Strange title? Strange trip. Let's start from the beginning...
We are in East Texas this morning, in Livingston, for a surprise birthday party for my grandmother (boy, is she going to be mad!). Tammie and I left Austin yesterday to begin this long car ride, and it was all that and more. Over four hours in the car with a ticked off baby who didn't want to be in the carseat from the start. We made a couple of stops along the way and actually had to feed Bailey in her car seat as we drove, but nothing would seem to please her. Bailey cried and carried on, and Tammie and I thought she was just tired and couldn't go to sleep. It was a couple of hours past her bed time, so what else could it be?
Well, turns out it was poop... and lots of it!!! (It was green, too. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but Tammie seemed enthralled by it...) Not just lots of poop, but a diaper blowout to boot. (Enter the Parental guilt...) For some reason it didn't occur to us to check. In our defense, it was a backside blowout, so we really couldn't see it. And there wasn't that "pleasant" aroma wafting up from her diaper until we actually took the diaper off (so don't give us a hard time...we feel guilty enough without your help!).
A bath and diaper change later, and everything is okay... yeah right!
Bailey then decided she did not want to sleep at ALL last night. She laid in her crib for a few minutes, screamed. Picked her up and calmed her down, put her down, screamed. Enter the cycle that was Friday night. At one point I put her in bed with me (no, Tammie was not on the outs with me...there were two beds. Note to newly married couples: when there are two beds in the hotel room, DO NOT SQUEEZE BOTH OF YOU ONTO ONE. Enjoy the freedom of a bed to yourself...it won't last.), Bailey calmed down and went to sleep. Stupid me, I then put her back into her crib...screamed! Finally, around 3:45 in the morning, Tammie put Bailey in her bed. Everyone went to sleep and got a least a couple of hours, but Tammie, being a light sleeper, woke up everytime Bailey moved. Apparently she does that a lot in her sleep (she gets that from her dad).
We're awake and getting ready for this party. Oh what fun we're going to have...maybe there will be naptime?
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The End is Here
Went back to work today...
left Bailey at home...
9 am to 5 pm...
major depression...
Swollen little toe...
pain in outside of foot...
gout looming...
uber suck...
left Bailey at home...
9 am to 5 pm...
major depression...
Swollen little toe...
pain in outside of foot...
gout looming...
uber suck...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Girl About the Town
Well, it would appear that Bailey is already much more popular that her parents (as if you didn't know that already). Bailey was invited to not one, but TWO parties today (with her parents in tow, of course...).
Bailey's first appointment was with her mother's coworkers (former to be precise). The two of them were invited to brunch to celebrate the birthdays of some of Tammie's friends (dad was not invited...humph!). From what I understand, Bailey was a sweet girl (as always) and behaved especially well. The only problem was when she got home...she smelled like bacon! The party was a brunch with what I'm guessing was A LOT of bacon being fried (good thing I love bacon...oh, and Bailey...).
After a quick beauty nap, all three of us headed to Hutto for a gathering with my new coworkers. Again, Bailey was sweet and well mannered baby. Tammie even took her to the pool when her dad and coworkers had to talk shop. Tammie says that she enjoyed looking around the pool and even put her feet in the water (at which point she pulled them straight back up out of the water). After a time at the pool it was time for little Bay to crash, so we headed on home. A bottle later (and quite a bit of talking as well) Bailey is sleeping off a very eventful day.
Must be tough being popular...
Bailey's first appointment was with her mother's coworkers (former to be precise). The two of them were invited to brunch to celebrate the birthdays of some of Tammie's friends (dad was not invited...humph!). From what I understand, Bailey was a sweet girl (as always) and behaved especially well. The only problem was when she got home...she smelled like bacon! The party was a brunch with what I'm guessing was A LOT of bacon being fried (good thing I love bacon...oh, and Bailey...).
