When I was a kid and growing up, my dad always woke me up in the morning. Not deliberately, he didn't come into my room and shake me awake of turn on the light or anything like that but his boom boom boom walking around getting ready for the day woke me up.
And he got up so freaking EARLY!
So early in fact that even though I wanted to get up and tell him to have a great day at work and see what he looks like at that hour in the morning, I could never convince myself to get out of bed.
Ah, to be young again.
And now I'm on the other side. I don't think I wake Annie up because I take care not to, but here I am, waking up at five in the morning to get ready to work out.
Sometimes, especially with these little realizations that I'm doing a lot of the things my dad did, I hope that I can do a better job. I think every parent wants to be better than their parent but in my case, I want it more than most.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Adventures In Dad Land
Well, today we had to take Adam to see the doc about acid reflux. That’s kind of like heartburn. It sucks. He has it, just like Annie did but he’s on meds and is doing well because of them. Today was just a check up to see if it’s working well.
So we walk in and there’s a woman with a baby and a Playboy diaper bag. Bleached hair, inch-long black roots, and gold slippers. I doubt the common sense of anyone who has a Playboy diaper bag.
Anyway, we take Adam to the examination room and lay him down and the nurse says to take his clothes and diaper off.
Taking the diaper off a boy is always a dangerous thing. There’s a weapon being housed in there after all.
I take the diaper off and he has pooped. No big deal. I grab some wipes and wipe him down because he has to be naked to be weighed. Well, as I’m wiping him down he flexes and a ton more poop flies right out of his butt.
By the way, a disclaimer: this blog deals with bodily functions. If this bugs you, you should probably stop reading.
Anyway, it’s pretty bad, like pushing the pump on a Play Doh toy and making a tube or something. So I’m waiting for him to be done so I can clean him up to get weighed. I’m holding his legs up so there’s as little mess as possible and he decides that NOW is the time to pee. So he let go and peed all over the place. Well, less all over the place and more all over his face. It was a direct hit. The best part is that he was shocked about this shaking his head like “WHAT’S GOING ON?! WHY AM I GETTING WET?!” And yet, the pee keeps coming.
So he finally finishes peeing and pooping and I clean him up and we weigh him (9.9 lbs by the way) and he’s crying as I take him back to the examination table and he locks his legs and I tell Kim it’s crazy, it’s like he wants to stand up. She looks away from the nurse and to Adam and apparently she looked like she was on fire and Adam decided he was going to put her out with the only tool he had available. He peed on her. It wasn’t like she was close either, she was a good distance away, but he still let her have it. I laughed hysterically. Oh, the table was all wet, there was still the nasty diaper around, Adam was crying, Kim was now wet, the nurse wasn’t too happy but here I was in uniform and clean as clean can be. Amazing.
Ah, being a dad…
So we walk in and there’s a woman with a baby and a Playboy diaper bag. Bleached hair, inch-long black roots, and gold slippers. I doubt the common sense of anyone who has a Playboy diaper bag.
Anyway, we take Adam to the examination room and lay him down and the nurse says to take his clothes and diaper off.
Taking the diaper off a boy is always a dangerous thing. There’s a weapon being housed in there after all.
I take the diaper off and he has pooped. No big deal. I grab some wipes and wipe him down because he has to be naked to be weighed. Well, as I’m wiping him down he flexes and a ton more poop flies right out of his butt.
By the way, a disclaimer: this blog deals with bodily functions. If this bugs you, you should probably stop reading.
Anyway, it’s pretty bad, like pushing the pump on a Play Doh toy and making a tube or something. So I’m waiting for him to be done so I can clean him up to get weighed. I’m holding his legs up so there’s as little mess as possible and he decides that NOW is the time to pee. So he let go and peed all over the place. Well, less all over the place and more all over his face. It was a direct hit. The best part is that he was shocked about this shaking his head like “WHAT’S GOING ON?! WHY AM I GETTING WET?!” And yet, the pee keeps coming.
