Baby Travelogue

This won't make for interesting reading, but I thought I'd keep a list of places Anna travels so that she can add up her mileage later in life.

Caledonia
Dodgeville
Richland Center
DeForest
Sun Prairie

More to come!

Anna in her stroller!!

Expectations vs. Patterns

Everyone from birth class to experienced mothers have told us that newborns are pretty unpredictable. They're new enough to the world that routines are fairly meaningless, so it's best to 'go with the flow' of the new-to-the-world baby.

We've taken that to heart, but this week Lisa has noticed a pattern that is sinking deep into our parental consciousness.

It seems that when we take Anna out in the evening and keep her out fairly late (past dark), she has a terrible time settling down for some sack time.

On Thursday we took the birthday boy's daughter to Gene and Sue's for some homemade pizza (courtesy of the birthday boy) and delicious chocolate cake (courtesy of Grandma Sue Sue). Anna, it seemed, was having a nice time sleeping on his Grandma Weezie, being held by Great Grandma Hattie, and hanging with his cousins Ava and Rowan. She ate some, she slept some, she played some. All good, right?

How do you explain, then, that she fussed and cried till past 2am? Her mother's instinct is that too many strange arms, excitement, and who knows what else seems to keep her unsettled longer into the evening.

Finally after trying to put her down for the umpteenth time, I scooped her up and made a spot in the bed next to me, and we fell asleep. I was in a really uncomfortable position, but, hey, you have to sacrifice for the next generation, right? Beats listening to the horse cries of a cranky little girl.

Speaking of which, here's a picture of her cranky puss yesterday. Yesterday and last night went much better by the way. We were home by dark.

That's to be expected

After a particularly difficult night of crying, fussing, and general carrying on from Anna, I spoke to our friend Will on the phone. He's the proud father of two rapidly growing children and was headed our way so that he, Julie, and their kids could take a peak at Baby Anna. The conversation went about like this:

"We had a rough night - she cried and cried and was often too worked up to nurse, which is her favorite thing in the world."

Will: "That's to be expected."

"Perhaps it is, but how the hell do we know?"

Everyone assures us that this is the hardest time to be parents, at least until they're walking and getting into every possible dangerous thing. Will and Julie say we're half way through the hard part. Malcolm and Jenny were a little more conservative and consistent with what we've heard before, a 10-12 week sentence. Both seem really far away, especially at 12:30 am.

She falls asleep, but usually won't stay asleep long. Mostly she wants to nurse every 1.5 to 2 hours. Lisa tries to look on the bright side by saying in the morning, "She did pretty good last night." By that she means that she nursed and fell back asleep, but again, if she could sleep an additional hour in between, Lisa could get a little real rest.

I've come up with a number of nicknames for her and lately they've become a little less complimentary:

First nicknames:

Snorky (not really flattering, but certainly cute)
Struggle Bug (cute, but suggestive of her sometimes cranky nature)

More recent names:

Burpee big girl (there's a tomato with a similar name...given because of her red-faced crying)
Snarfy (as in 'snarf it down')
Big Gulp (named after the 44oz gas station soft drink)
Little Ms. Cranky Britches ('nuff said)

Her likes:

Breast milk, snuggling with Mom, looking outside, stroller rides, Dad singing Simon and Garfunkel tunes, warm baths.

Dislikes:

Prolonged sleep, sleeping solo, sleeping in, sleeping while swaddled, staying asleep after Dad has sung to her and danced her around for 20 minutes, clothes being pulled over her head, mechanical swings, vibrating seats.

So far, humor helps, as does working together.

We had our first date night without Anna, so really we (I) shouldn't complain, but it makes for better blogging. We went to dinner with the Thornes and the DeKaysers and had a great time.
In fact, I felt like a true grown-up for the first time, out to dinner with friends while the babysitters (Gene and Sue) took great care of Anna.

We had to admit that we missed her while we were gone. Lisa explained that that must be biologic and not logic speaking.

Where is that baby translator from the Simpsons?

If you're a Simpsons fan, you might have seen when Unkie Herb invented a baby translator that would decipher a baby's crying to tell you what it was after. Since that was a cartoon, we have to keep trying and troubleshooting between the two of us.

