Nighttime Feedings and Snazzy Book Cover

I'm sure you all have been eagerly awaiting news on how my night of feeding PrettyGirl went. It went OK, at least at first. I had the alarm set for 12:30 AM, since she sacked out a little early and would probably need to be fed by then. PG agreed with that assessment wholeheartedly and woke us up a good 10 or 20 seconds before the alarm went off. That first feeding went fine, except for PG taking her own sweet time getting back to sleep. I think I had her back in her bassinet around 1:45.

She gave me another 3 hours or so of sleep before putting in another request for milk. I don't remember much about that feeding. The first time had knocked my sleep cycle enough out of whack that I was already a bit loopy. I do remember noting that it was already kinda light out at 5:30 AM while I was bouncing her back to sleep. The 7:30 AM feeding is a similar blur, only with more sunlight.

I don't know how M does it every gorram night. I was pretty much useless as a functioning human being on Sunday until I had a nap that afternoon. And PG had been a relatively sleepy baby that night! Some nights, M has to get up every hour and a half!

Oh well. At least next time I'll have a better idea of what to expect, now that I've done it.

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I mention in the comments on one of the recently-uploaded pictures that I took a bunch of pictures of PG because I didn't have anything really usable for a class project. I thought you all might like to see what the class project ended up looking like.



M mentioned wanting to print out all the Baby 2K7 and PG posts, so I thought I'd design a cover for such a collection. I didn't have any pictures of PG that worked well with the concept of pasting excerpts of the blog onto her onesie, so I put her on the floor, made the onesie as wrinkle-free as possible, and got what I needed!

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PG's hair is starting to grow back, so if M wants to get that picture of her two baldies, she's gonna have to get it soon!

More Pictures! Of PrettyGirl!

Another album has been posted. Two, in fact. The other one has a couple of videos, which hopefully will play out fine on all computers and internet connections. I'll add to that album from time to time, and remove from that album if I ever near the storage limit over at Picasa.

PrettyGirl 2

Ella Movies

PG is starting to get into a routine, but it's not a routine we entirely like. She'll sleep for five hours, and then for 1.5 hours between feedings. M can't believe it, but I tend to be totally oblivious pretty much every time PG wakes up and demands immediate sustenance.

We have a pretty good backup supply of milk now, so tonight, for the first time, I will be doing the night feedings. I will soon be feeling M's pain.

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The Star Wars stamp voting is over, and we have a winner:

On an envelope proper postage you will place!

A Few Admin Announcements

I changed the font of the posts to something a little more readable. Hope that's cool with you all.

Also, for those of you who still visit my old website and noticed that the links to the History Pages don't go anywhere, I fixed that a few days ago. If I had to guess, the problem had existed for about a couple of years. Has it really been that long since I got into that big (and unfinished) website overhaul project? Geez. I'm starting web classes in a couple of weeks, so maybe I'll get the motivation (and l33t skillz) to finish up the project and make the site look even better soon.

Speaking of classes, I'd best get back to work. I'm in class right now. Looking at the blog did have something to do with what I'm doing here in class, though, so it's not like I'm totally goofing off. Just goofing off a little.

Bottles, Eye Skills, Fuzzy Heads, A Long-Awaited Timeline, and A Ham Fest

It's been a big week for PrettyGirl. She started following things with her eyes. I was holding her in her room, and she was looking all fascinated at her ceiling light, so I started walking around the room to see if she'd keep her eyes on it, and sure enough, she did. M has also been waving toys in front of her, and she's been locking in on them.

She also got weighed yesterday while M was at the Lactation Station at a local hospital. My decreasingly little girl is now 9 pounds, 12 ounces!

And tonight, both PG and I had a first... her first bottle and the first time I got to feed her myself! M's aunt is in town, and she insisted that we go out and get some ice cream and some time off from PG, since we now had bottles, a pump and a supply of pumped milk, and thus a way to feed PG even if M wasn't home. PG got hungry while we were still out, so technically, I was the second person to bottle feed PG (and the third person to feed her at all,) but I was the one holding her first bottle when she finished it!

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PG and I now have the same hairline. Just a ring of hair in the back. I'm so happy I got a fuzzyhead baby. I looooooove fuzzyheads! Babies that keep their full heads of hair are nice (they get to have pigtails much sooner, like my cousin's so-cute-it'll-drive-you-insane little girl,) but, given the choice, give me a baldy any day!