So he finally finishes peeing and pooping and I clean him up and we weigh him (9.9 lbs by the way) and he’s crying as I take him back to the examination table and he locks his legs and I tell Kim it’s crazy, it’s like he wants to stand up. She looks away from the nurse and to Adam and apparently she looked like she was on fire and Adam decided he was going to put her out with the only tool he had available. He peed on her. It wasn’t like she was close either, she was a good distance away, but he still let her have it. I laughed hysterically. Oh, the table was all wet, there was still the nasty diaper around, Adam was crying, Kim was now wet, the nurse wasn’t too happy but here I was in uniform and clean as clean can be. Amazing.
Ah, being a dad…
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Two Things...
1) I was selected to pin on Staff Sergeant. That's E5, the same rank my dad was when he RETIRED after 20 years. Hopefully I'll make at least E6 before I do the same. A little less than half of the eligible Senior Airmen were selected so odds were pretty good, but still, it's cool that I made it.
I always wondered where I would be and what I would be doing when I passed the test and made the rank. I don't think I REALLY thought I would still be at my first duty station, in my first enlistment term, doing the same job but with two kids and four bedroom house. It's cool.
I haven't been promoted yet though. That should happen next time I deploy I think. It'll be great. I'll be out there and one day I'll be a SrA, the next day I'll be a SSGT. I'm going to need to order new nametags...
2) I finally figured out Nike+. The problem I was having with it was that I KNEW I was walking significantly further than I was getting credit for and frankly, it's disheartening. So I looked online for troubleshooting and whereas some people were saying it measures by impact and the strongest impact is in the sole of your shoe so get out a knife and cut out a niche in your shoe for the sensor, I also found a significantly less intrusive way of just turning the sensor over. Turns out this is a common problem. I guess Apple and Nike think you'll KNOW which way to put it in whatever case you do or that it even matters.
Well, it does matter. The difference is last time I got credit for 1.2 miles I think and this time I went 4.13 miles. That's a big difference and once again, I'm inspired to get back on this thing.
-Russ
I always wondered where I would be and what I would be doing when I passed the test and made the rank. I don't think I REALLY thought I would still be at my first duty station, in my first enlistment term, doing the same job but with two kids and four bedroom house. It's cool.
I haven't been promoted yet though. That should happen next time I deploy I think. It'll be great. I'll be out there and one day I'll be a SrA, the next day I'll be a SSGT. I'm going to need to order new nametags...
2) I finally figured out Nike+. The problem I was having with it was that I KNEW I was walking significantly further than I was getting credit for and frankly, it's disheartening. So I looked online for troubleshooting and whereas some people were saying it measures by impact and the strongest impact is in the sole of your shoe so get out a knife and cut out a niche in your shoe for the sensor, I also found a significantly less intrusive way of just turning the sensor over. Turns out this is a common problem. I guess Apple and Nike think you'll KNOW which way to put it in whatever case you do or that it even matters.
Well, it does matter. The difference is last time I got credit for 1.2 miles I think and this time I went 4.13 miles. That's a big difference and once again, I'm inspired to get back on this thing.
-Russ
Monday, August 24, 2009
Roto Rooter
Rooting is a thing that infants do where they're looking for something with the only thing they actually know they have: their mouth. It freaks me out. I'm sure I'm the onyl one though because that's what people tell me. There's just something about a baby that doesn't know he has arms and legs yet squirming around on my chest, mouth open and searching for either his bottle or his nuk (pacifier and pronounced "nook"). It reminds me of aliens or bad guys from Doom 3.
I don't really mind though. Yeah, it freaks me out, but I'll get over it.
But last night, he was rooting around in his pack and play where he sleeps ALL night long grunting and whining and the onyl time he was quiet was when Kim fed him, I held him, or when I finally lulled him into sleep for about an hour. Apparently I'm a very sleep-inducing guy when I want to be.
All night.
In the long run, one night isn't a lot, so I'm not really looking for "you're overreacting" or anything, I just felt this frustration that comes with little sleep and is somehow attached to wearing the most uncomfortable uniform possible the next day on a Monday and running out of soda.