After a quick beauty nap, all three of us headed to Hutto for a gathering with my new coworkers. Again, Bailey was sweet and well mannered baby. Tammie even took her to the pool when her dad and coworkers had to talk shop. Tammie says that she enjoyed looking around the pool and even put her feet in the water (at which point she pulled them straight back up out of the water). After a time at the pool it was time for little Bay to crash, so we headed on home. A bottle later (and quite a bit of talking as well) Bailey is sleeping off a very eventful day.
Must be tough being popular...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Eight Days and Counting
That's it...eight short, short days until I have to go back to work. Tammie has a few extra, but not many. That means just one thing...
Bailey has to go to daycare.
I went and met our daycare lady yesterday. Ms. Ruby is what the kids call her and she is very nice. All of the kids seemed well taken care of and loved on. The entire time we were there she had one of the little kids on her lap and was still serving out hugs to the others.
I don't fear sending Bailey to daycare with Ms. Ruby. We had a wonderful recommendation from someone we trust implicitly, and every parent that Tammie has contacted about Ms. Ruby has sung her praises. The problem that Tammie and I are having is this...it won't be either of us taking care of her for a LARGE portion of the day. I know that I'm lucky being a teacher. I've gotten to spen an entire summer with Bailey at home and I've gotten to love on her all day, everyday. And all that is about to come to an end
They say being a parent is hard. The sleepless nights and the long bouts of crying are hard, it's true. But sending her to daycare is the absolute hardest...
Bailey has to go to daycare.
I went and met our daycare lady yesterday. Ms. Ruby is what the kids call her and she is very nice. All of the kids seemed well taken care of and loved on. The entire time we were there she had one of the little kids on her lap and was still serving out hugs to the others.
I don't fear sending Bailey to daycare with Ms. Ruby. We had a wonderful recommendation from someone we trust implicitly, and every parent that Tammie has contacted about Ms. Ruby has sung her praises. The problem that Tammie and I are having is this...it won't be either of us taking care of her for a LARGE portion of the day. I know that I'm lucky being a teacher. I've gotten to spen an entire summer with Bailey at home and I've gotten to love on her all day, everyday. And all that is about to come to an end
They say being a parent is hard. The sleepless nights and the long bouts of crying are hard, it's true. But sending her to daycare is the absolute hardest...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A Genius in the Making
Come on...everyone already knew that Bailey would be a genius, but now we have evidence.
This evening I was feeding Bailey some rice cereal (nasty stuff! Seriously, just taste it...). Towards the end of our feeding session Bailey started to get a little grumpy and started telling me that she had had enough (and I mean telling me. She screwed up her face and hollered). I (being the pushy person and demanding father I dreamed of being) kept at it, determined that she was going to finish. Well, Bailey decided to give in and let me win, but with one little twist...
Bailey actually grabbed the spoon that was in my hand and started to feed herself! No kidding... I mean, I was still holding onto the spoon and kind of directing it so that she didn't hurt herself, but she really was (trying, at least) to feed herself. She would put the spoon in her mouth, close her lips around it, and remove the spoon. I thought that maybe this was just a accident...a fluke. So I loaded up the spoon with some more cereal and she did it again. She still needs to work on the concept that, once you've put the spoon in your mouth and eaten what's on it, then you have to put more food on the spoon (but come on...lets not get ahead of ourselves. At least she was feeding herself). Bailey just kept putting the spoon in her mouth over-and-over again. But at least she cleaned everything off the spoon.
As I said...GENIUS!!!
This evening I was feeding Bailey some rice cereal (nasty stuff! Seriously, just taste it...). Towards the end of our feeding session Bailey started to get a little grumpy and started telling me that she had had enough (and I mean telling me. She screwed up her face and hollered). I (being the pushy person and demanding father I dreamed of being) kept at it, determined that she was going to finish. Well, Bailey decided to give in and let me win, but with one little twist...
