Where did it go?

I am guessing that Lily has come to terms with object permanence. Now when things are taken away or hidden, she wonders where they went, and then gets angry. Really angry. Below is some video of her looking for a ball. I have also posted some new pics here.

Do I look like I am smiling?

Lily likes to sleep during the day. On average, she takes about 3 naps a day; a 60 min morning nap, short 30 minute nap around noonish, and a 90+minute nape around 2. The other day, she was a bit off her schedule and slept a total of 30 minutes all day.

As you can imagine, this made for a very cranky Lily (I refer to this as "The LilyMonster"). She would go from laughing to screaming in a single breath. Toy out of reach? Meltdown. Binky on the floor? Meltdown. Looking at her to much? Meltdown. Not looking at her enough? Meltdown.

We decided early on that our best option was to do a quick rice cereal dinner, fast baths, and try to get her asleep by 8:30. Generally we try to keep her awake a little later so that we can play, but no one was in the mood for that. Luckily, she easily went to sleep for the rest of the night, and woke up a happy little girl.

Tonight it was my turn to be cranky. It was bath night again, and we all have our jobs. Carrie runs the bath water, and distributes the toys. I change Lily and get her ready for bath-time fun. Lily lays back and goes along for the ride.

Tonight as I was stripping her down, we went through the usual routine of losing her clothes and then doing a a little "naked dance" on the changing table until the bath is ready. This always puts a smile on her face. I noticed tonight she seemed to be a little distracted. When we headed towards the bathroom, I swept her off the table and tossed her up in the air a little, and that is when it hit me. Pee-toes. Right in the face.

Apparently, instead of focusing on her naked dancing moves, Lily decided to pee on the table, without me knowing it.

For the record, pee-toes are kind of gross.

Here are some more pics.

Take two of these and call me in the morning...

We've had an intesting week. For those of you who do not know, Lily has moderate-severe reflux from her bladder to her kidneys. This means, she is extremely prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs), that can quickly turn into kidney infections, which are bad. As a result of this reflux, Lily takes a prophalactic antibiotic every day. We are usually pretty vigilant about watching for any signs that she is getting sick (constant temperature checking, appetite monitoring, etc). So far, Lily has had two UTIs. This week she go her third.

Early in the week Lily's appetite had been a little decreased, but she didn't have a fever and wasn't acting fussy or unhappy. She had a GI bug the previous week, so we chalked it up to her still getting over that.

Tuesday night, we were giver Lily her last bottle of the evening, and right before she was about to finish it, she threw up all over Carrie, and our sheets. She never got upset, it was almost like she was pulling a "puke and rally". After Lily got a clean-up bath, Carrie got a shower, and our bed got new sheets, we put her down to sleep for the night. When I went to get her up Wednesday morning, she had clearly thrown up again in her sleep. It didn't wake her up, and so it didn't wake us up, which was a little unnerving. We pressed ahead, and gave her another bath and got her dressed for school. We had already decided make an appointment with her pediatrician.

I started feeding her breakfast, which she threw up again. This was very projectile, going straight up like a geyser, and landing straight back down on her face. It was in her eyes, her hair, everywhere. We gave her another bath, I took another shower, our bed got new sheets, and Carrie took her to the pediatricians.

Because of her past history with UTIs, there is a pretty low threshold for collecting urine samples, which mean catheters. At the pediatricians office, they catheterized her 3 times, with nothing coming out. You can imagine how happy this made Lily. A final decision was made to limit her feeding to an ounce/hour, and attempt to collect later, unless she got a fever or any other symptom.

That night around 11:00 (Wednesday) she started to get a fever. After paging the pediatrician (as instructed), we were advised to go ahead and take her straight to the ER at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

We got processed and seen extremely quickly. In fact, within 45 minutes, we had been registered, seen by an MD, catheterized, and had a plan. Unfortunately, the next few hours went a little slower. Because she had a serious infection (one MD refered to it as a "raging" UTI), they had to use IV antibiotics. Unfortunately for Lily, this required four attempts at placing the IV, 1 elbow, 1 hand, 1 foot, and the hand #2.

Because she wasn't tolerating any foods, and needed quite a bit of medicine, they decided to admit her. And that is were we spent the next two days, while Lily got her fair share of medicine, tests, etc.

Throughout this whole experience, the level of care, professionalism, and family-centered care from CCHMC is notable. Carrie works at CCHMC in the human genetics department, and so we are familar with CCHMC from an employer point of view, but to be a patient was something completely different. It is clear why this hospital is one of the best in the country. From the nurses who go above and beyond caring for these tiny patients, to the child life specialists that ensure every child is as comfortable as possible (they brought a basket of toys for Lily to keep in her bed and play with). It was really a blessing.

Lily has come through things OK. Although her appetite and feeding aren't quite 100%, they did improve dramatically when we stopped using the bottles provided by the hospital, and started using her own bottles from home (I shouldn't be surprised that she might be a picky eater).

