If you’re like the typical American, you’re completely unaware of World Cup – and of its significance.  Seemingly, the U.S. is the only country in the world that fails to recognize the global impact of the World Cup.  I believe it’s even more unifying than the Olympics which involves nations, but not in the same sport.  And soccer isn’t an economically elite sport; the only equipment needed is a field, a ball, and something (coconuts, sandals, sticks, etc.) to mark the goal posts.  Not even shoes are required.  (I actually prefer playing barefoot.)

In the past, only dedicated soccer buffs follow the World Cup games in the U.S., although that is slowly changing.  And it’s about time that it did because outside of the U.S. (which, by the way, isn’t the center of the universe), everybody watches the World Cup, even if they don’t like or watch soccer on a regular basis.  Seriously, everybody does.  And no, it’s not just Brazil.  You’ll notice in the commercial below a quick shot of some Africans in a dimly lit room trying to get reception on their TV.  That’s not an exaggeration.  Anybody and everybody outside of the U.S. will go to any and all extremes to watch the World Cup.  And, of course, they’ve decorated for the occasion.  Brazil becomes a colorful blend of green, yellow and blue during the World Cup, with people and surroundings decorated and painted in the national colors.

Here in Brazil, life literally stops when there is a Brazil game on television.  I realized this one day during the last World Cup in 2006.  I had planned to go over to a friend’s house before the game started; but I got bogged down in my morning chores and ended up leaving my apartment at kickoff.  The streets were absolutely deserted.  I didn’t pass or see a single person on the way.  It something I had never seen nor have seen since in Brazil, in part because I made sure I wasn’t late for anymore games!

During the World Cup, televisions are put up everywhere – malls, shops, restaurants, bars, even supermarkets! – because when Brazil plays, everybody watches no matter where they are or what they’re doing.  Fred and his colleagues at work have already been advised that when Brazil plays at mid-day, they’ll be dismissed as a group to go out to lunch at a restaurant where they can watch the game together, then return to work in the afternoon.  When Brazil plays in the afternoon, they’ll be dismissed early to make it home in time to watch the game.  And nobody will feel their absence because nobody else will be at work either.

Are you grasping just how big this is??  If not, try to watch a few games.  You might learn something.

Nike has.  Below is a commercial which anticipated the World Cup.  Just so you know, the first guy  is Didier Drogba who plays for the Côte d’Ivoire.  Unfortunately, he broke his arm in a pre-cup match against Japan.  He may or may not play, and even if he does, it won’t be his best performance.  Another note of interest is that Ronaldo Gaucho, the key Brazilian player in the commercial, wasn’t chosen for the team, something I’m still disappointed about since he’s one of my favorite players…but if Brazil wins the World Cup, I promise not to complain.

Good thing I have a few years to practice this before putting it to use.

Happy Mom’s Day, Mother Dear.  Love you!

APRIL (10 months)
Weight:  9.27 kg = 20.44 lbs
Height: 75 cm = 29.5 in
Head circumference:  48 cm = 18.9 in

Ever since Mishael has started on solids and experienced that slight lull in weight gain, his pediatrician has been dubious of my method.  But finally that has changed.  At Mishael’s nine month check-up, Dr. Airton actually complimented me on Mishael’s progress, especially M’s health.  In fact, he said, “I’ve never had a child (patient) so healthy!”  (Well, he actually said, “Eu nunca tive uma criança tão saudavel!”)  Yay!

Of course, the doctor’s comment is relative.  I can’t be too excited because I know that Brazilian parents tend to overreact to changes in their child’s health.  Any sort of deviation from the norm is justification for a hospital visit.  Really.  What’s truly amazing is that this mindset exists independent of social class and level of education.  So I well understand how the fact that Dr. Airton is not on my cell phone speed dial (as he is on the phone’s of all his other patients!) would impress him.

On the other hand, Carol has also commented on Mishael’s good health, especially here in Brazil where sanitation levels are a little (or a lot!) less than those in the States.  I can only attribute Mishael’s health to God’s grace.  And is he not the picture of health?

MARCH (9 months)
Weight: 8.89 kg = 19.5 lbs
Height: 74.5 cm = 29.3 in
Head circumference: 47 cm = 18.5 in

Thus continues Mishael’s growth as he enters into his first Brazilian rainy season because, ready or not, it’s here…as are more teeth that’s he’s added to his collection.  He’s now up to six.  And with all the drooling and chomping going on lately, there are others not too far behind.

FEBRUARY (8 months)
Weight: 8.4 kg =  lbs
Height: 72 cm = 28.35 in
Head circumference: 47 cm = 18.5 in

In comparison to his seven month stats, it would appear that Mishael didn’t grow.  Personally, I don’t see how that can be since I’m the one snapping his trousers on and off all day long.  My only explanation is that the doctor is a less than exact in his measuring, which I regularly serve witness to.

