Happy 1 Month Birthday Eleni!

1 month!! I can't believe it!!

I'm going to try again tomorrow to take some new pictures of her. Today we had a doctor's appointment so I had her all dressed up in the cutest outfit and ready to take some pictures when....my camera died AGAIN!!! The battery in this thing is garbage, but anyway I'll charge it again and get some new pictures of her because today I was made suddenly aware of how much she's grown.

So, today's agenda was to go to the Mytilini hospital for Eleni's 1 month appointment and while we were there we'd visit our good friends Tzaki and Kasia who just had a baby girl yesterday. YAY! CONGRATULATIONS! We've been waiting for our baby girls to meet for 10 months now and today we finally got to introduce them...yet another reason for the super cute outfit of course.

When we got to the hospital we were told that everyone was on strike so we wouldn't be having our appointment today....lovely! But the one thing about Greece that sets it apart from any other country in the world, is that even if you're told something is absolutely, unquestionably impossible....you can always find a way around that impossibility.

We went upstairs. We found the pediatrician. We told her about our appointment, the strike, we live 1 hour away, yada yada yada.....she said no problem and did Eleni's exam. It actually couldn't have worked out better because when you make an appointment, you're not given a time for that appointment. Just a date. So everyone who has an appointment on that particular day shows up and it's roughly a 'first-come-first-serve' basis (unless you want to be a jerk and budge in front of people which happens all the time here). Sometimes you can be waiting for hours for your turn which I'm sure I don't have to tell you....it sucks! But today was great, we didn't have to wait and there was no arguing with people who were trying to budge in front of us. 

So Eleni is still doing great, the doctor was really impressed with her muscle development. She also broke into one of her smiling and cooing episodes (which often happens when I'm changing her and she's naked and feeling 'free' I guess) so that got some bonus points. I forgot to ask about the hiccuping which happens about 3 or 4 times a day...I'm thinking that's a lot and I don't know if it's an indication of something else or not, but anyway, I forgot to ask. Our next appointment will be next month so I'll make sure I make a note of all my questions next time so I don't forget anything.

And our next plan for the day....meeting Eleni's new friend!

We found Tzaki and Kasia in their room upstairs, looking very relaxed, happy and in love with baby Thenai (I need to check the spelling on this but it's pronounced the-NYE). This is when it really hit me how much Eleni's grown in the last month. Thenai is only 1.5cm shorter and 500grams less than Eleni was when she was born but my god....she seems so itty bitty tiny!! How could Eleni have been that small? And how could I not realize she was growing so much? This just amazes me. I will definitely take some pictures tomorrow and we'll compare what's happened to her over the last month.

Anyway, Eleni and Thenai didn't really care that the other was in the room so they were a bit rude to each other at their first play date, but I'm sure they'll realize soon that they have a lot in common and they'll become best friends. 

After this we'd planned to...I don't even know what to call it because we don't do this in Canada...get a paper with Eleni's name on it? It's like a birth certificate I guess but we already have her birth certificate, it just doesn't have a name on it because they generally don't give the baby a name here until about a year after she/he is born and she/he's been baptized. I think I've told you about this before haven't I? I can't remember, anyway we have a nameless paper that says she's been born but I want a paper that says 'Eleni Sofia Malli' so I can start her Canadian registration and paperwork, and eventually get her passport. So we can eventually come visit all of you!! But as I mentioned....there was a strike today. So the office was closed and we'll have to try again next time we're in the city. Instead we went to a taverna on the water and had lunch. It was lovely! I even ordered a beer which was very exciting for me since I haven't ordered anything alcoholic since December. I even drank half of it! During lunch Eleni woke up from her nap and was hungry. I'd been carrying her around in a sling and it seemed like she was just at the right height for breast feeding, and I was wearing a shirt that was designed for nursing so I just put a light blanket over top of us and decided to try to feed her at the table. It worked out great! I don't think anyone even knew I was breastfeeding her. I just kept right on eating and chatting with Antonis, Eleni was totally comfortable and happy and no one could see anything...it was great! I was really proud of myself after that. My first public breastfeed as well as our first family lunch at a restaurant (that isn't our own) and their was no stress, crying or screaming involved! I this must be a major milestone in parenthood because Antonis and I both wanted to give each other high fives after that...we didn't though...because high fives aren't cool anymore....

So that was our day. Eleni's just woken up so I'm going to just hit publish and hope for the best....I'll probably read this tomorrow and lose my mind over the spelling and grammar but I don't have time for editing these days.

Bye!!