William has given me his first kiss - William mi ha dato il suo primo bacio

It happened all of a sudden at the Danish pastry house (see photo taken on a cell phone below). I was having lunch with another mom, Inna, (she is the one who took the photo). She met me with her baby daughter Abi. This is not the first time that William kissed me but it is certainly the one time I was not the only one to say that he kissed me. My friend saw the kiss and she took a photo of it! So I could not help adding this special moment to William's blog. Here it is...



Still a watcher and a smiler - William si accontenta ancora di guardare gli altri e di sorridere

Oggi mi sono trovata ad un'altro dei tanti raduni delle mamme ex studentesse che non lavorano e delle tate pagate bene dalle mamme che lavorano. Tutti a ritrovarsi con i bimbi della stessa eta' (9-10 mesi). Ancora una volta mi sono trovata con William tutto super felice di guardare gli altri bebe' che gli gattonavano intorno e che, a volte, cercavano di arrampicarsi su di lui. Lui sempre a guardare gli altri bimbi affascinato dalle loro acrobazie. Pure io li a guardarli affascinata e a sentire due mamme preoccupate sullo sviluppo dei propri figli. "Oh il mio cammina ridendo senza tenersi su bene e poi tutto ad un tratto si inciampa e cade giu' come un sacco di patate. Ohh, almeno il tuo cammina. Il mio niente. Gattona solo. Guarda che brava questa bimba. Si siede, si rialza, si mette a gattonare, si arrampica, ritorna a terra tutta da sola. Wow, complimenti! Si e' brava ma non cammina ancora." "Che coordinazione tua figlia! Guarda come gioca a tirare la palla. Si ma anche lei non cammina. Gattona solo." Continuai ad ascoltare questi racconti mentre aiutavo William a stare in piedi e a tenere un gioco in mano che gli altri bimbi cercavano di rubargli. Sara' perche' William e' calmo e razionale come suo papa'? Vedi video qui sotto.

my little man has eaten pasta al pomodoro con verdure! - Il mio ometto ha mangiato la pasta al pomodoro con verdure!

He has been crying a lot in the past few days due to his bottom teeth growing. Poor guy. Last night he woke up many times in tears. After so much crying, to my surprise, he suddenly got excited about putting a ricciolo di pasta con pomodoro in his mouth! It was love at first sight. For the first time William enjoyed real food and, as long as the pasta ricciolo had some sauce on it, he was happy to have more and more pasta riccioli melt in his mouth. What a step forward little man! Watch video below.



Can we say "Addio" to the old pappa and related tools (see below)?

William is a social animal! - William e' un ζῷον πολιτικόν!

My boy can't help it. When William is out of the house, he starts making friends. He loves looking and smiling at people. This has the powerful effect of drawing the attention of the other moms to him. The other day I was chatting with a mom in the street who couldn't help taking pictures of William while her own child was crying. A similar thing happened with another mom a couple of weeks before. The matter becomes more embarrassing when you hear a group of mom often talk about how cute is your child.


As my teachers in classic high school would say just about everyone who likes to be with people, my son is a perfect example of Aristotele's ζῷον πολιτικόν. Un vero animale sociale! And I should always remember that there is nothing embarassing about this.

Declaration of Independence - La dichiarazione dell'indipendenza

William has rolled by himself for the first time from the position on his belly to the position on his back. I still cannot believe he has done it all by himself! Today must be the day William has decided to declare his independence... after rolling he has also started eating an Italian biscottino Plasmon and cheerios by himself! I am sooo thrilled. Mamma

A tooth for a 9 months Tooth (Dente) - Un dente per un Dente di nove mesi

William's first tooth is coming in on the bottom! Click on the photo to see the tooth coming up. Dad

Il primo dente di William sta arrivando! Clicca sulla foto per vedere il dentino che sta per uscire. John

