Bringing Elles Home
Before Eleanor was born, I had fortified myself for a challenging few weeks, followed by a slightly less challenging few months. I had many worries- the effects of sleep deprivation, River being jealous, not having enough hours in the day to get everything done and done well. If I’m being honest, I did not expect everything to go as smoothly as it has. So far, transitioning from one baby to two has been easy, and I hope I’m not tempting fate by saying this- fun! Eleanor sleeps well. River loves his sister. We are all eating, sleeping, and getting some sunshine once in a while. It helps that River is the sweetest toddler ever. He loved Elles from the moment he met her. It helps to have a workhorse of a husband, who is up and prepping breakfast before any other member of the house is awake. It helps that we have family that comes to give the babies love, bring us meals, and provide support. It helps that there is so much love in this house that it makes it hard to feel stressed for too long. I know that there will be days that are challenging, there will be tears from both the children and from me, but I also know that I have a family that loves and supports one another. A few days ago, I was trying to get River to repeat the names of everyone in the family. I said, “River, say ‘Dada, Mama, River, Elles’.” River responded, “Home,” and my heart melted, because “Dada, Mama, River, and Elles” is the definition of home for me, too.
There isn’t a lot of time to write a lot right now. Actually, time is the only thing this family doesn’t have a lot of at the moment. Nevertheless, we are happy, healthy, and have a new edition to present to the world. Family and friends: meet Eleanor Emily Silveira! She was born at 6:20 in the morning on July 26, weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces, and is 21” in length. Most importantly, she is beautiful and perfect. We love you!
We will write more once we have our bearings. Thank you.
Eleanor is still taking her time. Meanwhile, a different reality is setting in.
It's the evening of July 25. Aly is getting all of the pains and aches associated with a pregnancy that is about to come to term. Eleanor is waiting in the wings, ready to greet us and become part of our family. We're excited. Yet a sort of sadness hit me momentarily today. Not one of anything infecting my thoughts and psyche deeply, but something that is more akin to a parting cloud on what should be a sunny day: as I watched River and Aly play this morning at Battleship Cove, in Fall River, amongst the beauty of the historical surroundings, and amongst the many wonderful people we met, it hit me hard. The reality of a change I have known is coming. Not just the welcoming of a new baby, but that this family unit of three, a unit that we've devoted ourselves to becoming -- and a unit that has become not just our new identity as a group, but an identity we wholly feel constitutes who we are as individuals -- is going to change. Not for the worst, of course, I truly want to express myself clearly here, so that nothing is misconstrued. After all, we have geeked out for months now over the joy of knowing we are having another baby, and a girl at that. No, what I mean to state is this: the identity of Bud, Aly, and River, the power trio, is no longer going to exist. On a whole sale scale, yes, but also as respective individuals. We are going to become a power quartet, and yes, I can't wait for it, but because I love everything this trio has stood for these past twenty-one months, it's impossible for me not to feel a touch of sadness to see it no longer exist. Eleanor, you'll be reading this one day, and I truly hope you don't take this as some slight against you. It is not. It is just the reality of letting go. It just pains me to know that River will never remember what it was like to be in this trio: all the work and sacrifice and mistakes Mama and Dada have made along the way: his relaxed attitude allowed us to find our way as parents. It saddens me to know he'll never remember that at one point he was just the center of the world. He'll never recalI what life was like at this point in time. I know this from experience, as do all first-born children with siblings close in age. Your uncle, Uncle Jon, is going to turn 40 this year, in a little more than a few days. I can't recall a time without him. I love him. Yet, I have no recollection of what life was like before him. That's the weird thing in all of this, but also the beauty of it all. When River grows up, aside from this blog infecting what he thinks he remembers, the reality is, he is never going to recall how life was in these early days. He'll only know this: he has a sister, a wonderful sister, and two loving parents that are there for him. This part of history, the little idiosyncrasies of our trio, are soon to be figments of my, and your mother's, memories. That's also why I know he is going to be okay when you get here, whenever that is: he'll only know life as a brother. They'll be no former identity to remember; that will only live on in my memories, and of course, this blog. We're ready for you, Elles.
July 22
It's officially a waiting game now. Here’s the latest news: Aly found out that she will not be induced as she had been with Baby River; her doctor will only seek to induce if Eleanor is not born by July 28. Eleanor’s projected due date is July 24. During Aly's latest checkup, we were told that Eleanor should come any day now. It's weird: we know she's coming, but we just don't know when. With River, we didn't have to plan anything. It was just Aly and me going to the hospital. We had an induction date, and therefore, had ample time to clean and prepare. Now, with Riv in the picture, we have to call Pop Pop and Nana, who are being crazy helpful in agreeing to care for River while Aly and I are at the hospital. It just adds another layer of complexity to this pregnancy. The logistics of calling and waiting for Pop Pop to be able to get to our house, which is 45-minutes away from where he lives, and getting Aly to the hospital before any of the real action begins, are where a lot of the fears exist. I am a good father, yes, and I am obviously quite confident of that, but I am of no use to Aly or Eleanor if she begins crowning. Aly and I like being on top of River’s needs and routines, and that includes food prep. The past week has seen us prepping and re-prepping meals for River while we're gone, with the obvious issue being that we’re not gone as of yet. For all we know the labor will be quick and I'll be able to come back and get River's daily meals made, but that might not also be the case. We could just leave things for Pop Pop to figure out, but that’s not how we roll. More so, it’ll make things easier for River if the meal routines are exactly that: routine. Like I wrote before, it's all a waiting game at this point. In the meantime, we've been doing a lot of local things just in case. Below are some pics of those escapades. For posterity’s sake, it should be noted that the heat, presumably due to climate change, has been pretty severe this year: temperatures in the 90s, along with thick humidity, make any outing challenging. All pics are mostly from early mornings, when it's manageable to be outside.