Bailey actually grabbed the spoon that was in my hand and started to feed herself! No kidding... I mean, I was still holding onto the spoon and kind of directing it so that she didn't hurt herself, but she really was (trying, at least) to feed herself. She would put the spoon in her mouth, close her lips around it, and remove the spoon. I thought that maybe this was just a accident...a fluke. So I loaded up the spoon with some more cereal and she did it again. She still needs to work on the concept that, once you've put the spoon in your mouth and eaten what's on it, then you have to put more food on the spoon (but come on...lets not get ahead of ourselves. At least she was feeding herself). Bailey just kept putting the spoon in her mouth over-and-over again. But at least she cleaned everything off the spoon.
As I said...GENIUS!!!
Monday, July 7, 2008
It's Nice to Visit, But it's Good to be Home
Tammie, Bailey and I just got back from a visit to Bay City and her Grandparents (well not just back; we got back yesterday, but it feels like just...). The Acuff Family Get-together went well, even if Bailey was a bit fussy most of the day. Actually, Bailey would get fussy after a few minutes of being passed around, then would be happy when I took her back to our room. I think that there were too many people and too much excitement for her (and I can't blame her. There were too many people for me as well. Don't get me wrong, I like my family. But pack 25-30 people in just a couple of rooms and throw in some rambunctious kids, and you'll have a recipe to scramble anyone's brains).
As I said, Bailey did well, but I think was relieved whenever it was only mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa at the end of the night. However, the constant amount of stimulation caused Bailey to not sleep very well that night (and in conjunction, neither did mom or dad), so everyone (in the front bedroom at least) was a little drained (and somewhat cranky) the next morning (I know there are a lot of asides in that last sentence. Forgive me...). There was some good news that came around that morning. Tammie and I have started introducing Bailey to solid foods (if you consider mushy rice cereal solid) with little, if any success. Sour faces and a messy baby were all that greeted us. Until Sunday morning...
I still think that she was just showing off for her grandparents, but Bailey actually ate almost all of her cereal. And I mean ate! There were very little food that actually got on her (well, on her bib. We aren't such gluttons for punishment that we wouldn't put a bib on first!), in fact I would say it was probably less than a teaspoon full. How awesome is that! (Isn't it ironic that for a baby, everyone is excited and think it is funny when they try to eat and fail, ultimately causing massive amounts of food to cover their table, clothes, themselves and even the people around them. But if an adult, or even older kid did the same thing...)
Excitement ensued and soon we were packing the car to head home. Once on the road, another interesting (and for a short time disturbing) incident occurred. Normally Bailey falls asleep as soon as the car starts moving. She did this yesterday, but after about 40 minutes (and a pit stop for gas; $3.79...woohoo!), she woke up. At first there was talking, then screaming (hence the disturbing reference). After a few minutes, Bailey calmed down. Now for the interesting part. For the next two and a half hours, Bailey never fell back asleep, nor did she get real upset either. In fact, we got home at 7:30pm, and Bailey still didn't go to sleep. She had a bottle and a bath, and finally at 8:45pm we put her in bed and she crashed.
And crash she did. That girl slept, without making a sound or waking up, until 7:15am the next morning (insert refrain from the Hallelujah chorus here. You know the one, from Handel's Messiah...best sleep you'll ever get!). Ten and one-half hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Too bad mom and dad came down with insomnia last night...
As I said, Bailey did well, but I think was relieved whenever it was only mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa at the end of the night. However, the constant amount of stimulation caused Bailey to not sleep very well that night (and in conjunction, neither did mom or dad), so everyone (in the front bedroom at least) was a little drained (and somewhat cranky) the next morning (I know there are a lot of asides in that last sentence. Forgive me...). There was some good news that came around that morning. Tammie and I have started introducing Bailey to solid foods (if you consider mushy rice cereal solid) with little, if any success. Sour faces and a messy baby were all that greeted us. Until Sunday morning...