Mishael’s awareness of his surroundings also continues to grow, and he was fascinated with the “farm animals” during our last visit interior.

Just as Mishael was enchanted with the animals, our hostess Ivanette was enchanted with her little guest.

Ivanette wasn’t the only one who liked Mishael’s presence.  The mosquitoes also enjoyed him; in fact, they found Mishael quite tasty.

I had assumed this would be the case, so I had taken a mosquito net to cover Mishael’s Pack & Play (sooooooo thankful that Mom & Dad brought it to Brazil!!).  Unfortunately, although Mishael played fine in it during the day, he had no intention of sleeping in it, which he made quite clear!  As a result, he slept with me in the hammock.

(Sidenote: Anybody remember those fortunately/unfortunately stories!?  Unfortunately, this was just an “unfortunate” story!)

Unfortunately, I had forgotten to pack the bed sheets (occasionally sheets are used for the “cold,” but their main use is to keep off the mosquitoes).  All we had was a few baby blankets to keep us covered (it was only just enough), and they were hot and ineffective as either Mishael kicked them off or they slipped out of place.  Thus, I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but I did manage to keep Mishael covered – that is, until the wee, early hours of the morning when the heat got to be too much for both of us.  I figured the mosquitoes had already done (or tried to do) their worst, so I uncovered our heads.  The picture below shows the result.

I don’t know how well you’re able to see the pic on your computer screen, but Mishael has more than 50 bug bites on his head.  It was sight.  *sigh*  Poor guy.  What kind of mother does he have anyway?  I bet she’s a-day-late-a-dollar-short kind of girl.  You know, the kind that posts dated info on her blog…

I know, I know.  I’m posting January’s stats in February, but oh well.  At least they’re here.  With that way the months keep flying by, it’s no wonder parents resort to counting by years instead of months!  I remember after celebrating the third day (or so) of cloth diapers, I thought to myself, “Why in the world am I counting the days!?  Who wants to reach the 452nd day of cloth diapers!!”

The babe is doing great, although his pediatrician was a little concerned at our last visit due to Mishael’s low weight gain; however, Mishael grew three centimeters, so he’s obviously not starving.  After talking with several other moms (including my own), I decided to chalk it up to MR’s lack of weight gain to (1) his active lifestyle — the kid does not sit still! — and (2) his transition to solid food.

Finger lickin' good!

Yes, we’re in the transitioning mode to solids, which includes a new array of sights and smells on both the dinner table as well as the changing table!

The transition has been an interesting cultural experience.  When we began feeding Mishael solids, his pediatrician wrote out an elaborate schedule, which included a variety of things that I disagreed with (i.e. starting out on a mixture of foods, including citrus fruits, etc.), so I smiled, nodded, and carefully tucked the schedule in MR’s folder for safe keeping.  Then I proceeded to begin asking mom-friends and researching on the internet how to transition to solids.

My training has included making baby food, which is not difficult to do but it is time consuming as the only dishwasher in our house walks around on two feet and answers to “mommy.”  Then again, most baby-oriented tasks are time-consuming, aren’t they?  So little-by-little we’re making progress, enjoying the adventure every step of the way!

After this meal with squash, Mishael lost the privilege of eating on the couch. Anyone wonder why!

Brazilian bananas must have a stronger taste as evidenced in Mishael's initial reaction; however, they're now a favorite, especially when mixed with apple.

Mishael playing with his food (sweet potatoes and spinach).

"What do you mean there's no more mango!?"

You may notice the varying background in Mishael’s meal pictures.  That’s because until a week ago, we didn’t have a high chair for him, which presented some inconveniences but was definitely d0-able.  (We “secured” him to a stack of plastic chairs.)  Now, however, we’ve upgraded to a Fisher Price booster seat (a special thanks to the Dennis Family Freight Co.) and Mama Bear has never been happier.  Who knew how much a tray and a seatbelt — oh, and a washable surface! — could simplify mealtime!  But it’s the little things that keep life exciting!

Nothing "beets" a new high chair for this happy boy!

]]> http://burdenforbrazil.com/2010/02/weighing-in-7-months/feed/ 0 http://burdenforbrazil.com/2009/12/weighing-in-six-months/ http://burdenforbrazil.com/2009/12/weighing-in-six-months/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:16:46 +0000 Karifern http://burdenforbrazil.com/?p=611 DECEMBER (6 months)
Weight: 7.9 kg = 17.42 lbs
Height: 69 cm = 27.2 in
Head circumference: 45 cm = 17.7 in

With another month under his belt (literally), Mishael continues to grow – and in more ways than one!  Notice anything different about his smile?