So I'm not complaining too much here, it's just a bad night of non-existant sleep. I feel worse for Kim though since she sleeps next to Adam and therefore the grunting is louder.
I don't really mind though. Yeah, it freaks me out, but I'll get over it.
But last night, he was rooting around in his pack and play where he sleeps ALL night long grunting and whining and the onyl time he was quiet was when Kim fed him, I held him, or when I finally lulled him into sleep for about an hour. Apparently I'm a very sleep-inducing guy when I want to be.
All night.
In the long run, one night isn't a lot, so I'm not really looking for "you're overreacting" or anything, I just felt this frustration that comes with little sleep and is somehow attached to wearing the most uncomfortable uniform possible the next day on a Monday and running out of soda.
So I'm not complaining too much here, it's just a bad night of non-existant sleep. I feel worse for Kim though since she sleeps next to Adam and therefore the grunting is louder.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Kindle
It's no secret I'm a huge fan of the idea behind the Kindle, even if some of the things that come with it are flawed. Not every book is available on the Kindle (but the same applies for bookstores and even Amazon's book department), the new one does not have an SD card slot which was handy to archive your purchases, the fact that Amazon has the power whether they say they'll use it or not, to reach into your Kindle WITHOUT you permission and amend, or delete books from your library. That's ridiculous.
Even iTunes, which is what the Kindle gets compared to all the time anyway, has an OPTION to download updates to the apps you buy on your iPhone/iPod Touch.
There's also the fact that the thing is freaking EXPENSIVE. The price went DOWN to 300.00!
Then there's the price of the books. 10.00 may seem cheap, but considering that I don't really OWN the item, it's not cheap at all. I can't loan it to friends or sell it, and for this inconvenience I'd like to see the price of books drop to reflect the fact that they aren't selling me an item but an "experience" as another blogger put so eloquently. Not to mention the money everyone's saving by not actually printing a book.
Some reviews suggest a price of 3-5.00 which seems right to me as a consumer because I would probably buy more books, but what about as an author? Well, the same blogger that called the item an "experience" also said that money paid to authors needs to be re-thought and looked at like at a library where certain countries acknowledge the fact that the author is getting zero money when a customer borrows a book vs. buys one and pays them either a flat rate or an amount per time the book is checked out.
The main thing is the price though. Amazon needs to get this device into the hands of the public and the public will make it rise or fall accordingly. Nintendo had a habit of taking hits on hardware costs because they knew that they would get the money back with software sales. The same applies here.
Also, publishing companies need to realize they aren't going to get away with charging Amazon the same amount of money for an ebook which would give them who knows how many percentage points more in profit. They need to adjust the price they sell Amazon the books for to reflect the same profit margin or maybe a little less to pay the author a little more.
However with all of this, I still want one. They're damn pricey but cool as all get out.
Even iTunes, which is what the Kindle gets compared to all the time anyway, has an OPTION to download updates to the apps you buy on your iPhone/iPod Touch.
There's also the fact that the thing is freaking EXPENSIVE. The price went DOWN to 300.00!
Then there's the price of the books. 10.00 may seem cheap, but considering that I don't really OWN the item, it's not cheap at all. I can't loan it to friends or sell it, and for this inconvenience I'd like to see the price of books drop to reflect the fact that they aren't selling me an item but an "experience" as another blogger put so eloquently. Not to mention the money everyone's saving by not actually printing a book.
Some reviews suggest a price of 3-5.00 which seems right to me as a consumer because I would probably buy more books, but what about as an author? Well, the same blogger that called the item an "experience" also said that money paid to authors needs to be re-thought and looked at like at a library where certain countries acknowledge the fact that the author is getting zero money when a customer borrows a book vs. buys one and pays them either a flat rate or an amount per time the book is checked out.
The main thing is the price though. Amazon needs to get this device into the hands of the public and the public will make it rise or fall accordingly. Nintendo had a habit of taking hits on hardware costs because they knew that they would get the money back with software sales. The same applies here.
