Drumming to my own beat

Whenever it's Daddy's turn to feed Kaylani, or to burp Kaylani, or just to hold her and glide with her in her room while she falls asleep, my mind wanders. Never in my life have I been given so much time to hear my own thoughts, and it's kinda nice, and kinda strange all at the same time. The nice part is that I do get a lot of thinking done, usually about how beautfiul my little girl is, or how great of a life I have, and also about what I have to do next. The strange part is sometimes my mind wanders, and I have no idea how I got from thought A to thought Z.

More often that not, a song pops into my head and gets stuck there. I start to sing along in my head, sometimes hum out loud, and very rarely, I'll sing so Kaylani can hear me. But something else happens at the same time. I find myself tapping along to the beat. And usually, it's when I'm burping Kaylani. All of a sudden my slow steady patting of Kaylani's back turns into a drum solo from whatever random song is in my head.

Earlier today, the song in my head was Old McDonald Had a Farm. First off, I have no idea why that song was in my head since we don't listen to that song (or many children's songs in general yet). Whatever it was, it was in my head, and it stuck there. Pat...pat...pat...pat turned into:

*Pat pat pat pat pat pat pat*....e-i-e-i-o.
And *pat pat pat pat pat pat pat*...e-i-e-i-o
With a *pat pat* here and a *pat pat* there
Here a *pat*, there a *pat*, everywhere a *pat pat*
*Pat pat pat pat pat pat pat pat*, e-i-e-i-ooooooooooo!

And yes, I actually sang the non-*pat* parts to Kaylani. After that went on for about 10 minutes, I stopped and couldn't figure out what I was doing or why I was doing it. It's like I was sleep patting. I'm actually just glad it's children's songs that pop into my head. Can you imagine what would happen to Kaylani if the music from Stomp popped into my head?

It's funny what having a baby does to your head. It sure makes you do some crazy things. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation (although we're sleeping pretty well), or maybe it's just a change in lifestyles now. I may just have to accept the fact that I'm going to *pat* along from now on. Shouldn't be a problem, at least until Kaylani can burp herself. Then I hope I grow out of this phase, otherwise someone's going to be awfully offended when I keep patting them.

Late Night Shoot Out

I woke up at 6 this morning to give Kaylani a bottle like I do most days, and when I walked into her room, I knew something happened while I was sleeping. Something serious happened. I wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but from what I could see, it involved poop. And by the looks of it, a lot of it. The changing pad cover was on the floor in a ball, which is never a good sign. In it's place was a hooded bath towel, also not a good sign. And when I unswaddled Kaylani, she was wearing something different then what we put her to sleep in. That's 3 bad signs, and that was all I needed to know I missed something big.

I went downstairs to grab her bottle, and put it in the bottle warmer which is in our bedroom. Mommy was awake at this point, and pumping away as usual. So, I innocently asked her, "Kaylani have a blowout last night?" What I got back was more than I asked for.

Mommy took a deep breath before she looked up at me. She stared at me, exhaustion clear on her face, and said as calmly as she could, "it was EVERYwhere." Of course I needed more, so I probed a little deeper and this is the beginning:

"Jonathan, you have no idea. I was about to change her and she started farting and pooping, so I waited a little bit. After a minute, she started crying real bad so I thought she was done. When I took out the diaper, the poo SHOT out. It really just SHOT out. You know the part of the changing table thats higher? Underneath the basket of diapers? The poo hit that, and just went EVERYwhere!"

And that wasn't the end of it, but the bottle was warm, and Kaylani was crying, so I had to wait a bit to hear the end of it. I know that's not important to you right now, but I figure if I had to wait, so should you. Anyways, here's how the rest of the story goes:

"When it hit that part of the changing table, it just went everywhere. It went up, back onto the changing mat, on to the wall, but that wasn't the worst part. It was still coming out and I had nothing to cover it with, so I put my hand to cover it."

"You put your hand over her butt to cover the poo from coming out???" I asked.