She does have a little tuft of hair (like, literally a clump of 4 or 5 hairs, if that,) about halfway between her forehead and the peak of her head. That could end up being interesting! Maybe she'll look like Jack-Jack!

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Off the PG topic for a bit. On my drive home from work, I noticed on the Howard County Fairgrounds sign that there's a "MD FM HAM FEST" coming up soon. I have little idea what this Fest will entail. Family hams? FM and Ham radios? Farm hams? Could this end up being bigger than the Sheep and Wool Festival? Time will tell!

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In the early hours of April 13, while M and I were in the Waiting Room, waiting to be admitted for Baby Launch 2K7, I thought that I ought to take notes, so I could remember everything for when I posted about the day here. That quickly evolved into an actual timeline. In honor of PG's five-week birthday, I am finally posting it.

Below is exactly what I wrote that day. Any clarifications and embellishments will be in red brackets. Names changed to protect the privacy of others will be in black brackets.

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I'm amazed how much traffic there is at 6:00 AM

~ 6:25 We enter the secure confines of The Birth Place, like entering secret HQ

~ 6:50 IV = Sad Sweetpea

6:55 - 7:00 Doc comes in [the house doc, not from the practice M was going to (there are five of 'em there) - he came later]. Determines still 3 cm, but now 80-90% effaced. Could feel the head. Almost -1 station.

7:05 From a distance of 10 ft, I can see baby kicking through gown and blanket. And M's belly, of course.

7:45 Pitocin [the stuff they use to induce labor] is connected to IV. So it begins.

7:47 The sun is peeking through the clouds. Might be a sunny day for baby! [It was!]

7:51 Pitocin actually starts flowing. Now it begins. This is the third or fourth time over the past few weeks I've said it's beginning.

7:58 First contraction that I have been aware of. Been a few before. They might not have been labor ones, though. I'm so confused. M's assessment of contraction: "Hurts like hell"

9:53 M's blood sugar was a bit low, so nurse adds sugar to IV. Kinda like the Def Leppard song.

10:15 Gonna try to take a nap so I'm fresher for Go Time

10:22 [M's sister] calls for update

10:40 Anesthesia doc comes in to tell us about epidural and have M sign consent. We'll be seeing them again - don't you worry

11:04 Gonna try again with that nap

11:40 Nap: Successful!

11:40 Doc S [M's actual doc] says it's time for epidural - best to get it done while platelet count is still high enough

Noon Dad calls for update

12:15 Doc J [I don't remember who Doc J was - another house doc, I guess] came in to clarify "schedule." Probably will have baby out by midnight. Yikes!

12:40 Put on The Princess Bride on DVD player

12:53 Epidural time!

1:05 Epidural done - hurt like hell

1:32 Doc checking dilation... about 4.5 cm

1:35 Doc breaking water

1:40 Monitor is now directly on baby's scalp. Heartbeat sounds good, in my completely unqualified opinion

1:48 [My brother] calls to respond to text update. Says we can call him at any hour of the night and he'll send the e-mail [the announcement e-mail] right away.

2:00 Resume Princess Bride [interrupted by the epidural]

2:10 Aunt A calls for update

3:30 Another check... 5.5 cm, 100% effaced, -1 station

3:35 Start watching Princess Bride again, since M slept through most of it the first time.

4:36 7 cm 100% -1. M was feeling possible push feelings. More epidural relieved that.

4:51 Off to the cafeteria for dinner [for me]

4:53 Remembered that I left the cell phone in room. Turn back. Get book to read with dinner while I'm at it.

4:56 Head out to caf again

While I was out...

5:05 to 5:10 Blood pressure low. Baby heartrate slow. Put M on oxygen.
5:15 8 cm, 100%, 0 station!

5:57 Get text msg to come back. I was on my way back anyway.

6:10 Another check, because M feels push urge again... 9 cm, 100%, +1 station

6:12 We're pushing?!?! [The fact is not lost on me that, when the doctor starting urgently telling M to push, that, instead of dropping everything to be at my wife's side, I kept writing down notes. This is the level of dedication I have to you, my readers. It's just as well that I didn't drop everything and come a-runnin' because...]

6:13 [They were doing a practice push and] Just trying to open cervix more... didn't work. My heart rate returns to normal. [They are] Gonna hold off further attempts for another half-hour.

6:18 Nurses getting excited! Want baby out before they're off at 7. Turn baby heater on in preparation.

6:39 Nurse getting Doc S. Might be time to push.