William will have teeth! In the last three months I was often checking with my finger if a tooth was coming up but nothing. It is always hard not to compare William with other babies of his age, especially the ones who do advanced things, and to come up with all sorts of scary questions such as "Why does he not have teeth yet? Why does he smile at the other babies and let them grab his toys without getting upset? Why does he not roll on his belly to reach a toy? Why does he not make an effort to get to a toy? Why is he just happy sitting and watching the world go by?" In the middle of this chain of questions that pop in my mind while I am looking at other babies, one mom usually steps in and says: "Ohh William cutie. He smiled at me! So adorable. He is such an observant, wow. He does not miss anything that is going on around him. He will be such a good boy, I can see that. My boy is not so laid back! Ugh" Before she has finished her declaration of love to William, the mom is running after her boy who is either about to play with something he should not play with or he is about to leave the room! The other day the mom of a 10 months old boy even told me that she had to disable the remote control to stop him from changing the settings. Apparently, the boy didn't have any problems reaching the forbidden box, no matter where she was placing it! I was so fascinated by this story as a childless woman could be when she hears a mom talking about waking up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. Then the mom said that a month ago her boy was just like William!... So, going back to William's teeth, although until now I have been perfectly happy not to have a baby biting me at each feeding and making me run after him to stop him from causing trouble, I am now so much looking forward to the changes that will come next . I am looking forward to William's new teeth growing, to William eating pieces of food instead of mushy no longer identifiable green and yellow stuff, to him moving and going to grab things and to him making more meaningful sounds in English and in Italian. I know it will happen soon piccolino and I just can't wait! Mamma.

What sound does the dog make? - Che suono fa il cane?

This list is for my baby William and for my husband John to master. :-)

-Bau, Bau fanno i cani [dogs]!
—le api [bees] ronzano; fanno zzzzzz!
—gli asini [donkeys] ragliano; fanno i-oo, i-oo!
—i cervi [deer] bramiscono.
—le chiocce [hens] chiocciano.
—le cicale [cicadas] friniscono.
—i corvi [crows] gracchiano; fanno cra cra.
—i cavalli [horses] nitriscono.
—i cuculi [cuckoos] fanno cucú, cucú, cucú.
—i galli [roosters] fanno chicchirichí.
—le galline [hens] fanno coccodè.
—i gatti [cats] miagolano; fanno miao.
—i leoni [lions] ruggiscono.
—i lupi [wolves] ululano.
—i maiali [pigs] grugniscono.
—le mucche [cows] muggiscono; fanno muuuuuu.
—le oche [geese] starnazzano; fanno qua qua.
—le pecore [sheep] belano; fanno beeee.
—i pulcini [chicks] pigolano; fanno pio pio.
—le rane [frogs] gracidano; fanno cra cra.
—i serpenti [serpents] sibilano.
—i topi [mice] squittiscono: fanno squitt squitt.
—gli uccelli [birds] cinguettano; fanno cip cip.

First Easter fun and chocolate...! - Primo divertimento e... cioccolato per Pasqua!

I heard another mom with a baby of the same age of William say that she was taking the baby to an outdoor playground. I immediately got excited. So at Easter, we were taking William for a walk in the stroller when, all of a sudden, the opportunity arose. We put him for the first time on the swing. A bit different from the comfy indoor swing William used for months to fall asleep. Watch what happened in the video below.

Ho sentito un'altra mamma con un bebe' della stessa eta' di William dire che portava il bebe' al parco giochi. Che emozione! Non appena viene l'ocasione, ho pensato... Cosi' a Pasqua stavamo camminando con William nel passeggino quando, all'improvviso, e' giunta l'opportunita'. Lo abbiamo messo sull'altalena. Un po' diversa dalla swing che William ha usato per mesi per addormentarsi. Guarda che cosa e' successo nel video qui sotto.



Despite the lack of smiley face during the swing experience, William's first Easter was fun. Not only he helped unwrapping the egg but he also had a taste of the forbidden thing. Yes, you got it. He had three chocolate bites! His first unforgettable chocolate! But this was not video recorded, to avoid shocking the American blog viewers. :)

Nonostante il primo giro non proprio entusiasmante sull'altalena, la prima Pasqua di William e' stata speciale. Non solo William ha aiutato mamma e papa' ad aprire l'uovo ma lo ha anche gustato! Si, hai capito. Ha dato tre morsi all'uovo... Il suo primo indimenticabile cioccolato! Ma questo non fu video registrato, per non scioccare gli utenti del blog americani. :)

William's favourite games - I giochi preferiti di William

William has started imitating his dad when he was a baby. You only need to give him a spoon and a saucepan to keep him entertained. Watch what he does in the video below.

