K Walks...Sort of

Fun times at Nana and Ojii's tonight. K even did a bit of psuedo-walking with Daddy. Auntie Niff did the video with Nana's camera. Sydney makes a cameo... Also, I stole some pictures from Nana's camera of K over the past few months. They've been posted to Snapfish.

Splash!

Yesterday, K had her first "swim lesson." We went to the community pool, just Daddy and the munchkin. Things were good. K kicked a little, more so when she was on her back. She still didn't put her face in, but that's okay. Instead, there was some motorboat, she played with rubber ducks, and "jumped" off the side of the pool to Daddy.

Lazy Day

Back from Hiatus~K and I got to stay home today. There was no daycare. The provider was not available, and that's fine with me, because I got to use my last personal day. Not bad to spend a day playing Daddy.

Today has been a pretty big day already, and it is only 11:30. For instance, this morning, K, Sydney, and I went on some errands around 9 am. K and I first got the pup a new license, and then got a recycling bin from the public works department. All the people at town hall thought she was SO cute (typical).

Afterwards, we went to get the pool water tested. While this is pretty boring, it was more fun because K kept looking at all the toys and colored bottles and jars at the store. That was pretty fun. Plus, I got a free cookie, and it had M&Ms in it. K missed out, not having teeth and all.

When we got home, it wasn't quite time for K to eat. So, I tried something. Sesame Street was on, and I popped her in front of it, while I folded her clothes. This turned out to be a good choice. On today's episode, Cookie Monster sang C is for Cookie, and Ernie sang Rubber Ducky. Daddy got to sing for K, and knew the words, so she was pretty amazed...or just happy. Plus, to top it off, there was a Super Grover appearance, which K kept laughing at (Though, I'm more and more concerned why Miss Piggy and Grover have the exact same voice).

After K ate, she was a crank pot. So, we tried some different things out. Played for a while. Danced a bit. Then, finally, I sat down for a while because we were tiring Sydney (and I) out by moving all around the house. Within seconds of sitting down, K's head was buried in my arm, and she was asleep.

Not a bad day at all...

A Girl's Day

A couple days ago, Mama asked me if I could babysit K while she was at an appointment, and of course, I jumped at the chance. Cause really, Diesel sleeps all day when I spend the day with her, so I could use a little entertainment.

K and I have been hanging out for the last couple of hours. We snoozed (ok, she snoozed), we ate, we changed her diaper, we played, took some pictures together, and she's snoozing again right now. It's possible we may have cried, too, but I'm pretending like we didn't. I found out that she really likes to listen to Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot" album (we've listened to it twice now, from start to finish, with the exception of "Chemical Party" cause really, I don't think a baby should listen to that, and also, I don't like that song cause I don't think a grown-up Auntie S should listen to it either). It's good that she likes it since it's the only one of my CDs that I have in the house, instead of my car. She really likes when I look straight at her, smile, and sing along. She seemed amazed that I could make the same noise as the music with my mouth. And of course, the amazement on her face seemed to amaze me, so all were easily amused if the Pags house this morning.

Grandma and I can't seem to get over how pretty she is. (I called Grandma to ask where the formula was and her first response was, "Oh, K's so pretty!", to which I responded, "Yes, she is, now where's the formula?") I'll try to post some of the pictures I took later, when I'm not on my work computer.

Update

K and I have been up since 5:30. She slept all night, and has been wide awake and playful. She has spent a lot of time smiling and talking. It's all pretty amazing, though she hasn't done anything new except pull on my beard...or at least what she could grab of it.

This is what it feels like!

I had forgotten what a full night's sleep felt like! K went to bed a little before 11 and woke up just before 8am. She even greeted me with a huge smile this morning! Who knows what will happen tonight since she got her shots today. She was a very brave girl. She is now 11 lbs. 1 oz, and 23 inches in length, putting her in the 75th percentile for height! Where did she get that from?? However, she has a little peanut head, only the 15th percentile. She definitely gets that from me!

