Brrrr....

Caleb has good days and bad days at work with Mom. Some days, he's content. Other days, he is very needy. I don't think today was a bad day, but it certainly was spent on the needy end of the spectrum. Mom snapped this picture of him sitting in her lap while she worked at some point during the day.

Our Tuesday night bible study takes place at a Starbucks here in Miami. Caleb was not too interested in being quiet there, either. Unfortunately, it rained
tonight (as it does most nghts in June...this is our rainy season). However, it is really cold in Starbucks. They keep it quite cold in there. For the first time in quite a while Mom actually had to use one of his baby blankets to keep him warm.

All in all, it was a pretty routine day. However, being the adventurers we are, we are majorly disrupting Caleb's routine next week. Starting next Tuesday, we are going on the Caleb Summer 2008 tour for grandparents to get the opportunity to show off the grandchild. While I am very excited about the month of July, the travel makes me nervous. I guess I will at least have something to blog about.

No More Novels...For Now

The last couple of posts were really long, so I'll be brief tonight. Caleb did well his first night in the crib. He only woke once at a time that he has been waking the last few nights, so it was not that unusual. He aslo woke up around 5:00 A.M. which is his normal time to wake up hungry. Mom brought him to bed and fed him there. He was in bed when I woke up and we hung out together before I got up to get ready for work while Mom moved around the house getting ready to go out.

Most afternoons, Caleb hangs out in his bouncy seat while Mom works around the house. Note the location of his socks.

That's it for tonight. Have a great day!

Moving Day

Sunday, June 22

Today is a monumental day in Caleb's life. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we went to get a crib matress for Caleb's crib. We set up the crib yesterday and put Caleb down in the crib for the first time tonight. Caleb will no longer be sleeping in our room and Granddaddy's bassinet is being put back into retirement either until Caleb has a little brother/sister or a cousin.

The events leading up to this moment have been quite exasperating. We had registered for baby gifts a Baby's R Us (BRU). Shortly after creating our registry, BRU sent us a flyer letting us know that shortly after the due date, we would receive a coupon in the mail giving us 10% off the items remaining on our registry. We thought this was a good deal because we had some pricey items on the registry and we knew that if we did not receive those items as gifts, a 10% discount would be huge.

So, Caleb comes along and is born a couple of weeks early. While Mom and Caleb were still in the hospital, I made a trip out to BRU. There were some things Mom wanted available when we brought Caleb home. Granddaddy was with me in his giant SUV, so I got the bright idea that it would be really great if we could get some of the larger items and bring them home while the optimal transport was available. (Thanks Granddaddy, I always knew you were good for something.)

I went into BRU and explained to the girl at the registry desk that I had a registry there and my baby had been born a couple of weeks early. (It's not like I was trying to scam them or anything...I was wearing the bracelet from the hospital proving that I had a baby back at the hospital.) I further explained that there were several items that we would like to get right away and I asked if they could go ahead and give me the discount even though I did not have the coupon available. She went and asked the manager and they both came back to tell me that they did not have the power to override the system in that manner. (They did give me a $10 off coupon...whooptee doo. I bought a couple of items and the $10 worked out to be way more than 10% of what I bought, so I those two items, they got the short end of the deal.) My next question was whether they could move the due date forward so the coupon would be mailed to us a little sooner. They thought about it and decided that was probably a pretty good way to handle the situation.

After a few weeks, Mom was starting to get antsy about the coupon which had not arrived yet. She called BRU customer service and a representative told her that she was supposed to request the coupon in order for it to be mailed. So she requested the coupon. However, we were perplexed becuase the original flyer had said nothing at all about our duty in claiming the coupon. We waited for the coupon to show up.

After a couple more weeks, still no coupon. This time, when Mom calls customer service, she is told that the other person is wrong and you dont have to request the coupon. However, by changing the due date, we had messed the system up. This customer service rep said that all we needed to do was verify our adress and a coupon would be on the way. We waited some more.