"I had nothing else I could do! When I did that, it went all over the place. It went all over Kaylani's clothes, it went on the wall, it went on me. It was disgusting! I wanted to wake you up, but if I screamed for you, you would have had a heart attack. There was poo everywhere and I couldn't pick her up, so I wiped my hand clean with some wipes, cleaned up the area a little bit, and then I took off all her clothes, but I had nowhere to change her. So I put her in her bed after I wiped her down, got rid of the changing mat and her clothes, and then started to wipe the walls and the table off."

"I couldn't believe that poo could shoot out like that. It was like a hose, and it just bounced and splattered everywhere. Gross! But I washed my hands, came back, put a towel down, and finished changing her before I could nurse her and get her back to sleep. What a night!"

"Umm...sorry I missed it?" I said apologetically.

"Shut up."

And that was last night. I had heard stories of projectile poop, but we had never experienced it. Well, technically I still haven't experienced it, but I did hear about it. All in all, Mommy did a great job handling the situation. You can't even tell there was poop on the walls in here, or on her. Luckily for us, tonight was bath night anyways, so everything and everyone is back to normal. Well, maybe not Mommy's memory. That's one that will linger for awhile.

It's been awhile since we had a blog worthy poop story, so I hope you enjoyed it. It's now also time to enjoy some more pictures. These are from the last 2 days, which if you're keeping track, means I finally missed a day of pictures. Day 40 came and went, and it wasn't the best of days for any of us. Kaylani was a bit fussy during the day, and even at night, so when we remembered she was already asleep. Sad, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully it won't happen again for awhile. Either way, enjoy, and come back soon!

It's coming...

Every day it gets a little closer. It's been on the calendar for weeks now, and it's getting harder not to think about it. I don't even know how to prepare for it, and I definitely don't know what I'm going to do when it comes. I think I'm going to put everything off until the last minute, because if I don't, I might just break down.

Unfortunately I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm actually ready for Christmas. It's what happens a few days before Christmas, and also what's going to happen a few days after that's on my mind. Let's talk about one at a time though, and since a few days before Christmas is only a few days from now (yikes), that comes first.

This coming Monday, Kaylani has her 8 week checkup, which is actually 2 weeks early. For all of you who have kids, you know what happens at 8 weeks. For those who don't, you're about to find out. At 8 weeks, Kaylani will get her first series of...shots. Shots, in my book, are no good, no matter what age you are (or what type of "shot" we're talking about). The worst part about these shots are that they're not being done on me. I can take a shot (again, no matter what type we're talking about), but I'm not exactly sure I can take watching Kaylani get a shot.

It's seriously been on my mind since we scheduled it 1 month ago. I remember taking my dog to get shots and having to hold him down when the doctor stuck him with the needle. He would whimper sadly and I'd be sad. Those were feelings I had for my dog 12 years ago, which expalins why I'm completely afraid of what's going to happen when the doctor pulls out the needle and Kaylani doesn't whimper, but cries. She'll put on her sad frown, cry hysterically, and there won't be much I can do about it...except be sad with her.

Apparently they also get sick for a day or two immediately after any shot they get (which apparnetly happen pretty frequently for the next year)! That's also kinda sad since it's only 3 days before Christmas. Is my baby girl going to be sick for her first Christmas? Is she going to be dazed and out of it? I know she won't remember any of it anyways, but still, I really hope that she won't look back at pictures 5 years from now and see herself crying. She'll ask why she was so sad on Christmas and I'll have to tell her she got shots right before it. Then she'll associate Christmas with getting shots, and hate Christmas forever.

Oh man, maybe we should skip the 8 week checkup...

We've gone from glide to bounce

The glider's broken. It's lost its magical powers. The aura around it has apparently worn out. And I want it back.

Fortunately, we've found a workaround. But it's a temporary workaround. I hope. Everything used to be so easy. Once Kaylani was clean and fed, if she needed to be calmed down, I could take her in my arms, head for the glider, and then just glide the night away. But now, it doesn't work like that. It's not simple anymore. I guess it couldn't last forever. Could it?

