We had Kaitlin's first Christmas last night at her Nanny and Papa's house and it was blast! She wore her red Christmas dress and matching shoes that her Nanny bought for her and looked beautiful (pictures will be on Shutterfly, shortly). Aunt BJ, Uncle Roy and their crew were there, along with Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Rabbitt, Uncle Mark and Aunt Lisa. Kaitlin really enjoyed getting to see her aunts and uncles, whom she hadn't seen in a while. In fact, she was so excited that she refused to take her normal nap and was wide awake until things settled down. She can't wait until she gets mobile and can keep up with her cousins Cameron and Dillon! She got lots of great gifts, but her favorite hands down is the princess wand that her Aunt Amanda made for her. When we got home, she kept waving it around at Buddy and ordering him to "do my bidding". I think we've created a monster. Speaking of Buddy, he loves the Giraffe and the Gander that his sister Merry got him. However, he feels like an ass for not sending a gift for Merry with his parents. It was great to get to see everyone and we really appreciate all of the gifts and hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Love to all!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Kudos to Scott!
As a follow up to Scott's post below, I just want to say I am so proud of him and Kaitlin! I was gone a total of 48 hours and while the first 24 of those were hard going, I'm so glad to hear that she ended her bottle strike and started taking it like a champ. I was pretty concerned when Scott was calling me every couple hours that first night because I could hear Kaitlin screaming in the background, but I think that maybe this was something that needed to be done and my brother's wedding forced us to do it. Now we just have to keep giving her a bottle everyday to keep her in practice. It was fun being out in California seeing my brother get married, but it was even more fun to meet Kaitlin and Scott in the airport this morning! It's good to be home!
Flying Solo
On the tail end of my first weekend alone with a child, I am compelled to provide a synopsis of the weekend's events. For those who don't know, Summer spent the weekend in San Francisco with her parents for her brother's wedding. I stayed behind with mini-me and Buddy to man the home front. The following is an unedited peak at how the weekend has gone thus far (mama ain't coming home until 11:45ish, weather permitting). Friday started off innocently enough. I picked Kaitlin up from daycare and she was in a great mood. The teachers at her school had a staff Christmas party from 1-3pm when the babies were supposed to be sleeping, so some parents filled in. Upon reading her report card, I noted Kaitlin had only slept for 40 minutes on the day (typically this is more in the 2-3 hrs range). I was not immediately concerned and actually thought this could work out in my favor in the form of an early bed time...I was sorely mistaken.
When we got home, I hastily changed out of work clothes and began prepping a bottle. Kaitlin's report card indicated she'd only had 5 oz b/w 10 and 6pm, so all signs again pointed to an easy bottle feeding experience...again, very, very sorely mistaken. Immediately she began to scream and flail around, so I went to the tried and true method of squirting milk into her mouth by pushing on the bottom of the bottle liner and aiming at the inside of her cheek. This is a messy, yet effective maneuver in times when she is refusing the bottle, however this time she kept continued to dance on the panic button. So, in an effort to more closely simulate the breast-feeding experience and hopefully calm her down, I grabbed the Boppy pillow and headed for the couch. For those unfamiliar with the Boppy pillow, it goes around your waist and the baby then lies on it side-ways, facing you. I had Kaitin on there for maybe 5 seconds when the bottle liner fell out and milk went everywhere. She immediately starts screaming and I was frantically trying to assess where exactly the full contents of the bottle had gone. I need to interject here (mostly for Britt Brown's entertainment) that I've never wanted the man-teat set up that Robert Dinero has in "Meet the Fockers" so bad in my entire life (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see the "manary gland" write-up in the "Characters" section, mid-way down here). So, I put Kaitlin in the swing and went into full clean up mode. Luckily, most of the milk was on the Boppy and my shorts, so the couch was relatively spared. Rather than read between the lines here, I just smiled at my "good fortune". It wasn't until I went back over to the swing to pick up Kaitlin that I noticed only one side of her head was wet. Surely this is just because she's hot natured, like her dad, and was sweating due to all of the crying, right...INCORRECT! My oversight was that in order for the milk to soak the Boppy, it had to first go all over KAITLIN'S HEAD AND FACE.