We went into the store to return some duplicate items we had received. Mom went to the registry desk to see if they could help us get our coupon. The only thing the registry desk girl did was call the same customer service number Mom had been calling. We were flabbergasted. The people in the store really know nothing about this promotion and have no idea how it works. After talking for a few minutes, the registry girl tells us that a coupon is on the way. She also tells that if it is on the way and that if it does not arrive, she gave us the name of the customer service rep to call. Just a first name. I was immediately skeptical because I've tried to call phone centers before with just the first name of a rep and they have never been able to transfer me to that person.

We wait some more and, of course, the thing still never arrives. Mom finally makes yet another call and asks to speak to a supervisor. On one of her previous calls, Mom had asked for a supervisor and was told that there were no supervisors in the call center. The rep would have to put in a request for a supervisor to call Mom. As you can probably guess by now, the supervisor never called. On this call, Mom told this story and said she really wanted a supervisor to call her. One finally did call and Mom explained the entire ordeal. The supervisor told Mom that he was the last person she would have to talk to about this situation and he agreed that it had not been handled properly all along. He took down our address and said he would send us a coupon. Mom explained that we have been greatly inconvenienced by this whole situation and aksed if there was anything else he could do for us. He said he would look into it. We haven't heard from it since.

A couple of weeks ago, we were starting to grow skeptical again. We were reaching the outer edge of the time frame he had given for the arrival of the coupon. We had daily conversations about whether Mom should call in again, but it finally arrived. Of course, the only thing in the envelope was the coupon. No apology, no additional compensation. Just the coupon.

So, we agreed that we were only going to buy the things we absolutely needed and not spend any more money than we had to at BRU. Poppy and TuTu had given us a gift card for the purpose of buying Caleb's next car seat. Mom wanted the crib mattress more than anything else. I pointed out that if we were going to put him in the crib, we needed a monitor. So those things became essentials. We also ended up getting the rug that matches the rest of his bedroom decorations. In addition to the gift card Poppy and TuTu gave us, we had other BRU gift cards that had been given to us and that we had received when we returned items. We had one generic Visa gift card and a lot of people had just given us cash. We used the Visa card and a little bit of the cash to complete our purchase, accomplishing the goal of not really spending more money there than we had to.

However, our saga was not quite over. When we got to the store, we printed our registry (remember, the coupon is only good for items from our registry which had not been purchased) and we went to get the car seat. It turns out the model we had selected was discontinued and not available. The next model was out for more money. We went to the store manager and explained the situation. We found a manager that was either competent or actually disposed to helping out customers. She told us it was no problem, she would just manually enter the 10% discount when we were ready to check out. This makes me think that the manager could have manually given me the discount way back during Caleb's first week and was either incompetent or too afraid to think outside the box and assist a customer. We ran into the same situation with the baby monitor. Only there was not even a similar model from the same manufacturer. We selected a model with the same price point and the manager was gracious enough to extend the discount to the monitor as well.

We have not been pleased with BRU throughout this entire ordeal. At least it ended on a fairly pleasant note. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there is not communication within a single organization. It is so frustrating when the retail outlet has no idea how to deal with "backroom" operations such as a catalog division or promotions, etc. It's just extremely inefficient. With the exception of the occasional clothes purchase, I think we are done with BRU. We certainly won't register there when it becomes apparent that Caleb is going to have a younger sibling if God so chooses to bless us.

We set the crib up and Caleb's room is just about done. There are a couple of things I need to hang up and it will be complete.


I really wanted to vent about BRU. But there were a couple of additional pictures of Caleb today that were just really cute. One of the pictures is of Caleb's last morning waking up in the bassinet. The other two are Caleb sleeping while we were out to lunch with friends. I'll post them here at the end without any additional commentary. Enjoy!