When you spend much time in a hospital, especially a children's hospital, it can be a very humbling experience. There is no denying that we had a very sick little girl. But she had something that was identifiable, and very treatable, which made us very lucky. There were a lot of children who were not nearly as fortunate. I hope we don't have to go back anytime soon.

For those of you keeping score, here are the numbers:

• Times thrown up (6)
• Baths in a 24 hr period=4
• Sheet changes in a 24 hr period=3
• IV sticks=4
• Doses of ampicillian=7
• Doses of Ceftriaxone=3
• Days in the hospital=2
• Hours slept by Me and Carrie during this period=8
• Number of sick babies made healthy and happy again=1 :)

I have posted some pics from Halloween as well as from CCHMC here.

I've got a bad feeling about this....

As some of you may know, last weekend Carrie was going out of town for a few days to attend a conference, leaving me and Lily home. Alone. Up to now, the longest I have been alone with my daughter is about 5 hrs. It's not that I am inherently untrustworthy, that's just the way things worked out. Carrie, however, has been abandoned by me and multiple occasions. I took off two weeks after Lily was born for a 4 day weekend (all work related). When she was two months old, I left the country for a week(again, work related)! In retrospect, I don't know what in the world my wife was thinking to let me go. I am sure it wasn't pleasant thoughts.

Carrie was set to leave on Friday afternoon. That night, Lily and I had plans to attend a Halloween event at a local school with her cousins. This involved costuming a 6 month old and keeping her happy in a crowded unfamiliar environment, surrounded by monsters, fairies, and a collection of batmen in assorted sizes.

That night, we went to dinner with the family. I managed a quick costume change back into her "civies"in the car, and got right to rice cereal and squash before dinner arrived, so that she would be content to entertain herself while the rest of us ate. Towards the end of dinner, I noticed a red faced, grunty Lily. This was not good. Once enough time had passed, I decided to tackle this job and hoped that there would be a changing station in the Men's restroom.

There was not.

I proceeded anyway, and laid her up on the counter between both sinks, with her head against the wall. As I was going about the business of diaper changing, Lily had discovered that directly above her head were two soap dispensers, and she was determined to hit the release buttons. This was definitely a bad start. Luckily, I am faster than Lily and a soapy disaster was averted.

Saturday we headed to Louisville to see my family (Grandma Robin). Generally speaking things went well with one small hitch. Although I had packed four cans of formula, I only packed one bottle. After returning home that night, I remembered that I had left her jeans and several toys at Grandma Robin's house. It was at this point that I realized I didn't really need the extra set of hands around, I really needed the extra brain.

Sunday was fairly uneventful, however the late night drive home, caused Lily to sleep in late, thus causing us to be late to an early morning soccer game. Not that I am complaining, as I had all but forgotten what it was like to sleep in late on a Sunday. Sunday also marked bath night. This is something that neither of us (Carrie nor myself) has tried single handedly. My job is usually to keep Lily seated and prevent her from slipping down in the tub while Carrie gets more involved in the actual "cleaning" process. I also like to take on the role of splashing. During this one-man bath, I am not sure how "clean" she got, but she was definitely wet. We were both pretty wet.

Monday we got back into our usual routine. We were up and dressed before 7Am. We had breakfast, and I dressed her in a pink little number she wore just two weeks ago-a sort of "blousy" top with leggings. I dropped her off at school and went about my usual day. When I went to pick her up, I noticed she was wearing her backup clothes, which isn't uncommon. When I made a comment about it to one of the teachers, they replied that they could tell mommy was still out of town, because it looked like daddy had dressed her!

How could it be! I have always tried to pick clothes that were "cute" or at least not too baby like. In fact in intentionally stay away from most out fits with knit pants or or tops/bottoms made of the same pattern as I feel those are "old lady" clothes. Apparently the consensus was that here leggings, were more like tights.

I don't know the difference.

I felt both both a little guilty and challenged by this comment. After we left school, Lily and I headed straight to Macy's to go on a shopping trip. I had something to prove! After scouring the racks of little girl clothes, I decided on a pair of gray/pink jeans with a pink striped shirt. Not only was it good looking, but it replaced the jeans that were left in Louisville. She would not go to school looking like a crazy baby again!

On Tuesday, Carrie was coming home. Again, Lily and I went about our usual routine and dressed super-cute for her teachers and her mommy. Unfortunately, by the time Mommy got home, Lily had required another wardrobe change.

All in all, the weekend was a success. We all survived, and I didn't accidentally leave her anywhere. I left her clothes, toys, bottles and food other places, but not her. I am not sure if Lily and I exactly "bonded" while Mommy was away, but I think she definitely likes me a little more than she used to. Just today, we walked through an Ikea and she had her head on my shoulder for 10 minutes. Turns out she was just eating my shirt collar, but at least she feels comfortable enough to do that.

Let's just say we are both glad that mommy is back.

Here are some more pics.

New Lily Pics!

Just wanted to post some new 6-months pictures.

You can see them all here.

Peas Again, Brother Mendel?

