We had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday – we were very excited to learn that Maile had gotten her weight up to 9 lbs! I imagine at some point a proper lady will stop discussing her weight, but for now we celebrate every new ounce and pound.
We took a video of the aftermath of the event – during which, I noticed that like many (all?) fathers before me, I now have a new voice. It’s an evolved form of the girlfriend/wife voice (you know the one your buddies catch you using when your girlfriend or wife calls). I’m not sure there is any scientific proof that babies enjoy hearing their father’s talk this way, but we all do it.
In any event, I caught myself – and thus, there are two takes of the video (you’ll need sound):
Anyone who knows me well, knows it was only a matter of time before MC Koidin put out her first performance. Proud to support my daughter with a little beat box – we’re still on the lookout for a DJ though…
Full lyrics (and yes, dad is particularly proud that she managed to work in a Snoop Dogg, Digital Underground, AND Pharcyde reference…):
Lodi dodi wake my dad when I’m ready to go potty
Don’t tell mommy if I get a little naughty
Yo, I’m the new drool in town
And my styles laid down by my farting sound…
Whoosh whoosh goes the sound of the womb
All the babies giggle when I enter the room
Every two hours I make my mommy’s bra pop
Then 30 minutes later it’s like mmmm… DROP!
I’m MC Koidin and I’m here to say
Representin’ all the babies in the city by the Bay!
Employing the Happiest Baby on the Block Technique
Over the course of the pregnancy we received lots of recommendations of good books and various other pregnancy/newborn-related gear to check out. (And also a fair amount of items to avoid.) One recommendation that came up time and again was The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD.
Basically the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD is by this guy Dr. Harvey Karp and it teaches his technique for calming fussy babies. When you watch the DVD, it almost looks fake – Harvey takes a crying baby, swaddles it, flips it on its side, shushes in its ear and rocks a bit … and the baby instantly calms down and falls into a stupor.
We first watched the DVD before Maile was born and Chris and I got a good chuckle out of it. If it wasn’t for some close friends that swore by it, we probably would have tossed it and moved on.
So does it work?
The answer, at least for us, is sometimes. I’d say 6 out of 10 times the techniques help us take Maile from nuclear meltdown/hyperventilating/how-in-the-world-does-this-little-thing-scream-so-loud to a general unhappiness. 2 of those 6 times, she calms down completely and it makes you feel like you’re the best parent in the world.
(We’ve added to the technique based on input from our friend, Jon B. – instead of jiggling her, we bounce on one of those big bouncy exercise ball things. Works great!)
Bottomline: the video makes it seem like it will work every time. It won’t, but its a good tool for the toolkit and we definitely use bits and pieces as we go along through the day.
(NOTE: There is both a book and DVD by Dr. Harvey Karp – you want the DVD – this is definitely a technique, you want to see vs. read about.)
After my bath tonight, mom decided to play around with my hair. She thought I’d look cute with a faux hawk. It was funny until she realized that because my hair is so fine, once it goes up, it does not come down …
… so now I have a faux hawk until my next bath. Sweet.
Hard to believe that it was two weeks ago that Maile joined our family. Big milestone today was that we brought Maile in to be weighed and she topped off at 8 lbs 8 oz! Given the way that she has been eating, it should have come as no surprise – but mom and dad were very happy that Maile was back at her birth weight (and then some!)
We’ve decided to keep up the tradition of Saturday family portraits – see below for the latest:
With Maile fast approaching two weeks old, we could no longer fend the boys off. Today the Warners came by and Maile had her first date with their son, Ferris. (And no, I won’t be surprised when I find out that Ferris stole his friend’s Big Wheel and busts Maile out of nursery school …)
Well, we’ve almost made it through the second week. Tomorrow, Maile will be two weeks old. Already its hard to remember things pre-Maile!
We’re starting to settle in to a decent routine, although Maile likes to throw us for a loop every once in a while to keep us on our toes. We’re getting a decent amount of sleep – the afternoon nap certainly helps (especially for Chris who gets less sleep at night due to the feedings.) Maile is eating great and gaining weight. She keeps us endlessly entertained even though she doesn’t do much at this point – scares and excites me for what is going to happen when she really starts being able to interact with us!