Number 2

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Last night was family date night. Tonight was girls'/guys' nights out...sort of. I went up to Fort Lauderdale to hang out with some law school classmates. Mom does not like to be alone if I go out, so she called up another mother from church who has a son a little older than Caleb. Caleb does not stray very far from the food source, so he spent the evening with Mom and her friend. Mom said they had a good time with one minor incident. The top picture is a photo of Caleb before going out to dinner.
The bottom picture is a photo of Caleb after dinner. Astute observers will note that Caleb is not wearing the same outfit in both pictures. One might ask why that would be important. I'll tell you, but I must give fair warning to those with queasy stomachs to just enjoy the pictures and move on without reading further.

First of all, I should give a little background to the story. Before I became a parent, I never imagined how much I would care about baby poop. I have quikcly learned what an important topic it is. Mom recently forwarded to me an email from one of her many subscription services about parenting and babies called (I kid you not) "The Scoop on Poop." The point of the email is that as parents, we have to pay attention to the presents Caleb leaves us in his diaper as poop is an indicator of his health. One of the questions the email asks is "Are your baby's bowel movements stinky or sweet?" I'd like to meet the person who would describe their baby's poop as sweet. My kid's sure isn't So this article wants us to pay attention to such things as color, odor, consistency and frequency. Normally, I would be gossed out, but I read the article with rapt attention. It was all very surreal. (It actually reminds me of this famous scene from the sitcom Scrubs. DISCLAIMER: Only click the link to watch the video if you have no problem with crude, adolescent, middle school boy humor.)

It also reminded me of way back in the hospital when we were fretting over Caleb's jaundice problem. The doctors kept telling us that he needed to have a bowel movement because the bad stuff that causes the jaundice problem is passed out through poop. So we anxiously awaited for that first poop and were so thrilled when it finally came because it meant our little boy might get better. After we got him home, he became pretty consistent. Just about every diaper was dirty and had something in it. That all changed last week, much to our chagrin.

Last week before we went to Naples, Caleb's pattern changed. Suddenly, we noticed several diapers in a row that were wet with no signs of poop in them. I became very concerned. Mom consulted her baby books and resources and they all said that around this time, it is not uncommon for the frequency of bowel movements to slow down. I was discussing this with a friend who has a little girl a couple of years older than Caleb and I expressed my fear of what awaited us when Caleb finally had another movement. His response was than you can only hope for one thing: containment.

So last Thursday, we are at lunch for my birthday and Caleb is in his carrier on the table. we hear a sound and we assume that Caleb is simply passing gas. It wasn't more than a couple of minutes later that Mom said she could smell something really bad. So I took Caleb to the bathroom for a diaper change.

I laid out the changing mat, laid Caleb on it and unsnapped the onesie snaps. If lifted his legs to push the back of his shirt out of the way. When I set his legs back down, I noticed something running out of the front of the diaper. With much trepidation, I pulled back the tabs and opened the diaper. What I found was probably one of the grossest things I experienced in my life (and yes, I watched Caleb being born.) Caleb had fille his diaper completely. Fromt the front to the back, there was not a white spot between the liner that is supposed to prevent leaks. Caleb's genitals, rear end, hips, upper thighs and lower stomach/bach were cover in a green, goo. (Happy Birthday Daddy!) There is no other way to describe. And what I was looking at did NOT smell sweet. It took me three wet wipes to get him all cleaned up. The goo had gotten on his clothes, so I undressed him and took him out of the bathroom in nothing more than a diaper and his sandals. Mom had a change of clothes in the diaper bag and put those on him.

Throughout the weekend, Caleb went back to irregular movements, but he had a really bad gas problem. He would pass gas and we were worried about whether it was affecting the people around us. I was actually worried about whether Caleb was having a gastrointestinal problem. Mom assured me that we did not need to call the pediatrician to say that Caleb had bad gas.