This week we moved on to our first vegetable: Peas! Under the suggestion of the pediatrician, we are starting her with the worst tasting stuff first, before moving on to the fruits. I don't think it can get much worse than peas. Lily seems to agree. Isn't there something better out there?

Along with the new peas, Lily has a shiny new tooth coming in as well! You can barely see it in the picture here.

We have also been trying out some Halloween costumes. This one is particularly fitting.


Here is an album of new pics and here.

First day of school

Monday was Lily's first day of daycare, or school, as we are referring to it. Lily goes to a Little Red School House nearby, which is very convenient. I am not sure how excited any of us were to the idea of leaving her with people, who as of yesterday, will still sort of strangers. Carrie and I had done our due diligence and visited them on open house days, as well as unannounced. We toured the facilities, and spoke to parents of kids who go there, and everyone has been happy.

The night before we went through a familiar process of packing up everything she would need for her first day. Carrie had already dropped some of the bigger stuff (diapers, wipies, mobile) off at the location in the last two weeks. This was just her daily needs (blankets, backup clothes, binks, etc.). We also tried to pick out some clothes that made her look cute, but not too cute, for her first day.

Carrie and I went together to drop her off and meet the people one more time. When we got there other parents were dropping their kids off as well, and very clearly had a routine they would follow. The three of us tried to blend in and follow the others a little so as not to look like newbies.

Lily handled the day pretty well, seemed to play well with the teachers assigned to her room.

Now, towards the middle of the afternoon, she had some GI activity (we refer to that as working on some pants). Apparently it was a big deal and required a change of wardrobe. Now unless Lily has taken on the defense mechanisms of a sea cucumber (by jettisoning her inside bits), I am going to chalk this one up eating a lot the day before. So far, we can call the whole experience a success. Now, for day two!

In other news, I put a poll on blog to the right. I stole the idea from a friends blog, and something snapped the other day when Carrie and I saw a commercial for Frisch's. I thought that it would make a good survey question. Does Lily look more like her parents or the Frisch's Big Boy? ( I really mean that in the best possible way, big cheeks, big eyes, poofy hair...).

I have also posted some new pics here.

Well, isn't that a new sensation !?!

Whenever Lily picks up a new skill, be it spit bubbles or rolling over from back to front, I find myself amazed at her problem solving skills. Not just her's, of course, but babies in generally (really, mostly her's). I am not sure about the the rest of humanity, but when I think to myself, I do it in English, with words, that have meaning. I would assume that the rest of humanity does the same, except in their own native tongues.

But, babies don't have tongues. I mean they have tongues, but not mental tongues...linguistic tongues. When they encounter a problem, such as a backwards facing pacifier, how do they problem solve? How do they itemize their steps? Or when a family member is singing the somewhat graphic words of Rocky Racoon, how do they decide that they like it? (BTW, 5 points awarded to whoever can name provide the name of the girl of his fancy.).

This question reminds me of a very specific piece of text from Douglas Adams Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. I've pasted the substance of the passage below, but in order for it to make sense you'll need a little background.

-WARNING-this is some really nerdy stuff!

Basically, a spaceship was being targeted by 2 missiles. This spaceship was, however equipped with an "improbability drive", which, when activated, put the ship into the most improbable situation, basically as an escape mechanism. In the story, the drive was activated and the missiles turned into a bowl of petunias, and a sperm whale. Enjoy! (For those of you who really want to wear their geek-pants today, I highly recommend this description.)

Another thing that got forgotten was the fact that against all probability a sperm whale had suddenly been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.

And since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this poor innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity as a whale before it then had to come to terms with not being a whale any more.

This is a complete record of its thoughts from the moment it began its life till the moment it ended it.

Ah ... ! What's happening? it thought.

Er, excuse me, who am I?

Hello?

Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?

What do I mean by who am I?

Calm down, get a grip now ... oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of ... yawning, tingling sensation in my ... my ... well I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let's call it my stomach.

Good. Ooooh, it's getting quite strong. And hey, what's about this whistling roaring sound going past what I'm suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that ... wind! Is that a good name? It'll do ... perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I've found out what it's for. It must be something very important because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What's this thing? This ... let's call it a tail — yeah, tail. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can't I? Wow! Wow! That feels great! Doesn't seem to achieve very much but I'll probably find out what it's for later on. Now - have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?

No.

Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation ...

Or is it the wind?

There really is a lot of that now isn't it?

And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like ... ow ... ound ... round ... ground! That's it! That's a good name — ground!

I wonder if it will be friends with me?

And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.

Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.

I wonder if this is the sort of thing that goes through Lily's head when I start immitating a howler monkey for her, or she puts a new toy in her mouth, or a new food for that matter? Without the benefit of language to help her comprehend the world around her, she just reacts viscerally, with pure feeling, to every experience, old and new. I guess, I am trying to say that my daughter is a raging ball of uncontrolled emotion...but in a good way.

