For the past week, Caitlyn has
been waking up at 6 every morning instead of her usual 8:30. There are two
possible reasons for this. Either being sick or the arrival of my parents has
caused her schedule to be off. It’s hard to tell which is the cause because
both happened at the same time. If this early morning wake-up call becomes a
habit, well, I shudder to think of the ramifications. All I know for certain is
that the wife has not been happy about this at all.
Not only has Caitlyn been waking
up early, she’s also been unwilling to be put to sleep during nap time. It’s
obvious she’s tired, but she will just whine and cry until we take her out of
the crib and will continue this until she’s too worn out to fight it. Once
again, is this because she’s been sick or because of my parents, or both?
And for the better part of the
day, Caitlyn will still cling to the wife like crazy glue and will cry every
time she’s pulled away. My father came in with a determined plan to help put
this bad habit to rest, but even he’s been put in place and has admitted
defeat. We keep telling them that she's usually not this bad, but I don't know if they're buying it.
My solution has been for the wife
to ignore the baby, but there’s only so much screaming and crying that she and
my parents can stand. My other solution is for the wife to leave the apartment
so Caitlyn won’t see her and let my parents and I go a few rounds.
To
me, this is the best option because everyone gets a little break, but then the
wife has been complaining about not knowing what to do with her time. Uh, how about
getting a massage or a pedicure, going shopping, drinking some coffee at the
coffee shop, browsing through the bookstore…I can think of a hundred things I
could do if I wasn’t burdened down by the baby.
Even though things haven't been too smooth this past week, hopefully we can still change things around. As my dad said, "That's one week down, we still have six more to go. What's the plan now?" I'm sure four capable adults can figure out how to deal with a mere baby who can't even walk yet, right?
One of the first things I did
when I found out that the wife was pregnant was to get a new camera. I wanted
to make sure I had a quality camera that could capture everything.
But it was a tough call between a
regular point and shoot camera and a DSLR. Point and shoots are nice because
they’re simple to use and convenient to carry around, but the quality can be
pretty bad in low lighting. DSLR’s are nice because they take great pictures
and you have a lot more control over the features, but they are super bulky,
expensive, and not very convenient to use when you’re chasing after a baby.
Unfortunately, my usual thorough
research and decision-making failed me, and for some unknown reason, I
purchased a mega-zoom camera. It had the build and bulk of a DSLR, but with the
photo quality that accompanied a point and shoot camera. A horrible, horrible
combination.
Having a baby that doesn’t walk
yet means we’re going to be spending most of our time indoors. And unfortunately,
regular digital cameras like my mega-zoom camera don’t take great shots indoors
with poor lighting. If our baby was able to sit super still for photos, then I
suppose it wouldn’t be all that bad, but she doesn’t, so the majority of
pictures taken indoors are blurred and unusable.
Since I knew my parents were
coming for a two-month visit this time and we would probably be taking a few
family trips together, I figured it was time to trade in the camera for
something more worthwhile. I’ve been wanting to buy a new camera for a long, long
time now, but the expensive price tag and the fact that my camera really isn’t
that old or broken has prevented me from doing so. But I figure two years is a long enough wait. After
all, my patience can only stretch so far.
This time around, I knew better
than to look at point and shoot cameras and instead focused on DSLR’s and the
smaller mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. After weeks of reading up on
camera reviews, I finally settled on the Nikon 5100 and bought one a few days
ago. It’s moderately priced, is user-friendly, and the photos turn out great.
And if the wife’s agitation at me
constantly snapping pictures of her and the baby is any indication, this camera
was definitely a good buy. I suppose I can always get used to the weight and
bulk. If anything, it’ll be a good workout for my arms.
This past Friday night, my
parents arrived from the States to visit their grandkid. That meant toys,
books, and lots of clothes (Carter’s, of course) for the baby. However, Caitlyn
couldn’t really enjoy anything because the next morning, she woke up with a
stuffy and runny nose. Every time she sneezed, she would blow out long, stringy trails of
snot. Not a great way to greet the grandparents.
As a result, she became clingier
and whinier than usual. Two popular ways that I read about to help alleviate
her stuffy and runny nose was to put a warm, moist cloth to her nose or to
suction out the mucus. Neither one worked with much success. I wouldn’t be
surprised if my parents are already regretting that this is going to be a
two-month stay instead of a one-day trip.
The biggest problem came when it
was nap time and bed time. Caitlyn still uses a pacifier to help her fall
asleep, but because of her stuffy and runny nose, she couldn’t breathe while
sucking on her pacifier. This upset her greatly and instead of immediately
falling asleep like she usually does, it was taking well over an hour.