Alright, the workaround isn't the worst thing in the world. It's not like Kaylani only quiets down if I balance on one leg with my left arm in the air, but for me, it's not that much more comfortable. She likes to bounce. Not bounce like a basketball, but she likes it when Daddy bounces with her. Doesn't sound like the hardest thing to do right? Well, it isn't, except Daddy has bad knees, and bouncing is a bit hard on the knees. And Mommy? Well, Mommy has a bad back, so bouncing doesn't really work for her either. But we do it, because that's what parents do...anything.

Everything ties back to poo, well in this case, Pooh, because Kaylani is kinda like Tigger. After all, Tiggers like to bounce! And you know what? If Kaylani likes to bounce, then so do Mommy and Daddy because bad knees, bad back, or bad anything is totally worth seeing a happy Kaylani, or more specifically, a sleeping Kaylani.

So, while we try and find the glider's mojo, we'll bounce and bounce and bounce. And let's just hope that the bouncing phase doesn't turn into the stand on one leg with the left arm out phase. But if it does, I'd be the first to buy stock in Motrin.

Raising Her The Right Way

It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Yankees fan. And it's no secret that I plan on raising Kaylani like that, my nieces and nephews like that, and really anyone that I can still influence like that. But I don't think team loyalty is something you can teach someone, or push upon someone. It just kinda comes along because you're raised that way, or for us Yankees fans, because you know it's the right thing to do.

Take my friend Jay for example. His daughter likes the Yankees, even though she lives in Dallas and her dad is a Red Sox fan (this post will not go into how ridiculous it is that Jay, who lives in Dallas, is a Red Sox fan). Now his daughter is someone I can relate to. She's a Yankees fan, and that makes a lot of sense to me, and that's how I always thought Kaylani would turn out.

Well tonight, I was able to exhale just a little bit. Sure I had pictures previously of Kaylani with the Yankees hat that my brother and family bought her when she was just a day old, but that wasn't enough to make me relax. She hadn't shown me that she was a true Yankees fan yet (granted, it's not baseball season quite yet) until now. Tonight, she did what most of us Yankees fans do when they see Red Sox paraphernalia...she gave it the finger.

The picture above was not staged (well, adding the Red Sox stuff obviously was), but she really did give it the finger. I've never been so proud! And before anyone gets the wrong idea, Kaylani will NOT be allowed to give people the finger when she's older. That would be rude and uncalled for...unless they're wearing Red Sox paraphernalia, in which case it would be hilarious!

Sure you could argue that her pinky is in the air too, but I'd argue that I just didn't snap the picture fast enough. Either way, from this day forward, Kaylani is a true Yankees fan. She was born in a down year for the Yankees, but she'll grow up in a great time for them as well. And her Dad is going to take her along every step of the way, including to Opening Day at the new stadium this April if Mommy lets him. I'll keep you posted on how that conversation goes...

But in the meantime, check out a few pictures from the last two nights. We had to wake her up for yesterday's photos because we may have forgot to take any during the day, but we got them. As long as this is a daily blog, the goal is still to take daily pictures, so keep on checking back! And keep on reading along. After all, what else are you going to do until Yankees season starts?

Who doesn't want to be a baby again?

Life as a baby is pretty great. That thought has come into my mind several times since Kaylani was born. I mean, think about it for a second. You sleep 16 hours a day, and when you wake up, you eat. While you're eating, you fall back asleep! And whenever you're awake and not eating, all you have to do is lay there and look around. The only thing you have to be worried about is when you're going to eat again, or when you're going to sleep again, or maybe when someone is going to come clean the pee or poop that's stuck to you.

Okay, so maybe the pee or poop thing doesn't sound like the best thing in the world, but the sleeping/eating/sleeping thing does, and the no other worries thing does too. You don't have to get up early to go to work, don't need to worry about an upcoming deadline, and don't even need to worry about what to cook/eat for dinner. It sounds pretty ideal to me. Well, I guess some people would have a problem with eating the same thing every meal (I wouldn't), and others would find it boring to sleep for so long (I would), but still, the good still outweighs the bad, right?