Here are some new pics, as well as some good new video.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

I previously wrote about an ill-fated trip to Sonic on a trip back from Louisville. For those of you who are not aware, Sonic has created quite possibly the greatest milkshake known to man. Although I would never admit it, one of the highlights of each trip to Louisville is the opportunity to hit up the Sonic in Oldham County along the way. I say this because I was lead to believe that the only Sonic in town was on the North Side of Cincinnati, and thus amazingly inconvenient, turning a freeway-Sonic into a bigger deal than it should be. A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law pointed out that there was, in fact, a closer Sonic just 9 miles away. I was able to convince the family that this was a good trip one night. And there was much rejoicing.

As we were coming in to the house that night, I had my arms full of milkshakes and Lily (in her carseat) and was fumbling to get the keys into the door. I hastily sat my milkshake in the seat with Lily, gained entrance, set the Lily-Milkshake seat down, and looked for a light switch, as it was quite dark in the house. When the lights came on, I saw Lily with a death-grip on my straw desperately looking for whatever was inside, as you can see.

I don't think she actually got anything. To date, she has only had breastmilk and formula. My feeling is that if she did manage to suck any out, the bottle feedings would stop, and we'd be making more frequent runs to the local Sonic, to pacify a milkshake obsessed baby.

In other news, I think this serves as documentation that Lily has discovered her voice...and it's many powers....baby powers. Maybe this is how she asks for milkshakes?




Note: she really isn't upset in this video...she screaming cause it's fun.

Coming full circle

Lily has just turned Five months, which means a LOT of changes in the recent weeks. Besides the normal behavioral advancements, we've also started putting her on a big girl path by letting her sleep in her own bed, in her own room, away from us. I think she was happy for the change, because her her new digs came with her own entertainment (mobile and light projector courtesy of Grandma Robin). Plus she has a ton more room to wiggle/rotate/roll around in.

We've also started to go through her clothes and box-up things that are too small, things that 5 months ago we never thought she'd be able to wear. We've even been able to put together a few "Before and After" shots. I guess this is what you call growth?!


She's not just getting bigger on the outside, though. One of my favorite things is watching her try to mimic us. Of course this forces me to do ridiculous things just to see if she'll do it. Perhaps I am testing not only her mental development, but also her better judgement. We started with a simple popping noise, like when you pucker your lips. it took about a week or so, but she got the hang of it, and at bath time started to look like a goldfish, constantly articulating her lips. Below is some video of the goldfish in action.

Nowadays we are working on tongue wiggling and spit bubbles mostly.

Look at what I can do!

Lily recently learned to roll over, and luckily we were able to catch attempt #3 on video. Lucky, because this was the last time she did for nearly 2 weeks!

Here are some more pics as well.

Do you hear something?

It has been a Shockingly long time since I have posted anything. During this time, though, Lily has picked up a Shockingly diverse set of skills. My last post was all about Lily’s trip to the doctor and unfortunately, this post will be about the same, as the summer has been a little rough on my little girl.

In the last few months, Lily has gone through a lot of changes. She gets a little congested now and then, she decides to sleep most of the day, gets a little fussy during the day (I like to refer to this as Lily wearing her crabby-pants. If you are wondering, Mommy has a matching pair of crabby-pants as well).

The availability the ear thermometer is a blessing and a curse. Because it is so easy to take her temperature, we do it a lot. I am not kidding, we do it A LOT.

About three weeks ago, Lily got pretty sick with a fever going over 103 degrees. Needless to say, she was not a happy baby. It turns out that she had a urinary tract infection (yes, they had to catheterize her). After an antibiotic shot, and follow-up round of oral antibiotics, she is right as rain, and her usual happy self again, despite the apparent GI distress an antibiotic can cause for babies.

During these last few weeks, Carrie and I have recognized a very clear difference in parenting style, especially when it comes to her being sick, or rather us thinking she is sick.

Carrie, as a genetic counselor, sees sick babies all day, everyday. Not only that, but she often sees babies with untreatable conditions. Couple this predisposition, with normal mommy-sense (kind of like spidey-sense) and she is a bit prone to be a little bit more aware of and concerned by very subtle changes in Lily’s behavior and mood.

I, on the other hand am blissfully unaware of most of the common things babies can contract. In general, I have a bit of a laissez fair parenting style anyway. If she is a bit off, I usually just say “Babies sleep. That’s what they do.” Or "Babies cry. That’s what they do.”.

One of Carrie’s former colleagues had a saying that in medicine, when you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras. When Lily is a bit out of her routine, I sometimes think Carrie is quick to think of the zebras. I on the other hand think I am just hearing things. Usually we balance each other out, resulting in a very colorful horse, or very drab zebra.

For picture fans, I have posted some new pics here.

Time for some actual parenting

Small babies are pretty basic in their needs. Caring for them is really just managing the 5 basic necessities of life (Food, Water, Air, Shelter, Clothing).

1. Food-Carrie is pretty much in charge of the dietary needs in Lily's life. I have ventured into this area some, but delivering the nightly bottle, and a foiled attempt at sharing little popsicle, isn't saying much.
   
