Day 5 - Today we explored the world of the stroller, and ventured to a beachfront restaurant here in the Outer Sunset section of San Francisco. Three observations:
a. babies sleep through almost anything - as we were driving to the beach, we were passed by a large fire truck, horns wailing - little Lian slept without a twitch as it passed us by
b. Strollers are heavy, no matter how "light" they're touted to be. I read 4 different stroller reviews before settling on our little Zooper umbrella stroller mid-weight at 19 pounds. 19 pounds, I thought - that's an easy lift for me. What I didn't count on - shame on me, and on all the reviews I read that failed to mention this to me - was that that's actually 10 pounds hanging from one elbow, while in your hand you're carrying the other 19-pound weight: your "baby bag" that includes the following ingredients: with the diaper bag filled with 2 diapers, vaseline for baby's tender bottom, lanolin for mom's sore nipples, enough maxi pads for a cross-country plane trip, an entire spare set of clothes for baby in case her poo happens to leak all over her socks and hat as well, the New York Times of course, the old-style heavyweight digital camera (always check to see that you didn't leave the memory card in your laptop - I know, I just did it), a water bottle for mom, and your small set of 100 baby wipes ... just in case. Oh, and the other hand is carrying your car seat with the baby, crooked at 90-degrees because your wife has her hand in your elbow (yes, it's still hard for her to negotiate stairs in the first week after delivery). Let's see now, with a 10-lb carseat, 19-lbs of stroller, another 10-lbs in the bag, and your wife probably exerting 5-10 lbs of pressure on your arm...that's 45-50 lbs worth. The only saving grace in this first week is that your baby loses up to 17% of her weight - so little Lian shed 9 ounces since her birth. Phew, what a relief.
c. having a stroller is like walking a dog - you're an instant attraction for every other stroller pusher, homeless person looking for someone to talk to, or jogger in need of an excuse to catch his breath.
Tips for Newborn Dads (cont.):
#5. Why not try to control everything? So today I introduced us to the Daily Planning Sheet. It's a simple spreadsheet that allows us to record sleep time and feeding time (since sleep time is not exactly the complete amount of time between feedings by Day 5 of a baby's life, it's worth separating out the two). The purpose: track exactly when Lian sleeps and eats, so that we can then apply the advice that a woman on a Newark - SFO gave me a month ago: cut the baby's sleep time by 1/4 to 1/5 during the day, and within 10 days - you'll be guaranteed a 10-hour night! Sounds like nirvana right now, so why not try? I'll give you an update on Day 10 with my conclusions. One man's mountain...
#6. Changing a diaper is a dad's greatest asset in the struggle for long-lost sleep. If your tasks look anything like Michelle and mine, here's a sample of what each of us does: Michelle - feeds (both breasts each feeding: all the time); burps (sometimes); swaddles/dresses (sometimes); changes (sometimes); holds (often). Dean - feeds (never); burps (often); swaddles/dresses (often); changes (often); holds (often).
So, with that kind of routine, here's the diaper-changing secret: if your newborn is anything like ours, she falls asleep at the breast - Inebriation at the Nipple. But the more she can drink, the longer she can sleep. Her drinking capacity seems to be (once again, I'm no pro, just a 5-day old dad) directly correlated to her capacity to stay awake. The best way I've found to wake her up is to change her and to blow cold air on her little naked body. Whichever way you do it - just make sure that she gives a good howl of protest indicating she's wide awake. So what I like to do is to wait to change her until between breasts - so after feeding on one and before shifting to the second - and then I change her and wake her up. Then she's usually able to swig well at the second trough.
#7. Speaking of troughs - don't speak of troughs, or breasts or anything else that hints at the size or shape or characteristics of her chest. They will look ... significant. That's healthy. And when they leak at the sound of your baby's crying, don't laugh - I made that mistake. Just accept that it's one of those wonderful reflexes of human nature; smile; and tell your wife you love her no matter what her body does.