At this point, a cry for food sounds a whole lot like the "I'm cranky tired and will fall asleep in the next few minutes" cry. What's tricky is when she is tired but won't take her nook. Till recently we've generally took that to mean, "Slip me a nipple, will you?"

She rarely seems bothered by wet diapers or with the soiled variety. Nevertheless, we change them.

One thing I can tell very quickly is when she's about to get fussy and cry.

We gave her a bath yesterday and she didn't seem to mind it at all, which was a relief.

In other news, she's become a world traveler. This weekend we took her to the Land's End summer clearance sale in Dodgeville, and we also introduced her to the Considine Farm in the Baraboo Bluffs. Fortunately, she's getting used to being in a car seat, as she slept most of her time on the road. I had a nice time carrying her around the Dodgeville sale, which made me very popular with the older ladies. Guess I'll take any positive affirmation I can get as a new dad.

Here are a few pics from the last few days of parenting fun.

How The Time Goes

Anna seems to be settling into a few habits now, as much as possible for a two week old.

Much of her awake time revolves around nursing. She'll wake and fuss and Lisa will feed her, trying to recall on which side she left off. She does have a nursing bracelet that helps defuse the baby brain and get her on track to the proper side. Frequently, she'll doze a bit after feeding for a time and while perched upon Lisa's shoulder. Sometimes I get to be involved at this point and can take over the burping process, which gives Lisa a break and me some baby time. As one can imagine, she's not always pleased to have a substitute burper. Never too soon to teach them about compromise.

Occasionally, after feeding on both sides, often more than once, she'll fall asleep. I have to say that it's hard to keep her asleep, unless you hold her and keep a nook on standby. Here's another perfect daddy job. Lisa's usually too exhausted to have the patience to keep it right near her mouth in the event that she is asleep enough that the nook slips from her lips. I hold her across my chest in a semi-reclined position (the lazy boy reclining sofa is excellent for this purpose) and try to keep her as warm and snuggled as I can. I have to say that I enjoy having her sleep on my chest enough that I know I'll miss this terribly when she's a little older.

From this vantage point, I get a close up view of the goofy faces she makes as she slumbers. She also makes a variety of cute gasping and sighing noises that push her well off the cuteness charts in Dad's eye.

If she's especially sleepy, as she was this afternoon, she'll be asleep enough that I can put her in her "Moses" basket after 45 minutes to an hour of Daddy time. By that point, my 42 year old (nearly 43!) joints are barking for stretching and my right arm is likely numb from holding it up for so long.

Of course the most challenging part of all of this is trying to hound Lisa to take a rest. And even if she does lay down, often she's a little too wired for a helpful rest. I'm always relieved when I pass her by and hear the deep breathing of deep sleep.

Here's a photo of Anna in her miracle blanket, which is a commercially available swaddle blanket. Perfect for containing her very active and flailing arms. In the photo she's giving Daddy the stink eye.

August Outings

We've begun to venture out beyond clinic visits and boy does that feel good! Yesterday we made (mostly) a social visit to Lisa's work to do some "meetin' and greetin'", and this morning we went to the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Capitol Square. As we pulled into the parking ramp, Lisa shared that "When I pictured parenting, this it what I was thinking: You, me and baby going to the farmers' market." She also envisioned a fancy stroller, which was the one sizable purchase during pregnancy.

So it turns out that babies, at least this one, are portable. It's imperative that Mom's along, of course. Can't be too far away from the comfort of quality nourishment, unless you're eager to hear fussing, whining, and an increasingly intensified cry. If there's a sadist or a masochist within you, then go for it. Otherwise, marshmallows like me become panicked fast.

We hope to venture further afield later in the summer, when Anna's a bit sturdier and we're a little more comfortable with the newness of all of this. Before Lisa delivered her late, we flirted with the idea of joining Lisa's parents in Minocqua once she was born. However, it's true that the first couple of weeks are an intense time for new moms, dads, and babies. Don't think there's a way around that.

Enjoy some pics from our adventures, small though they are! One is from the Market when our favorite flower vendor gave Anna some mini-roses free of charge. The other is from Lisa's clinic...Diane is giving Lisa an allergy shot. Usually the baby gets those! Don't forget, you can click the photos for a larger version.