2. Water-Lily can't have just plain water yet (baby kidneys aren't quite ready to manage salt/electrolyte balances), so, perhaps the water in this case is bathing? Bath time is actually fun, so not really a problem, plus after a few days she starts smelling like a foot and you end up wanting to give her a bath.
3. Air-Lily is on her own here. As long as we keep her sleeping on her back, and I stop putting blankets on her head (during play time), this one is a piece of cake.
4. Shelter-We would have a house whether Lily was here or not. Her arrival though, has actually forced us to update one of the bedrooms, which has improved the quality of our house, and thus it's value. So, depending on how you look at it, Lily has actually helped us turn a profit....for now.
5. Clothing-Prior to Lily being born, my favorite evening activity was buying baby onesies that were "funny". Since her birth, we have been EXTREMELY fortunate, that nearly every visitor comes bearing gifts. It has been quite easy (and a little fun) getting her dressed, thanks to everyone's kindness. I would guess that if Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar dropped by today, they would bring something from Carter's or Baby Gap, instead of incense and oil.
   

So, as you can see, keeping this little girl alive and healthy has not required much "parenting".

That changed a little this week.

On Tuesday, Lily went for her 2mos. checkup, which is also the age in which you must decide whether or not to vaccinate. This is a touchy subject for many parents, and certainly should be discussed, but with my background specifically in Disease Prevention and Control, I was all for it (I never really felt comfortable with the concept of Herd Immunity, and as many parents opt out of vaccinations, the herd is getting smaller).

For those of you keeping score at home, or want to test my educational recall, the current regimen for 2 month old babies includes:

• Rototec vaccine (for Rotovirus), oral
  
• DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, acelluar Pertusis), injection
  
• Hib-(Haemophilus influenza type B) , injection
• HepB (Hepatitis B), injection
• IPV (Inactivated Polio virus) injection
• PCV(Pneumococcal conjugate) injection
  

That's right, 5 injections, one at time, all at one time. This was one of those moments, where although we knew that it was going to hurt her, we felt that it was the right thing to do. I count that as "parenting".

Here are some pics of Lily in a better mood from that day.

With that kind of coordination....

I am told that putting your fist (whole or half) into your mouth is a developmental milestone. As you can see below, Lily is on track, but not quite there. At least she has determination!

That's just me, being me...

Carrie and I decided that we would try to introduce a little formula to Lily's current diet, so that we can be a a bit more mobile with her, in case we need an On Demand Feeding. I typically give Lily a bottle in the evening as her last feeding of the day. On Sunday, we secretly switched her regular bottle, with a formula bottle to see if she noticed a difference (very Folgers Coffee-esque).

The last few nights she had been eating well at this time, taking 3+ oz. So, tonight we made 40z, to see what happened. Things started out as a success. She took the bottle with minimal hesitation, and pretty quickly sucked it dry. Throughout the feeding however, I was having a hard time burping her however.

Once she finished the bottle, I began the usual stroll around the upstairs to settle her down. With a simple, cute, hiccup she threw up....all over me. I can confirm that only 4 oz went in, but, just like the fishes and the loaves, at least a quart came back out, covering both of us in a large amount of fluid. She then immediately proceeded to fall asleep.

We proceeded to give her a semi-concious bath, to clean things up.

As we headed to her room and started to get out her jammies and diapered, Lily decided that now was the perfect moment to empty the other half of her digestive system. Yeah, that was gross. In order to keep her somewhat clean, I grabbed her ankles and kept her rear-end elevated. It is important to mention that Lily hasn't actually had a dirty diaper in quite a few days, so there was a lot of volume. This elevation technique really just created a noxious ''waterfall" onto the changing table below. At this point, she was just one bodily function away from a bodily fluid triple crown.

So, after 4 oz of formula, 8oz of carpet cleaner, 2 baths, 1 changing table cover, and 30 minutes, we had a happy, smiley, clean, and empty baby, who was ready to play.

I have, again, posted a few more pics here.

The smile before the storm

This weekend was the surprise birthday party for my great grandmother (Lily's great great grandmother (for those of you keeping track at home, that's 5 living generations)). This meant that we were going to take Lily for her first night away from home.

Generally speaking, the weekened was a success. The trip down to louisville was uneventful (she slept all the way). The party was great, even though she slept most of the time. On Sunday, we hung out at my parents house, as they opened the pool for the summer, and although I felt that Lily would certainly have enjoyed a quick dip, as she now likes bathtime, apparently pool chemicals and a baby complexions do not mix.

We headed home on Sunday evening in a carefully coordinated plan of a last minute feeding before jumping in the car and speeding away, so that she would go to sleep again on full tummies. The plan was executed flawlessly.

Things were going so well, in fact that as we drove through a small town about 45 minutes into the trip, we decided to stop at Sonic for fancy fruity drinks, and maybe a snack. Lily was sleeping, we were making good time, all was right with the world.