Sleepless- er, Sleeping through the night #2

Well, it wasn't exactly how I had hoped, but not too bad. Here's the short and long of it (not really sure what that phrase means but it seems to go).
2:50am - K wakes up. Her eyes are closed as she cries. I think, hmm. Maybe she's still tired. I re-swaddle her (she is constantly breaking free, that little Houdini). I ESP to her "You don't need a bottle. You went eight hours last night without a bottle. No bottle for you." She appears to understand. I bounce her for a little bit. She appears to be asleep. I put her down. Eyes open.
3:00am - Attempt number 2. The glider. I rock her for a few minutes. I'm quite surprised that she hasn't screamed at me for a bottle yet. I continue my ESP. "No bottle. You aren't hungry." I'm pleased that I did not go through the bottle warming process. She appears to be asleep. I put her down. She struggles a little. Then, eyes open. Hmm. At this point I'm thinking, I could have just given her the bottle by now. But, I'm trying to prove a point here. No bottle needed at 3am.
3:10ish - Attempt number 3. Bounce, walk, rock. She likes this combination. I think about building some sort of contraption that would do all these things at once. Or possibly grow about 3 extra arms. A few minutes later, she is snoring. Snoring does not always indicate sleeping. However, when I put her down again, she cranes her neck a little (she does this quite well), and then relaxes. Finally, asleep.
3:18- Back in bed. Wondering when she will wake up for real.
4:15- Crying. I think, let's try the same trick. Maybe something startled her. But no, she has broken her hands free from the swaddle and started gnawing on them. And we all know what gnawing on hands means: I'm hungry.
So, she did approximately 6 hours without a bottle. It's not exactly progress but it could have been worse. I could have given her the bottle at 3am. I still have hope for tonight.

Sleeping throught the night

So for a new parent, this is probably the most exciting thing to happen (and I hope I'm not jinxing it now).. K finally slept through the night! (You say finally, when it's only been two months.. but when you're the one doing it every night, you would agree). Unfortunatley, mom (me) did not quite sleep through the night along with the little one. Why not you ask? Well, probably because my listening skills are way too good right now. As it is, I wake up pretty much every hour wondering, "Is it time? Will I have to rocket out of bed and get the bottle ready all while quieting a screaming infant?" Around 3:15 I heard some muttering but I was told, "Do not get her until she is crying." I said okay. I will not get up. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, another hour had passed. 4:15! I thought, wow. This has to be it. Just then I heard a little yell, and I said to myself, better hurry up and get the bottle before full fledged screaming ensues and wake up the husband - who I assume will be quite furious to be awakened only one hour before having to officially get out of bed himself. (Note: this happened during my pregancy when I really had to pee around 4 am). So I rush to the fridge, measure out the appropriate amount of water to perfectly warm the bottle, and wait. I wonder again why we can't use the microwave to warm the bottle (because it will create "hot spots" ... even though all you have to do is shake the bottle to mix it all together!) Still, I hear nothing. I assume she'll cry any minute so I use the bathroom (who knows when I will be able to do that again), and listen. Nothing. It's now approaching 4:30. Hmm. I contemplate getting back into my bed at the risk of waking C .. and of course I'm sure she'll cry as soon as I get back in bed, or tough it out on the couch. I chose option B. Now any smart person would get some extra sleep while waiting. Me? No, instead I'm thinking of all the possibilities. First, I'm positive that the second I fall asleep she will wake up. And then there's the bottle issue. Right now the bottle is at a perfect temperature for drinking. But it can only stay unrefrigerated for 2 hours. So as the minutes pass, I'm thinking, should I go put it in the fridge (only to have to go through the entire bottle warming business again) or just leave it. What if she sleeps for two hours. Will it really still be good by then? And once she puts her lips to the bottle it is only good for another hour. Does that include the two hours of sitting out time? This went on for a while. Suddenly, the dog appears, and C walks out. It's 5:15. "Is she alive?" he asks me. "Yes, she is alive." I decide to go back into my bed. At this point I am certain she will be up at any minute. I continue to contemplate this fact. C goes in to make sure she's breathing. Meanwhile I'm a little perturbed that I didn't stay in bed at 4:15 and get an extra hour of sleep. (It would have been the most hours of consecutive sleep I've gotten since before K was born). Still nothing. C comes in at 6:00 to say goodbye. Still nothing! I'm in shock. I decide to try to get a few minutes of sleep. I go to sleep and dream that K wakes up, and is walking around. I say to her, "You're walking?" She says to me (that's right, she can talk, too) "I just picked it up." At which point I jolt awake and finally hear an actual cry that says, "I'm hungry now. I slept for 8 hours and you didn't." Sigh. It's true that new mothers do not get any sleep.. even when the baby sleeps through the night!!!