6:42 Despite epidural, contractions still really hurt. M has decided cursing works better than breathing.

6:45 Dr. S is here to try for the big one (?)

6:49 Yup, this is it. See ya when the baby does! Might be a while.

[At this point, I had completed an entire sheet of paper, front and back. There is one other sheet of paper, with the following notation covering an entire side...]

7:31 BABY!!!! 7lb. 6.7 oz.

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Thus ends my log of April 13!

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In case you're interested, I looked it up... the MD FM HAM FEST is an "Amateur Radio Flea Market type of Event," according to the Fairgrounds website. Mystery solved!

A Belated Mother's Day Message and a Few Updates

Here's a fun fact. There are four nations in the entire world that do not offer some sort of paid leave to new mothers. They are Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, Liberia and the good ol' USofA.

Here's a Mother's Day card, addressing that general topic. Just click "Start" to see it.



Just thought I'd share.

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On a slightly related note, we have finally secured day care for PrettyGirl when M goes back to work in early July (a few weeks after the vacation pay and disability pay have dried up.) I thought I had been giving updates on all this, but a review of my past few month's posts show nothing. So here's how things went down...

Back in January, we started looking, and, after going though listings and doing drive-bys (and being unimpressed, for the most part,) we happened upon a home-based daycare right in our neighborhood, a couple of blocks from our house. We met with her and were blown away. She was everything we were looking for, plus a little more. She doesn't just watch the kids, she teaches them too! And, best of all, a client was moving out of state with their infant twins in July, meaning there was an infant spot available for us!

So we called her references, who gave glowing reviews, and decided that this was definitely the person we wanted watching our baby. So we called her up... and found out that the twins weren't moving after all. There was still a chance that someone else might be moving on, since there were some kids on the verge of being pre-school age, so we held on to that little hope, but it was pretty slim.

It was probably that hope that made us drag our heels a bit when going back the daycare search. That, and the fact that we had so much else to take care of before the baby was born. We called our neighbor daycare lady from time to time, to check for openings, to keep ourselves on her radar and finally to get phone numbers for other providers she knew.

And so, it was last Friday, and we still didn't have any daycare lined up for July. I took the day off work because PG was making it difficult for M to juggle her and calling daycares at the same time. M started off by calling our neighbor lady and leaving a message to get back to her with those phone numbers. Then, she called someone on the list she had gotten, and, miracles of miracles, she actually had infant availability for July!

We were talking about how promising that was, when the neighbor lady called, not to give us numbers to other providers, but to let us know that the mom who had been hinting at moving her daughter on to pre-school had finally made up her mind to do just that. That kid's last day: June 25. Even though a lot of people had called her over the months (over the past week, even) to inquire about daycare, she had kept us at the top of the list, and the open spot was ours to take. We took it. You better gorram believe it.

The lady who was moving her kid to pre-school was informed that afternoon, when she came for pick-up, that her spot was filled and there was no turning back, and by 7:00 Friday night, the contracts were signed and we had ourselves at daycare provider!!!

We're really happy now. Now all we have to do is figure out how we're going to pay for it!

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PG is starting to show signs of acknowledging my existence. For the first few weeks, she seemed to consider me as just that voice she hears in her head sometimes. But last night, she looked at me while I was talking. It was very nice of her! I also think she might be using her arms for actual tasks. I know it's way too early for that, but I could swear that she's using her hands to push the pacifier away when I try to stick it in her mouth while she's trying to convince us that she wants to feed for the 345th time that hour.

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I added a picture to the most recent album...



You can click on this thumbnail to go see the full(er) size version, or just go to http://picasaweb.google.com/trackrick and look at 'em all again!

Pictures! More Updates! Some Non-PrettyGirl Stuff!

A whole new album of pictures is now up! I'll be updating to this album for the foreseeable future, so be sure to check it from time to time to get your full PrettyGirl fix! The album can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/trackrick/PrettyGirl

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PG had her first real bath on Sunday! She was a very good girl and did not fuss at all, really. There was a brief outburst when she first got into the tub, but that was probably from surprise and the water being a little cold. You think the aforementioned picture album has pictures of that event? You bet it does.

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The past couple of years, M had been the box office manager at the Maryland Film Festival, but, for obvious reasons, she had to miss the '07 Festival this past weekend. On Friday, I cheered her up (hopefully) during one of PG's outbursts by asking what would she rather be doing: dealing with a hungry, crying baby or dealing with an annoying moviegoer demanding to get tickets to a sold-out movie because they have a three-movie pass.