What I do not quite give my daughter credit for is her awareness of her surroundings, and apparently sense of velocity. While she seems to love sleeping in the carseat as we travel down the highway at 60 mph, if we slow down, or stop, the game is over. Driving with her is a lot like being in a real-life version of the classic feature film SPEED (starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock). The only difference is that instead of our car exploding in a fiery ball, if we slow down, Lily explodes...emotionally....all over us. We quickly learned that stopping for a little indulgence, would end up costing us. Big time.

Carrie quickly jumped into action to soothe our upset child with both food, song, and facial ticks, but nothing worked. As each mile clicked by, Lily ratcheted up the volume, turning herself into a near cranberry shade (coincidentally, the mounting tension caused by an inconsolable child, initiated a lighthearted debate on what cranberries actually tasted like, and when someone had actually had a cranberry, and why this person should stop waxing intelligently on the issue.)

Eventually, she tired herself out and passed out, whimpering in five minute intervals. This still required a lot of placating via Carrie, but at least she was slowly turning into some sort of leafless mandrake (for HP fans).

While we are garuanteed to make the 100 mile trip to Louisville on a frequent basis, that might be the last time we take a detour for a while. However, the Lime Cream Slushie was really good....

I have also posted some new pics. These are some of my favorite yet.

Let's Play!

New babies don't really do much. Sure, at a basic level, they do lot's of things (respirate things, circulate things, digest things, etc). But none of that is all that impressive on the surface. What you are really looking for is some interaction. Lily would just as easily stare at me or the ceiling for 5 minutes (in all honesty, she has probaly spent more time starting at the ceiling). Because of this, I have often referred to new babies, as "lump babies". This has not garnered much popularity around my house. Now as a new parent, I find each little movement, each little noise (out of either end) fascinating, but nothing has really made me think that she was aware of what she was doing, and there has been no real 2-way interaction. To date, play time has really been more about me "interacting" with her, even when she didn't want to be "interacted" with, as you can see.

That might have changed this weekend. Everyone was awake and in a good mood, so we decided to break out the play-mat and have a go at it. For those of you not familiar, the play-mat is sort of an activity center, with shiny, plush-y, crinkle-y things that hang down from an overhead support, for babies to play with. Lily had her arms (and legs, as they seem to move together) flaying about and every so often she would make contact, or event better, get a handle on some of the hangy-down things. The significant part is not that this happened, but that it startled her when it did, as if she was aware of what was going on. We enjoyed it, and I think she did too.

While this wasn't quite "interaction", it was a start. I am looking forward to the day when we can team up and "interact" with mommy. Interact on her last nerve!\

Here are some pics from our play time.

Happy Birthday, Lily!

Lily is now officially 1-month old (actually, she was officially 1 month on Friday).

In celebration, it was time for her official 1-month old photos. I have gotten some criticism for too much "talkie-talkie" and not enough pictures.

With that in mind, I am going to keep it short, and just share her new photos!

Lily's First Road Trip

Today, Lily went for her first road trip, and travelled further from home than she has ever been. Before we left, I asked her one favor-"Please don't make the longest trip of your life the longest trip of mine." I am happy to report, that she couldn't have been better!

The family drove down to Louisville this morning for the baptism of Lily's second cousin, or my first cousin once removed (I married a genetic counselor, whose knowledge of family pedrigree terminology is second to none).

Not only was this Lily's first road trip, but it was also her first introduction to nearly half of her extended family, which currently extends 5 generations (that's right, Lily has a Great Great Grandmother)

As can be expected, the day offered an endless number of familial hands reaching out to hold her for just a few minutes. And while, Carrie and I were both happy to have a few minutes with complete use of both of our hands while being sans Lily, I am not sure either one of us really let her out of our sight.

I don't want to give the impression that my family is suspect of baby theivery, but after weeks of holding her nearly 24/7, it's was hard to let go. And while everyone single person holding her today was experienced in the art of baby holding (having between 1-5 children of their own), it is was hard not to provide some helpful tips about how to hold my baby.

The trip home was equally uneventful. On a side note, being a Sunday in May meant that Lily and I got to watch a few hours of that day's Giro d'Italia stage. I am sure she shared my disappointment seeing Il Grillo, Paolo Bettini lose the stage in a photo finish.

Lily is radioactive!

In the three short weeks since becoming parents, Carrie and I have experienced a transformation similar to Bruce Banner or Diana Prince. In short, Lily, much like excessive amounts of Gamma Rays, has given us Super Powers abilities!

So far these are the changes we've observed:

1. Super Sonic Hearing-Having both been pretty sound sleepers a month ago we now awaken to the slightest whimper, or sound of a bink falling on cradle sheets.


2. Ninja-like Stealth- We live in an older home with original wood floors...that creak. In the last three weeks we've developed the ability to glide silently around the house, like pajama-clad ninjas, in our desperate attempts to let sleeping babes lie. Unfortunately, I think that Lily has also developed Super Power #1, so it is kind of a wash.


3. Night Vision- for fear of waking Lily in the middle of the night, or in attempts to coax her back to sleep, Carrie and I have managed to navigate the second floor of our house in utter darkness, yet we are able to somehow see everything need to avoid bumping ourselves into.


