Flip Flop

Flip. Flop. Back. Belly. Flip. Flop. Back. Belly. Repeat that sequence about 10 more times and you have Kaylani's nighttime performance. Luckily she doesn't wake up every time she flips or flops, but she has been trying to escape her crib around 4am each morning. Even luckier for us is that she'll usually go back to sleep for another 3 hours if Mommy nurses. Since she's getting 11 hours of sleep in total during the night, she can flip and flop as much as she wants in her crib. Kinda.

The great crib escape is something Mommy and I have been dreading for quite awhile. She can't exactly pull herself up yet, and she's barely getting from down to sit as it is, but the way she's developing we just never know when it'll happen. A few nights of waking up to Kaylani whining to get out of her crib, and seeing her tugging on her bumpers trying to either get up or get out was enough to cause us to take action. Tonight, we lowered her crib one more level. Now her mattress is a a good 1.5 feet from the top which means she'll have to work pretty hard to get out. There's only one more level to go. Hopefully our backs won't give out before we get to that next level. So far so good.

Taking care of the worry around flipping and flopping in bed was the easy thing to do. Figuring out what we're going to do with her on the changing table is a completely different story. There, it's not flip, flop, back, belly. Instead it's flip, crawl, bang head on wall, grab edge of table, pull, roll, and try and jump off the 3' ledge. Now repeat that 10 times and you have Kaylani's diaper change routine. No matter how many times we pick her up and put her on her back, she'll immediately flip over and try and make a break for it. In bed? Kinda cute. On a changing table? Not so cute. On a changing table without a diaper? Definitely not cute (okay, still kinda cute, but don't tell Kaylani that).

A few months ago we laughed at our friends Steve and Lisa when they showed us that it took 2 of them to change Aidan's diaper. One of them would hold him by the arms and belly while the other changed his diaper. At the time, it seemed ridiculous that they would need 2 people to overpower their baby. Now, I'm thinking that we need 3 of us, or perhaps a restraining strap attachment for the changing table to keep Kaylani still. Karma sucks.

Kaylani's new diaper change routine is still new enough to us that we're okay avoiding any type of restraining device for the moment, but if she keeps it up, that all might change. After all, safety comes first, and giving her the chance to pull herself off the 3' ledge and onto the ground (or into the garbage can/diaper genie that happens to be on that side of the table) doesn't sound like a good thing. We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, check out these pictures from the last couple of days. Unfortunately none of them are of Kaylani hanging off of the changing table because we can't spare a set of arms for a picture during diaper changing time!

And when you're done checking out those pictures, don't forget to check out Dad-Blogs for the latest installment of Fatherhood Fridays! There's always a great bunch of reads over there to keep you busy for the weekend. You'll love it. Trust me, or your money back!

It's about sacrifice

Having a baby is about sacrifice. It changes your life, no doubt about it. And no matter how bad you wanted a baby, once you have one, you're going to have to sacrifice something. But it's not the bad type of sacrifice. It's a good sacrifice. Actually, it makes everything so worth it that it doesn't even seem like you're sacrificing anything.

Our lives actually haven't changed that much from before we had Kaylani. For the past few years we've slowly morphed away from the bars, the nightlife, and even going out for dinner on a regular basis. We were always willing to stay in and have a quiet night in front of the TV or cook a dinner just for the two of us and sit and talk at home. Heck, we might even go out more WITH Kaylani! But overall, not much sacrifice there.

Up until yesterday, TV was probably the biggest sacrifice. Kaylani LOVES to watch TV, but since she's not supposed to, Mommy hardly even turns it on during the day, and Mommy and Daddy try to wait until after Kaylani's asleep before we watch our shows. So as minor as that seems, it's one of a few sacrifices that we've been willing to make for her.

But yesterday, Daddy made a big sacrifice without even thinking twice about it. Yesterday, we converted Daddy's office into a playroom. It just made the most sense since it was on the main floor and near us. Our original plan was to finish the basement and turn that into a playroom (and bar area), but the basement wasn't nearly as convenient as Daddy's office. So Daddy sacrificed his office for his little girl. One of many more sacrifices to come I'm sure.

The office didn't disappear totally. It actually got moved into one of the upstairs guest rooms, but it's no longer a segregated space with an office feel to it. Now it's a bedroom with an office feel to it. But in actuality, the playroom downstairs looks great and I'm glad we have it. It also cleared up our family room a bit since we could move most of her toys into her new playroom. So all in all, it was a big sacrifice with an even bigger payout. Oh, and the other sacrifice was that Daddy spent Valentine's Day moving everything around, but that's just how it goes when you have a baby. "Free time" doesn't really exist anymore. Yet another sacrifice.

We attended Mia and Sofie's baptism today (and they did great!), which ties in pretty nicely to my sacrifice theme I've got going. After all, Christ sacrificed himself for all of us, and that was the ultimate sacrifice. Kinda makes giving up my office not seem like that big of a deal. And I guess it's not a big deal. Well, to me it's not a big deal. To Kaylani, I'm sure it's a huge deal, and that's all the reason I need.

