I noticed this morning that little Katie’s grip is getting much stronger. My wife said that we don’t really have any infant rattles, so we will need to pick one up the next time we are out.
2010-03-12 - Bibs and Rattle
Little Katie likes it when she is on her back and I push her legs up and down…much like if she was riding a bike. My wife asked me to burp her, but when no burp came, we ended up “doing the bicycle”.
My wife had to run some errands today, so she picked up some baby supplies while she was out. The photo on the right shows a couple of bibs and a rattle. The rattle is especially unique. It makes a “rattling sound” when it is shaken (duh…hence the name “rattle), but it also has a series of blinking lights as well.
I showed little Katie the rattle this evening and she is fascinated with it. I think it is the lights that she likes the most. Having said that, if there are a pair of eyes anywhere in the vicinity, she will gravitate towards them.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie loves her rattle that “lights up”…
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Little Katie slept in the swing from 12pm – 3pm. She really likes it. When she got up was she ever hungry.
2010-03-11 - Consignment Sale
My wife went to a baby consignment sale today, and little Katie was the beneficiary. It is semi-annual, and she went to the same event back in September, 2009. The photo on the right shows the list of “goodies” available…
Here is a list of the goodies that she got for little Katie:
1) A musical playmat.
2) A house with toy monkeys in it.
3) A toy Lamaze octopus with a mirror.
4) A toy fish with a spinning wheel.
5) Etc…
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) The stuff they make for babies knows no end…
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4:30am – Little Katie is up and running after about 6 hours of sleep. I changed her and she was fidgeting the whole time…with her eyes closed mind you. Her attitude was “quick, quick…I’m starving”. When I was done I took her to the “milk truck” and the look of glee on her face was noticeable. As I handed her off she “squealed” with delight.
2010-03-10 - Toy Cow
8:00pm – My wife is playing with little Katie right now. She is utilizing the cow toy that is shown in the picture to the right. If you “scrunch” up the body portion it almost becomes a hand puppet, and little Katie just loves it. Katie has this look of wonderment on her face…kind of like what is that.
I notice that little Katie is becoming much more inquisitive about the world around her. Instead of just looking for movement and color and shapes, it seems that she is much more into the “why’s” of how it all fits together. For instance, when you talk to her, it’s like she is trying to talk back. She seems to examine every pore of your face and she struggles to make sense of this wonderful world which she finds herself in. Things were so much more simpler in the womb. Everything was dark and there were no images or shapes or faces to try to examine and make sense of. Good on ya Katie…welcome to the new world!
8:24pm – Right now little Katie is lying on her back and looking up at the toys (such as the Smiley Flower Rattle) that circle above her. She is squealing with delight and her little arms and legs are moving all over the place. Guess she is wondering why they don’t talk back to her like my wife and I do?
My wife just made a comment. All the toys for little Katie have “yellow” in them. Perhaps someone did a study and discovered that “yellow” is good for them?
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie is becoming much more inquisitive.
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Little Katie is still going through diapers like they are going out of style. It’s hard to imagine how she generates all that water, but she does… She sure let’s you know when she is wet!
2010-03-09 - Baby Swing
My wife took little Katie out on the patio this afternoon. She says that the fresh air is good for her. Here is a picture of the swing that she was sitting in. She draped a mosquito net over her to keep the bugs off. When I came home little Katie was sleeping soundly, so I think she really enjoyed it. She apparently slept there for 3.5 hours.
Let’s talk a little bit about the baby swing. The curved seat mimics the way that mom cradles the baby, and the one-hand, four-position recline lets you adjust the baby’s seating position (and thereby the view). While the baby is swinging away they can enjoy 10 classical melodies and nature sounds to soothe and amuse them. Isn’t modern technology wonderful?
It also has a mobile of little clowns (my wife put them there). Apparently babies at this age like blacks, whites, and reds, and this mobile is full of them.
Little Katie is having her supper now. Let’s hope that she is going to have a nice long blissful sleep this evening. This will mean that my wife and I will as well.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie loves the balcony!
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Little Katie is much more like herself today. Yesterday we were thinking that we might have to call the doctor today to figure out why little Katie was going into those fits of screaming. Today, that is a distant memory.
