Simone's First Christmas

Simone's First Christmas

Who brought the Christmas ham?

Hangin' with Uncle JP

Simone fights breast cancer with Super Breast Cancer Research Santa

Santa brings in a local union reindeer to guide the sleigh through South Philly

I better get some presents soon

Christmas Peep


Ready to hit the road

The Gilbert Clan on Christmas Eve

Linda explains the Christmas tree to Simone

A Christmas story from Cousin Jannette

Look what we found under the tree

Uh, that's not Chunk. Can somebody pick me up, here?!

Exercising with Aunt Annie

Labor of Love

OK gang, it has taken me awhile to get to it, but I've finally managed to edit together some video from the day Simone was born [just in time for her one month b-day]. Still getting the hang of the editing software, so they'll get better as we go along, but I think this came out well. Enjoy.

A Day in the Life

8:30

9:00

10:00

10:30

12:00

1:30

2:00

2:30

The Linda and SiSi Show

11:30am tried to leave house, but Simone was hungry (again!)

11:50am tried to leave the house again, but was delayed by 2
consecutive poo diapers

12:05pm left house with Simone in Ergo Carrier (bundled up, it was
cold and windy here in Philly!!)

12:10pm caught bus to Center City Philadelphia

12:25pm Simone still sleeping in carrier, walked to Pennsylvania Hospital

12:30pm Went to Newborn and new Mommies group - had a blast with about
20 other Center City Moms, breastfeeding, chatting, comparing cool
baby gear for urban moms

2pm tried to leave at end of meeting, delayed by Simone's poo diaper,
and then again by cleaning up after she had a poo explosion as I tried
to change the original poo diaper

2:15pm used a public restroom with Simone strapped onto me in the Ergo
(phew, I had free hands to be able to wash up well!!)

2:20pm walked to the pet store and bought a new pup treads for Chunk
and talked on the phone with Steph

2:30pm went to Whole Foods and picked up some groceries

3:00pm took the bus back home talked to GaGa on phone, bragging about
SiSi's first city adventure

3:30 nursed Simone and then relaxed after our big day!! Chunk stared
at diaper bag for 1/2 hour...... could smell new pup treads, I forgot
pup treads was in there!!

Thanksgiving Turkey

I gotta fart.

One. Two. One, Two, Three. Huh.

Visiting with Aunt Annie and Cousin Jannette

The Gilbert Clan

The Gilbert/Kiraly/Williams Thanksgiving Extravaganza

In the Groove

We've been home with Simone for a week and a half now, and we're starting to settle into a routine. While she does little but sleep, eat and poop, Linda and I are constantly on the move, getting things done for her. As I don't have breast-icles, I have the time to chronicle our adventures and occasionally goof around on the internet. I think I can recite the last three days Sportscenters by heart. No such luck for Linda.

Linda has almost no time to herself. When Simone is awake, she is hungry, gassy or pooping. When she's sleeping, Linda tries to sneak in some rest or take a shower. That's not often, however, as Simone's feedings will sometimes run almost back-to-back. She's never in a hurry, often falling asleep for long stretches during feedings. Must be nice. While it's the lap of luxury for her, Linda has a 'lil barnacle attached to her for most of the day, and isn't able to get much else done. She's a trooper, though, and I'm very proud of her. All the feeding is paying off, too. Our little overachiever has back to her birth weight, ahead of schedule.

Although it may be unattractive to say so, this child is constantly taking a dump. They aren't epic dumps like the merconium-laced early days, but they are foul nonetheless. There's nothing quite like holding a baby and feeling the rushing river of refuse through the diaper. As a new dad, I find myself stunned at the amount of poo that can come out of a 9 pound child in a twenty minute span. We go through diapers like Cookie Monster through cookies. [You can see how this whole process is changing me; I would never have made this reference just two weeks ago.] The farting is legendary as well, occasionally sounding like a shotgun blast. It set Chunk off to barking one time, it was so loud.

Anja (Linda's Mom) has been here with us, providing us with much aid. A veteran of three kids and four other grandkids, she's providing us with valuable insight into the childrearing process. It's great to have her around, as we have little idea what we're doing. It takes a village, as some omnipresent presidential candidate once said. Kudos to Anja for her fearlessness, as well. She's not afraid to stick a finger into that diaper to see if it's dirty; must be a grandmother thing. I tread far more cautiously. She and Chunk are little buddies as well, taking smoke breaks and goofing around with Pup Treads. That's actually a big load off for us, as the Chunk-ster requires a lot of attention.

Chunk has actually been handling the whole thing remarkably well. She knows to be calm when she comes over and smells the baby, and she'll watch over Simone when she's in the swing. I still need to run off some of her excess energy, which will no doubt be a problem in the future. There's a bit of time to do that right now, so it's not too bad. If there is any jealousy on Chunk's part, I haven't detected it yet.