Well, she was right, Caleb is getting back to normal in the sense that if he passes gas, we are not worried about our neighbors fainting. However, his bowel movements are not frequent, so when he has one, it is a doozy.

And that explains the change of clothes tonight. Caleb decided to have a movement--in a restaurant again. Apparently, he got it all over himself and Mom had to change his clothes. Not the most conducive dining envorionment. Mom said they still had a good time.

So that was Caleb's evening. I appologize for any crudeness and I appreciate you letting me write about this. This little mini-phase was definitely an experience and I am glad it is over. And it is good to know that Caleb is developing properly and beginning to resemble some characteristics of a little man, even the gross ones. This is a part of being Caleb's Dad and I appreciate you reading this far if you have done so.

P.S. (If you really did read this far, I want to make a comment about the second picture in the post. Caleb is getting very wiggly. As you can see from the photo, it is hard to capture a good photo of Caleb being still. Most of the time, his arms and/or legs are a blur. Guess we'll have to work on the parenting skill of getting pictures when our kid is not sitting still.)

Date Night

We had our first family date night since Caleb was born. Other than the baseball game a couple of weeks ago, we have not really gone out just to hang out. Whatshername had given Mom some shoppoing money, so we decided to head out to the mall tonight so Mom could do her shopping. I met Mom and Caleb at the mall on the way home from work. We started out by having dinner in the food court. I sat Caleb on the table in the crook of my arm so he could look around while we ate. I had my arm across his chest and Caleb started chewing/sucking on my wrist. He chews and sucks on things a lot and he drools. A LOT! It seems early, but Mom wonders if he is going to get teeth early.

After our dinner, we headed into the mall to one of Mom's favorite stores. Caleb and I sat out in the mall while Mom shoppe; Caleb in the stroller and I in a nice comfy chair I found. Caleb enjoyed watching all
that was going on around him. He kicked and gurgled while I read email on my cell phone. After a while, Caleb started getting fussy, so I got him out of the stroller and we headed into the store to find Mom. Mom was in the changing room trying on clothes. While she did that, I was able to rock Caleb to sleep. The timing was perfect as Mom wrapped up her purchase as Caleb settled back into the stroller for a short nap. We headed back down to the food court for something sweet. We took one short lap around the mall and Caleb woke up hungry. After a short snack, we packed Caleb up and headed home.

It was good to get out of the house tonight. As Caleb gets a little older, we are looking forward to being able to leave the house on a more regular basis. We are also looking forward to Caleb being old enough for a sitter so Mom and Dad can have some date nights.

Peek-A-Boo

Here's a picture of Caleb looking around the corner of Mom's desk at work. Mom said that he is starting to adapt to this new routine. Caleb had a very good day at work with Mom and she was able to get a lot of work done while he played on his blanket or in his bouncy seat.

Not a Talisman

Well, when Caleb was born, I had high hopes that he would be a good luck charm when it comes to my sports teams. It seemed to be working. The Lakers ended up getting the number one seed in their conference and they breezed through the conference championship. On the other hand, the University of Miami baseball team was ranked #1 just about all year. They earned the number one seed in the NCAA baseball tournament and had made it to the College World Series. Both teams stood on the precipice of my theory coming true for not one, but two of my teams.

Well, that all came crashing down this week. Last Thursday while we were in Naples, the Lakers blew a 24 point lead, one of the largest blown leads in the history of the NBA Finals. They finished things off last night be getting blown out by almost 40 which I think is the worst point differential in an elimination game in the history of the NBA Finals.

Not to be outdone, the UM baseball team opened the College World Series Saturday by blowing a lead in the ninth inning. Miami barely survived an elimination game against Florida State despite their number one draft pick closer having one of his worst innings ever.

Oh well. Caleb may not be my lucky charm, but he is awful cute, isn't he? He's also one of my favorite people. So I guess I won't complain too much. Besides, he's still got a good shot at being the good luck charm in a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl run this fall.