4. Enhanced Immunity to Infection-I would have to say that Lily's arrival has boosted our immune systems to Super Power level, as we have been infection free ever since. It could have something to do with the fact that we now wash our hands roughly 200 times a day.


5. Stamina-During the night, Lily will repeat a cycle of feeding off-and-on for 45 minutes, squirming for 30 minutes, and sleeping for 90 minutes. Repeat. You would think that loosing this much sleep in a night would make you a bit frazzled. Not us.


6. The Ability to Make Time Stand Still- OK, this is not so much our Super Power, as Lily's. it's 4:10 in the AM, you think you have her into deep enough sleep to slip her into the cradle, but decide to rock her for 5 more minutes to be safe. I guarantee, those are the longest 5 minutes of your life. I usually only make to 3min before pulling off an ill-fated cradle drop-n-rock.


7. Super Human Speed (efficiency, really)-With limited time, and increased house-work, we have become the more efficient than ever. We can clean dishes, put away dinner, change a load of laundry, and break out dessert in the span of a single TV commercial break!

So far we have chosen to use our new found powers for only good, and really only keeping Lily happy, which luckily isn't too difficult. Just like a real Super Hero, I find myself becoming occasionally contemplative and introspective. As I write this, I wonder if Lily will ever view us as her Super Heroes?

Baby Milestones

For the next few weeks, nearly everything that Lily does will be the first time she does anything. The last week was certainly chock full of some significant milestones for Lily and Co.

This week was the first time the Lily and Mommy flew solo, as I had to be out of town for 3 nights straight. Everyone survived unharmed, and while I missed my daughter, I currently miss my hotel issued king size bed and uninterrupted night.

I made it back on Saturday just in time to share Lily's first holiday-Kentucky Derby Day! Growing up in Kentucky, the Derby is a big thing. Growing up in Louisville, and going to school so close to Churchill Downs that the distance is measured in "lengths" makes the Derby an official holiday. Lily celebrated Derby Day in traditional fashion, going to an official Derby Party, (hosted by fellow Louisvillians who now live in the area), and essentially drinking too much and passing out before the race.

Last but not least, Lily's last milestone of the week as demonstrating that she takes after her father, with regards to intestinal fortitude. It should be known that I have the a stomach tolerance of an infant, a scan look at my nightstand and shows bottles of Tums, Rolaids, and Pepcid Complete...seriously. Sometimes you feel like calcium carbonate, sometimes its a magnesium hydroxide kind of night, and sometimes, not often, I like the idea a antacid with famotidine.

Tonight, Lily got so upset that she lost her dinners....in a very projectile way. Do they make tums in baby doses, cause I have a feeling she is going to need them.

Let Us Speak in the Following Vernacular...

As soon as you tell someone (particularly someone with kids), that you are going to have a child, the most common reaction is usually "Congratulations!" (depending on your situation). In my recent experience, the second most common response is "Your life is never going to be the same". Usually, there is not that same sense and tone of optimism you get with the first response. This was vexing at the time.

Change is not a bad thing. Although Carrie and I have a very comfortable life together, we wanted a little change, the change a child brings. We were ready and as prepared as possible. So far, Lily has done nothing to disappoint. Perhaps it was the constant "WARNING" of this change from others who had gone beforeus that had the two of us preparing for the worst. Or, and I hope this is the case, Lily is just an laid-back baby!

One change that both Carrie and I noticed recently, is how quickly our vocabulary and conversations changed. Almost instantly I adopted my new moniker "Daddy", and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I began speaking about myself in the third person. Constantly. "Daddy is going to wrap you up in a blanket.""Daddy is going to try and burp you." "Daddy, now needs to go and change his shirt." etc. Why do I suddenly feel the need to narrarate life around me? Is it for her benefit? Mine? Passers-by?

Furthermore, I was never all that found of the term "Daddy". I have always been a "Dad" sort of guy. Now, "Mommy" on the other hand, is great; "Daddy" not so much. I can't explain it. I know it doesn't make any sense.

Secondly, since Lily's arrival, Carrie and I have focused less time discussing stories we heard on NPR, odd bits of movie/TV trivia, newsworthy scientific discoveries. Instead we spend an inordinate amount of time discussing all manner of bodily functions as it relates to our kid. Things we never discussed in nearly 5 years of marriage, make up about 30% of what we have to say, lately. The rest of the time we talk about when and how we can get a quick nap. Yep, things have definately changed.

I know I'm a parent when...

So, I am trying to get some actual work work done today and out of the corner of my eye, I see something small crawling towards me, with 1 wing. Upon closer inspection it is a winged (in this case, half-winged ant). I absolutely loose it.

First, a little exposition-Last spring, our first spring in this house, we were invaded by 1,000s of winged ants, that lived in our flower bed. Right before a big evening rain, they decide to lay siege to our kitchen, infiltrating our house through our side door. Oddly, once they get in, their wings fall off, and they crawl around for a while and die.

