many food stores are closed on Sundays, there is a wonderful food market at the rue Poncelet, close to Ternes. Everything looks delicious, and my parents bought lots of fruits and vegetables, as you can see from the second photo taken on our kitchen table. As for me, while all this looks nice and tasty, I'm sticking to milk, I prefer that.
By the way, I'm trying to trick you - on the second photo below there is one item we did not buy in Paris today, which one? The first person who sends me the answer wins a prize.
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August 12, AM: Alexander Nevsky in Paris.
Finally today's weather was nice and my parents and I decided to go for a stroll and visit the Russian Cathedral called "Alexander Nevsky". It's in the 8ème arrondissement, at the intersection of the rue Daru and rue Pierre Le Grand. You can see on the second photo (enlarge it first) there is a restaurant called "Petrograd" behind me. I like that Cathedral. I hope one day to be baptised there. By the way, did you know that recently Chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik got married in that same Cathedral?
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August 10: Help! I'm going bald!
Boy what a fright I had today looking at myself in the mirror. I lost much of my hair on the top of my head. I thought that only happened to men over 40, horror, it's happening to me. I had much more hair just one week ago!
Luckily my Mom found a page on the internet where it says that it's normal. The technical term is telogen effluvium. Now while I'll be waiting for my new hair to grow I hope you'll allow me to put my hat back on. No more photos with my hat off.
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August 8: Il pleut toujours à Paris...
The title of today's news comes from a very nice song of Barbara "Gare de Lyon". I can confirm that at least since I got to Paris, it has been raining almost all the time. Well my parents are of the optimistic kind, and so at around 2 PM, they finally saw some sun showing through the clouds, and took me for a stroll in the beautiful Parc Monceau (see photo below). It's the same parc where my Mom was filmed in this Russian TV interview a couple years ago. Unfortunately, as soon as we took that photo, it started pouring and my parents got soaked to the bones, as they only had one umbrella and they used it for me, of course. My Dad now seems to have a cold, I hope he will get better soon, or at least that he won't give it to me.
Then in the afternoon my Mom's good friend Almira came to visit us, and my Mom even let Almira hold me. I was a little worried but I actually felt she is very nice with babies, she just had a baby girl, Ludivine, born January 30, about 3 months before me, I'm dying to meet her.
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August 7: My first Transatlantic Flight.
Yes I made it to Europe, and it was not as tough as I feared, quite easy, really. I quickly forgot about the fact they did not give me frequent flyer miles, arguing that I was not occupying a seat, that's true. Look below at the very nice photo from the airplane window of Miami and Key Biscayne in the distance. Everybody onboard was very nice with me, they gave me a nice green present, and then installed a real bed right in front of my parents' seat. I actually slept almost all the way. Overall, nice trip! I'll give you more impressions of Paris tomorrow.
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This is the beginning of Page 4, when I flew to Europe with my parents. For page 3, after when I was discharged from the hospital NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature babies), on June 19, 2007. For Page 1, birth to 1 month, click here. And for Page 2, 1 month to discharge from the NICU, click here.
© 2007 Francesca Maria.
Made on a Mac. Of course.