After a quick smell-check to confirm, I hastily readied a bath. This is another first, as I typically am in an assistant role to Summer for bath-time (e.g. I hold the towels and catch the wet baby at the end). Now was no time to panic b/c I had a very sleepy, hungry, dirty and pissed off baby. Thankfully, the bath went well, as did the post-bath procedures and change of clothes (she typically hates this). After a quick clean-up, she went down for a nap and we tried the bottle again at 8:30pm and she actually latched on and took a few ounces. Amanda came over and spent the night and was a big help. I was actually able to make some dinner and get a shower. The feeding got incrementally better after the disastrous start. Since saturday morning, she's been latching on and taking a minimum of 3 ounces each time, which is great. I've been texting Summer the update after every feeding, just to keep her in the loop. Nanny and Pa Pa came over yesterday and took some pictures of Kaitlin in her "Elf in Training" onesie in front of her first Christmas tree (look for these to get added to the website later). We also took her for a walk around the block at night, so she could see the Christmas lights. She got very excited each time we came up on a house with lights and started kicking and smiling.
All in all, this has been a great experience for me. My confidence level in terms of how to handle Kaitlin's day-to-day schedule/needs has increased tremendously. This would have only been possible by going at it alone for a few days, as Summer was not there to lean on (which is what I'd been doing the last few months). I definitely would recommend the a weekend alone for all first time dad's.
When we got home, I hastily changed out of work clothes and began prepping a bottle. Kaitlin's report card indicated she'd only had 5 oz b/w 10 and 6pm, so all signs again pointed to an easy bottle feeding experience...again, very, very sorely mistaken. Immediately she began to scream and flail around, so I went to the tried and true method of squirting milk into her mouth by pushing on the bottom of the bottle liner and aiming at the inside of her cheek. This is a messy, yet effective maneuver in times when she is refusing the bottle, however this time she kept continued to dance on the panic button. So, in an effort to more closely simulate the breast-feeding experience and hopefully calm her down, I grabbed the Boppy pillow and headed for the couch. For those unfamiliar with the Boppy pillow, it goes around your waist and the baby then lies on it side-ways, facing you. I had Kaitin on there for maybe 5 seconds when the bottle liner fell out and milk went everywhere. She immediately starts screaming and I was frantically trying to assess where exactly the full contents of the bottle had gone. I need to interject here (mostly for Britt Brown's entertainment) that I've never wanted the man-teat set up that Robert Dinero has in "Meet the Fockers" so bad in my entire life (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see the "manary gland" write-up in the "Characters" section, mid-way down here). So, I put Kaitlin in the swing and went into full clean up mode. Luckily, most of the milk was on the Boppy and my shorts, so the couch was relatively spared. Rather than read between the lines here, I just smiled at my "good fortune". It wasn't until I went back over to the swing to pick up Kaitlin that I noticed only one side of her head was wet. Surely this is just because she's hot natured, like her dad, and was sweating due to all of the crying, right...INCORRECT! My oversight was that in order for the milk to soak the Boppy, it had to first go all over KAITLIN'S HEAD AND FACE.
After a quick smell-check to confirm, I hastily readied a bath. This is another first, as I typically am in an assistant role to Summer for bath-time (e.g. I hold the towels and catch the wet baby at the end). Now was no time to panic b/c I had a very sleepy, hungry, dirty and pissed off baby. Thankfully, the bath went well, as did the post-bath procedures and change of clothes (she typically hates this). After a quick clean-up, she went down for a nap and we tried the bottle again at 8:30pm and she actually latched on and took a few ounces. Amanda came over and spent the night and was a big help. I was actually able to make some dinner and get a shower. The feeding got incrementally better after the disastrous start. Since saturday morning, she's been latching on and taking a minimum of 3 ounces each time, which is great. I've been texting Summer the update after every feeding, just to keep her in the loop. Nanny and Pa Pa came over yesterday and took some pictures of Kaitlin in her "Elf in Training" onesie in front of her first Christmas tree (look for these to get added to the website later). We also took her for a walk around the block at night, so she could see the Christmas lights. She got very excited each time we came up on a house with lights and started kicking and smiling.