Also, publishing companies need to realize they aren't going to get away with charging Amazon the same amount of money for an ebook which would give them who knows how many percentage points more in profit. They need to adjust the price they sell Amazon the books for to reflect the same profit margin or maybe a little less to pay the author a little more.
However with all of this, I still want one. They're damn pricey but cool as all get out.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
8.19.09
Alright, everyone, settle down. Lots to go over today.
1) I was published in the October issue of Vintage Guitar. I’m pretty pleased about it, not only because I’m helping out a charity and actually lending more credence to it by getting it published in a major publication which makes people that approve grants more likely to approve but because I finally achieved my dreams of writing for a magazine, limited though it was.
How limited? About one hundred words limited. It was painful to write so little after I had just gotten done writing so much on my own for the blog that led VG to agree to the article.
I’m not complaining though, I was published in a magazine which would have been enough, but I was published in a GUITAR magazine which has always been a dream of mine.
I’m pretty proud.
2) I’ve added a guitarist to my crazy list. I’ll share more about this at a later date, don’t worry. You don’t think I’d keep YOU in the dark, right?
3) The angry whopper. It’s not so angry. It’s actually pretty good. Kim says she was able to work through half of one before giving up and going to chicken nuggets. I say she eats like a girl!
4) I have a target audience of one for the 5th Fret. I just wanted to write and say that when I write for the Fret, I’m basically writing with this person in mind and because they’re so dang cool, smart, funny, caring, etc, hopefully everyone else can enjoy it. I think it’s working. To that one person: you’re awesome. I don’t even know if they read the Fret (or this blog for that matter) but they should feel good knowing they’re who I imagine I’m writing to every time. It helps keep me in line.
5) That’s about it, I guess. I did want to say I’m grateful for the friends that I have because sometimes I feel like certain members of my family are a great big letdown. Of course I can’t say WHO just in case one of them is reading (they like to talk to each other), and tons will claim we’re family and need to stick together no matter what. I disagree. I think there’s a breaking point and a couple are teetering dangerously close to it and like Everclear’s “Santa Monica” I’ll want to move on to something better (though I won’t be attempting suicide by jumping off the Santa Monica Pier like Art Alexakis did).
6) OK, one more. The results of my recent promotion test come out tomorrow. We're well beyond jinxing it so I'm not worried about putting the information out there. Last time I took I had a distinct feeling when I looked at every single multiple choice question and it was "Well, I have no F'ing clue which one to pick." This time I only felt that way about two of the four possible answers so hopefully enough well-placed stabs in the dark will end up tacking another stripe to my arm. I certainly hope so. The money would be welcome.
That's it!
Until next time!
1) I was published in the October issue of Vintage Guitar. I’m pretty pleased about it, not only because I’m helping out a charity and actually lending more credence to it by getting it published in a major publication which makes people that approve grants more likely to approve but because I finally achieved my dreams of writing for a magazine, limited though it was.
How limited? About one hundred words limited. It was painful to write so little after I had just gotten done writing so much on my own for the blog that led VG to agree to the article.
I’m not complaining though, I was published in a magazine which would have been enough, but I was published in a GUITAR magazine which has always been a dream of mine.
I’m pretty proud.
2) I’ve added a guitarist to my crazy list. I’ll share more about this at a later date, don’t worry. You don’t think I’d keep YOU in the dark, right?
3) The angry whopper. It’s not so angry. It’s actually pretty good. Kim says she was able to work through half of one before giving up and going to chicken nuggets. I say she eats like a girl!
4) I have a target audience of one for the 5th Fret. I just wanted to write and say that when I write for the Fret, I’m basically writing with this person in mind and because they’re so dang cool, smart, funny, caring, etc, hopefully everyone else can enjoy it. I think it’s working. To that one person: you’re awesome. I don’t even know if they read the Fret (or this blog for that matter) but they should feel good knowing they’re who I imagine I’m writing to every time. It helps keep me in line.