The Future Starts Today

As I watched Barack Obama get sworn in as the 44th President of the United States today, I was filled with hope of a better country for my daughter, and was inspired to write my first political post ever. I was ready to reflect upon the last 8 years and the effects it had on my life, and then talk about the future and how today marked the start of a better world. I was ready to talk about how this was the beginning of change in our country that would benefit millions of people, and my daughter would be one of those millions. I was ready to take a stand and say that I too believe that yes we can. But then, Mommy brought Kaylani into my office and all those thoughts were replaced momentarily.

There are two types of reactions that Kaylani has received. The first is from people who have seen pictures, and their reaction is "She looks so much bigger in pictures. I can't believe how tiny she is!" And that's a fair reaction since I do tend to take very close pictures. It's also a better reaction then "I forget how tiny she is until I see her next to your fat head!" That one makes Daddy feel awesome. The second type of reaction is from people who have never seen her before, and they always say "I can't believe how much hair she has!" Also a fair reaction since she does have quite a head of hair on her, and it's only grown since she was born. It's grown so much that Mommy is even trying to convince Daddy to cut off her split ends, but Daddy's not budging quite yet.

It's funny how people react to you when you have a baby. I walked around the office today and was engaged by at least 4 or 5 people that I've never spoken to before. It's not a bad thing since she does tend to make us more social (Daddy especially), but it's just funny that it takes a baby to make people be social. But I don't blame the people. After all, Kaylani is quite the head turner.

Anyways, it's been a long couple of days and it's late again all of a sudden. But tonight, I'll go to sleep knowing that tomorrow is another day towards a brighter future. And before today, I didn't think that my future could get any brighter. After all, I've already got everything I could ever hope for.

Life Changer

There's a Johnson & Johnson's campaign for baby.com called "Having A Baby Changes Everything" or HABCE for short. I, for one, believed the campaign was true before Kaylani was born. All the parents I've talked to also agree with it. Life is just different when you have a child. When you have something so fragile in its early days that it depends on you for everything. Well, I've had my baby for 8 days now, and while having a baby changed some things, it hasn't changed EVERYthing. Let's take a look at a few things that have and have not changed.

Not Changed - The amount of sleep I get each night. Prior to Kaylani, I used to get around 5-6 hours of sleep each night. Since she was born, I still get 5-6 hours a night.

Changed - The time I go to sleep. I used to go to bed between 11 and midnight, and definitely be asleep by 1am at the latest. Lately I've been headed to bed around 9pm, which allows me to wake up 4-5 times a night with her, and still get 5-6 hours of sleep before 7am.

Not Changed - Watching football! Today was my first Football Sunday at home, and so far, I've already watched 2 hours of pre-game, the entire Giants game (Go Big Blue!), and the first half of the Chargers/Steelers game. That's 7 hours of football already! Last Sunday night, less than 48 hours after she was born, I was even able to keep up with the Giants-Eagles game via my Blackberry from the hospital.

Changed - The way I watch football. So I watched the entire game, but by all accounts, I was more subdued than normal. My cheers during each Brandon Jacobs touchdown or Aaron Ross interception were limited to whispered words of encouragement (shhh...yes...shhh) and polite clapping similar to a golf clap. As an aside, trying to get Kaylani to do a touchdown sign after each score was unsuccessful.

Not Changed - Being on time. Granted we've only left the house 2 times since Kaylani was born (once for the peds visit, the other to get Abuela), but we've left and arrived right on time.

Changed - The way I drive. Anyone who has been in the car with me (especially those who have been in a car with me more than 3 years ago) knows that I like to drive a little bit fast, and a little bit aggressively. Now? I spend most of my time in the middle to slow lanes, and drive only a fraction above the speed limit.

Not Changed - Having a picture on my cell phone or computer background. I've always had a picture of my family in the 2 places where I look most of the day.

Changed - The amount of times I change that picture on my cell phone or computer background. I have so many pictures to choose from, and Kaylani is changing daily, that I don't know what to do! A picture that I took at the birth has been replaced at least 4 times since then just because she's so darn cute (Kaylani AND mommy).

Not Changed - The love for my wife. I've always loved Brendalys with all my heart, and in the past 8 days, I've loved her even more. She was the one who gave me my beautiful baby girl and there's no way I could try to match that with any sort of gift to her (although I sure did try).

Changed - How proud I am of my wife. Watching Brendalys go through the pregnancy, the birth, and these first 9 days have taken my feelings for her to the next level. She was amazing throughout everything and has been the greatest mom to Kaylani and still the greatest wife to me. There's nothing more I could ask for, but I'm sure she'll continue to amaze me as we go along.

So tomorrow I start work again. It hasn't changed yet, but I already know that a big change will be the overwhelming desire to want to be at home with my family during the day. But since my work ethic and work product will not change, another change will be the way I spend time at home. I learned in Daddy Boot Camp that it's not the amount of time you spend at home, it's how you spend it.

Right now, I'm going to spend some time staring at my beautiful daughter. That's something that will never change. Feel free to stare too...at the album that is (unless you come visit, then you can stare in person).