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.