5) That’s about it, I guess. I did want to say I’m grateful for the friends that I have because sometimes I feel like certain members of my family are a great big letdown. Of course I can’t say WHO just in case one of them is reading (they like to talk to each other), and tons will claim we’re family and need to stick together no matter what. I disagree. I think there’s a breaking point and a couple are teetering dangerously close to it and like Everclear’s “Santa Monica” I’ll want to move on to something better (though I won’t be attempting suicide by jumping off the Santa Monica Pier like Art Alexakis did).
6) OK, one more. The results of my recent promotion test come out tomorrow. We're well beyond jinxing it so I'm not worried about putting the information out there. Last time I took I had a distinct feeling when I looked at every single multiple choice question and it was "Well, I have no F'ing clue which one to pick." This time I only felt that way about two of the four possible answers so hopefully enough well-placed stabs in the dark will end up tacking another stripe to my arm. I certainly hope so. The money would be welcome.
That's it!
Until next time!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
8.16.09
Oddly enough, it's been really easy recently to write blogs for the Fret, but not so much here. You woudn't think that's the case though. Here I could just jot down my thoughts for the date or what happened where on the Fret there's research, and they're usually quite a bit longer so I have to type more and more time is dedicated to it. Honestly, I think that's why I don't write here quite as much as I would like to. After writing a Fret blog I'm exhausted. I enjoy it though.
And things are going fairly well for the Fret. We're well on our way to breaking another record for amount of hits per month and while that number is NOWHERE near what other guitar blogs do, I post quite a bit less and I honestly think I'm getting those numbers honestly. I don't post much news and I don't flood reader boxes. One of the blogs I read has parenthesis for amount of blogs (like are next to the months on the left)only the parenthesis are next to the DAY. That's craziness!
No, I write blogs that are saying something that's in my mind and I don't want to flood the inboxes and succeed in both making blog readers stop caring about what I write and burn myself out in the process. I love the guitar and blogging just as much as always so I'm still going strong. The Fret's only a little ways away from it's first birthday. Whoo!
Adam's doing good, still growing. He slept through the night last night. He's way more comfortably with Kim than me.
Kim's doing good too. Healed and ready to go.
Annie is Annie. I love her to death. We went to Home Depot and walked in and she said "WOW!" and while I'm not too keen on HD, it's cool that she is.
I'm happy. Tired, but happy.
-Russ
And things are going fairly well for the Fret. We're well on our way to breaking another record for amount of hits per month and while that number is NOWHERE near what other guitar blogs do, I post quite a bit less and I honestly think I'm getting those numbers honestly. I don't post much news and I don't flood reader boxes. One of the blogs I read has parenthesis for amount of blogs (like are next to the months on the left)only the parenthesis are next to the DAY. That's craziness!
No, I write blogs that are saying something that's in my mind and I don't want to flood the inboxes and succeed in both making blog readers stop caring about what I write and burn myself out in the process. I love the guitar and blogging just as much as always so I'm still going strong. The Fret's only a little ways away from it's first birthday. Whoo!
Adam's doing good, still growing. He slept through the night last night. He's way more comfortably with Kim than me.
Kim's doing good too. Healed and ready to go.
Annie is Annie. I love her to death. We went to Home Depot and walked in and she said "WOW!" and while I'm not too keen on HD, it's cool that she is.
I'm happy. Tired, but happy.
-Russ
Thursday, August 13, 2009
BBBRRRRAAAAIIIINNNNSSSS.....
Sorry I haven’t written in a while. Since Kim had major abdominal surgery when Adam was born, she’s been fairly immobile. It takes her about five minutes (literally) to sit up in bed so if Adam woke up needing changed and fed (because it’s a package deal in our household when it comes to infants) it would take her forever to get to it and there would be a lot of bending over to get the tote with all the stuff in it, twist around to get Adam, getting back to where she can sit comfortable, etc. etc.
So I’ve been sleeping on Kim’s side and taking care of Adam. A couple of times Kim has helped out usually around 4 in the morning when I’m feeling particularly… non-sympathetic. I’m not a bad guy or anything, there are just times when you lean on your spouse and say I can’t do it this time, I’ll go insane, you do it. It happens and that boat rows both ways.
