Time seems to be going by so fast recently. I can't believe Nicholas is already a month old, but in that month I've seen him grow substantially. He's definitely chunked out a good bit. His cheeks are puffing out and his arms and legs are starting to get their little rolls in them. Unfortunately, he hasn't flipped his sleeping schedule yet and it'd be great if he could cut his mom some slack and allow her some shuteye in between feedings at night. I think one more month should do it, but damn it's catching up to us. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to try and get Isa used to sleeping in her bed. These past three nights she's been getting up at 4am-ish to crawl into bed with us and waking up again 730-ish to ask for milk. I even installed a bed rail last night so she wouldn't roll out of bed, but it only lasted so long before she was up again.
I have noticed, though, that letting him sleep in the crib in our room has helped some vs. the bassinet. He seems to sleep more contentedly during the first part of the night and El gets a ti-i-i-iny bit more sleep early on. Or maybe I've been getting used to his cries at night and sleeping thru more...
Either way my little boy is growing up fast. I reminisce about what it was like with Isa and have to remind myself that it gets easier as the the weeks go by. I'm just glad that we have him now and am just as excited about his "firsts" and finding out what kind of person he will become.
He may become an outgoing social butterfly, like his sister, who likes to make you laugh and is mischievous, but I like to think he'll be more like his namesake. His great grandfather Gregorio was a patient, caring man who enjoyed life and knew how to take things in stride. So far Nico has shown himself to be generally an easy baby to care for, but with a voracious appetite. He doesn't cry unnecessarily and seems to settle down quickly. And he has a nice shaped head.
Happy One Month, Nicholas!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Another Step In The Right Direction.
Isabella took another transitional step away from being a baby to becoming more of a little girl. Her crib has officially become her brother's. Tonight after work in an effort to search for a way to get Nicholas to sleep better I decided to switch out Isa's toddler bed from our room to her nursery and the crib to the master bedroom.
I know that it'll take time for Nicholas to flip his sleeping schedule from days to nights and over time he'll sleep longer between feedings, but Isa has been also been trying to climb out of her crib at times. Even with Eleanor's mom here to help (which she has done a great job of doing) poor Ellen has been suffering from sleep deprivation and it's been in the back of my mind do try anything to make it easier for her.
I know that it'll take time for Nicholas to flip his sleeping schedule from days to nights and over time he'll sleep longer between feedings, but Isa has been also been trying to climb out of her crib at times. Even with Eleanor's mom here to help (which she has done a great job of doing) poor Ellen has been suffering from sleep deprivation and it's been in the back of my mind do try anything to make it easier for her.
Once in a while Nico would be put down in his sister's crib to nap during the early evenings and he seems to sleep more contentedly in it than his bassinet in our bedroom. So one stone and two birds later I made the executive decision.
After finagling on disassembling the damn crib and reassembling it back in our room it was finally done. Isa's bed was quickly reassembled in the nursery and seemed excited about having it in her room. For months it sat in ours unused for the most part, other than for the occasional use as a perch to look down on her brother sleeping. Tonight her mom and I set new sheets in it and arranged it for maximum safety (she's rolled out of it on several failed attempts to get her used to it in the past).
After finagling on disassembling the damn crib and reassembling it back in our room it was finally done. Isa's bed was quickly reassembled in the nursery and seemed excited about having it in her room. For months it sat in ours unused for the most part, other than for the occasional use as a perch to look down on her brother sleeping. Tonight her mom and I set new sheets in it and arranged it for maximum safety (she's rolled out of it on several failed attempts to get her used to it in the past).
Once we had her room set and the lights dimmed Isa picked out a few stuffed toys, a book, her water bottle and her beloved Bunny and said,"night night!" Cute. I took a few snaps to commemorate this moment. The novelty wore off quickly and she made her way back to the routine of camping out with mom and dad in their bed until she fell asleep. By about 1am I picked her up and put her to bed. Of course, I knew at some point she would roll off the bed, get upset and want to come to our room again so I left a few lamps on along the way and left our bedroom door a crack open. Sure enough by 4:30am she rolled off the bed, cried a little, walked over to our room and climbed into bed. No problem. She's back in her bed again now and here I am at 5:30am doing what I do. Patience is a virtue - she'll get there.
** SPECIAL UPDATE 5:51am**
Everyone is awake again and back in our bed. Oy.
** SPECIAL UPDATE 5:51am**
Everyone is awake again and back in our bed. Oy.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Isa Struggles With Trying To Find Herself.
Just as Nicholas has been growing and developing daily - I've noticed significant changes in Isabella as well. Maybe she's starting to feel the competition and realizes all the negative attention she was getting just doesn't help her situation much.
Either way she's been speaking more (and clearer) every day with longer sentences. El has been constantly reading books, doing flashcards, and generally teaching her new words and Isa has been retaining it all.