Dad's Personal Observations

Just thought I'd link up the randomness of memories, from my own experiences while growing up Pags...here!

Future swimmer, I'm sure..

It seems that a future in swimming looks quite promising for K. She took a bath today and actually seemed to like it! Once we filled the bath with the proper temperature (um, nice and warm!) she kicked her legs around and seemed quite content. We even poured water over her head (she did gasp a little) but was just practicing for holding her breath... that will come later on this summer when we dunk her in the pool. Can't wait!! :) Our little swimmer in the making...

Goin' for a walk...

Today, K, Daddy, Sydney and I all went for a walk. Sydney, being a freshy, lived up to her reputation. It might have been that she's jealous of how much time I spend with K. I don't blame her.

As we walked down the street, we met up with Pip, on his leash, wandering around the street. Daddy had seen him a little earlier, peeing on the sign in front of our house, walking with his family. After chasing Sydney around for a little while we tried to figure out what to do with him. So Daddy took Pip (and the baby) and began walking him back to his house. I trailed behind with Syd. Only a few moments later, the owner pulled up in his car and Pip ran in. Pip had escaped from the house a little earlier and would most definitely return home eventually, but he decided to pick him up anyway.

Always a bit of adventure. It was good to get out of the house for a little while. Feels like spring is coming!

Life of a Parent

Living as a parent can be hectic. Aside from getting a new garage door, having an electrician and a plumber visit in the past two weeks, K has turned our world upside down...twice. What was life like before a child? What was life like before pregnancy? Who really knows...Life has changed...Life goes on...Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da! (also one of K's favorite songs to dance too)

Seriously though, Mama and I wouldn't change it for anything. Though Sydney is kind of mopey, things are pretty awesome. She might smile...she might have gas. It's not just a cliche, it's a way of life now. That's pretty cool. Plus, it's fun to take naps with the bugger (which the dog seems to like, too), and rock her to sleep when I get up for late night, weekend feedings (right around the same time pizza used to be ordered during college, go figure). Hope the pictures above satisfy the appetites of the fans.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Just wanted to share a few photos that I love so far...

A nurturing mom...


A loving family...


A beautiful celebration...


And an elated aunt and uncle!

This week...

Over the past week or so, K has taken a nap with Daddy and Sydney (really just tummy time), taken her Daddy's nose, celebrated her first Valentine's Day (Sydney was her Valentine), pooped on her Mama, been to a swim meet, gone to different states, gone to TWO restaurants, and screamed like a banshee through her first real bath.

Globe Trotter...almost

Today, K went to watch her Auntie R/B at her swim championships. Many exciting events occurred. For starters, K visited TWO new states (bringing her total to 3 in 3 weeks. By year's end, she should have 50, plus most of Canada): Mass. and RI. Secondly, she went over bridges and saw her first swimming pool, and then K "ate" at a restaurant (for the second day straight day).

K also took two 2-hour car rides without crying, because she just sleeps in the car (she's SUCH a good baby). Mama and Daddy were a little worried this would be a trip of learning experiences, so we came prepared with 10 clean diapers...and needed only one.

Now if we could just break down, and give her a REAL bath...

My favorite photo so far

How cute is that?

-Auntie J (Or should I be Auntie N?)

Update and More pictures: Family and Friends

Do you see yourself? If you visited K at the hospital, then chances are you've made the blog.

K has been home for 5 days now. She's eating well, and sleeping through most of the night. Her weight is up, and the jaundice is disappearing. One thing is for sure, she poops a lot...like more than I ever expected. And that's saying a lot, since she's mine...

K and her Mama are doing great, and big sister Sydney is still quite the helper.



For more pictures, visit the Snapfish page for the hospital and homecoming pictures.

Homecoming...

A certain little girl came home Monday, much to the delight of her dog, Sydney. For Sydney, it's the first time she's been a big sister since she was the bully of her litter (and there were 7 other sisters). When I went and picked Sydney up from "The Bighouse" (aka her Grandparents), she had already escaped earlier that morning. However, when I gave her the receiving blanket to sniff, she lay down, and wagged her tail. It was almost as if she understood...which she should have, because, to backtrack, when the labor started, it was Sydney that barked at her Mama, as if to say "Time to go" in several rounds of 3 consecutive barks (sidenote, she does this a lot when we've been gone too long, as if to say "Where were you" or "It's about time" on a semi-regular basis).

