Today was a sad day. It is the first time the Baby has gotten sick. We thought she has had some groggy days before but now we know how she acts, or much less, how she doesn't act when she is ill.
Early this morning we heard the Baby cough on the baby monitor but it wasn't more than twice that she cleared her throat, so neither the Wifey or I thought anything of it. Well, when the Wifey went to go feed the Baby she had noticed that she had thrown up in her crib. And she threw up a lot. But she didn't cry once throughout the night. So the Wifey brought her back to the bedroom and checked her butt hole temperature and it was a brisk 101 degrees.
So obviously we decided not to take her to Mother's Day Out and I would stay at home and be with her all day long (what else am I going to do?). Usually around 830AM the Baby will wake up and start talking and immediately climb up my chest to look out the window. This morning she just looked at me, sighed, and went back to sleep. She was pretty warm to the touch, so I just had to make sure that she stay hydrated and didn't throw up anymore.
But she was such a sad baby. I can put her on the ground and she will crawl around the entire house, opening up cabinets, pulling crap out, and then crawl around some more. When I brought her out to the living room, she just crawled up to me on the couch and put her head on my thigh and slept some more. So today has basically been a back & forth of the living room and the bedroom. She is not a typical cuddling baby as she likes to explore and torment the dog. But today she just lied in my arms and slept. Between 7AM and 7PM, she slept about eleven hours.
And as much as it hurt me to see her sick, it allowed me to appreciate our lives. I just enjoyed the fact that I could hold her in my arms with her head on my chest and she could she just sleep. The only movement she would do is move her head from the left side of my chest of steel to the right side. She didn't say much, or smile much, but she would just look at me with her eyes and I knew what she was thinking. "I feel like shit but you're comfortable."
Let's hope she's better tomorrow. I have a floor of Cheerios that needs to be eaten.
In the meantime, here is a video from when the Baby was 6 1/2 months and she learned how to growl. And according to the video, she knew how to growl on cue.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Inductions and Hot Pockets
Okay, I know from a guy's perspective, my opinion has no clout, whatsoever. But I don't understand why a woman would voluntarily ask to induce their labor. For those who have never been pregnant, an induction is basically when a doctor injects you the woman with chemicals to "speed" up the labor process. The chemical is pitocin, which is just a synthetic version of oxytocin (love hormone). Now there are instances when a baby gets too large to continue to be carried, or if there is medical issue with the mother or the child, but some women get it just because they are tired of carrying a child. A baby is considered "full-term" once it reaches 37 weeks of gestation but ideally a baby isn't ready until 40 weeks. Which is why pregnancy is measured in weeks and not necessarily months.
The body and how it works is fascinating. The body is far more complex than people make it out to be. I believe the body will heal itself, it might be a holistic, hippie way of thinking, but it's true. For a normal pregnancy, the body will let you know when the baby is ready to be squeezed out. Just because 37 weeks is the doctor's recommended minimum waiting period, doesn't mean you set an appointment to shoot the baby out the next day.
It's like on the back of box Hot Pockets. Recommended heating time for one is 2 minutes in the microwave. It's 28 minutes if you use an oven, but seriously, 28 minutes is far too long for a Hot Pocket. A baby is just like a Hot Pocket. It might look done at two minutes but as soon as you get to the middle, it's still damn cold. A baby's vital organs are developed at 37 weeks but it doesn't mean they are fully developed.
And yet I hear stories of women scheduling their births. Where is the excitement in that? The half asleep, mad dash out the door because your wife thinks her water broke. You grab the "the" bag and yet you stop at the door to cross things off your mental checklist.
Is everything in the bag? Do I have the camera? Do I have my keys? Do I have my phone? Are my pants on?
There are women who schedule their inductions just to take advantage of the tax benefits. I am serious.
I don't know, maybe I am a little biased because I married a tree hugger. But it all makes sense. Why rush something when you don't have to? If there are issues, then an induction is fine. If you're about to give birth to a 19.2lb Indonesian baby, then an induction is fine. If the baby is just chillin in the womb after 40 weeks, then an induction is fine. But don't induce for the sake of convenience.
The body and how it works is fascinating. The body is far more complex than people make it out to be. I believe the body will heal itself, it might be a holistic, hippie way of thinking, but it's true. For a normal pregnancy, the body will let you know when the baby is ready to be squeezed out. Just because 37 weeks is the doctor's recommended minimum waiting period, doesn't mean you set an appointment to shoot the baby out the next day.
It's like on the back of box Hot Pockets. Recommended heating time for one is 2 minutes in the microwave. It's 28 minutes if you use an oven, but seriously, 28 minutes is far too long for a Hot Pocket. A baby is just like a Hot Pocket. It might look done at two minutes but as soon as you get to the middle, it's still damn cold. A baby's vital organs are developed at 37 weeks but it doesn't mean they are fully developed.