But lately I’ve been doing it all at night and I am worn OUT. People come in at work and talk to me and I’m not my usual chipper self. I have tried to write a couple of blogs for the 5th Fret but they came out bitter, incredibly sarcastic, jumbled and ultimately boring. I couldn’t even proof read them, they were so boring. I couldn’t in good conscience post those, now could I?
I feel very zombie right now. And each day it gets worse and worse. It’s rough. Honestly, a ton of people LOVE the newborn phase. I honestly can’t see why. The baby doesn’t smile, talk, recognize you, sleep through the night, or reward you in ANY way besides breathing. I don’t mean to sound like a douche or anything, but that’s the truth. The first few months is ROUGH.
But then the fog clears and smiles start coming out, babbling starts, maybe some rolling or crawling, but honestly it’s just that smile that really matters because that probably happens first and with it you know that things are going to be OK, and they’re only going to get better.
I wonder if post partum depression occurs more with first time parents or parents who already have kid(s). My money’s on parents without kids. Parents with kids know it’s going to get better, no worries, just keep. Pushing. Through.
That’s what we’re doing right now, just pushing through.
So I’ve been sleeping on Kim’s side and taking care of Adam. A couple of times Kim has helped out usually around 4 in the morning when I’m feeling particularly… non-sympathetic. I’m not a bad guy or anything, there are just times when you lean on your spouse and say I can’t do it this time, I’ll go insane, you do it. It happens and that boat rows both ways.
But lately I’ve been doing it all at night and I am worn OUT. People come in at work and talk to me and I’m not my usual chipper self. I have tried to write a couple of blogs for the 5th Fret but they came out bitter, incredibly sarcastic, jumbled and ultimately boring. I couldn’t even proof read them, they were so boring. I couldn’t in good conscience post those, now could I?
I feel very zombie right now. And each day it gets worse and worse. It’s rough. Honestly, a ton of people LOVE the newborn phase. I honestly can’t see why. The baby doesn’t smile, talk, recognize you, sleep through the night, or reward you in ANY way besides breathing. I don’t mean to sound like a douche or anything, but that’s the truth. The first few months is ROUGH.
But then the fog clears and smiles start coming out, babbling starts, maybe some rolling or crawling, but honestly it’s just that smile that really matters because that probably happens first and with it you know that things are going to be OK, and they’re only going to get better.
I wonder if post partum depression occurs more with first time parents or parents who already have kid(s). My money’s on parents without kids. Parents with kids know it’s going to get better, no worries, just keep. Pushing. Through.
That’s what we’re doing right now, just pushing through.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Status Update
Wow, 208 posts. That's craziness.
So what's the status update? Well, let me tell you. For a little while it looked like I would get no sleep whatsoever because Adam refused to sleep at night. That was the first night. Then the second night he slept quite a bit more during the night and last night he only woke up once for a feeding and changing and then it was back to sleep until 7 in the morning.
Annie was most definitely NOT like that.
So how else do they differ? Well, Annie didn't lift her head for a very long time or show any motivation to go anywhere. If you put her down on her stomach she would stay on her stomach with a "meh" kind of attitude only to be super pissed seconds later because when you're on your stomach, EVERYTHING is exercise. A baby does this thing called the Superman where they lift their head, arms and legs off the floor while keeping their belly on the floor.
Give it a shot and you can see why they would be pissed. Their brain wants to do this and their body needs to be trained to. The good thing is it requires nothing from parents other than putting them on the floor.
Like I said earlier, Annie didn't sleep through the night or close to it for a long time too. I think this may have had something to do with Kim and me though since we were both wicked stressed because a baby is a huge change to life and we weren't really ready to let it go right then. This impacted our marriage and there was some stress in the house. And Kim had wicked post partum depression. But the stress is gone and this time around Kim's fine depression-wise.
I was so freaking excited about Adam waking up only once (this means he also didn't wake up playing the Nook game which is where the pacifier falls out of their mouth and they grunt and moan and eventually cry for it back only to lose it mere seconds after you put it back in their mouth. This game was not played last night by HIS choice, not mine) that I practically SPRANG out of bed saying my little rockstar slept almost all the way through the night AND let me sleep to a decent hour. How about that, I'm going to buy you a guitar.