Later, when PG was drunk on mommie-milk and sleeping peacefully on her shoulder, the following exchange occurred...

M: When she's like this, she's so nice...
Me: If an annoying movie patron did that, he'd just be more annoying.

End scene

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I'm trying to get in the habit of calling my daughter "PG" instead of "Sweetie," which is a name I still frequently use to address my wife, when I'm talking to her. I'm trying to avoid confusion as to whom I am addressing (and yes, I do sometimes talk to my 3-week-old daughter as if she were an actual conversationalist). You can pronounce "PG" in your head however you like, but I've started pronouncing it the same way one might say "Sweetie," with the first syllable being emphasized.

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Now begins stuff that has nothing to do with PG.

An annual reminder that I still haven't done something about my job situation occurred this past weekend - the Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds are right by I-70, so I see the sign touting its upcoming events on my way home every day. Five years ago, I first learned of the Sheep and Wool Festival, which, I'm assuming, involves sheep and their more useful by-products, and every year since I see the sign for it and am reminded that another year has gone by and I'm still on I-70, far from home, being alerted to the event.

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I just started the final unit of my graphic design classes - the one where we put together our portfolio. Another few weeks, and I'll have a JHU certificate! And then, it's on to web design.

The unit we just finished was about the business side of graphic design. I learned something very important: that I don't want to start my own graphic design business. Too much selling!

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Apparently, JACK-FM plays nine songs from a certain year each night at 9:00. Last night, the generic DJ announced that they were playing songs from 1985, and then they proceeded to play songs from 1986. Obviously it was a case of the wrong pre-recorded year announcement being played (repeatedly). If it had been a case of a few 1986 songs being thrown in with 1985 songs (and for a little while, I thought that was exactly what was happening), it would have bothered me. I hate it when whoever is responsible for that sort of thing doesn't take the time to do the research to find out whether "Highway To The Danger Zone" was popular in 1985 or 1986. I'm probably alone there.

Miscellaneous PrettyGirl Stuff

At a mere two and a half weeks old, my little girl has already been the subject of a post five times (counting this time). That's more often than the Elmo Tree and almost as much as Superman and Star Wars! They grow up so fast.

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PG had her two-week doctor appointment last Thursday. I forgot to mention before that the doctor has a Canadian accent. She told us, during the four-day-old visit, that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby "withoot a doot".

I'm not sure why she has such an accent, since she says she grew up in the DC area. This bit of info was revealed when she started to hand PG back to me, noticed my Ravens sweatshirt, and actually recoiled PG a little from me, as if contact with a Ravens logo would contaminate her infant brain or something ("something" probably being to get another look at the logo to make sure she saw what she thought she saw.) The doc is a huge Redskins fan, y'see. But nobody's perfect.

Well, PG is pretty close to perfect, especially from a health standpoint. The doctor assured us that she's doing very well, and we're taking very good care of her. She's already gained back her birth weight (a few ounces were lost in the first few days of breastfeeding, as is the case with breastfeeding babies) and gained an extra five ounces on top of that!

It was very good to hear that we're taking good care of her. I was a little worried, being as I have no experience and all.

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I recently made the mistake of looking at the movie lineup for this year's Maryland Film Festival. Now, I love my daughter immensely and do not begrudge her presence and what it means to my tactical freedom at all. But I was still disappointed to see what I'll be missing this year. I've since gotten over it, though. I was just momentarily blindsided by an aspect of my changed life that had yet to occur to me.

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M's aunt highly recommended that we get a swing for PG. Apparently, they work miracles in getting babies to calm down. It is, after all, one of the Five S's. So we looked at swings online and found them to be a bit pricey. Like $150 or so.

But, as luck would have it, this past Saturday was the semi-annual yard sale day in the neighborhood, wherein everybody who wants to sell off some stuff can put it in their front yard, and because an event is being made of it, you're likely see plenty of people roaming around the neighborhood looking for stuff to buy.

As fate would have it, one such neighbor had a baby swing that she was selling for $20, but she volunteered that she could sell for as low as $15. So we got a pretty good swing for a tenth of the going price! You can set it to swing back and forth or side to side, which is nice. So far, our results with PG have been mixed. She might not be ready to sit as upright at the swing makes her sit.

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Other than that, it's been pretty much the same. PG doesn't really do much yet, other than look around, eat, sleep and use her diapers. And look pretty of course.