So, she also got K's tshirt from the hospital to sniff as soon as we were in the house, and in the nursery. Again, she was very submissive, and it seemed good. This was all around 8:30 am. Little did I know that K wouldn't be discharged from the hospital until 4:15. After that, it was time for K's FIRST car ride (see pic above). She slept the entire way, and both her Mama and I kept worrying that she was okay. The Mrs. couldn't see her, but I could at least reach my hand back and make her stir a little...for peace of mind, of course.

When we finally got home, Sydney was greeted by her Mama, as Dad tried to figure out how to get the carseat unlatched. When the baby was brought in the house, Sydney cautiously came over, and then poked her head in curiously to sniff. It took only a few seconds before the baby was down on the counter, and Sydney got up on hind legs for a closer look.

It was then that K took a big poop! Much to our surprise, the smallest diapers we had wouldn't fit her. Luckily we had a sample of a newborn diaper (who knew there was something smaller than size 1...much like the 0 and 00 sizes that women have). I kicked into Dad-gear (much like with Syd and the raisins), and declared I'd be going out for dinner (the hospital never gave us a take home from Whole Foods as had been alluded to in our birth classes) and diapers. Crisis averted...

For the two days we've been home, Sydney has been a very good pup, and an excellent big sister. She gets up with her Mama for late night feedings, and sits quietly at the feet of whomever is holding the baby. If the baby cries, Sydney goes to check on her. It's very cute. The only time she's riled up is when people come over...Sydney has to show off the baby and brings them over to the playpen to show the sleeping baby! Hops RIGHT up. As for K, she's doing well. She saw the doctor yesterday and seemed good. She's eating a lot, and sleeping more. She's not fussy, and is very alert...and her feet are gigantic (I hope in 15-20 years, she'll forgive her Daddy for writing that). That's all for now...

More new pics

Here she is!!!

Two days early, and after only a few hours of labor, the baby came. So much for first pregnancy coming late and a very long labor. K was 7 lbs., 4 oz., 20 inches long, and absolutely beautiful. K has big beautiful eyes. So far, she only seems to want to sleep and poop...Daddy's little girl!





Right now, Mama and K are resting comfortably, while Dad looks for a nice convent for her teenaged years.





She's had a few visitors...Her Grandparents and Auntie J, and K is expecting many more visitors today.





As of 11:02, the Pediatric PA declared K a "very healthy, good girl."





Everyone keeps saying how beautiful she is, and our only response is "Well, we made her ourselves!"





Updates to follow...many many more...

On Her Way...

I hope I'm not spoiling this for anyone, but Mommy S is on her way to the hospital right now!!!

It won't be too long now...

~~ Auntie S

One week...

With a week to go, here's the progress until the due date.

"Mom" is currently smuggling some prototypes for the Spalding company. Maybe this is to make up for the NBA synthetic ball fiasco of last year.

If Cats have 9 lives, how many do Dogs get?!

It's been a week, and the puppy is still alive. In her typical CIA/Super Spy mode, Special Agent Sydney has survived another ordeal. Amazingly, I believe she's on life 3 or 4 by now. There was the poisonous mushroom of Christmas 2005 that left her vomiting for hours. That was two years ago, and for the most part, she recovered fine. That was nothing, apparently, compared with her most recent harrowing brush with death.

Warning: raisins + dog = death

Grapes and raisins are poisonous, when ingested by dogs in unknown quantities. One, ten, seven-hundred, it doesn't matter, because the vet cannot tell you how many can kill the dog. Some unknown factor in these products (skin, juice, pesticides, etc.) causes kidney failure in dogs.

Imagine our surprise when we arrived home from a short 2 hour excursion last Monday to find the dog had devoured 6 boxes of Sun Maid Golden Raisins (box and all). We knew they were bad for her, but were shocked when various sites said to call the vet or poison control immediately. Having Sydney's vet less than ten minutes away, and since they have an emergency room, it seemed logical to call there first for immediate attention.