Happily, Mishael’s two bottom teeth made their appearance just in time for G’ma Lundberg to get a good look at them during her Thanksgiving visit.  Although a runny nose and excessive drool played a prelude to the teeth’s simultaneous debute, Mishael continued to make mommyhood easy through his relaxed acceptance of his new teeth, a definite blessing!

The Brit Lit reading circle (starting with blues): Michael, Jennifer, Briana, Marisa, Joyce

My Brit Lit class just finished reading Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth.  In follow-up, the students did a great job with the creative half of their final projects.  It seems a shame for them to go to such effort for such a small audience, so I thought I’d broaden the playing field and post them.  Enjoy! Senior Briana Hopkins cloned herself to sing background vocals for her solo performance in Macbeth’s Bet.  In addition to writing and performing the lyrics, Briana also designed the CD cover case.

Jennifer Pierce, the other senior, designed a promotional poster for the movie Macbeth.  This dovetailed with Jennifer’s written  project, a film casting review in which Director Pierce promoted (and defended) the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff which she assigned to Al Pacino, Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman, respectively.

Juniors Joyce Alencar and Marisa McMaster showed their flair for drama in mini-movie projects.

Joyce Alencar produced a trailer for the Macbeth film (that unwittingly paralleled well with Jennifer’s projects).  The filming of the movie teaser was definitely a family affair as all family members play one role or another to capture important scenes and themes from the play.

Marisa also recruited family support, duking it out with her big sister (home for Christmas break) in a modern-day fight scene between Macbeth and Macduff (Act V, Scene*).  For some reason, I don’t think they fought so light-heartedly when they were younger…

Annnnnnnnnnd, cut!  That’s a wrap, folks!!

NOVEMBER (5 months)
Weight: 7.375 kg = 16.26 lbs
Height: 67 cm = 26.4 in
Head circumference: 44 cm = 17.3 in

At any rate, we visited Dr. Airton near the end of November for Mishael’s five-month check-up.  Mishael is doing great, still putting on weight (who knew that was a good thing!?) and gearing up to introduce solids next month, which will prove to be another interesting culture point in my care of Mishael.

Overall “baby food” means something very different to a Brazilian mom than an American one.  The tentative schedule I received from the doctor favors much more fruit than vegetables.  The majority of fruits are juices and the vegetables are all soups, both mixtures rather than individual fruits or vegetables.  Interestingly, the Brazilians don’t usually cook apple before feeding it to babies.  Instead they cut the apple in half horizontally (contrary to the typical horizontal American cut); then, cupping one half of it like a small bowl, they scrape out a small bite with a spoon.  What will they think when I make applesauce?  But that is not my only planned modification.

The majority of research that I have done so far encourages introducing one (steamed then puréed) vegetable/fruit at a time over a course of 3-5 days (even up to a week) to help detect allergies.  The plan is to start with carrots, followed by banana (uncooked, of course), and then perhaps spinach to get a “green” in (peas aren’t an option here).  How’s that for an exciting menu plan?  I’m sure that what Mishael’s pediatrician will think, as well!

With that said, if anybody has some “baby food” advice, tips or perhaps a more concrete schedule, etc., please do share.  As a rookie, I can use all the advice I can get, especially since I won’t be buying baby food.  Until recently, baby food bottles weren’t even available in the stores.  Now they are, but they are incredibly expensive (kind of like the Campbell’s soup I unexpectedly encountered the other day).  Besides, homemade food is healthier.  (Isn’t that true of most foods?)  So let the adventure begin!

Mishael watching Sunday afternoon "football" with Daddy.

Mishael helping Mommy with the laundry...principally by self-entertainment and the use of very little clothing.

Mishael absorbed in a good book.

BIRTH
Weight: 2.840 kg = 6.25 lbs
Height: 50 cm = 19.7 in
Head circumference: 34 cm

JULY (1 month)
Weight: 3.920 kg = 8.64 lbs
Height: 54 cm = 21.3 in
Head circumference: 38 cm = 15 in

AUGUST (2 months)
Weight:  4.970 kg = 10.96 lbs
Height:  58 cm = 22.8 in
Head circumference:  40 cm = 15.7 in

SEPTEMBER (3 months)
Weight:  5.675 kg = 12.51 lbs
Height:  62 cm = 24.4
Head circumference:  42 cm = 16.5 in

OCTOBER (4 months)
Weight:  6.725 kg = 14.83 lbs
Height:  65 cm = 25.6 in
Head circumference:  43 cm = 16.9 in

Check out the rolls on this Michelin Man!!