She's been eating MUCH better lately ( I don't know if it's cos her Lola Lisa, who arrived last week, has been coaxing her better than we have) and even looks to be adding a little more weight to her petite frame.
Toys she had no interest in or didn't understand how to use previously has piqued her interest again. She even learned the game of dress-up. I know all little girls learn this eventually, but the way she does it reminds me vaguely of something I've seen before somewhere...
Either way she's been speaking more (and clearer) every day with longer sentences. El has been constantly reading books, doing flashcards, and generally teaching her new words and Isa has been retaining it all.
She's been eating MUCH better lately ( I don't know if it's cos her Lola Lisa, who arrived last week, has been coaxing her better than we have) and even looks to be adding a little more weight to her petite frame.
Toys she had no interest in or didn't understand how to use previously has piqued her interest again. She even learned the game of dress-up. I know all little girls learn this eventually, but the way she does it reminds me vaguely of something I've seen before somewhere...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I Had It Coming...
I've got a filthy mouth I admit. For as long as I can remember I've dropped all kinds of tasty expletives like it was going out of style and living in Orlando with shit AWFUL drivers hasn't helped me curb the habit. Ever since Isa was born El and my younger sister, Cherilyn, has warned me about my mouth and it finally bit me in the ass.
Sitting at dinner with El and Isa I let out a "oh shit!" while doing something. Isa immediately repeated it and me and El looked at each other surprised. Well more like El giving me the "I told you" look. For the last two days Isa would arbitrarily drop it. Oops. My bad. Luckily I haven't heard her say it today. I hope she forgot it cos I'll certainly remember from now on.
Shit.
Sitting at dinner with El and Isa I let out a "oh shit!" while doing something. Isa immediately repeated it and me and El looked at each other surprised. Well more like El giving me the "I told you" look. For the last two days Isa would arbitrarily drop it. Oops. My bad. Luckily I haven't heard her say it today. I hope she forgot it cos I'll certainly remember from now on.
Shit.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Cat Nap
A rare moment presented itself this afternoon. The house is perfectly quiet. Mom was asleep after a long night caring for Nicholas and me taking care of Isa who awoke in the middle of the night crying. We all didn't get much sleep. Anthony Bourdain was on Food Network. I looked across the couch to see El napping while the kids were all cuddled around her. Must be nice to be the source of comfort. I couldn't help but to take a few snaps of them.
Friday, September 05, 2008
FINE! Here's More Pictures...
and semi-clever captions to go with them. In no particular order, I'm adding these cos of Cherilyn's complaints of wanting to see more of Nico and what's been going on this past week. Sure I could've put them in some kind of order, but screw it. It's 3:05am and I'm beat.
Uncle Ricky departs, but not before giving a kiss to his nephew. Isa seems quite happy at the moment, but not for long when she realizes her pushover uncle will no longer be around to allow her to destroy the house, eat all the Hershey chocolates and let him know that "she's the boss when the boss ain't around."
Happy 9th Anniversary!
Talk about a busy week. Soon after Nicholas' arrival Ellen and I celebrated our ninth anniversary today. NINE YEARS. WOW! And that doesn't even include the years we dated (was it 8?). It was pretty hard to get anything planned considering how busy we've been, but I wasn't about to let an anniversary slip through the cracks for any reason. Earlier I had ordered white gladiolas to be delivered to the house - the centerpiece flowers for our reception. Simple, clean, elegant.
Although we promised we wouldn't get anything for reach other this year I couldn't resist getting her something to make life a little more comfortable for her considering she was going to be stuck in the house for quite awhile with a baby attached to her. My gift? A few sets of comfy lounge pants and tops. Nothing crazy or extravagant.
Shown here is Isa displaying proper technique of "The Pig-Out."
Shown here is Isa displaying proper technique of "The Pig-Out."
Today the best I could do was cater to her cravings as best I could. Lunch consisted of sushi (the cooked variety of course) and seaweed salad. Since El LOVES seafood we had discussed earlier a treat of lobster, but instead of the typical selections I decided to do up some mussels in a white wine and garlic broth. I don't care for mussels myself, but damn these were pretty tasty. The spread was simple, but ample enough to satisfy.
Featured here: Steamed lobsters served with garlic butter, American Mussels in a seafood broth with white wine, garlic, cracked black pepper, fresh ginger, onions and butter; fresh corn on the cob served with ripe baby toes.
Featured here: Steamed lobsters served with garlic butter, American Mussels in a seafood broth with white wine, garlic, cracked black pepper, fresh ginger, onions and butter; fresh corn on the cob served with ripe baby toes.
It's been awhile since I've whipped up something completely new so it felt good to stretch my culinary legs again. El even put together a refreshing dessert of a toasted vanilla cup with fresh mangoes stewed in coconut milk and topped with coconut and pineapple ice cream - something she tried a year or two ago for another special occasion. It was just as tasty as I remembered if not tastier.