William ha iniziato ad imitare suo papa' quando era bebe'. E' il fascino degli utensili da cucina. Basta che gli dai un cucchiaio ed una padella. Guarda cosa fa' nel video qui sotto.



It is also the power of the "bubbles in the air, bubbles everywhere" that keeps William entertained. It takes one bubble, followed by other bubbles, to make the happiest baby on earth. My husband John was skeptical until we purchased the Gymboree thing. Holy C, this thing rocks, he said! Watch William in this video.

E' il potere magico delle "bolle per aria, occhi per aria!" Basta una bolla, seguita da altre bolle a creare il bimbo piu' felice del mondo. Mio marito John era scettico, fino a quando abbiamo comprato le bolle di Gymboree. Mamma mia queste bolle sono incredibili! Guarda il video qui sotto.



Beside the bubbles in the air, there is nothing more fun for William than pulling daddy's face (watch video below).

Oltre alle bolle, William si diverte con la faccia di papa' (vedi video qui sotto).



Finally, there is the power of the music. William as a true latin boy, when the music is playing, cannot help dancing and dancing and dancing. Watch video below.

Infine, c'e' il potere della musica. William da vero bimbo latino, quando c'e' la musica, non puo' fare a meno che danzare, danzare, danzare. Balla William, balla!

Another girl who can't resist his charm - Un'altra conquista di William

Watch what happened when we left William by himself:

Come on mamma! Can you be more careful? - Ma mamma, insomma! Puoi stare piu' attenta?

Ahi hiai hiai hiai hiai Mamma mamma mamm mmamma! Glie', glie' glie', glie'. Mamma Mamma Mamma! It has been a month of new experiments with sounds for William (and of possible interpretations for us)! William has started saying "mamma" very early on but I did not blog this event because everyone (including my husband) kept saying that it was probably an easy sound for William to produce and that it had no association with me. Before becoming a mother, I always heard from italian parents (my own parents especially) how exciting it would be to hear the word "mamma e papa''" from your child for the first time. Yet I cannot say when my baby produced the word "mamma" for the first time, nor I can say when it first meant something to him. Please don't get me wrong. Not that I dislike the American way of understanding what is going on in our parents' life but sometimes I wish I knew less about what is going on so that I could let myself enjoy the emotions I experience. Watch video below.



Despite being resigned to the idea that William was saying "mamma" without necessarily knowing what that meant, I could not help feeling each time a sense of overwhelming desire to hold him and hug him to protect him from something bad that was happening, even though he was perfectly safe. So each time he was saying "mamma mamma mamma", I was rushing towards him and was saying to him "yes sweetheart, mamma is here. Mamma is coming". I don't know whether this taught the meaning of "mamma" or not but something remarkable has happened. William has started saying "mamma mamma mamma"with some sort of desperate tone each time he has been upset about something (for example when I have put him down to take the stroller outside the house) or when he has been in need for something (e.g diaper change). Then my husband noticed that he has started saying "mamma" not just to ask for help but to ask for "my help"! To give you an idea of how far the interpretation of the word "mamma" can go in my mind, imagine this. The other day I was in a store and changed William in a rush as it was getting late and I wanted to take William home to put him to bed before 9 pm - this is a scary moms' deadline here in the US. If you fail to meet it you might not forgive yourself for the rest of your life. As soon as I left the restroom, William started saying a loud and annoyed "mamma mamma mamma mamma". In that precise moment, I realised that I had strapped William with one leg stuck in the strap. As soon as I released his leg from the strap, the annoyed "mamma mamma mamma mamma" stopped. I could not help thinking that his "mamma mamma mamma mamma" had a very clear meaning. It meant: "Come on mamma! Can you be more careful for God's sake??"