Back to today-upon seeing this ant-spy I knew immediately what was going on. I stopped everything, and ran to the kitchen, shocked and disappointed to see what I was afraid I would see. Ants...hundreds, of winged, half-winged, de-winged ants.

No one would consider me a neat freak. Carrie and I do try to keep a neat house (the kitchen is a particular sore spot for me, so I am fastidious in keeping it decent). I was bit shocked by my initial reaction to this uninvited incursion. While certainly I wanted to get rid of this little army of ants for basic cleanliness, I was most concerned about keeping them away from my daughter ( overwhelmingly so). Within five minutes, I had swept them out of the kitchen and began searching the surrounding rooms for escapees (which I found!). Ten minutes later I had swept most of the first floor, and felt comfortable I got them all, but something was still bothering me. I didn't want a single one of these insect infidels to come near Lily! I immediately started flipping our dinning room chairs upside down on the table (like a restaurant at closing time), kitchen stools where on the counter, and the sink was filling with hot water and Orange-Glo. I mopped nearly the entire first floor of our house (we have all hardwood floors, so this is a feat. Something I haven't done in....a while). All the while repeating to myself "must keep Lily safe! must protect her from..ants?!?!"

Once that was done, I decided to go on the attack, and because of our experience last year we had a reasonable stockpile. I put yard stakes around the landscaping on the side of our house, bait traps in the corners of the doorway, and laid down a thick coat of spray on the steps, stoops, and door sills. I took a strong "scorched earth" policy with these bugs.

While keeping the house clean and insect free were strong motivators, keeping these sixe legged, one winged, threats from Lily was an overpowering feeling. At that moment it clicked that of what it really felt like to be a parent, and do anything to keep your kid safe (even from tiny, near flightless ants). God forbid any real danger ever come her way, who knows what I would try to clean!

Thinking back on today a little, I feel a bit guilty for over 1,000 counts of ant-icide, considering what revelation they triggered. But they did create an un-holy mess, if only for a short while however short lived.

In other news, here is a new set of pics from Lily's first week!

Lily's first data points

I love data. I really love data. During the last nine months I have joked that Lily (at that time "Baby") would be such a rich source of data to measure, collect, track, plot, deviate standardly, etc. Now, I always said this laughingly, but deep down I MEANT EVERY SINGLE WORD!



So far Lily hasn't disappointed in this department. We have been tracking her sleeping times, her feeding times, her diaper details (which actually have been handy due to brief drop in changing frequency) Certainly gives a new meaning to the term P-value.



This has all been very interesting, but we have been lacking any comparative data to measure up against. That all changed today!



We went for Lily's 1-week checkup where among the many things investigated were her length, weight, and head circumference. Her doctor came back with her measurements as well as which percentile she falls in on the growth charts. Finally, we see were our baby stacks up against the pack, where her data meets the road! You may think I am a bit obsessive about her data points, but Carrie was even more excited than me (in her defense, she does run the skeletal dysplasia clinic at work, so this is right in her wheel-house).



This evening I would be formatting her MS Excel charts to match the color scheme of her bedroom, because that's how I roll....

Internets and Cycling=Quality Time

So, Lily and I decided we should get some work done today, and finally upload a few pics for everyone (see previous post). It was at this point, I realized that there was a niche market for 1-handed keyboards for use by internet obsessed parents so they can check their email while holding kid(s). Although uniquely challenging, we were quite efficient transferring all of her recent photos, setting up a web album, uploading and linking the images, and even editing, rendering, and uploading Lily's first short film The Nose Whistler. I appreciate her editing touch. We also discovered that Lily is a big Gnarls Barkley fan. Yay!

Today, Lily watched her first professional bicycling race with me, and not just any race, Paris-Roubaix, the Queen of the Spring Classics, as Phil Ligget says. Not only was it a great race, but Tom Boonen walked away with the sprint for the victory. I think I might have just created TomBoonenFanGirl#1!

Hi there, Baby!

So, Lillian Jane was born on Wednesday. Not knowing what to expect, I'd have to say that things went mostly to plan (not necessarily our plan, but a plan), although I was much more involved in the process than I had originally intended (I am not complaining, as I feel Carrie was really bearing the brunt of the work). I (if not We) was most surprised by how much hair she has. I have been thinking about this kid for months, but never actually considered her having hair. It's a good look.

We have always referred to her (in utero) as simply "baby". Not "the baby" or "our baby", but simply "baby" (sometimes "BABY!"). Now that she is really here, it's been a hard habit to break, and hopefully not too confusing for her. I hope I get with it soon, so as not to end up with a 6mos. old daughter pondering "who am I?". Very philosophic.

The last two days, and consequently her first two days, she has been a little congested, and has what can easily be described as a nose whistle. It's quite cute.
I apologize for the poor lighting. Steven Spielberg, I am not.


So far I feel that we can call our first 48hrs as parents a success. Everyone has eaten, bathed, and taken at least 1 nap. Who can ask for anything more?

Here are some early pics!