2010-03-08 - Katie And The Ducks
I’m dragging today. Late night last night…
Another stroll around the neighborhood for little Katie today. Little Katie got a chance to see the ducks (see photo on the right). Spring is in the air. I think the cold days and nights of winter are past us now.
We went to visit a friend this evening. This is the first time that little Katie has been to her house. Little Katie really likes her…and I think remembers her (she gave her a foot massage the last time she saw her). She just got a package from France, and promptly presented little Katie with a nice dress, and the teddy bear that she used to play with as a child. How nice and thoughtful…it’s nice to have good friends.
Little Katie held a rattle in her hands this evening, but she is not yet aware of the fact that it will make a noise if she jiggles it. That will come in time.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie can hold a rattle, but not utilize it yet.
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Little Katie finally went to sleep in the “wee hours” of the morning. I guess that her theme song should be something like this. Maybe not exactly…but the “All Night Long” part…
As I was changing little Katie this morning she spit up all over her onesie, then let out a big smile. I think this whole changing this is a bit of a game for her. I changed her into a new onesie, but she was still wet. Wonder if she didn’t spit up again when I was reaching for a bib? If it is a game daddy is not laughing…
2010-03-07 - Park Toucan
We took little Katie for a walk to the park and the lake this afternoon. While we were there we saw another couple with a child that was 14 months old. In exactly a year little Katie will be this old. It was nice to get some sort of a reference point as to what little Katie will be doing next year at this time…basically running around and picking up every acorn that she can find.
See the picture to the right? The one of the toucan ride at the park down the street? It is attached to the ground via a huge spring. It won’t be long before little Katie will be having fun on it…
Hard night with little Katie this evening. She was fussing about and nothing seemed to calm her down. My wife took her into the bathroom for a while and she was distracted by the mirrors and the lights, and stopped crying, but soon started up again. I showed her the “adjustable lamp” (her best friend), and that calmed her down for a while, but she soon started up again. In the end we decided to take a drive (around 9:00pm…so much for the Oscars)…
As soon as we drove out of the yard she started to calm down and fall asleep. She did need to be fed after about 30 minutes on the road, but calmed down again soon afterwards. We arrived back at home around 11:45pm, and little Katie is awake. She was still a bit fussy, but then the situation rectified itself very quickly. What happened? Read on…
My wife fed her and I tried to burp her…and out came this little tiny “burp” out of her mouth. She had this sign of relief on her face almost instantaneously. I then put her in the bouncy seat and we heard another sound… Time to go to the changing table. Success!!! #2!!! She really seemed to calm down this time, so I took her back to her bouncy seat and after a few moments “another sound”… Back to the changing table. A bit more #2…and little Katie was really relaxed!!! Mission accomplished. She was soon feeding again and back to “normal”. Nice to have the old little Katie back…
12:15am – Little Katie is still a bit fussy, so we gave her some “Infant’s Gas Relief” liquid. The directions say 0.3 ml, so we’ll see if it works (and how soon)…
1:01am – Still up and little Katie is eating again. Let’s hope this is it…
2:18am – Little Katie just fell asleep. Time for all 3 of us to sleep now…
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) What’s all this about a gas shortage? There is no gas shortage as far as little Katie is concerned.
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Little Katie might still be suffering from the effects of the immunization shots. She seems to be fussy at times. For example, today, she was not nursing at the right angle, and the screaming she let out rattled the floorboards.
2010-03-06 - Little Pink Booties
I noticed that little Katie’s hair is getting longer by the day. Nice to see some hair growing in.
Do you like Katie’s little pink booties? (picture on the left).
Another stroll around the neighborhood this afternoon. We picked up the mail on the way home and little Katie’s Social Security Number came in the mail.
This afternoon we did a couple of Skype Sessions. First with my mother, then with my wife’s mother.
11:51pm – My wife and I have been trying to put little Katie to bed since noon, so we are almost at the 12 hour point. She has slept for tiny naps (one for 30 minutes), but not the long, deep sleep that the three of us all need. We are not sure why she won’t sleep, but here are three possibilities:
1) She is still suffering from the “sting” of the inoculation needles and needs comforting (be with us).
2) My wife had some chocolate for lunch…perhaps the caffeine is giving little Katie a boost of energy.
3) She might find the television too exciting…so exciting that she can’t fall asleep. (TV is off now…let’s see if that works).