Monday, September 01, 2008
An Early Visit From The Stork.
Wow! It's been quite the weekend. Since July El and I have been busy with getting things ready for Nicholas' appearance. On top of that I've been trying to clear my plate of any and all freelance work knowing that the next few months would be overwhelming with the expanding family. My brother Ricky even offered to come down from Atlanta for the week in case El went into early labor before my mother could show up. Good thing he did.
Last year, Isa made an unexpected appearance one week early while I was out one night with friends celebrating my last night as a childless guy. Bravely, I considered going out again this past weekend playing it safe with an earlier time and no power drinking involved. Even that wasn't going to play out. At 5am Thursday morning El started complaining of some pains in her abdomen. Checking her time she was having contractions about 5-6 minutes apart. We couldn't tell if they were false, but it being one week out and our prior history of early delivery guaranteed I wasn't about to take any chances. I woke Ricky up and broke out of the house after gathering a few things. Unfortunately, El's contractions were getting shorter too quickly and I barely made it to Winter Park Hospital before rush hour traffic kicked in full swing at 7:30am. By the time we got into a delivery room the contractions were getting too intense and the nurse called for an epidural - too late it seems.
By 5 til 10am the anesthesiologist appeared, but too late. The epidural didn't even have time to take effect and after five minutes of painful pushing Nicholas popped out - he was literally in position to come out as they were inserting the tube into El's spine. I can't even explain how intense the situation was. In between screaming, digging her nails into my arm, kicking me in the shin and banging her head against the bed rails she managed to bear down and push him out. At least she'll never have to wonder what a natural childbirth would feel like. What a trooper.
Everything else went smoothly. By Friday I was able to head home to pickup Isabella and let her meet her little brother. The best way to describe the encounter was "stunned surprise". She had no idea of what to make of him and was hesitant to touch him. By 3:45pm Friday we were given the ok to take him home. Shockingly Isa attempted to swat him several times in the head with a toy or pillow. Despite El and I trying to make her understand previously about a new arrival I couldn't help but sense she felt threatened/jealous about Nicholas. Over the course of the weekend she did many things to garner attention (mostly negative). I felt awful about scolding her and making her cry, but I guess it's just a necessary step. I didn't want to be the bad guy and we even tried each spending time with her one-on-one with trips to the pet store, reading books together, even buying her a little musical keyboard to play with.
The frustration finally got to me some last night with her last blow up at 7:30 and I was forced to spank her and send her to bed crying. She fell asleep that way. I felt awful and had to chill in another part of the house to decompress a little. A couple hours later I decided to wake her up for some dinner and a bath. At first she seemed ok (just a little hazy - you know how toddlers are when they first wake up), but then she actually remembered she was mad at me and slapped me before going into another crying rage. Haha! Wow! Sad and cute at the same time. I did what I could to console her and managed to bathe her despite her refusals. After she was refreshed and dressed for bed she asked for juice which sealed the deal. A firm hug and kiss from her and we were friends again. She even stayed with me watching TV the rest of the night and fell asleep in my arms. Kids are forgiving like that. It's hard to get upset too long with a little girl like that.
Today has gotten better. Her mom sent me a picture of her peering over the bassinet at her brother and I haven't heard any news of bad behavior while I've been at work this Labor Day. Meanwhile, Nicholas has proven himself quite the eater/pooper whereas Isa had been slow to have her first bowel movement as an infant and a picky eater now. Although Nico was smaller than his big sister at birth I think he'll easily surpass her as they age. He even shows enough strength to hold his head up and move it around - something that takes a month or so with newborns from what I understand.
His mom has been trying to get what sleep she can in between feedings. I've been doing what I can to keep the household running and keep her from trying to do anything other than caring for Nicholas. Saturday morning Rick had to leave back to Atlanta, but Rachel was able to fill his spot to watch Isa while I was away at work today. Why work so soon after having a baby? Money. Today I get double time and a half. It's too bad I misread my schedule previously and thought I had to work the first shift. I ended up working a double and my brain is tapioca right now so forgive me for any mispellings or grammatical errors as I type this. It's been busy at Golf Channel with live shows and with the lack of sleep I've been getting since Wednesday night it's actually getting to me. That's it for now. Quite the read - I know. Sorry.
His mom has been trying to get what sleep she can in between feedings. I've been doing what I can to keep the household running and keep her from trying to do anything other than caring for Nicholas. Saturday morning Rick had to leave back to Atlanta, but Rachel was able to fill his spot to watch Isa while I was away at work today. Why work so soon after having a baby? Money. Today I get double time and a half. It's too bad I misread my schedule previously and thought I had to work the first shift. I ended up working a double and my brain is tapioca right now so forgive me for any mispellings or grammatical errors as I type this. It's been busy at Golf Channel with live shows and with the lack of sleep I've been getting since Wednesday night it's actually getting to me. That's it for now. Quite the read - I know. Sorry.
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