29 Weeks Old

All hands on deck!

 Today was truly a momentous day.  Von Bebe's first afternoon at daycare went... pretty well.  My wife was on her way to pick up the child when I got a call from the provider suggesting she has had enough for one day and really misses her parents.  I am assuming this will get easier but I am really glad we decided on a couple weeks of half days before separating VB from her parents for more than 4 hours at a time.
   We are assured by other parents that extensive crying is mandatory for the first few days.  Hopefully, this does not make us asses.  I can't imagine that wanting to be home with your child as much as possible makes one an ass, but I can definitely see the advantage of starting daycare earlier when awareness hasn't fully developed, yet.  Whatever, I'm still glad to have had as much time at home as I have had this summer.
   How else could I get this quintessential laundry basket shot.

I'd like to take a quick second to point out a couple of links I've added to the right.  These are great resources for dads who don't want to feel like a complete schmuck.  Thankfully, there is a lot of great advice and information to be had that is better than the usual "you should volunteer to do the vacuuming once in a while" crap that is found in most books.  I find it appalling that fathers still need to be told this.  
   And if you're a father who is offended by the prospect of actually doing some housework, you're probably not reading this... and you might be an ass.

29 Weeks Old

Von Bebe has developed lightning reflexes and her arms are much longer than they look.  Therefore, she gets into everything and everything gets into her mouth before her sometimes unobservant parents are able to intercept things like power cords, dog hair and leaves from between the cracks of the deck.  Yum.
   Because of this, she also gets much closer to the cameras than sometimes anticipated as you can see here.

One more day until VB starts going to daycare part time.  I still have a couple of weeks before I go back to work, but we thought it would be best to ease into it.  Not for her, but for me.  I'm sure she'll be fine.  I'm the one who will likely be spending the next several afternoons in fetal position cradling her stuffed owl and quietly humming to myself.
 

28 Weeks Old

There's a couple of things going on here.  Not only is VB playing her cool xylophone/piano thingy, but she is about to crawl in order to better position herself in front of it.
   And then there's the dog being very chill in the background. Both dogs have been very patient with the baby and with us.  They are definitely not getting the attention that they used to get, but are still very well behaved and rolling with the punches.  We'll see what happens when the baby actually starts getting more mobile and is able to chase them down. 
   A good way to not be an ass is to introduce music as early as possible.  I whistle and sing (poorly) They Might Be Giants songs; usually Birdhouse in your Soul and Angel.  My wife has had vocal training, however, and sounds like an angel herself.  She has a bedtime ritual of singing the mockingbird nursery song (which has really inane lyrics when I finally got around to googling it) along with You are my Sunshine.  And the baby must like it since she goes right to sleep mid song.
   It's hard to believe VB is 28 weeks old today.  It has been a blur and I'm afraid that I will look back and figure out all the ways in which I squandered my time with her.  I've really enjoyed my time as a stay at home dad.  I look forward to being one again in another 10 months.

27 weeks 4 days old

We started using ASL (American Sign Language) with Von Bebe months ago.  This is because babies understand language much earlier than they are able to use it.  Nothing fancy, just words like: milk, up, done, sleep, mama, dada, etc. And THIS is a great site to learn these words and many many others. 

   We suspect that she has started attempting to reciprocate this week.  She holds her arms straight out but one of her hands is in a fist and the other is not.  We're not sure if she's trying to give the sign for "milk" or she just wants attention.  It might be a little too early, but being the parents we are it's hard not to read into every little thing she does.

   But IF she is able to understand and not communicate, I can certainly imagine how frustrating it could be.  Check this out:

Here, VB starts putting her arms up like I mentioned.  After a while of just holding her she makes this frustrated vibrating lips sound that is quite humorous.  And our laughing only serves to frustrate her further.  It's a horrible feedback loop.  She gets more frustrated making more motorboat noises with her lips and we laugh that much harder.

   I suspect that if she COULD talk, she might call me an ass...

27 Weeks 2 Days Old

As a new father of a daughter, things like this article on the sexualization of girls scares me in ways that I have never been scared before.  The article talks about why girls (age 6 and up!) may be more interested in wanting to look sexy.  It mostly blames media outlets, peer pressure and moms.
   Only in the very last paragraph is there any mention at all of fathers and this mostly just states that “more research” needs to be done on the influence of fathers on their children both boys and girls. 

   Really?!! I don’t need more research to know that men are the cause of this problem.  For thousands of years, men have made their expectations of what it means to be sexy known.  Last time I checked, men are still predominantly in positions of power when it comes to advertising, Hollywood and politics!  Moms are struggling against the same expectations that their daughters are.  How are they supposed to be able to make a difference when they’re fighting to feel better about themselves as well?

   I know that I will have a great deal of influence over my daughter in the years to come.  I hope to be able to say and do the right things so she will become an intelligent self-actualized person.  Men caused this mess, men need to accept responsibility for changing it.  “Do not read beauty magazines.  They will only make you feel ugly!” – Baz Luhrman

   On a lighter note, my daughter has been taking her first steps into this crazy world.  (with a little help from her parents)  Check this out from a few weeks ago.

   Already growing up too fast.


As my wife just pointed out, I have already posted this video in a previous entry.  This just goes to show that dads can get momnesia, too.  So here's another video.  Don't want you to get bored of Von Bebe.

27 Weeks Old

   
I dropped my daughter on her head about 3 times today!  Ok, not really 'dropped'.  More like she was sitting there and fell back, bonking her head on the floor.  But it was one of those slow-motion moments where I saw her start to go over and I began reaching out for her knowing I would not make it in time.  Then the distance between us actually increased as I lunged for her.  No really,  I think the space-time continuum actually tore apart increasing the distance between us just so the universe can make me feel like more of an ass.  

   On top of this, I may have pinched her stomach as I was trying to belt her into the high chair.  I was having a serious Monday and I’m glad it’s almost over.

   But check out what 27 weeks looks like!  

26 Weeks 1 Day Old

Remember when I was worried about Von Bebe taking a bottle a couple of months ago? (It seems like a life time now)
   Well check this out.

Try not to be distracted by the 60s retro shirt.  
   She's a champ and soon won't even need me to hold the bottle for her.  In fact, I think if I showed her how to defrost the milk and bottle it she would be good to go.  Then my wife and I could have a date night.  Too bad Von Bebe is too short to reach the freezer.