Tidbits

Tuesday, June 17
Caleb continues to work on his ability to push up and look around from a stomach down position. He is getting stronger and stronger.

Tonight we went out to eat before our Tuesday night bible study. Mom usually feeds Caleb while we wait for our food arrive. Tonight, we got a big kick out of him propping his foot up on the table while he ate.

We've only been giving Caleb a pacifier for a little over a week now. He has a hard time holding the pacifier in his mouth when he's not actually sucking on it. After the bible study, we drove to my office to get something I forgot. On the way over there, Caleb was getting tired and fussy, so I gave him a pacifier. Normally, I have to hold a finger in front of the pacifier to keep him from dropping it. He had fallen asleep and was holding on to it pretty well when Mom dropped me off at the restaurant to get my car. Apparently it was still in his mouth when Caleb and Mom got home. His ability to hold on to it that long without assistance seems to be another small first.

Seats of Honor

As I mentioned yesterday, I put together a new swing for Mom's office. Today was her first opportunity to make use of it. I have been looking forward to see how it is going to work because the swing here at the house has magic powers in its ability to calm Caleb and lull him to sleep. I hope the new swing will have the same superpowers.

Mom tried it out intially today, and Caleb seemed immune to its power. But Mom was eventually able to get Caleb to sleep in the swing. I messed up though. I followed the directions precisely. For some reason, the directions had me attach the tray to the seat before I completed the frame and base. Mom suggested I not add the tray, but I am a literalist when it comes to following directions as I perform the required assembly. She was right. I could have waited on the tray, and now it is in place and I'm not sure I can get it off. As you can see, the tray is pretty bulky. Hopefully it won't bother him, but I am worried it is going to constrict his movement.

Of course, Caleb also has a bouncy seat at Mom's office. It's a wonder mom has been able to keep her desk in her office with all of the necessities required to take care of Caleb during the day. But she manages. The bouncy seat has an arch with some toys attached to it. It's not completely clear in the picture, but Caleb is intently staring at the toys in front of him. He is working on his ability to focus on inanimate objects directly in front of him. The problem is, he goes a little cross eyed if the object is too close to his face.

Well, Caleb has recently discovered his hands, or more precisely, his fists. He often stares at his fists. Because his arms are short, he holds his fist close to his face. The short distance makes him go cross-eyed. The short distance also proves to lead to another problem. Although Caleb is aware of his fists, I'm pretty sure that he has not figured out that his fists are attached to his arms which are in turn attached to his body. He also has not mastered control of his limbs yet. So, holding his fist right in front of his face has led him to smack himself in the face numerous times. On the one hand, I feel bad when he smacks himself. On the other hand, it's pretty darn funny.

Father's Day

The first order of business is to wish a happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

Of course today was my first Father's Day as a father. I got to spend the day with Caleb and Mom and that's all I can ask for. However, many people made a special effort to wish me a happy Father's Day on my first one. It was very special for people I care about to make me feel so loved today. Mom made a special effort to make sure this day was meaningful and I am truly grateful to her for that. But to me, and I know this will soundy really cheesy, but it's true, every day with Caleb is special. It is a tremendous blessing to be a father. That little boys is so sweet and cute and he has captured my heart. I love to listen to him, I love to watch him and I love to hold him. If this day had never been created, or we did not acknowledge it, I would still think, to borrow a phrase from Lou Gehrig, that I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Of course, this day began pretty early in Naples. We left in time to be at worship here in Miami. Caleb did much better than Friday night and slept all the way to the church building. After worship, we had a nice lunch with friends from church. In the afternoon, I got a taste of what it must be like to be Santa Claus as we went over to Mom's office so that I could put together a new baby swing which was given to Mom for her to use this summer. We spent the eveing with our life group before coming home and getting ready to face another workweek.

This picture of Caleb is not of anything significant. I just wanted to show off some new pajamas he has been wearing and the dog on his rear end.