Day 5 - Another one of those heart melting photos of daddy's little girl. Just for sizing: the length of one of those little footprints on her blanket is 1-3/4"
a. babies sleep through almost anything - as we were driving to the beach, we were passed by a large fire truck, horns wailing - little Lian slept without a twitch as it passed us by
b. Strollers are heavy, no matter how "light" they're touted to be. I read 4 different stroller reviews before settling on our little Zooper umbrella stroller mid-weight at 19 pounds. 19 pounds, I thought - that's an easy lift for me. What I didn't count on - shame on me, and on all the reviews I read that failed to mention this to me - was that that's actually 10 pounds hanging from one elbow, while in your hand you're carrying the other 19-pound weight: your "baby bag" that includes the following ingredients: with the diaper bag filled with 2 diapers, vaseline for baby's tender bottom, lanolin for mom's sore nipples, enough maxi pads for a cross-country plane trip, an entire spare set of clothes for baby in case her poo happens to leak all over her socks and hat as well, the New York Times of course, the old-style heavyweight digital camera (always check to see that you didn't leave the memory card in your laptop - I know, I just did it), a water bottle for mom, and your small set of 100 baby wipes ... just in case. Oh, and the other hand is carrying your car seat with the baby, crooked at 90-degrees because your wife has her hand in your elbow (yes, it's still hard for her to negotiate stairs in the first week after delivery). Let's see now, with a 10-lb carseat, 19-lbs of stroller, another 10-lbs in the bag, and your wife probably exerting 5-10 lbs of pressure on your arm...that's 45-50 lbs worth. The only saving grace in this first week is that your baby loses up to 17% of her weight - so little Lian shed 9 ounces since her birth. Phew, what a relief.
c. having a stroller is like walking a dog - you're an instant attraction for every other stroller pusher, homeless person looking for someone to talk to, or jogger in need of an excuse to catch his breath.
Tips for Newborn Dads (cont.):
#5. Why not try to control everything? So today I introduced us to the Daily Planning Sheet. It's a simple spreadsheet that allows us to record sleep time and feeding time (since sleep time is not exactly the complete amount of time between feedings by Day 5 of a baby's life, it's worth separating out the two). The purpose: track exactly when Lian sleeps and eats, so that we can then apply the advice that a woman on a Newark - SFO gave me a month ago: cut the baby's sleep time by 1/4 to 1/5 during the day, and within 10 days - you'll be guaranteed a 10-hour night! Sounds like nirvana right now, so why not try? I'll give you an update on Day 10 with my conclusions. One man's mountain...
#6. Changing a diaper is a dad's greatest asset in the struggle for long-lost sleep. If your tasks look anything like Michelle and mine, here's a sample of what each of us does: Michelle - feeds (both breasts each feeding: all the time); burps (sometimes); swaddles/dresses (sometimes); changes (sometimes); holds (often). Dean - feeds (never); burps (often); swaddles/dresses (often); changes (often); holds (often).
So, with that kind of routine, here's the diaper-changing secret: if your newborn is anything like ours, she falls asleep at the breast - Inebriation at the Nipple. But the more she can drink, the longer she can sleep. Her drinking capacity seems to be (once again, I'm no pro, just a 5-day old dad) directly correlated to her capacity to stay awake. The best way I've found to wake her up is to change her and to blow cold air on her little naked body. Whichever way you do it - just make sure that she gives a good howl of protest indicating she's wide awake. So what I like to do is to wait to change her until between breasts - so after feeding on one and before shifting to the second - and then I change her and wake her up. Then she's usually able to swig well at the second trough.
#7. Speaking of troughs - don't speak of troughs, or breasts or anything else that hints at the size or shape or characteristics of her chest. They will look ... significant. That's healthy. And when they leak at the sound of your baby's crying, don't laugh - I made that mistake. Just accept that it's one of those wonderful reflexes of human nature; smile; and tell your wife you love her no matter what her body does.
Day 5 - Another one of those heart melting photos of daddy's little girl. Just for sizing: the length of one of those little footprints on her blanket is 1-3/4"
posted by Note Buyer at 11:20 PM
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