UnSuper Nanny

Once the wife discovered the joys of being a stay-at-home mom, i.e., dealing with a fussy, crying baby 24 hours a day, she’s been on the lookout for a nanny. Never mind the fact that we said that we’d try raising our baby by ourselves. Sometimes it’s good to know when you’re in over your head.

It was finally decided that we would try and find a nanny who could care for Caitlyn about two or three times a week, for a few hours each time, so Jessie could have some time to herself or so she could go run errands.

Unfortunately, the nanny that Jessie’s sister used for her two kids currently has her hands full and is unable to take in another baby. However, she was able to recommend us to one of her friends. After speaking with the woman over the phone and having her come over for a short visit, things seemed like a done deal.

She was quite affordable, was willing to come to our house to take care of the baby, and was flexible enough to fit into our schedule. Sounds too good to be true, right? It was.

When she came over to babysit for the first time, the wife decided to stay home that day to observe how the nanny did with Caitlyn. Unfortunately, what she saw wasn’t very encouraging.

The nanny was picking the baby up by her armpits with no support behind the neck, and she seemed unsure at times of what to do when the baby would start to cry. Add in the fact that she’s 70 years old and hasn’t really taken care of any children since her last grandchild, which was probably years ago, and we’ve got cause for concern.

Even so, we decided to give her another shot. This time, the wife and I went out to run some errands for a few hours and left the nanny behind with the baby. Even though Caitlyn was doing fine when we came back, we quickly realized that we could never really trust our baby to someone we really didn’t know.

In the end, Jessie had to admit that having a nanny probably wasn’t the best idea for us and the worrying she would do while away from the baby would outweigh having that free time to herself. Besides, we still have her mom to count on in case we do need help. And if all else fails, I’m slowly grooming Uncle Elvis to be our new nanny.

Nanny-in-training

Uncle Elvis demonstrating the proper feeding technique

Posing with her mobile

Pooped out after a hard day of studying

 

Lounging around

Cutie pie!

Bath time

Hairdresser: So how’s your baby doing now?
Me: She’s doing fine. She’s two months old now.
Hairdresser: I bet you don’t know how to hold her.
Me: Uh, actually I do.
Hairdresser: No….
Me: Yes.
Hairdresser: No….
Me: Yes.
Hairdresser: You know you can’t be too rough with a baby, right?
Me: Yes, I know that.
Hairdresser: So you can really hold a baby?
Me: Yes.
Hairdresser: No….
Me: I even give her baths.
Hairdresser: What?! No….
Me: Yes.
Hairdresser: You know you can’t be too rough with a baby, right?
Me: Yes, I know that.
Hairdresser: So, you really know how to hold a baby, huh?
Me: Sigh….

Sure, the person who cuts my hair is of an older generation, but come on, people! It’s the 21^st century. Taking care of a baby is no longer just a woman’s job anymore. Men can also change diapers, change clothes, wash bottles, give baths, and feed a baby.

Speaking of giving baths, I am pleased to announce that I have finally mastered giving Caitlyn a bath without any screaming or crying. Gone are the days of trying to bathe her with clothes on. Gone are the days of trying to frantically hold on to her while she bucked around in the sink. Bath time is now fun time for all of us.

I am also pleased to announce that Jessie has finally given Caitlyn her first bath. Well done to the both of you! 

  

 

 

  

 

Isn't she super cute when she's not crying?

Bookworm

I distinctly remember my very first recollection of reading. I was upstairs looking at the book, Chester, by Syd Hoff, when the letters and words suddenly had meaning to me and everything just clicked together. Excited, I rushed downstairs and demonstrated to my mom that I could read on my own. Very proudly, she told me to show my dad when he got home from work.

As a child, I always enjoyed going to the library to read books. But somewhere in middle school and high school, the enjoyment disappeared, and story books were replaced with textbooks. During this time, I don’t think I picked up a book strictly for entertainment, and the ones that I did touch were ones required for class.

This continued up until I entered graduate school, where I had to enroll in a children’s literature class. In the class, we had a list of 50+ children’s books that we had to read, which spanned a wide range of levels.