We’re excited to meet you, Eleanor!
Beach, Dada. Yeah?
River Alfred Silveira, talking to his father from the back of the Millennium Falcon as they head to Noah’s Place Playground, said this imperative and interrogative with some jubilation as his father responded affectionately affirmatively, “Yes, River: beach.” This is how River tends to communicate these days: in short sentences, usually commanding his parents to do something (popularly things like read a book, cook eggs, put something in his hand, kiss his boo boo, or get him a drink).
This is how we spent our morning last Tuesday (7/12). Mama was off at her hair appointment. River and I opted to hit the playground, walk waterfront a bit, and get breakfast. This constituted a decaf for Dada, and a slice of ham and cheese quiche and strawberry banana smoothie for the Riv Kid.
Mornings are my favorite time of day. Mornings with the Riv Kid? Life is good.
The dog days of summer are here. Are there better ways to beat the heat than through family cookouts, intense bocce ball competitions, and cooling off in the pool?
July 14
13 July 2022
We haven’t been as good about keeping this family baby book updated. The main reason is time. We have a wealth of love in this little trio-that’s-soon-to-be-a-quartet, but we are poor on extra time that doesn’t involve play, work, cooking, cleaning, and exercise. Those are excuses though. In actuality, at least from my perspective (this is Bud writing this entry), we just need to do a better job making the time needed to maintain this page’s viability. I do love what this page might become though. My hope is that what started off as part baby book, part way of keeping River’s privacy off the data-collection that goes on at Facebook and other social media platforms, has now become a living history of sorts: a place where Aly and I share our takes on life, and in time, our progeny will continue keeping this page updated. Instead of having to rely on things like online genealogy pages to help people learn about their family member histories, this page would serve as a direct link to the past: from the time Aly and I officially began our family (at least a kid-centric family) to the families of our future ancestors. That’s not up to me though. Time will tell what all of these pictures, videos, and ramblings will evolve into becoming.
Back to what has been up with us since April. The long answer to that prompt is this: it’s been an interesting three months since we last posted. We all got terrible colds back in April that we were sure was COVID. After numerous negative COVID tests and spending two plus weeks very ill, we recovered; we were weak, but we were on the mend. And that was how we spent our April vacation away from the classroom: in all honesty, mostly bedridden, lethargic, headachy, and stuffy. Did I mention the three of us also got conjunctivitis?
Anyways, getting back to our tale of woe, when May hit, two weeks in we again were met with illness. Only this time, it was the real thing: the thing we’ve read about, been terrified about, and had brief moments of anxiety over for the past two years: the three of us got COVID 19. It was one of those things where Aly and I were like, “Wow, we were beginning to think we might escape this pandemic without ever getting the damn thing.” For Aly, her symptoms were the mildest, with River’s being somewhere in the middle, and mine being the worst. I lost my sense of smell and taste to boot, and I pretty much had the entire gamut of classic COVID symptoms. Aly had some slight body aches, with River having a headache, body aches, and a fever that lasted for two days. We all got over in roughly a week’s time though. I am relieved to write that my strength and cardio training didn’t take a hit either, which was honestly my biggest concern getting COVID: I did not want to suffer from the dreaded long-COVID symptoms that some people experience for months after being infected. Like I said earlier, it was a hard couple of months there, but we are healthy as can be in the present.
Now to the most pressing news! As many of you can see from the pics, Aly is ready to pop at any moment. As of this writing, Eleanor’s due date is July 24, but if she doesn’t come in the next week or so, they are going schedule Aly to be induced. They, being the doctors, have been tremendously supportive and helpful throughout this long journey. In the interim, we’ve also been busy prepping our home for our little girl’s arrival, while also packing the freezer full of easy-to-cook-meals for those first two weeks, post pregnancy.
Prepping River on his soon-to-be-here sister has also been something we’ve been working on for the past three months.. He can say her nickname, which we are thinking is going to be Elles (pronounced Els), he knows on some level (through his pointing to Aly’s abdomen) that she is in Mama’s belly, and seemingly understands where she will sleep (her crib and bassinet are things he can point out and recall).
Aly is feeling relatively good, with no signs of preeclampsia that she endured last go around. To sum, we are eager and excited to meet Eleanor. She will be here in approximately nine days or sooner. We are prepared for her. Is she prepared for us? :)
In the meantime we have tirelessly welcomed the warmer weather by bringing River — who by the way is now putting together two and three word sentences — out and about to live up his remaining time as only child. We love our little trio, and while we know this identity is soon going to change, we are relishing the time that we have together.
Enjoy the pics!
