Kofi's Growth Charts

The pediatrician said that he is still growing at the maximum allowable rate. I'm afraid of what this might mean... 14lb today at 9 weeks!! He suggested that I start him on a little rice cereal to make him less hungry... 

In the meantime, the adoption agency in Texas has been less than communicative with me about the status of my legal wranglings in TX. Now they've decided that they need to send a certified letter to Nigeria to contact the biological father... and while I think that is reasonable, I just wish they would tell me these things prior to my calling up and asking why we don't have a court date scheduled (to terminate the parental rights of the biological parents). I'm not that worried, just a bit frustrated.

Meanwhile, he's beginning to smile and be playful. And that, my friends, is priceless.

Valentine's Update

Well, I think I have a nanny. She's a lovely woman from Mexico (but has permanent residence -- read: she's legal -- here) and after a series of emails (in Spanish -- with some help from my secretary!) I think we have reached an agreement. Un acuerdo, as they say.

In the meantime, I'm back at work now and feeling pretty good about that, liking the 3-day work week (until May), and trying to get things done around the house (like setting up Kofi's room) (and laundry) (and the dishes) during my days off.

Kofi is exploding with neurologic development and physical heft. He must weigh over 13lb now (at least that's how much my scale went up when I put him in my arms); we go to the pediatrician next week, so I'll have an accurate weight then. He sleeps between 3 and 5 hours in a row at night. If I only have to get up once to give him a bottle, I consider that a resounding success.

The weather is warming and we've been venturing out in his stroller (that is, in one of his four strollers) and still socializing as much as possible. The picture above was from a party last weekend (I barely saw him after we walked through the door because EVERYONE wanted a turn holding him). Last week we went to Drag Bingo and he met his first drag queens. His father won a t-shirt by answering a trivia question, but didn't do so well at Bingo...

Simply put, he remains a joy. Cute as a button, smart as a whip, and, well, pretty much perfect.

The Chronicles of Nannia

15 hours.

That's how long my first nanny lasted, a mere 900 minutes to discover he had lied about his immigration status and his ability to work legally in the US. It turns out that it's expensive to be a student in the US and he needs to work to stay here and study. It's enough to push me left-of-center.

Luckily, Kofi slept 5 hours in a row last night so I'm approaching this headache with less sleep-deprivation than usual.

Luckily, Parents in a Pinch exists and I have a babysitter for tomorrow (my first day back at work).

Luckily, Amy is coming over after work to babysit so I can go to my class (Health Care Finance -- *yawn*).

Luckily, one of my friends from the School of Public Health has agreed to be my temporary nanny and I'm only working Tues-Thurs for the next 3 months.

And, in case you're wondering, yes, Kofi is STILL the cutest.

Overdue update.

Well, these posts are really becoming less frequent, despite the fact that I've had live-in help (my mother for two weeks -- she was awesome -- and now my equally as helpful sister). My nanny starts on Sunday. I have an official standing with the IRS as a household employer (just in case I'm ever up for Surgeon General or Secretary of State) (hopefully they won't find out about my cleaning people, my dalliances with ______ in college, and that little border snafu in high school when we tried to smuggle Mike back into the country after a night of carousing in Niagara Falls) (my son will NEVER pull such stunts, right?).

Anyway, Kofi is excellent, though still not sleeping great...

As you can see, the shower was a complete success. I spent hours playing in Kofi's safari gymansium (there's even a little mirror to satisfy the narcissist in me) (as if this blog weren't enough)...

But on a serious note, thanks to everyone who showed up and made it a completely joyous occasion for me. The YouTube video above only captures a bit of the festive feeling of the occasion. And I've posted a slide show of everyone I caught on camera holding Kofi. 

A very special thanks to Emily and Karen for organizing a stupendous event and for making it happen without an iota of effort from me.

Today Kofi's Social Security Card arrived in the mail. Not that there will be any Social Security when he retires (retires? I can barely imagine him sitting up yet!). But I have to say it's kind of great to get a government issued document that confirms my son's existence.  Is that weird for me to be beaming while gazing upon a mere piece of cardboard???

Turns out I needed help

What was I thinking? 

Josh is here for a week and it is such a blessing. He cooks, cleans, shops, watches Kofi while I work out, and makes homemade brownies for dessert.

So today, I decided that, indeed, I need more help for when he leaves. It's just crazy to think that I can do this on my own. So my Mom is flying in from London for 2 weeks. And then my sister is flying in from Seattle for a week. And then it will be February and I hope that I will have a Nanny in place by then.

The nanny search, I fear, may require a blog of its own. I put an ad on Craigslist last night and I've had over two dozen responses. Some I deleted immediately (I think they should have to be able to spell "nanny" correctly) but some seem (emphasis on the seem) like real possibilities. Tomorrow I'm going to make my first phone calls...