Early this morning William has started saying ba' , ba', ba', ba' for the first time. Does it mean that he has now switched his attention to his dad? Welcome to the magic world of motherhood and of to the world of baby sounds.

17 March: Chatting up the girls at the pub - In birreria a cuccare

William has done it again! He has seduced another lady and this time he has done it with a large pint of Guinness in front of him! As soon as he sat down in the pub, a large group of people started coming to say hello to him. I was so worried that some of them might start touching his hands and squeeze his cheeks. So, to take precautions I started holding him tight against my chest, until this lady came. And William was released.

William lo ha fatto di nuovo! Ha sedotto un'altra fanciulla e questa volta lo ha fatto con una grande pinta di Guiness! Non appena si e' seduto al pub, tante persone hanno iniziato ad andare a salutarlo. Io ero preoccupata che alcuni di questi gli si avvicinisassero per toccargli le mani o per pizzicargli le guancette. Cosi', per prendere le dovute precauzioni, ho iniziato a stringerlo forte al petto, finche' la fanciulla arrivo'. E William fu rilasciato.

Two days after that, William declared his independence. Watch video below.

William caught a cold. Oh no, DON'T WORRY, he doesn't have a fever! - William si e' preso il raffreddore. O no, non preoccuparti, non ha la febbre!

It had to happen. Like every baby on the planet, sooner or later, your child gets sick. Not bad at all. He has been a healthy boy for 7 months, despite both me and my husband were sick for two weeks in a row. And now, here it is. His first cold. William is barely able to cry while coughing. Like most mothers who haven't experienced that before, I am freaking out. Why he is coughing like that? He looks so sad. What can I do to help him breath? Should I put more clothes on him to keep him warm? And now that the sun has come out, should I strip his clothes off? Why is he still sleeping? Should I wake him up? Then, all of a sudden, a loud cough comes out of the stroller, a weak cry and then back to sleep. Right at that point, when I am about to feel a sense of relief from knowing that my child is not dead, that the sun is out keeping my child warm, that he sleeps better in the stroller than at home and that I am not like those mothers who leave their kid in the car and go shopping, a thirty something woman looks at me and says "is your baby sick?" Then, with a whispering and patronizing tone, she goes "Aha, maybe he shouldn't be out?". I then see two moms walking backward while looking at me in fear. At that point, with a highly frustrated and emotional look on my face, I say: "Oh, I have just measured his temperature. he has no fever. He is fine. It is actually his doctor who told me to take him out in the sun!" After a short uncomfortable pause of loud coughing coming from the stroller, I add: "Yes, and the doctor said that he cannot pass it to others unless they get into physical contact with him. I mean, they touch him". While I am still talking, William continues coughing, louder than before. And his face gets covered in tears.

At that point, I pick up William to comfort him and don't say anything. The fearful look on the moms changes into a fake, soft, smile and silence follows, then broken by a woman in her sixties (in gym clothes), who says in a high pitched voice: "Oh, don't worry. It happens to every mom at least once!". Finally, I pack my stuff as soon as I can and leave Starbucks while trying to persuade myself that I should not be embarrassed, and resigned to the idea that until both William and I are 100% well, we are not allowed to leave the house. Two days later, despite staying at home, I see William's eyes all red and swallowed.
I find that his temperature is 102.2 and I freak out more. Then I get sick, then John gets sick. A week of sickness and of sleepless nights for the three of us follow, during which we only find ourselves socializing with the staff at The Home Depot, while looking for kitchen cabinets.

William in Puerto Rico - William in Porto Rico

William on holiday? The best travel mate I have ever had. From the very first thing he saw in Puerto Rico, the tv from the bars of the metal crib provided by the hotel, to the very last thing he saw there, the brown ugly car seat of the car we rented, he expressed his 24 hours excitement on a daily basis, with his arms vigorously shaking, his giggling and cute babbling. We were initially worried that the shaking was caused by the sudden change in temperature from 35 F to 80 F but we quickly realized by picking him up that that was the excitement of a very happy boy. Enjoy the video!