Although sleep has been in short supply, things are gradually getting better. The early feedings were tough, but Simone is getting the hang of it now. As I mentioned, that hasn't stopped her from taking forever with it, though. That's tough in the middle of the night, when all Linda wants to do is sleep, and she's got a half-awake baby hanging off of her. Lord knows Simone would be pissed if the food supply was cut off, but she takes her sweet time with it. I've actually been able to get a decent amount of sleep, as Linda has been wonderful enough to take care of most of the after-hours duties. I sometimes jump in there to change a diaper or rock Simone, and I've learned how to sleep while standing up. But the way it has [generally] worked out is that I get to sleep at night and Linda gets extended naps during the day. Certainly not an equitable state of affairs for Linda, but we're doing our best to make this thing work correctly. She's Mom of the Year, as far as I'm concerned.

Chillin' at the Casa & Another New G

The Thinker

Crazy conehead baby

Simone: "Yes Chunk, I am stealing your thunder."

Five fingers of fury!!!

Baby Papa-San

and last but not least, introducing my new nephew:
Brady Matthew G.

Born as this post was being written, 11.20.07.
7 lbs., 6 oz., 20 in.
Congrats to Megan and Scott!

Day 2

Here' s what Simone was up to on Day 2 of her life, in between extended bouts of sleeping:

Simone gets all gussied up for her official baby photo shoot

The proud parents, not even looking that exhausted [That goes to show you how deceiving looks can be]


Damn, girl! You got some big feet!

Squatting Turkey, Hairy Monkey

Simone's favorite burping position, The Dead Weight

Grammie gets a look at the duck lips

Um-Pa enjoying his new grand-daughter

Getting Back

Hi everyone.
Thanks for all the well-wishes. The Gilbert clan appreciates your love and support.
Linda's mom Anja and I are running around like maniacs right now getting things done while Linda and Simone are still at the hospital. They should be coming home this evening.
With all that's going on, and the fact that Linda and I are both hallucinating due to lack of sleep, it'll be a few days before I can answer everyone's e-mails and calls. [zzzzz....spontaneous nap] We loved hearing from you all and will get back to you as soon as we can.

Love,
Mike, Linda and Simone

P.S. - congrats to my colleague Suzanne for winning the baby pool.

Happy Birthday, Simone!

Linda and Mike are happy to announce that the the newest member of the Gilbert clan, Simone Elyse, arrived on Sunday, 11.11.07, at 4.30 PM. Simone tipped the scales in the cruiserweight category at 8 lbs. 14 oz., and a length of 21 inches. Linda and Simone are both doing well and resting comfortably. Well, Simone is resting comfortably. Linda and Mike, not so much. More to come soon.
---Mike

Fat, Ugly and Stupid is No Way to Go Through Life

In case you hadn't heard, our fair city of Philadelphia was voted as having not only the ugliest, but also the rudest people in the country in a recent survey. The following post from Linda will affirm that. ---Mike

OK, by now I am totally sick of the question "HEY, YOU GOT TWO IN THERE?" or "you havin' twins?"

Well, had a great new one yesterday! It is starting to get chilly, so I am needing to get creative with my mostly warm weather maternity wardrobe. So, I had on black pants, a black wife beater, and then over it I had a green non-maternity sweater (that covered almost my whole belly) and then a black maternity jacket from old navy. I thought i looked cute, but I'm at the point where my pants are sliding down and my shirts are sliding up and my belly pokes out a little.....OK, well sometimes a lot.

So I'm on my way to the subway and some lady says "you gotta pull your shirt down, you're belly is hanging out"! I was like "WTF???" I wasn't to say something, but of course, I burst out crying!!! She was joking, but seriously! What is wrong with people - I KNOW my belly was poking out because it was COLD! Plus, its not light I have some gross stretch-marked fatty hanging belly. It's cute!

However, on a happy note, while at the Ritz Carlton on Saturday night - some woman pulled me aside to tell me how adorable and fabulous I looked! Now that's my style! I must be hanging out in the wrong places. HMMMMM...... Subway Stop or Ritz Carlton? I choose the Ritz.

Anyway, so the latest news on baby G: On my 38 week appointment, I was now measuring 42 weeks. I had the ultrasound later that day to show she's now about 7 1/2 lbs (give or take about 10 oz due to the margin of error) - so the doc was really pleased - she's totally healthy, not too heavy for V-delivery, had a full stomach, and was moving around nicely (although not much room). We couldn't see her face because she's facing my back, but the tech pointed out a little chubby cheek!!!! My amniotic fluid levels are within the average range (on the higher side, but still average), so the only explanation they have for my gigantic belly is that I'm short, so my belly pops out more. Interesting, although not the exciting explanation Mike and I were expecting. But I guess this point in the game, less drama is a good thing.

I THINK I AM GOING TO BE PREGNANT FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

House Tour, Pt. 1

Linda's mom Anja went all out and got us a video camera so that she can keep up with all the cute things that Baby G. will be doing. This is the initial shakedown video and test of my editing skills, a quick tour of our house. Hope you enjoy.

33 1/3 RPM

Linda @ 33 weeks

Get in my belly!

Linda's mom Anja makes this kinda stuff before 9 a.m. on a slow day. She's a machine! I told her she should sell this stuff on eBay.

Quick, somebody slap this on a greeting card.


Click me to gamble!