It was during this time that I remembered how much I used to enjoy reading. Today, I am happy to say that I still read books for pleasure, though most of the books I read now deal with taking care of fussy babies.

That’s why I went to the mall to purchase some books to read to Caitlyn. I want to make sure she starts off with a good foundation that will hopefully turn into a lifelong appreciation for books.

Even though I wasn’t thinking it at the store, I’m sure I was subconsciously aware that the 4 books that I had bought were just the beginning of what was to transpire.

4 books obviously weren’t going to cut it for someone like me who tends to go overboard on whatever he does. Therefore, I went home and found an online bookstore that sells books at half-price. Then, I proceeded for the next three days to spend hour upon hour price-checking books, reading reviews on various books, researching different book series, and deliberating which books I should buy.

The wife could only stand by and watch, with what must have been a bemused look on her face, at what should have been a pretty straightforward task. But then again, you are talking about the guy that spent days researching and analyzing which crib mobile to buy. Finally in the end, I somehow managed to get permission from the wife to order 30 books.

Did I really have to order all 30 books at once? Probably not, and I do admit a bit of regret for doing it now. But it’s not like the books will be going to waste. Yes, Caitlyn won’t really start understanding what I’m reading and saying to her for a few more months, but just knowing I have the books at my disposal is a comfort to me.

The icing on the cake will be when I send Caitlyn off to Harvard, knowing it was her first 30 (34 if you count the ones from the mall) books that helped pave the way.

Such a studious student!

There will be a quiz after this lesson.

Where's the mouse?

Point to the fishy!

Naps, Trips, and Books

Jessie: Everyday is a weekday for me now.

That more or less sums up Jessie’s life these days. Somewhat depressing, isn’t it?

It’s now been a week since my parents went back home and left Jessie alone to fend for herself with the baby. It also didn’t help that I was sick for most of that week and tried to avoid getting anyone else sick. Thankfully, Caitlyn is still slowly making progress to make life somewhat easier for the wife.

First time dozing off by herself!

Her new favorite sleeping position

This doesn't look very comfortable

Conked out

The biggest milestone thus far is Caitlyn being able to self-soothe herself now. No longer do we have to carry her in our arms for hours on end. We can put her in the rocker or bassinet when she’s tired, she’ll fuss and cry a little, and then she’ll doze off to sleep all by herself. Whoo-hoo!

However, bedtime for her is still around 12-1:30 a.m. No matter how hard we try to get her to sleep before then, she refuses to budge. Sure, she might take a quick cat nap before then, but it’s nowhere in the range of 3 to 4 hours.

To help her drift off to sleep, we’ve started using white noise and background sounds to calm Caitlyn down. I downloaded an app for the iPhone that has several different sounds that you can choose and mix from. Caitlyn has a preference for running water, so for the majority of the day and night, our house sounds like we’re in the middle of a torrential downpour or we’re listening to the dripping sounds of a Chinese water torture.

First time in her car seat

Looking pretty pitiful

 Wave to the camera and smile!

Snoozing

After having success the first time we took Caitlyn out in the stroller, we’ve started taking her out on a more frequent basis. This includes going to Grandma’s house, trips around the block, a trip to a restaurant, and the granddaddy of them all, a 4-hour trip to the shopping mall.

I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant about going to the shopping mall, but Jessie was going a bit crazy after being pent up with the baby, so I decided to take them out for a change of scenery. Caitlyn slept like, well, a baby, for most of our time there, except during a diaper change and a quick feeding. Therefore, I am happy to report our lengthy excursion as a success.

My main objective for going to the mall was so that I could go to the bookstore to buy some good board and cloth books to read to Caitlyn. I stumbled upon a series of books that I really like. This is the Begin Smart series. I bought 4 of them at the store.

They have their books leveled for the appropriate age group: 0 to 6 months, 6 to 9 months, 9 months to 12 months, and so on. These books are simplistic in design, but not too tacky looking at the same time. I like this better than the Baby Einstein series. My only wish is that they would have more actual photographs than drawings in their books. Hopefully, these books will live up to their name.
 

Hamming it up with Uncle Elvis

Posing with her new best friend, Jocelyn

The happiest and cutest baby...

on the block!