Can tolerance and flexibility be taught? - Si puo' insegnare la tolleranza e la flessibilita'?

Ho sempre invidiato le persone che, come mio marito, sanno adattarsi alla maggior parte delle situazioni, anche se, in alcuni casi, lo fanno solo sembrare.
Mi trovavo a Kefalonia, isola Greca da sogno con un'amica, per due settimane. Li', c'era proprio tutto cio' che desideravo, la spiaggia piu' bella della Grecia, un gruppo di artisti che vivevano e lavoravano nella strada dietro al nostro hotel. Barchette di privati da noleggiare. Deliziosi frutti di mare da assaporare ogni giorno con buon vino. Ci aveavano pure prestato lo scooter. Cosa mi mancava? Una sola cosa: Starbucks o un coffee bar che mi potesse vendere un caffe' italiano invece del caffe' greco a granuli che si trovava dappertutto. Mi iniziarono a mancare i cappuccini con la polvere di cacao ed i caffelatte dentro i quali avrei voluto affondare un muffin, cose alle quali, da quando ero andata a vivere a Londra, non potevo piu' rinunciare. Non appena mi accorsi che mancava tutto questo, iniziai ad innervosirmi e a lamentarmi, prima con la mia amica poi con quelli che lavoravano nell'hotel. Poi con ogni persona che incontravo. Mi sentivo cosi' frustrata che mi ero quasi convinta che, lamentandomi con tutti, sarei prima o poi riuscita a persuadere qualcuno ad aprire uno Starbucks sull'isola dove mi trovavo. Fu la mia amica a farmi capire che il mio comportamento non giovava a nessuno e che se solo avessi smesso di lamentarmi, (1) non avrei logorato una cara amica (2) mi sarei potuta godere la vacanza con lei senza bisogno di caffe'
Poco tempo dopo mi ritrovai l'insalata senza l'olio d'oliva in un hotel a Cambridge (UK)ed il mio comportamento non fu per nulla diverso da quello che mostrai in Grecia. "Your hotel is supposed to cater for tourists. If all you can offer is vegetables with no condiments I am not eating here anymore! This is a hotel for cows!". E le oyster cards per viaggiare sui bus a Londra? Quante volte sono salita su un autobus involontariamente con la oyster card senza soldi e, non avendo spiccioli con me, sono scoppiata in un battibecco scenata imbarazzante con l'autista per convincerlo a farmi viaggiare senza pagare. Per non parlare della rabbia che mi venne poco tempo fa', quando mi trovai a viaggiare per ore con mio marito sull'autostrada americana dove, invece degli autogrill italiani con piatti e panini caldi invitanti, apparivano soltanto Mac Donald e Kentucky Fried Chicken. Dissi all'improvviso: "eh no, se l'autostrada continua cosi' mi metto a strillare".
Da quando e' nato William non ho fatto altro che pensare a quanto il mio piccolo si e' dovuto adattare. Dalla prima poppata difficile alla lingua tagliata, dal riflusso, alla frustrazione della non mobilita' ai dentini che stanno crescendo. Ancora piu' recentemente, il bagno nell'acqua fredda del mare che non e' piacevole come quello nell'acqua calda a cui William era abituato. E ora il cambiamento dalle creme acquistate al supermercato alle pappe fatte in casa. Nella maggior parte dei casi, William, dopo alcuni pianti iniziali, si e' adattato e si e' abituato ai cambiamenti. Ecco un esempio recente. A Puerto Rico, la terza volta che l'ho portato con me in mare, William non solo non ha pianto ma non ha fatto altro che guardarsi intorno mentre io lo immergevo nell'acqua cercando di farlo nuotare con me. Si guardava intorno e poi mi sorrideva, come se volesse capire il perche' insistevo cosi' tanto nel portarlo nell'acqua fredda. La stessa cosa e' successa con i solidi. Dopo i primi pianti, William ha continuato a mangiare la pappa con avidita'. Succedera' la stessa cosa con la pappa fatta in casa? Per due volte ho tentato di dare a William la crema di zucchine, carote e patate preparate in modi diversi. Prima mischiate con acqua, poi con brodino, poi mischiate insieme, con brodino e con crema di cereali. Risultato? Ogni volta che ho tentato di imboccarlo, William ha strillato rabbiosamente ed ha sputato tutto con espressione disgustata. William, come faro' ad insegnarti che anche se le cose alle quali siamo abituati non ci sono, va bene lo stesso? Forse papa'ci riuscira'.