And yet I hear stories of women scheduling their births. Where is the excitement in that? The half asleep, mad dash out the door because your wife thinks her water broke. You grab the "the" bag and yet you stop at the door to cross things off your mental checklist.
Is everything in the bag? Do I have the camera? Do I have my keys? Do I have my phone? Are my pants on?
There are women who schedule their inductions just to take advantage of the tax benefits. I am serious.
I don't know, maybe I am a little biased because I married a tree hugger. But it all makes sense. Why rush something when you don't have to? If there are issues, then an induction is fine. If you're about to give birth to a 19.2lb Indonesian baby, then an induction is fine. If the baby is just chillin in the womb after 40 weeks, then an induction is fine. But don't induce for the sake of convenience.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mother's Day Out
The Baby has recently started going to a local Mother's Day Out program in the area. It's only on Mondays and Wednesdays and for a few hours and I think it's nice for the Baby to socialize with other babies.
The first day I dropped her off, the Baby didn't mind. She just sat down and immediately started playing with toys and looking at the other kids. There are two other girls, one is named something and the other Evie.
So the first day, I got the Wifey to pack a lunch for her. Since the Baby pretty much eats anything you give her, she had quite a hefty lunch. She had a piece of bread, luncheon meat, fruit, cookies, crackers, and cheese. Seems a lot for a 9month old but she ate it all. When the teachers looked at her lunch, they seemed to be surprised that there wasn't any baby food. But the next two times I dropped her off, she starts crying immediately. The teachers assure me she stops crying as soon as I leave but I can still hear her as I leave the building.
The biggest, if only problem, with the Baby's diet is that she loves bananas. She easily eats two bananas for breakfast. I have even caught her chewing on the banana peel afterwards. But bananas are notorious for narrowing the pipes so the Baby is in a perpetual state of constipation. And she'll cry every time she has to drop the deuce. Sad, red, and concentrating face followed by cries and tears it's a tell tale sign she is using the bathroom. It's funny to watch but we feel really bad for her.
Anyways, here are some MDO pictures...
The first day I dropped her off, the Baby didn't mind. She just sat down and immediately started playing with toys and looking at the other kids. There are two other girls, one is named something and the other Evie.
So the first day, I got the Wifey to pack a lunch for her. Since the Baby pretty much eats anything you give her, she had quite a hefty lunch. She had a piece of bread, luncheon meat, fruit, cookies, crackers, and cheese. Seems a lot for a 9month old but she ate it all. When the teachers looked at her lunch, they seemed to be surprised that there wasn't any baby food. But the next two times I dropped her off, she starts crying immediately. The teachers assure me she stops crying as soon as I leave but I can still hear her as I leave the building.
The biggest, if only problem, with the Baby's diet is that she loves bananas. She easily eats two bananas for breakfast. I have even caught her chewing on the banana peel afterwards. But bananas are notorious for narrowing the pipes so the Baby is in a perpetual state of constipation. And she'll cry every time she has to drop the deuce. Sad, red, and concentrating face followed by cries and tears it's a tell tale sign she is using the bathroom. It's funny to watch but we feel really bad for her.
Anyways, here are some MDO pictures...
Some News
I guess I will start off with some big news. The Wifey turned 27 yesterday. Which means for the next few weeks, I am married to an older woman. Her wisdom is the same but her age is not.
In other big news, I am officially a statistic for the unemployed as of Thursday. My company had a "reduction in force" and I unfortunately did not make the cut. It just really sucks because I really did enjoy my job. I made my own schedule, worked mostly from home, and it was easy. I had the opportunity to spend a lot more time with my daughter than a lot of parents combined and still be the main breadwinner of the household. But now I can spend all my time with the Baby. Luckily we were able to build a nice emergency savings fund but it does rule a lot of fun stuff we had planned on doing this year. Our yearly birthday trip that we take on the Wifey's birthday was postponed and we just spent the weekend at home.
So right now it's just me trying to figure out which job opportunities are legitimate and which ones are fake. 99% are fake but they are fun to read and imagine the possibilities of working from home and making $5000 a week. But we'll see how it goes.
In other big news, I am officially a statistic for the unemployed as of Thursday. My company had a "reduction in force" and I unfortunately did not make the cut. It just really sucks because I really did enjoy my job. I made my own schedule, worked mostly from home, and it was easy. I had the opportunity to spend a lot more time with my daughter than a lot of parents combined and still be the main breadwinner of the household. But now I can spend all my time with the Baby. Luckily we were able to build a nice emergency savings fund but it does rule a lot of fun stuff we had planned on doing this year. Our yearly birthday trip that we take on the Wifey's birthday was postponed and we just spent the weekend at home.