All in all, this has been a great experience for me. My confidence level in terms of how to handle Kaitlin's day-to-day schedule/needs has increased tremendously. This would have only been possible by going at it alone for a few days, as Summer was not there to lean on (which is what I'd been doing the last few months). I definitely would recommend the a weekend alone for all first time dad's.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Catching up
Sorry for the lag in posting, but we've been very busy with holidays and trying to wrap up work in order to take our big trip to Hawaii the week of Dec 17th. Kaitlin is very excited about this trip, as it will be her first plane ride (9 hours non-stop)! Her mom bought her some swimsuits back when she was still in-utero which, much to her dad's chagrin, are mostly 2-pieces (ridiculous!). We will have lots of pictures and a big update after we get back. Now to catch you all up on what's been going on...
We enjoyed a fun half-week trip to Spring the week before last. The Hey's put on a great Thanksgiving, which was extra-special for us as it was Kaitlin's first (see pictures in the Shutterfly link, to the left). Kaitlin was very excited to see all of her grandparents, as her Nanny & Pa Pa even made the trip down on Thursday. Aunt Amanda was in town the whole week, as well. We enjoyed lots of turkey and were able to squeeze in a viewing of our favorite Thanksgiving movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Our beloved Aggies made the the friday after Thanksgiving special, as well, with a trifecta of sorts...1) Beat Texas in football; 2) Won the pre-season NIT against Ohio State in basketball; and 3) Coach Fran resigned!
As for Kaitlin, she has adjusted nicely to day-care and really likes her teacher Ms. Marvetta. We get a report card each day on how her day went, which is a big help for her mom and dad. Kaitlin gets lots of visitors at school, as her Nanny, Pa Pa and Aunt Amanda come and see her often. Her Pa Pa has made it a ritual to come and see her a couple of days a week. She has slowly but surely gotten better at taking the bottle. The last few weeks have been really good, as she's taken 3+ ounces in several sittings and for several different people. All of this makes her momma a little more comfortable leaving Kaitlin with her dad this weekend. For those who did not know, Summer's brother Chris is getting married this weekend. Kaitlin and I are staying behind to make sure Buddy doesn't throw any crazy party's, which means it's the bottle or nothing for Miss Kaitlin this weekend.
That's all for now,
We enjoyed a fun half-week trip to Spring the week before last. The Hey's put on a great Thanksgiving, which was extra-special for us as it was Kaitlin's first (see pictures in the Shutterfly link, to the left). Kaitlin was very excited to see all of her grandparents, as her Nanny & Pa Pa even made the trip down on Thursday. Aunt Amanda was in town the whole week, as well. We enjoyed lots of turkey and were able to squeeze in a viewing of our favorite Thanksgiving movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Our beloved Aggies made the the friday after Thanksgiving special, as well, with a trifecta of sorts...1) Beat Texas in football; 2) Won the pre-season NIT against Ohio State in basketball; and 3) Coach Fran resigned!
As for Kaitlin, she has adjusted nicely to day-care and really likes her teacher Ms. Marvetta. We get a report card each day on how her day went, which is a big help for her mom and dad. Kaitlin gets lots of visitors at school, as her Nanny, Pa Pa and Aunt Amanda come and see her often. Her Pa Pa has made it a ritual to come and see her a couple of days a week. She has slowly but surely gotten better at taking the bottle. The last few weeks have been really good, as she's taken 3+ ounces in several sittings and for several different people. All of this makes her momma a little more comfortable leaving Kaitlin with her dad this weekend. For those who did not know, Summer's brother Chris is getting married this weekend. Kaitlin and I are staying behind to make sure Buddy doesn't throw any crazy party's, which means it's the bottle or nothing for Miss Kaitlin this weekend.
That's all for now,
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