To compensate for not being able
to breathe through her nose, Caitlyn would hold her breath and suck on her
pacifier for a few seconds before stopping to take a deep breath before continuing.
It was a laborious process, and even I
started holding my own breath along with her just so I could share in her
agony. In the end, she would eventually get too tired from doing this and from
crying and would finally fall asleep without her pacifier. Perhaps this is a
good opportunity to finally wean her off it.
The
silver lining in all this is that Caitlyn has been rather accepting of my mom
and dad. Maybe she still remembers them from their last visit, or maybe she has
actually been paying attention during those weekly Facetime chats on the iPhone.
Either way, my dad has been able to take her on short trips outside by himself and
even keeps commenting on how well the baby behaves when the wife isn’t around. I’m
sure she’s probably tired of hearing about it, but the truth’s the truth!
Caitlyn has been getting a lot of
flak recently about her hair being too long. Personally, I like the shaggy look,
but me being the only person that likes it doesn’t justify not cutting her
hair. But in all honesty, it probably does need a trim, which is why we took to
the shears over the past weekend to cut off her locks.
Initially, I was the one set to
cut her hair because I’ve got the experience to back it up. Ever since high
school, I’ve cut my own hair. It’s not too hard since I keep it short, but it
still does require a bit of knowhow.
It wasn’t until the wife started
complaining about me making a mess in the bathroom a few years back that I
finally decided to stop. By my own calculations, that’s about 14 years of
cutting my own hair. If a haircut costs about 10 bucks including tip and I get
a haircut once a month, that’s a total savings of $1,680!
And it’s not just my own hair
that I would cut. I would also cut my friends’ hair. So I was more than up to
the task of cutting Caitlyn’s hair. Yes, I might not have as much experience
cutting girls’ hair, but I have done it before. And yes, while those turned out
to be complete disasters, they proved to be valuable training experience. Besides, the baby’s hair wasn’t that long, and
she didn’t need anything stylish.
But once the wife saw me with the
shaver in one hand and the scissors in the other, she suddenly wasn’t so sure.
Rather than get chewed out over a haircut that didn’t turn out to the wife’s
liking, I decided to let her have at it instead. This way, I could flip the
script on her and chew her out if our baby turned out with some weird looking
bowl cut.
Is this the before or after shot?
In the end, much to my
disappointment, the wife barely cut much off. If I hadn’t been there to witness
it myself, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it. When I mentioned this to
the wife, she said that I could have a go at it myself. While tempting, I know
better than to step into this trap.
And
before I forget, “Happy one year birthday, Caitlyn!” We almost didn’t celebrate
it because she’s been sick the past few days, but thankfully, her fever went
away the day of her birthday. It was a great night of celebrating with the family.
I believe the highlight had to be Auntie Anita and Uncle Vincent’s pimped out
rocking horse that they got her. How the heck do you top that?!
Let's get the party started!
Time to pop the balloons!
How hard can I squeeze these without popping?
Check out my new ride, Grandma!
Faster, White Lightning!
Who wants to play with me?
Stop pointing your finger and look at the camera, Daddy!
About a week ago, I started
discussing with the wife about what we should do for Caitlyn’s upcoming birthday,
which is on June 7. I figured since this was our daughter’s first birthday,
perhaps we should make it special. You know, party hats, decorations, cute
little birthday invitations, cupcakes, gift bags…the whole nine yards.
But when we started getting into
the details, finding a suitable place was a problem. We could only find one playland that was big enough and had an area where babies could crawl. However, it
would cost an arm and a leg. So we started thinking about holding a party at
our place, but because it’s not so big and we don’t have any toys for older
children, it probably wouldn’t work either.
In the end, we decided for
something small and low-key. That means having cake at the in-laws with family
on Thursday. Truthfully, this is what I actually wanted from the start. I don’t
really have the time or creative energy right now to plan any parties. But this
is our baby’s first birthday. Shouldn’t it be special?
Plus, I wasn’t so sure
if the wife was really OK with this, even though this was her idea. But as she
said, Caitlyn has no idea what’s going on, so all the effort and planning that goes
into the party would mainly just be for us. Sure, it would be a great photo
op, but nothing more.
As a consolation and to make us
feel like we weren’t bad parents for skimping out on a party, we went to the
playland with the wife’s family and relatives for a play date with Caitlyn on Sunday. I
figure we can have a full-blown party when she hits two and is able to walk and
talk and appreciate things more. Plus, this will give me a whole year to plan it all
out. It’s going to be legen– wait for it –dary!
Checking out Leo's Playland
Playing with sister Maggie
One of us is going to get out of the wayand it's not going to be me!
What do you mean my spoon isn't a lollipop?
No cake?! Fine! I'm going to eat my spoon case then!