As a baby, you have people that do everything for you...EVERYTHING. Hungry? Someone will feed you. Tired? Someone will rock you to sleep. Lonely? Someone will hold you. Pee or poop on yourself? Someone will change you (and you don't even have to tell them to promise never to tell anyone about it or that you owe them one). What a great life! Well, except that you're completely reliant on someone all the time. That could be kinda tough.

Hmm, so maybe it's not the best life in the world, at least not now that I've experienced so much more. But for Kaylani, I'm positive she has the best life in the world. Anyone with these parents and friends wouldn't think otherwise either. So what that I'm not a baby anymore. After all, that's why I have one.

WD-40 has ruined my life

Every night, we spend a lot of time trying to get Kaylani to sleep, and after we do so, we sneak out of the room as quietly as can be to make sure she stays that way. She sleeps pretty well regardless of what noise we make, but still, just to make sure, we try and let the humidifier be the only noise in the room. And every night, we get out of the room silently, and then it happens:
"Squeakkkkkkkk"

The damn door. I don't actually think it's ever woken Kaylani up, but the squeak is so loud and annoying that we always plan on picking up some WD-40 the next time we're at the store to make it stop. And today, we finally followed through. We were wrapping up our Christmas shopping (no pun intended) while looking for some stocking stuffers at CVS, and came across WD-40 (not in the Christmas aisle). We were so happy that we remembered to actually buy it...until we got home.

When we got home, I sprayed the hinges on Kaylani's door to make sure the smell was gone by the time it was bedtime. I moved the door around, and there was silence. It wasn't until later that I would realize that the sound from the door was the least of our problems. We started Kaylani's nighttime routine a bit early since she looked tired. We changed her, washed her up a little bit, and Mommy nursed her real good to try to add a few minutes to the sleep time. It was all going so very well.

Then, Mommy silently slipped out of the room, silently closed the door so that it was open only a few inches, and started down the stairs. But then, it happened:

"Bang!"

She turned around, and the door was wide open. So she went back, and closed the door again. And again, the door slowly returned to its wide open position. Next, we tried again and closed the door a little bit more, so that it was in the frame but didn't "click", and that worked for a second, but only for a second. The only way to keep the door remotely shut was to "click" it shut.

Damn you WD-40. Sure closing the door fully doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world, but it doesn't let any sound out. Yes, we have a monitor, but there's something comforting about leaving the door open just a crack. I mean, what if the door is locked for some extremely odd reason, and we shut the door fully? I'd have to knock it down (or find a way to unlock it I guess, but knocking it down sounds much more likely).

It just goes to show that if ain't broken, you really shouldn't fix it. Enough about the damn door, check out some of our pictures from the weekend. We had our friends Carmen and Tom come visit from Boston, just going to show that we love Boston visitors, so come on down! Just don't bring any WD-40...stupid WD-40.

Put your hands in the air!

Last night, I came to the realization that my baby is almost qualified to work as a signal caller at an airport. Her next milestone is the ability to hold onto things such as a rattle or toy, or in this case, orange glow sticks.

I know I've been writing about sleep a lot lately, but since I've heard quite a few "crappy" comments, you're going to have to put up with it for now. Soon you'll be begging me for stories about poop again, but in the meantime, it's sleep story time. I've already told you about our sleep routines, but I feel like lately her arm movements have become quite the show.

After she's done eating, and burping, and after she's ready for bed, it's time to get her swaddled. Now since we swaddle her with her arms inside (certain babies wake themselves up when the freak out and their arms go all over the place), its very important for her arms to be completely at her side when she's swaddled. If her arms are swaddled to the front, or a little bit up, chances are she'll cry until you try again. Also, if she's not swaddled real tight, Kaylani will do her best Houdini impression and get her arms out before she wakes up.

