Backpack vs. Stroller - #1

September 24, 2010

What a good week. Natalie is growing and playing. She insists on destroying anything standing taller than her, which is really fun. I am getting quick enough at stacking blocks (all in different shapes) that I can keep her busy for an hour, crawling on the carpet, playing Babyzilla. Her poor knees, they get so red from rug burn. But she is having fun crawling up a storm and I think it is great for her muscle development.

I am starting to really play with my video camera, and if you have a chance you can check her out on You Tube at www.youtube.com/Atherstone36 . People have asked me what the significance of the “36” is; I don’t really know how it started, but when I was in grade school that was my baseball jersey number. I insisted on having the same number on all of my jerseys since the second grade and through college for each sport (baseball, softball, and hockey), so I guess I can qualify it as my favorite number. When setting up a channel on You Tube I encountered many naming conflicts for names that made sense, so I just gave in and put my jersey number at the end of our last name. Some people seem to understand, others don’t. Frankly I don’t care, it is just an address; you don’t buy a house just because of the name of the street, this is no different.

We are heading out to the National Draft Horse Show in Grass Valley tomorrow. It is an annual family event with big horses, friendly people, and fair food, wrapped up in the mountain settings of the sierras. I really enjoy going, even though the show is getting repetitive. To prepare Natalie for the show, Jakki tried to put Natalie in my baby hiking backpack (that I insisted on getting before she was even born). We thought this would be a good test run since it is only a day event in a park/fairground setting. I guess Natalie is still too small, as she can’t see far over the pack itself, which would then provide her a great view of the back of my head. We’ll test it more tonight but I think I will have to wait a while before I can officially ditch the bulky stroller for the sporty backpack.

All for this week. Best wishes everyone!

~ Nathan

My Little Godzilla

September 17, 2010

We are crawling! And she is quick. This week’s highlight has been stacking blocks and watching her crawl over to them and knocking them down. She is not a fan of stacked objects. She is my little Godzilla, sure to topple anything within her reach. It is a fun game, and we are capitalizing on it as much as possible. I figure that someday she will start doing the opposite and begin stacking them. But for now I think she just wants to reverse whatever we are doing for her, just to be a stinker.

Because of the crawling, Jakki rearranged the living room to make a corral with the couch and walls. It really closes the room, but until we can teach Natalie what she can and can’t touch, it is a simple and effective solution. We will probably change it back in a few years, but for now we make adjustments for her, and it keeps everyone safe and happy. Jakki can leave her in the living room and feel confident that she is safe during the breaks that are mandatory for a stay at home mom. This weekend I will probably move the TV around so that it is realigned with the couch. We all have our priorities.

The nighttime routine is getting shorter, and I am down to reading two books and putting her down before she is out. She fusses a little, but it never lasts long, and she sleeps through the night. Or at least I think she does, because she doesn’t wake me up.

There is not much else to share this week. No medical appointments. No fits. No aches and pains. No excessive mucous. No teeth yet, which is curious, but not concerning. Natalie is generally happy, likes to eat, and is catching up on growing. I think the Dr.’s may be surprised at her next checkup.

Have a great weekend!

~ Nathan

Deceleration Process

September 10, 2010

Well, I can say that Natalie has been feeling better. Although the fussiness and random bits of pain come and go, she has at least slept through the night for most of this week. She has been easier to get down, unfortunately I am learning that you can overdo the deceleration process before putting her down into the crib.

The current procedure is as follows: around 9:30pm Natalie starts rubbing her eyes and yawning (very cute by the way); Jakki takes her into her nursery and does the bedtime diaper and pajama change while I prep the rocker for reading time; I sit and read through four or five of her books (they are quick reads, so I keep rolling through them); I shut out the lights and rock her, or walk her to sleep, which can take up to 30 minutes. This week she has started rolling around and playing in my lap after about the third book. I am either a boring reader, unable to keep her attention, or so exciting that she wakes up and becomes active. She has taken to turning pages for me, with a little page control from daddy, and sometimes we wrestle with the book so that she doesn’t turn the page before I read the four lines of rhyme. I think she likes the action of turning pages more than listening to me. Either way, she is a bit more awake and active when I am done reading than when Jakki first picks her up to change her. It’s a cruel process, because sometimes I just want to put her down, say goodnight, and shut the door. She fussed enough last night in my arms that I did just that, I read to her, rocked a little and quickly put her down and said goodnight. She was just too awake, or fussy, to be comfortable in any position in my lap or arms. So I just put her down and turned on her glowing seahorse. She looked at me like I was a bastard for putting her down into this cage, so I kissed her on the forehead, told her that she would be ok, said goodnight, and walked out the door. This was a risky gamble, considering the separation anxiety mentioned last week. It actually worked out well, she only cried out once or twice and then she conked out.

So maybe I need to change it up, read one less book, and put her down before she falls asleep? For some reason I feel a thread of guilt though. I don’t get to see her enough during the day, and I really don’t want her to be upset that I am walking out the door. When she cries out, all of the satisfaction in our time together vanishes and I feel like I didn’t do enough for her. My comfort in the process is dependent on her comfort, and the only way I seem to feel satisfied is when she is asleep in my arms, or quickly asleep after I put her down. That little dirty look doesn’t help either. It’s weird. I have a guilty conscience, I guess. But mommy and daddy need their sleep too. So I will stick with the gamble, and try to put her down sooner.

So that's how we put her to bed, hopefully I will keep learning and adapting so hat we can all sleep better. I am happy, and we are, for now, healthy.

~ Nathan

Already screwing with my mind

September 03, 2010

Another Friday, and another morning lost for words. I am just tired. Wednesday night Natalie was up in the early hours of the morning crying and upset. We think she is really starting the teething stage, at least I hope that this is the problem. It is so hard now, worrying about every little pattern, wondering what the problem is now. Sometimes she cannot be comforted. Sometimes she just wants to be held. I think I created a monster because when I put her down to sleep I will hold her in my arms and walk her around until she starts to breathe heavily, but that wreaks havoc on my back (she’s starting to get heavy, 16 pounds), and when I cannot do it we just put her down in her crib, and boy she doesn’t like that. She is spoiled, this I understand, but it leads to an odd conundrum.

The debate in question: is it appropriate to teach your baby to self soothe when she is in pain? I don’t think so, but the problem is that we don’t know when she is really in pain, or when she just wants our attention. Little stinker, she is already screwing with my mind. I don’t know if it will be any easier when she can communicate, but I really wish I knew what is hurting her. I can’t wait for the day when she can tell me what is wrong so I can try to fix it.

Needless to say, we didn’t sleep well Wednesday, and last night was spent preparing the guest room for Nadine, Jakki’s old friend now living in Florida. It was a tedious task that led into the late hours. When I crashed at midnight, I literally crashed. If Natalie had issues last night, I didn’t hear them. Hopefully Jakki did, she came into bed well after me.

So, I am pretty tired now and struggling to think straight. My last class for my Masters Degree is adding to the mix, with an inappropriate amount of coursework and stress for an elective class. I am pushing to get that wrapped up as well.

We took Natalie out grocery shopping after work yesterday. It is amazing how much attention she draws in from complete strangers. Natalie didn’t notice though, she was focused on trying to get to the pretzels through the bag. She was eating the bag, wondering what that force field was that was keeping the pretzels from getting in her mouth.

All for now.

~ Nathan