16 Weeks 6 Days old

   I almost ended the day without being an ass.  Then I dropped my daughter.  Well… not really dropped per se, but we were practicing sitting and she fell over.  And bonked her chin right on mom’s hard shin bone. 

   Immediately after there was a 2 second pause followed by a great deal of screaming/crying.  It didn’t help that it was right before feeding time.

   I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.  I think I even mentioned it here months ago along with a link to a video of dads hurting their kids. 

   I guess as far as bonks go, this one wasn’t that bad.  Still no emergency room visit yet… (*knock knock*) and she’s almost 4 months old.  That’s a streak I’d like to keep until.. oh, her 30^th birthday or so.

   I’m sure it will happen again.  And I will mention it here when it does for all the world to see.  Does writing about it make me as much of an ass as the act of inadvertently causing pain and discomfort?  Or does letting the dog lick her make me more of an ass?

16 Weeks 5 Days old

   Just when I thought everything was going so well with the bottle, Von Bebe and I had a bad day.  She only had a few drops all morning.  And of course, this on the day that we have an outing to try out some new baby wearing gear.  But that’s another blog entry.

   Bottle feeding and breast feeding are two totally different things.  I, like most Americans, grew up in a society where breast feeding is a pretty taboo thing.  Hopefully, that is changing.  There are so many expectations about breasts and breastfeeding that men have basically been set up to feel inadequate and unprepared for many months after the birth of their child.  But don’t take my word for it.  Check it out here.  Thanks, Hollywood, for making me feel like an ass.

   Obviously, breastfeeding is something that I will never have a chance to experience myself.  I see the connection between my wife and daughter when it is feeding time and can’t help but get a little jealous.  (Of both child AND mother) 

   Not to mention, how awesome would it be to just flip up my shirt when my daughter is hungry.  It would save so much time!  As it is, I have to turn on the sink to get hot tap water, get a bottle out of the fridge (assuming I’ve already prepared a bottle!) and warm up the bottle.  By this time, my daughter could be so upset that she’s not really interested in eating any more.  I’ve gotten pretty good at anticipating feeding times.  But when the routine gets switched up on us, I’m lost.

   As my wife just pointed out, I may have neglected to mention the commitment and sacrifice required by BOTH partners in our endeavor to solely breastfeed for at least 6 months.  (What?  It’s not just about me?)  I’m not the one who has to flip out my taboo body part to nourish our child.  I’m not the one who has to pump when I’m at work.  And I’m not the one who is waking up 2 hours every night. 

   Why do it?  Lots of studies show the importance of breastfeeding.  Many good reasons here.  And it seems there is some benefit to delaying solids until 6 months as it says here.  But then when I look for more information online I find this which says we may harm our baby if we only breastfeed for 6 months.  Can’t win either way.  I guess we’ll just have to use our instincts.

   But as for the bottle feeding, it gets better.  Some days are easy.  Most are not.  Every day is worth it… for this.

16 Week 3 Days old

   I’ve had Paul Simon’s Father and Daughter stuck in my head all day.  Songs didn’t use to have an effect on my like they do now.  Also, sitcoms or movies with fathers and daughters cause a similar gut wrenching emotional response.  Even shows like Castle move me in ways that I didn’t think would happen a year ago.  However, I imagine that Schwarzenegger’s Commando (boy, that took me back) or True Lies would not have the same outcome.  Maybe it’s because I could never see myself in the shoes of the characters filled by Arnie.  Or maybe it’s because he’s a Hummer driving stogie chomping republican.  Not that I could ever see myself in the shoes of Fillian’s Castle, either.  But sleuthing my way through crimes seems nicer than blowing up the world.  It sets a better example for my daughter as I attempt to not be an ass.

16 Weeks 2 Days Old

   Here’s how I’m an ass this week.  I exposed my daughter to something that produced an allergic reaction in the form of a rash over every square inch of her body.  Not once, but twice!  (It took us that long to figure out it was something in the crib)  And I know I shouldn’t be so hard on myself because it’s not like I knew it was going to happen or what was causing it.  That still doesn’t make it any easier to watch her suffer.  Knowing she is experiencing discomfort and knowing there is not a gosh darn thing I can do about it just plain stinks.  I can only imagine how I’ll feel if there is ever a broken limb or a tonsillectomy.