Lately, getting her arms down to the side has been a bit more difficult. She really does look like one of those people on the tarmac that wave planes in and out. She'll lift both arms straight up, or one straight up the other bent 90 degrees, both arms leaning sideways, both bent, one waving, or whatever. The part that really makes me laugh is when you put one arm by her side, and it goes just fine. But when you pull the other one down to her side, the other one shoots straight back up! Fix that one, and the other one bends, or goes up. And this goes on for a few minutes. It's like she's planes in to their appropiate spot. Well, it's either that or she's doing her best Village People impersonation.

Either way, it's hard to not smile when this happens, even if it's 3am and Daddy has been up for an hour and now dead tired. Supposedly this arm reflex ends by 3 months, so I guess I'll have to just keep smiling at Kaylani for the next 6 weeks. Until then, she's still really cute, no matter how tired Daddy may be.

Enter the Sandman

Everyone knows the song "Enter the Sandman" by Metallica, right? I mean, it is the entrance song to the greatest closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera (who by the way, Kaylani possibly would have been named after had she been a boy). I think Kaylani knows it too, but not the whole scary rock version. She just knows part of one line: "sleep with one eye open."

In college, I found out that Uncle Tommy slept with one eye open sometimes, and it was completely creepy. Since he would pass out on the futon with his head to the side, you couldn't ever really tell if he was awake or sleeping. Thankfully Kaylani isn't creepy at all, and she doesn't "sleep" with one eye open, but when she's falling asleep, she'll sneak peeks at me to make sure I'm still there. She'll close her eyes for a minute, then all of a sudden, one eye will slowly sneak open and take a peek at me. If I'm still there, then she closes her eye and goes back to sleep. And if I'm not, time to exercise the lungs!

When I was younger, I used to do the same thing, but for a different reason. When it was late and my parents were going to bed, they used to check on me before they went upstairs to make sure I was sleeping. I can remember having one eye slightly opened so I could see if they were still out there (being Chinese really helped here). And when they were gone, on came the TV, out came the soda, and it was late night TV for me! Just kidding mom and dad...kinda.

I'm pretty sure Kaylani doesn't do quite the same, and since I'm convinced she does the opposite, I can just wait her out. My parents never could wait me out since I didn't sleep, and fortunately for me, Kaylani doesn't try and wait me out. So, looks like Daddy has won one over his little baby girl so far. If you're keeping track still, score another one for this guy!

I'm sure that the scales will tip in the other direction soon enough, so while she's still too small to pull tricks on her dad, I'm just going to enjoy it for now. She's growing way too fast, as you can see in today's round of pictures. She's almost getting too big to fit in her Christmas stocking (hehehe)!

Stop the glider, I want to get off!

Kaylani is either going to love rollercoasters like Daddy, or hate them like Mommy. Early indications point towards loving them though. Of course, we're basing this solely off of her experiences with us rocking her back and forth, or more specifically, her time in the glider.

One of the ways to get her to sleep has always been to glide back and forth, but we've graduated past lightly gliding. We've moved to full speed gliding now, almost to the point where Kaylani's head looks like a bobble head! Okay, to save time for those of you who comment on my lack of neck support, it's not really that bad. Granted, it's not really that good either, but her little neck is fine. I promise.

I really do think she likes it though, and if she's crying she'll usually stop within a few high speed glides. If she's calm, but not quite sleeping, she'll slowly close her eyes as the wind blows against her face with each glide. She gets so calm that she doesn't even stir when Daddy glides too far back and hits the wall (I've yet to check if there's a dent back there).

It's kinda fun to watch her drift away into dreamland as we glide. The true test comes when we stop. The trick is to stop slowly as to not disrupt the vertigo that she may be experiencing. And if she stays passed out with no motion, then there's just the arm test left to do. Once that arm drops for the third time, it's to the crib we go!

The only question is if the high speed gliding works because she likes it and is relaxed, or if she hates it and closes her eyes to make it stop. Personally I think she must like it because from my experiences, when I'm dizzy and want things to stop moving, closing my eyes does NOT make it any easier (man it's been a long time since I've experienced that). Whatever it is, it works. And you know what they say! If it ain't broken, then don't stop gliding fast because it seems to work when you're trying to get your baby to close her eyes and go to sleep. Well, something like that anyways.