News to me

So it was explained to me why babies wake up so much.  The biggest reason is that their tiny little stomachs can't hold very much, which is why they eat so much.  Because they're not eating as much as I thought, they're eating enough to get full and then as soon as that's processed, then they're hungry again.

Rachel may be outgrowing #1 diapers.. every one today has failed to do its job correctly.

Sleep

Sleep seems to be a constant topic when you have a new child.  Last night would be one of the better nights, I think.  We've started giving Rachel a quick shower each night.  We're striving for the same time each night, but we're not yet consistent.

But she seems to enjoy the shower much better than a bath, and it's quicker.   She seemed very slippery at first, but I've got the hang of holding her tightly.  I just get in there in my underwear and turn the water on to where it's a little cooler than I prefer and then Lori hands the baby to me.   Afterwards, Lori comes in with a towel and I pass her back to Lori.

After the shower we feed her and then put her in the cradle in our room.  She's been sleeping for a few hours consistently after that.  We've also stopped speaking (only whispering) once the shower is over.

We think as we continue to do the schedule that she will start to learn to sleep longer each night.  We're encouraged so far and that leads us to wake up in a better mood each day.

Separately, the meals have ended.  For the past month, three days a week couples from our adult fellowship have been bringing us a combination of homecooked and take-out.  It has been very nice.  We've been exposed to new kinds of food and had some good food we wouldn't have otherwise tried on our own.  We'll be back to fending for ourselves.

And with 6 to 8 babies still on the way in the class, we'll soon be taking meals again ourselves.

That's What It's All About

Well you work and you slave
And you spend all day in your thankless job
hen you jump in your Ford
And you're door to door with the homebound mob
Then you pull in the drive and you hit the chair
And the one that you love is waiting there

And, hey --
That's what it's all about
Hey, this is the life I couldn't live without
It's a moment frozen there in time
Where the reasons all begin to rhyme
Where love's a little bigger
And you finally start figuring out
That's what it's all about

Well, they won't go to bed
Or do what you said or eat their food
They cry and they fuzz and you can't
even cuss 'cause they'll say it, too
You're tired and you're numb
And you're stressed and you're mad
And she smiles and says 'I love you, Dad'

And, hey --
That's what it's all about
Hey, this is the life I couldn't live without
It's a moment frozen there in time
Where the reasons all begin to rhyme
Where love's a little bigger
And you finally start figuring out
That's what it's all about

-- Brooks and Dunn

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

Rachel rolled over a few times this evening from her front to her back. They said that some babies will pick this up by two months, but a majority don't do it until the same time they learn to sit on their own. Rolling the other way, from back to front is much more difficult because of the leg strength and leg and neck coordination required.

Warped Priorities?

I know it's odd, but in the whole raising-a-baby-thing, I have to say, I'm really appreciative of DISH Network's PVR. Basically, it's a no-name TiVO, and it's really wonderful. We are able to record all kinds of shows and movies and when little Rachel keeps us up until 3 am, we can watch something we've recorded. Or when she needs a diaper change, or begins to suddenly wail, we can hit "Pause" on something we're watching. If it's recorded, it waits patiently for us. If it's something live, then it just begins recording for us and we just pick up where we left off. We attend to the baby with the attention she needs and we don't miss out. I know that seems silly, but it's just another stress avoided.

More on why Luv's suck... the tabs are smaller and they have a section of tape. They are mostly the velcro stuff, but they also have tape which can stick to the baby. And they have Barney on them. And as I say, nothing with Barney can be good. We've set aside a lot to toss, but if we find a parent for whom they work, we'll give them away with a warning.

Not Luv'n It...

I'm a little amazed that Luvs is a well-established diaper brand. The ones we've been using are really pretty lame compared to Huggies. They are bigger, have a poorer fit, leak, and don't keep the moisture away from the baby.

We check the baby at every 90-120 minutes to see if she needs a diaper change. We've found it's the easiest way to avoid a meltdown. She can be content for a long time and then all of the sudden, bam. We've found pre-emptive diaper changes has led to a much quieter house. Only with the Luvs, we haven't always made it even 90 minutes. And just recently we had one leak all over the bed while the baby was laying down with mom. Not fun.

In other news, we took the baby with us to see Dodgeball this afternoon. (Note: If you wait until after the credits, there's an easter egg. But trust me, your life will be better off if you just hightail it out of there during the credits.) The baby did admirably, only the most minor of noise, easily rectified by feeding. (So Rachel, if you ever read this, I owe you an extra $5 in allowance. P.S. Congrats on your first month on the outside. I remember life before you, but I would never go back.)

Sleeeeeep

I think last night was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. I do remember being awake at 2:45, but I think I slept all the way through until 10 this morning. Sadly, the same could not be said for Lori who was up a lot during the night with unconsolable Rachel. The baby still has some confusion of night versus day.

The baby is also making some funny faces. We think she must be mimicking faces she's seen me make. And no matter what you say, we believe she's already smiled at us a time or two.

Day 21

Things have gotten interesting. The baby gave us a really easy first week and now is exhibiting behavior everyone warned about. She's not sleeping through the night regularly and it sure is interesting. Or tiring. We're weathering it, but only because we can sleep in. Last night she just did not want to go to sleep. She'd need a change, she'd want to eat, she was fussy because of gas and fussy because she didn't want to sleep. I kept waking up, but Lori was never able to get to sleep. So I finally kicked Lori out and she got about 30 minute's sleep on the couch before Rachel got hungry and I had to go wake up mom. After Lori was asleep again, it wasn't too long before Rachel started to indicate that she was hungry again. I was not waking up poor Lori again so I broke out the emergency Similac. Rachel had no problem taking the bottle and quickly sank the entire thing and then was happier.

It is also fun to watch her become more self-aware. She's starting to learn that she has a tongue. She makes faces and sticks it out repeatedly. And last night she was stroking her own head, feeling her hair. And she's making more faces at us.