Loud scream as feet touched sea and pool water - Quando ha toccato l'acqua, ha tirato delle urla!

William has never been afraid of the water. When we first gave him a bath, he was so calm looking at us washing him in all sorts of umcomfortable positions with his wide open eyes. This happy calm reaction to bathing continued until he discovered the fun of playing with the ducky, the tap handle - not much fun for me! - and recently, splashing. This, for me, meant that I was having a bath too each time I was bathing William. On the beautiful Puerto Rico beach I was just looking forward to seeing William splashing. I was expecting him to go happily in the water and to love the sea water like all kids do. We arrived at the beach with all sorts of gears to make sure that William would not miss any fun. After the napping, the feeding and our lunches, we finally managed to take him in the water. He was wearing his super cool surf outfit. No, William did not want to have anything to do with waves, foam and cold water! He was crying as if begging me to hold him tight and keep him safe. And he was shaking. I cannot expect him to fall in love with the cold sea at 7 months. I was just happy to see him suck on his little salty thumb with a sense of relief after that scary adventure I put him through. Later, I tried getting him to put his feet in the water of the swimming pool. I thought that this time he would have loved it. Instead, once again, his reaction was a loud scream and cry as to saying "oh no, take me out of this cold water!"

Beatrice is back from Italy - Beatrice e' di ritorno dall'Italia

Beatrice, William's girlfriend (to be confirmed by him in few years time), came back from Italy. At last! So, Luisa and I, the two mothers, managed to arrange a playdate. The arrangement turned out to work pretty well. My husband John was going to see a movie in 3D at the Imax theater he was so keen to see. So my day was going to be very tiring without John coming home at the usual 5:30 pm. Prediction: I would collapse on the sofa in front of TV hoping to get the energy to transfer in bed and fall asleep there. With Luisa and Beatrice coming to my place at 4:00 pm and staying at my place for dinner, the prospect of that evening was much better.

I was able to do some grocery shopping at the nearby Davis Square Deli market and at a bakery shop for hipsters near where I live, right in time before they arrived. For the Italians reading, a Deli market is for the Americans something like the Italian gastronomia but it is just not the same. It does not sell the ham and the cheese we know in Italy, and the prepared deli food is mayonnaise and onions with some other ingredients! At the bakery shop, with the name pigs can fly, after trying 4 or 5 different types of bread, with potatoes, maroccan spices, sundried tomatoes - all yummy but nothing to do with bread and mostly with onions, I was able to buy a French baguette, which tasted ok. For pudding I was not sure what to get.

I had forgotten it was martedi' grasso. Luisa remembered and brought me a nice pack of bugie o chiacchere (the lies or chats), as we call them in Italy. I am going to grab one now... Not sure when I'll get round to finish this post. :) In the meantime, watch the photos and judge for yourself how much fun William and Beatrice had the other night.

So there they were, playing together on the red mat. Beatrice was sitting up like a champ playing with all the toys around her while William was starring at her. He was then throwing himself backwards. We tried to make him sit up many times but despite all our attempts, William was always happy to lie down. No matter what cool toy was around. He just did not want to make the effort. Beatrice, on the contrary, not only was sitting so well but she was also moving in all directions to grab toys and was so chatty. Who knows what she was telling William. William was grunting in reply to her. Maybe because he did not like Beatrice's grated apple.

William just loves playing - William ama giocare

William has started to really love playing, even by himself. But when others come to play with him, he loves starring at them! Watch video below.


The magic power of the mobile phone. No Italian can resist its charm!