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie has more energy than we do…
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Little Katie has not been herself since the trip to the doctor. She seems more fussy and sometimes it takes a lot to calm her down. What can you expect when someone you hardly know sticks you with needles?
2010-03-05 - Chicken Salad
My wife was taking little Katie to the changing table and she grabbed a hold of my wife’s hair. She’s learned a new trick. My wife said that it hurt.
I have noticed that little Katie seems to be getting a much stronger grip. This along with those “killer kicks” and she is going to be a little dynamo one day.
Homemade chicken salad for dinner tonight (see photo on the left).
Boy did little Katie ever #2 up a storm this evening. It required a bath. Call in the hazardous waste team!
Little Katie fell asleep early this evening in the bouncy seat After a while we transferred her to the bassinet. If she is far enough into her sleep pattern she will sleep soundly, but if she is not she will wake up and cry to be with us.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie has found her mother’s hair!
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My wife turned on the baby monitor so we can hear little Katie when we are in the kitchen. Chirps and squeals and Ahh’ss….but no screaming…so far so good.
My wife had to go to the dentist this morning, so I had to babysit little Katie again. She slept for most of the morning, but about 10 minutes before my wife arrived home she started to cry. The first step is to change the baby, and she is usually quite happy during this time… It’s funny, as soon as I button up the onesie, she starts to act up. She knows the process…change the diaper…feed the baby. It’s like: “okay, now that we’ve got that diaper thing done, get me to the table as soon as you can. Maybe if I scream at the top of my lungs you will move faster”.
We are off to the doctor’s office and just before we left little Katie did a #2. We had to bathe her and give her a new diaper. While I was giving her the diaper I told her “See this baby? This is what they call an unused diaper. As you know, it will only exists in nature in this form for a short while…”
2010-03-04 - Band-Aids
Little Katie got her immunizations today. We have never heard her scream so loud, but after a little bit of cuddling from mommy she calmed down. No wonder kids don’t like to go to doctors. You just meet this person and they stick you with something…. We gave her a dose of children’s tylenol, so that helped (we think). She did get a couple of cute band-aids out of the deal (see photo on the left).
As soon as I started to drive the car out of the doctor’s parking lot little Katie calmed down and went to sleep. After a bit of driving around we settled on eating at a Turkish Restaurant. Little Katie slept through the whole thing.
We got a package in the mail from my wife’s parents today. Some dresses for little Katie, some CD’s of lullaby’s, a toy dog, etc. I’ll upload some photos when I get a chance.
Little Katie slept til about 7pm. We were scared to wake her just in case she started to cry again. When she did wake up she could not be calmed down, so we gave her another dose of children’s tylenol. I think she liked the cherry flavor as she smiled a bit…and it seemed to work for a while. In the end she needed another feeding and fell asleep in my wife’s lap. Hopefully she will sleep soundly through the night.
9:35pm – I tried to take little Katie off my wife’s lap and put her to bed. As soon as I touched her her eyes flew open. It was like “As long as I’m here and pretend to be asleep they will leave me alone”. We put her in the bouncy seat for a while. Let’s see how this goes.
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) No surprise…babies don’t like needles.
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Little Katie has finally found another friend…one that rivals her original BFF (i.e.: Best Friend Forever)…the adjustable lamp…
2010-03-03 - New BFF
Who or what is her new friend? Herself. My wife put the mirror that we highlighted in a previous post directly in front of her in the bouncy seat (see picture on the right)… She sees a reflection of herself in the mirror and is just “sooooo” excited. She kicks the mirrow with her little legs, and doesn’t realize that this is why the person in the mirror is moving. She has conversations with the person in the mirror. My wife and I love this setup more than she does…we can get some rest….
We have an “Energizer Bunny” on our hands. Little Katie just keeps on going and going and never gets tired. She didn’t sleep this afternoon and she is still up…eyes open, examining the world…
I was exhausted so I went to the other room to sleep. When I woke up I got the following two emails from my wife:
10:24pm – It’s 10:22 PM and Energizer Bunny is still up and happily looking around!!! Mommy Rabbit is ready to collapse. 
))
11:11pm – Puppy’s out!
WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
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1) Little Katie’s new BFF is “herself”…in actuality the mirror that we position in front of the bouncy seat.
Filed under 1st Year (2010) by on Mar 3rd, 2010. Comment.