 On top of this, we suspect teething pains are adding to her discomfort.  She’s been so vocal that her voice went a little hoarse.  Listen for yourself:

   At first we were so proud of her for exploring her vocal range.  Then we realized that no, she’s just raspy.  Poor lil’ girl.

   We’re still not sure what the allergy reaction was to specifically.  We narrowed it down to a waterproof pad that goes under her in the case of fountaining pee episodes.  Not sure what is in the pad that made her break out so bad.  Further investigation is required.  And hopefully no more full body rashes.

15 Weeks Old

When complaining about not getting enough sleep, don’t do it to your wife who is breastfeeding...  and up every two hours of every night.  That being said, I did NOT sleep well last night.

   That is how I’m trying not to be an ass this week.

Meanwhile, I’ve gotten really good at reading Fox in Socks to Emmy. 

Bim’s Broom and Ben’s broom still gets me tripped up.  Especially when we get to the big pig broom band.  But Von Bebe seems to like it and this is one book I don’t mind reading… over and over and over again.  For now, anyway.

  Don’t let the pictures fool you.  We’ve had a rough couple of mornings.  We think her gums are really starting to bother her and the tools we use to calm here are getting fewer and fewer.  She’s too big for me to hold and walk around the kitchen any more.  I can’t believe how quickly she’s growing and I can’t believe how much I already miss being able to simply walk her to sleep before bed every night.  The difference between 10 and 14 pounds feels much bigger than just 4 pounds.

14 Weeks 5 Days Old

  I overheard someone yesterday say that the pain of being kicked in the crotch is like giving birth multiple times.  I couldn’t tell if he was serious or just trying to get everyone around him riled up.  Myself included. 

  I’m fortunate enough to say that I have never really been kicked in the crotch and I certainly won’t be giving birth so I guess I have nothing to compare it to.  Except for the fact that I watched my wife for the 30 or so hours it took her to bring Von Bebe into the world.  I watched my wife, immobile with pain through each contraction.  I felt her tightening grip with every push until 7:31am on January 9^th. 

   I’ve also seen a fair number of guys take it in the crotch.  In fact, you can too.  Just go to youtube and type “kicked in the crotch”.  Nevermind, here it is.

   It does appear to be quite painful.  But in almost every case, it appears as though the guy can get up after a couple of minutes and go about his business.  Except for the fact that there is an embarrassing video of him getting kicked in the crotch for all the world to see on Youtube. 

   Now that I have a child, I am sure that at some point I may get a chance to experience this pain.  I’ll put that off as long as humanly possible.

   Meanwhile, to all you guys complaining that getting kicked in the crotch is equal to or worse than the pain of giving birth, try getting kicked in the crotch every 2 minutes for 6 straight hours.  And if you still think getting kicked in the crotch is more painful than childbirth, you are a total ass.

Enough of that rant, here’s a video of Von Bebe talking up a storm.  And her parents acting like total dorks.

14 Weeks Old

  We feel fortunate because the little one sleeps like a champ… usually.  And almost like clockwork.  We all go to bed around 9pm.  She’ll get up around 1am for a feeding and then promptly go back to bed.  Then she’ll get up again for another feeding around 5am.  And each time she goes back to sleep with little fuss.  And on top of this awesomeness, she hardly has a dirty diaper through the night.  (Which makes for very interesting morning bowel movements, but that’s another story)

   This was not the case last night.  She was up several times through the night and didn’t go right back to sleep.  And it seems like each time required a new diaper. 

   Now I fully realize that our worst night may be another family’s best night and that we should be grateful.  But this doesn’t make it any easier when we expect her to do A, B and C but instead gives us X, Y and Z.  It feels a little like doing advanced calculus with only a basic understanding of arithmetic.  (Not that I’d know because I don’t think I’ve ever done advanced calculus)

   This is just Von Bebe changing it up on us.  It’ll help keep us on our toes for the days when she REALLY changes it up by sneaking out of the house at night. 

   Can’t.  Wait. 

It’s a good thing she’s so darn cute.