12 Weeks 2 days old

We always joke around about what our mutant powers would be.  Useful things like being able to talk to Salmonella so I know how long to cook my food. (get it?  When my food stops talking to me, it’s done because the Salmonella is dead!)

   But now I have discovered that as a new father I really do have powers!  And they are awesome.  Here they are:

-Can go long periods without bathing.

-High pain threshold on the ends of my arm hair follicles

-Become adept at using one hand for almost everything while holding a baby

-Decreased testosterone levels. (For real!  This actually happens!)  I guess it makes us    less aggressive or something and therefore more nurturing. 

-Able to wake up instantly at all hours of the night.

With this great power comes great responsibility.  Unfortunately, it also has a weakness.  That would be my daughter who can melt my heart in an instant with a smile.  As seen about 2/3 of the way through this video of Von Bebe waking up in the morning.  Literally, I took this first thing yesterday morning.  This is how she wakes almost every single day.  Enjoy.

12 Weeks Old

And learning new things every single day.  Like teething, for example!  Now, I’m not a complete ass.  I KNOW all babies go through teething.  But (and this may show my ineptitude or lack of foresight), I had little idea when it started or how long it would last.  Much to my dismay, I just yesterday discovered that signs of pre-teething start around 3 or 4 months.  (Right now for Von Bebe!)  These signs include excess saliva production and chewing on fingers and hands.  However the first tooth may not erupt until month 9!  So we have 5 to 6 months of saliva to expect. 

   Can’t. Wait.

Here’s an example of a fraction of what I expect to be in store for the coming months.

Fortunately, an aunt made a couple of these awesome Starwars bibs which make me want to drool so I can wear them myself. 

   Unfortunately, I’m afraid she’s going to outgrow them before she’s done teething.

Such is the life of a father trying not to be an ass.

11 Weeks 4 days old

I have heard the term “Attachment Parenting” before and have heard it used in both the positive and negative sense.  Other terms like codependence, imprisonment, bonded, emotionally engaged also come to mind.  Dr. Sears coined the phrase. (or so Wikipedia tells me)  And there are a lot of opinions for and against.  (See here)

   After reading the Wikipedia entry I’ve decided this is pretty much already what we are doing.  Wearing the baby.  Being attentive to her needs.  Cosleeping.  Etc.  But I’m not sure how much of this I learned from books or how much I’ve just agreed to as I go along for the ride.  But it seems like a lot of this is common sense.  The baby is crying because she is uncomfortable.  She is uncomfortable because she needs something.  Let’s figure out what it is. 

   At this point, that seems ok because we are all in survival mode.  But eventually, (when she learns to walk, talk and crush dreams) she’ll be manipulating us at some level to get not only what she needs, but also what she wants.  And as we all know,You Don’t Always Get What You Want.

   A lot of arguments against this type of childrearing says that it is too restrictive.  It puts women back in the kitchen barefoot.  It sets back women’s rights.  I guess my responses to this would be “Where are the husbands/partners?”  or “If you CHOSE to have a child, I guess you should accept the responsibility… even if it is more demanding than you thought.”  That’s life, right?  Time to nut up and not be an ass. (I can’t believe I just used that phrase)

Here’s 10 Mb of cuteness.

11 Weeks Old

Based on my hair in this photo, one can ascertain at least 2 things:  I need a haircut and my personal hygiene has flown out the window.

We went to a wedding a week ago which was Von Bebe’s first weekend outing.  First night in a hotel.  First 4 hour long car drive.  First Taco Del Mar.  No, we did not feed her a mondo burrito.

   Not being an ass means caring less about how I am perceived in public.  If I were more concerned about getting drool on my jacket or poop on my sleeves, I might be an ass.  But having a new child sure puts things in perspective and something that I might have cringed at in the past is now a day to day regularity.  I do things without hesitation that I thought would have given me pause.  If my daughter needs to be changed or burped, I do it.  No matter where I am or who is around, her needs come first. 

   Bodily fluids don’t faze me… as long as they’re hers.

   Enjoy her wedding shorts.  

10 weeks and 5 days old

THIS is why we had a home birth...

10 Weeks Old (or so)

Here’s how not to be an ass:  Interact with your 10 week old baby.

   I’m amazed at just how quickly she changes and how engaged she is.  As seen here, Von Bebe has gotten quite adept at tracking things with her eyes.  Pretty darn cool.

I'm trying really hard not to blink, but I can't help thinking that I'm going to miss something.

9 Weeks 2 Days old

I had an epiphany while bottle feeding my daughter today.  And I totally figured out how to feed her without being an ass.  It only took me three weeks.  That’s assuming we didn’t experience a fluke today.  Which is entirely possible.

   Anyway, up until now my wife has been going to work in the mornings and the only way I’ve been able to feed my daughter is a half an ounce at a time spread out over 2 hours or so.  This pretty much ate up most of my mornings.

   Fortunately for the internet and the 21^st century, there are lots of resources for bottle feeding at the same time as breastfeeding.  I had no idea that this could be so difficult.  I always figured you just stick the bottle nipple in the baby and she gets filled up like a car.  Silly me.

  Here is some of what I learned.  Feed the baby in an upright position with the bottle as horizontal as possible.  Unlike the breast, the bottle uses gravity and the milk can just pour out.  Apparently, too much of this and the baby might get used to not having to work for the milk making it harder to breast feed. 

   Oh, and here’s a no brainer.  The baby likes to breathe between bites.  Novel concept I know, but my baby is not my Prius.  So as much as I’d like to just upend the bottle and have done with it, I actually have to pay attention to my daughter.  (What!  You mean I actually have to be an engaged parent already?!)  When she stops sucking, I tip the bottle down to give her a break.  Being an attentive feeder we were able to get through 2 ounces or more in only about 15 minutes.

   Thinking about it now makes me wonder why I didn’t figure this out before.  Just being an ass, I suppose.

   And for those of you who only come here for pictures of my daughter, here you go.  This is her goal post nap time position.