I still think that she was just showing off for her grandparents, but Bailey actually ate almost all of her cereal. And I mean ate! There were very little food that actually got on her (well, on her bib. We aren't such gluttons for punishment that we wouldn't put a bib on first!), in fact I would say it was probably less than a teaspoon full. How awesome is that! (Isn't it ironic that for a baby, everyone is excited and think it is funny when they try to eat and fail, ultimately causing massive amounts of food to cover their table, clothes, themselves and even the people around them. But if an adult, or even older kid did the same thing...)
Excitement ensued and soon we were packing the car to head home. Once on the road, another interesting (and for a short time disturbing) incident occurred. Normally Bailey falls asleep as soon as the car starts moving. She did this yesterday, but after about 40 minutes (and a pit stop for gas; $3.79...woohoo!), she woke up. At first there was talking, then screaming (hence the disturbing reference). After a few minutes, Bailey calmed down. Now for the interesting part. For the next two and a half hours, Bailey never fell back asleep, nor did she get real upset either. In fact, we got home at 7:30pm, and Bailey still didn't go to sleep. She had a bottle and a bath, and finally at 8:45pm we put her in bed and she crashed.
And crash she did. That girl slept, without making a sound or waking up, until 7:15am the next morning (insert refrain from the Hallelujah chorus here. You know the one, from Handel's Messiah...best sleep you'll ever get!). Ten and one-half hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Too bad mom and dad came down with insomnia last night...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
What Baby Wants, Baby Gets
Who knew that what baby would want is for her dad to be sitting up awake at night...waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Take at look at the time this gets posted. Yup, sometime after 1:15 am (yes, that's in the morning). We had a terrible night last night for some odd reason. Bailey kept waking up every half hour to an hour (if we were really lucky, and hour and fifteen minutes) and screaming. No, I don't mean she was fussy because she woke up...I mean screaming! This pattern continued throughout the day and there was nothing that I or Tammie could do to comfort her. I was a wreck and I hate to admit it, but I was overwhelmingly relieved when Tammie finally got home after running some errands (I know that probably makes me a "bad father," but all of you parents out there remember back to the time that your baby was crying uncontrollably).
Finally (and I'm not really sure how) we got Bailey to calm down enough to go to bed. The poor dear was exhausted and hadn't slept very much since almost six the day before. We swaddled her and put her down around 8:30, and she has been asleep ever since. There was only one time that she woke up and we had to go into her room.
So why am I awake? I'm nervous...I'm waiting for her to start crying again...I can't stop thinking about what made her have such a bad night and day (please don't be teething...please! Tammie and I are worried that this could be the start of her new set of teeth). So here I sit, unable or unwilling to turn off my brain long enough to get some much needed sleep. Everyone else is, the dogs included...
Take at look at the time this gets posted. Yup, sometime after 1:15 am (yes, that's in the morning). We had a terrible night last night for some odd reason. Bailey kept waking up every half hour to an hour (if we were really lucky, and hour and fifteen minutes) and screaming. No, I don't mean she was fussy because she woke up...I mean screaming! This pattern continued throughout the day and there was nothing that I or Tammie could do to comfort her. I was a wreck and I hate to admit it, but I was overwhelmingly relieved when Tammie finally got home after running some errands (I know that probably makes me a "bad father," but all of you parents out there remember back to the time that your baby was crying uncontrollably).
Finally (and I'm not really sure how) we got Bailey to calm down enough to go to bed. The poor dear was exhausted and hadn't slept very much since almost six the day before. We swaddled her and put her down around 8:30, and she has been asleep ever since. There was only one time that she woke up and we had to go into her room.
So why am I awake? I'm nervous...I'm waiting for her to start crying again...I can't stop thinking about what made her have such a bad night and day (please don't be teething...please! Tammie and I are worried that this could be the start of her new set of teeth). So here I sit, unable or unwilling to turn off my brain long enough to get some much needed sleep. Everyone else is, the dogs included...
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