I already had the guitar picked out too. A Gretsch Corvette.
I've been giving this some thought, buying the kids a guitar. At first I was thinking a Telecast because they're strong guitars, but a Corvette isn't exactly fragile. They're light, with fairly thin necks and short scales so while it may be easier to fret than, say, a Tele, it wouldn't lead to a dependence on a kid-size guitar.
So I'm thinking both will get guitars if they show interest in it. I know Annie's showing interest and if she still has that interest by age three where she can understand not to poke the strings that are sticking out at the headstock and avoid cutting herself, I'll get her one and even try to track down one made in the same month and year that she was born.
Same with Adam.
I may get one for myself too. That way they can say they play a guitar just like Daddy.
And your very first new Dad tip:
Sleep with a shirt on. I know it's all the rage to go to bed bare-chested but with kids there are two things you want to wear to bed: pants and a shirt. Most importantly a shirt. Your baby will be puking and snotting and all that on your chest during midnight feedings (if you're doing the bottle thing). It's best for that to go into the shirt and then just change your shirt instead of on your chest where no matter how hard you scrub with a towel the feeling of its presence just won't go away.
-Russ
So what's the status update? Well, let me tell you. For a little while it looked like I would get no sleep whatsoever because Adam refused to sleep at night. That was the first night. Then the second night he slept quite a bit more during the night and last night he only woke up once for a feeding and changing and then it was back to sleep until 7 in the morning.
Annie was most definitely NOT like that.
So how else do they differ? Well, Annie didn't lift her head for a very long time or show any motivation to go anywhere. If you put her down on her stomach she would stay on her stomach with a "meh" kind of attitude only to be super pissed seconds later because when you're on your stomach, EVERYTHING is exercise. A baby does this thing called the Superman where they lift their head, arms and legs off the floor while keeping their belly on the floor.
Give it a shot and you can see why they would be pissed. Their brain wants to do this and their body needs to be trained to. The good thing is it requires nothing from parents other than putting them on the floor.
Like I said earlier, Annie didn't sleep through the night or close to it for a long time too. I think this may have had something to do with Kim and me though since we were both wicked stressed because a baby is a huge change to life and we weren't really ready to let it go right then. This impacted our marriage and there was some stress in the house. And Kim had wicked post partum depression. But the stress is gone and this time around Kim's fine depression-wise.
I was so freaking excited about Adam waking up only once (this means he also didn't wake up playing the Nook game which is where the pacifier falls out of their mouth and they grunt and moan and eventually cry for it back only to lose it mere seconds after you put it back in their mouth. This game was not played last night by HIS choice, not mine) that I practically SPRANG out of bed saying my little rockstar slept almost all the way through the night AND let me sleep to a decent hour. How about that, I'm going to buy you a guitar.
I already had the guitar picked out too. A Gretsch Corvette.
I've been giving this some thought, buying the kids a guitar. At first I was thinking a Telecast because they're strong guitars, but a Corvette isn't exactly fragile. They're light, with fairly thin necks and short scales so while it may be easier to fret than, say, a Tele, it wouldn't lead to a dependence on a kid-size guitar.
So I'm thinking both will get guitars if they show interest in it. I know Annie's showing interest and if she still has that interest by age three where she can understand not to poke the strings that are sticking out at the headstock and avoid cutting herself, I'll get her one and even try to track down one made in the same month and year that she was born.
Same with Adam.
I may get one for myself too. That way they can say they play a guitar just like Daddy.
And your very first new Dad tip:
Sleep with a shirt on. I know it's all the rage to go to bed bare-chested but with kids there are two things you want to wear to bed: pants and a shirt. Most importantly a shirt. Your baby will be puking and snotting and all that on your chest during midnight feedings (if you're doing the bottle thing). It's best for that to go into the shirt and then just change your shirt instead of on your chest where no matter how hard you scrub with a towel the feeling of its presence just won't go away.
-Russ
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