So right now it's just me trying to figure out which job opportunities are legitimate and which ones are fake. 99% are fake but they are fun to read and imagine the possibilities of working from home and making $5000 a week. But we'll see how it goes.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
9 months
2010 has been one of the better years thus far. The Wifey was about six months pregnant with the Baby when we decided to do a last minute trip to Las Vegas for her birthday in January. It was the first time for both of us. And obviously, the best time to go is when you're three months away from expecting your first child! We didn't win much but we didn't lose much either, so it was successful trip.
And then come March, everything has been a blur. I really hate to play favorites but the Baby is my favorite child. The other one is cool and all but he's just so hyper and it's hard to keep up. Luckily he likes being stuck outside and he only needs to eat once day but he is still much more work than the other kid. But the Baby is really one of the cutest babies ever. And I would like to consider myself a baby afficionado. I think what makes the Baby cute is the fact that she is a little more petite than the other babies. Granted, I do enjoy seeing a chunky, fat rolled baby every now and then.
One of the most asked questions I get from my friends is "so is different now that you're a dad?" or at least some variation of that. To be honest, I haven't noticed much of a difference. But then again, we didn't lead the "going out" every night type of lifestyle. We have always been home bodies so it's been pretty consistent. It is an adjustment to not be as spontaneous, especially when you always have to have the diaper bag. And that diaper bag has to be fully stocked. So it's pretty much like Indiana Jones and his beloved satchel. Except ours is much bigger. Has a lot less cool stuff. But if the Temple of Doom ever ran out of diapers, we'd be the ones to consult.
One of the biggest challenges that I have faced is knowing when to help and when to keep my distance. It's a little difficult because the Wifey breastfeeds exclusively so it makes it tougher for me to assist. But it is probably the best way for the Baby and Wifey to really bond. I'm a little jealous. But I don't mind my boobs not being filled with liquid.
One of the major things I have learned and any first time parent will hear the same thing is enjoy it while it lasts because babies grow up way too fast. I talked to one of my friends and his kid just turned three and his response was "she's like a little human being, with feelings and emotions now." Everyday the Baby is learning and doing something new. And everyday she gets more of an attitude.
The other night the Baby had trouble sleeping so I went to the room to rock her back to sleep and it was just a moment I just enjoyed. She immediately laid her head on my chest and just went to sleep. It was annoying to barely move and she would start to fuss but it's a moment that I will appreciate. I may or may not purposely wake her up so I can rock her back to sleep.
The Baby had her 9 month appointment and everything is fine. She is gaining weight and we really impressed our doctor when we told her the Baby ate sushi and enjoyed. The doctor also suggested we do a case study with the Retina Foundation with some research they are doing. We will be paid with gift cards and IQ tests for the Baby!
But we'll see how 2011 turns out.
And then come March, everything has been a blur. I really hate to play favorites but the Baby is my favorite child. The other one is cool and all but he's just so hyper and it's hard to keep up. Luckily he likes being stuck outside and he only needs to eat once day but he is still much more work than the other kid. But the Baby is really one of the cutest babies ever. And I would like to consider myself a baby afficionado. I think what makes the Baby cute is the fact that she is a little more petite than the other babies. Granted, I do enjoy seeing a chunky, fat rolled baby every now and then.
One of the most asked questions I get from my friends is "so is different now that you're a dad?" or at least some variation of that. To be honest, I haven't noticed much of a difference. But then again, we didn't lead the "going out" every night type of lifestyle. We have always been home bodies so it's been pretty consistent. It is an adjustment to not be as spontaneous, especially when you always have to have the diaper bag. And that diaper bag has to be fully stocked. So it's pretty much like Indiana Jones and his beloved satchel. Except ours is much bigger. Has a lot less cool stuff. But if the Temple of Doom ever ran out of diapers, we'd be the ones to consult.
One of the biggest challenges that I have faced is knowing when to help and when to keep my distance. It's a little difficult because the Wifey breastfeeds exclusively so it makes it tougher for me to assist. But it is probably the best way for the Baby and Wifey to really bond. I'm a little jealous. But I don't mind my boobs not being filled with liquid.
One of the major things I have learned and any first time parent will hear the same thing is enjoy it while it lasts because babies grow up way too fast. I talked to one of my friends and his kid just turned three and his response was "she's like a little human being, with feelings and emotions now." Everyday the Baby is learning and doing something new. And everyday she gets more of an attitude.
The other night the Baby had trouble sleeping so I went to the room to rock her back to sleep and it was just a moment I just enjoyed. She immediately laid her head on my chest and just went to sleep. It was annoying to barely move and she would start to fuss but it's a moment that I will appreciate. I may or may not purposely wake her up so I can rock her back to sleep.
The Baby had her 9 month appointment and everything is fine. She is gaining weight and we really impressed our doctor when we told her the Baby ate sushi and enjoyed. The doctor also suggested we do a case study with the Retina Foundation with some research they are doing. We will be paid with gift cards and IQ tests for the Baby!
But we'll see how 2011 turns out.
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