Getting through the tough days - Superare i giorni difficili

They say you are not the same person once you become a mom and that no matter what are your needs, your baby needs will come first. My husband John, when we found I was pregnant, immediately told me not to worry about me being used to wake up at 2 pm on Sundays in London after my Saturday night whereabouts. I remember he said to me with a smiling face, the baby, not the alarm clock, would have soon forced me to wake me up early in the morning. And by early in the morning he did not mean 8 am but 6:45 am and in the worst cases 5 am. What I could even less imagine was the following. That at 6:45 am and at any time of the night, no matter in what mental or physical state I would find myself in, the crying face of the baby would immediately snap me out of bed to hold him in my arms, to feed him and to star at him while he is absorbing every bit of energy I feel in my body. In the last two weeks, with me getting sick, the challenge has been harder than I could ever imagine before becoming a mom.

Since I came back from our trip to Italy, the smiling Italian grandma and grandpa faces in ecstasy at seeing their sweet grandson arrive at their house, was replaced by the old baby mat with the same old animals hanging from the top William no longer was looking at, by the 10 minutes of William's happy time on the jumperoo and by the large mirror in our bedroom which William recently started hitting with his hands out of frustration. As a Londoner I rarely spent a full day inside the house, without a serious reason. These could be serious reasons: incredibly cool movie to watch, being late on a University assignment or having to work to do caused by a morning of web surfing in the office. As a full-time mom living in freezing Boston in winter, it has now become vital for me to find fun things to do with the baby indoor. And without the car, given that I am still the old Londoner who does not drive.

In this state of matters, a new CD bought in Italy with Italian songs about animals and loud, weird animal sounds became the most exciting thing I could possibly find. I cannot say in words how exciting it was for me to listen to and sing along with the CD playing in the background these new songs while looking at William getting excited about it. I could never predict earlier in my life that one day I would be so excited to hear such a CD with my baby!

When I started feeling the throat swelling, at that point I knew: the fun was over. In less than two days,I was like a dead body glued to my duvet, grunting and moaning in the most horrible gym/nursing clothes I own, with my poor husband John going backward and forward in the house to look after William, the house and his work commitments. All I remember of those first two days are a glass of cranberry juice and the cups of coffee delivered by John on a tray to my bed. And the repetitive offers of boobs to the baby - the only part of my body not dead - when William was coming to claim his milk rights. So, the old 24 hour non-stop nap I used to take as a student when I was sick with only a quick run to the kitchen to get a tea with honey, have now turned into naps of half an hour every two hours in between one feeding after another. I was and I am still occasionally coughing with monster like sounds. Believe me, sneezing while avoiding to hit the baby in the face is not an easy thing. Icing on the cake: William, to prove that he is a real Italian, often goes on nursing strike!

Despite these challenges, even this time, like in the first three weeks of William's life, to my surprise, with John's help, I functioned. I was able to get through the tough days and see William smile. Is it possible?

Mommy is sick but happy - La mamma e' ammalata ma felice

Thanks William for making mommy smile today. She was feeling so down after coughing and feeding you every two hours at night in the last few days. Today it was snowing and mommy was trying to look after you at home while feeling terrible herself. She kept going to the bathroom to cough, sneeze, ect. It was hard and mommy felt like crying after making mistakes. She was changing you one sock and not the other, she was putting you in clothes you have already outgrown, she was making you play in a non coordinated way - she kept giving you different toys but without interacting with you as she did not have any energy. She could not sing you any of the songs you are used to hear because her voice was the voice from Hell (voce dell'oltretomba), she read you a story that made you cry and she was not able to feed you either. She was not able to open the tool for mashing the bananas so she could not give you the rest of the banana that you wanted. She was feeling so down and she even tried hard to force you to eat causing more emotional pain for both of us. Then, all of a sudden, you started eating the banana, you did it my boy, like a champ, and then ate a whole jar of sweet potatoes!! Mommy is so grateful to you for this. Thank you sweetheart for making my day so worthwhile. I love you, Mamma

William discovers kitty - William scopre la gatta