No sooner did I explain the problem, before they told me to hang up and call poison control. Seriously?! They're the vet ER, and they wanted me to call the poison people. So I did, and here's what I was told:

"You need to induce vomiting. Get a turkey baster, fill it with hydrogen peroxide, and shoot it down her throat twice. If she isn't vomiting after 15 minutes, repeat that. After 30 minutes, call us again. However, if and when she does vomit, we need you to not let her eat her vomit (UM HELLO?!), search through it, and count the raisins, then call back for more information." At this point, totally grossed out, I received a direct line to the specialist with whom I had just spoke.

So, that's what we did. Together, we got the dog to drink peroxide, and vomit. Of course, all that came up wasn't just raisins and boxes (though I did count 326 raisins, and the face of the Sun Maid from 5 of the 6 missing boxes). No, Syd also vomited up two pieces of charred bread, because the FIRST site we looked at said to give her that, because the carbon in severely burnt toast would neutralize the toxins from the raisins. Needless to say, the dog vomited 9 times (GROSS), had tears running down her face (ACTUAL tears), and I had to pick through all of it wearing June Cleaver's yellow kitchen gloves (GROSSER still, but at least I didn't need to wear her pearls too. That would've been just weird).

After watching my dog upchuck a day's worth of food, cry, and as the wife and I pet her and told her it was okay, I called back poison control. Imagine my extreme consternation (read: pissed off beyond all belief) when they told me to find a vet ER and take her there at that point.

Sydney and I rushed off to the ER. There, the doctor put me into tears, when she told me that Sydney would need 3 days of observation and then might still need to be put down for kidney failure. The vet left to call poison control, I called S (the wife, not Auntie S), and told her that Sydney would have to be kept for observation, and to come down. Not good, considering she is/was due in two weeks.

A few minutes later, the vet came back and told me, she was wrong. The possible amount of toxin still in her system was below poison control's lowest lethal dosage recorded (which was good and bad), and that if I wanted, I could take Sydney home, but that 3 days of fluids and observation wouldn't hurt, because we still had to be aware of signs of kidney failure. I told her I wanted to wait until Sydney's Mom was there before we made any decisions. The thought of not having her for 3 days at this point was a bit upsetting.

As we made our way back to the waiting, room, Sydney spotted and ran to her Mom. The vet told her what she had told me, but also that poison control is usually very proactive, and if they're not recommending observation, then things must be okay. She also stated that if Sydney were hers, she would take the dog home.

That was music to our ears. We just had to check her poop, make sure she ate and drank, urinated regularly, and all that fun stuff, in case things took a turn. We went home, fed the dog some nasty charcoal paste with her food, and got her Pop to come over the next day while we were at work.

I personally spent the whole night waking up regularly, whenever the dog shifted or breathed slightly different. At 4:00 she wanted to get up and go out, and did her business. I slept the next hour until my alarm like a baby. She was playful when her Pop came the next day and things have been good.

Over the past week, she's lived the life of Riley. She's sat on the couch, hopped into our bed, played loudly without being told to stop, and basically done whatever she's wanted. We were just happy to have our puppy still. We couldn't imagine what life would be like without her...or worse, how things would be for The Kid without a big sister.

One week later, everything is fine...so fine, that Sydney is now napping on the couch as I write.

The Final Countdown...For Real!

Sooner than we thought, The Kid is on its way. Still of unknown gender, things have progressed well so far. After months, the nursery is set, though we didn't have to paint, so maybe we didn't have to do all that much.

The crib is set up. May I recommend buying "the easiest crib to set up." It'd made by Jardin, and literally was easier than we allowed it to be. Also, Graco's stroller and Safe Seat carseat are close to idiot proof.

Still, no matter how much we do to get ready, it always seems as though the list only gets longer...never shorter. Is this what we're in for over the next 20 years? Did we sign up for this? Oh wait, we did...

How much time is there? See for yourself.



In the future, this will include vital tidbits on a semiregular basis including, but not limited to: late night blogging when the Kid won't stop crying, pictures, stories, video, and more.

So that just leaves S and I awaiting the birth. Hopefully, this can occur on the Saturday during the NFL bye-week before the Superbowl. That's when the due date is, coincidentally, so the baby should be born right around Superbowl kick-off. And for all of you to pass the time, watch this one last time...



If you're important, we'll call/text you when there's any news.