Sick Again

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!

Raise your hand if you
hate being sick!

I can't smell the fresh air!

What could this be?

Let's see what the card says

 

Yippee! More clothes to wear!

I'm gonna beat this cold!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

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!

The Three Amigos

To Party or Not

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
way and 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!

Let's do this!

 

Happy bunch

Recharging

Mommy and baby

Good looking bunch!

Our First Overnight Trip

After months of talking about it, planning, backing out, and postponing, we finally conquered one of our biggest fears – taking Caitlyn out for an overnight trip. Some of you might ask, “Why would you put yourself through this torture? Stay in the comfort of your own home!”

Well, with my parents coming in June, we thought it would be nice to take some short family trips with them, but before we could do that, we had to be sure Caitlyn could handle it.

Our trip was to Yilan, a city that’s about 1 ½ hours from Taipei. Far away enough to make it seem like an actual trip, but close enough that we could run home if we encountered any problems.

To prepare for our endeavor, we packed:

6 bibs
4 burp cloths
3 changes of clothes
two pairs of socks
10 diapers
a towel
a big packet of wet wipes
skin moisturizer
rash lotion
ear thermometer
fever-reducing medicine
5 baby bottles
a bottle of liquid soap
a bottle brush
bottled baby food
freshly made baby food
crackers
a canister of baby formula
3 pacifiers
a thermos of water
her crib mattress
baby carrier
4 spoons
a baby bowl
3 board books
toys
blanket

Am I forgetting anything here? I probably am. Succinctly put, it was a lot of stuff just for a baby. A lot of the stuff we never used, but it’s better to be overprepared than underprepared.

Following a planned strategy of leaving right before Caitlyn’s first nap at 11:00, we were able to have a peaceful first hour in the car before having to endure an hour of slight fussing once she woke up. Our b&b was next to a lake, and I was quite surprised at how quaint and peaceful everything was. Kudos to the wife for picking this place!

Up to this point, Caitlyn was acting like she normally would on any given day. The big test would come at night. She has never slept outside of our house or her crib, so we weren’t sure how she would respond. But when 8:30 rolled around, I put her down on her mattress, and she quietly fell asleep without a fuss. In fact, she actually slept more peacefully than she normally would at home. Imagine that!

In the end, I am pleased to say that the trip was a success. Caitlyn passed with flying colors! Even the sporadic rain that fell couldn't dampen our moods. The only thing I can find fault with is with my camera and memory stick. Somehow, about half the photos I took suddenly became unviewable. It's not the first time this has happened. Which might mean it's time for a new camera!  

Now that we know taking our baby out on overnight trips is possible, that expands our choices of things we can do. The next big step is to try taking her on a plane, which might happen if we take a trip with my parents this summer. But it’s still something we’re mulling over. Taking a car trip is one thing. Taking a plane trip is a whole other ball game. The big question is, is Caitlyn up for the challenge?

Yay! We're going on a trip!

So far, so good!

OMG!

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

Taking a break

Waiting out the rain

 

A walk in the park

At the lake

Boat ride on the lake

The countryside

 

Bug sex!

Listening to a grandma go on about her grandkids

Inspecting the room

Organizing Mommy's messy wallet

 

My favorite picture!

Yummy country breakfast

Shoes

Here’s the difference between the way men and women shop:

Me: Hey, take a look at these shoes on Amazon. It has the American Podiatric Medical Association seal of approval, is recommended by a lot of people, reasonably priced, and it has free shipping! These should be good for Caitlyn.

Jessie: Are you crazy?! Look at the color! It’s white! By the time she can wear these, it will be winter. Do you seriously expect me to take my daughter out in winter with white shoes?!
Me: Uh, yes?
Jessie: How would you like it if I dressed our daughter in brown pants right now when it’s summer?
Me: Is this like a trick question or something?

As you can tell, we are currently in shoe shopping mode right now. With Caitlyn mastering the art of crawling and is standing up and walking with support, the next step will be for her to begin taking her first steps unaided.

Even though we’ve had shoes for her ever since she was a little baby, she’s never really worn any of them because she would either cry whenever they were put on, or they would fall off by themselves, or she would pull them off herself. Plus, she never really had any use for shoes besides decorative purposes.

Now that she’s standing, it seems like a good time to introduce shoes back into her life. But before going out and buying the first pair of cute shoes you see, there are a few things you should know.

First, babies learn to walk by feeling the ground. Therefore, they should go barefoot or just wear socks whenever possible. Only wear shoes when they need protection from walking outside.

Shoes that babies wear before they can actually walk are called pre-walkers. These shoes do not have hard soles and are usually made of cloth or leather. They are very flexible and do not offer any support for the feet. Pre-walkers are mainly meant for show and are not meant to be used when your baby is learning to walk.

First walkers are shoes that are to be used when the baby is learning to walk. They have a harder sole, but still have some flexibility and should not be too stiff. Good first walkers should be lightweight and breathable and be made of material such as canvas or soft leather. These shoes offer the support a baby needs when walking and encourage proper feet development.

So there you have it, the in's and out's of baby shoes. Color coordination not required.

unHappy Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is all about honoring the person who gave you life, and in my case, the one who gave our daughter life. Given that this would be the wife’s first Mother’s Day, I figured we should do something special, but she insisted that this wasn’t necessary, because anything we did would just be interrupted by the baby. Besides, it would be crowded at the restaurants. All she wanted for a present was some money to buy clothes and shoes. Simple enough.

However, I still insisted on taking her out to dinner, where as usual, she ate first while I pushed a crying baby around outside and then switched places when she was done. Afterwards, with the baby asleep in the stroller, the wife went to go do some clothes shopping while I went with the baby to the bookstore.

It wasn’t but about 15 minutes later that Caitlyn woke up crying and wouldn’t stop, so off I went to find the wife. But as we waited outside the store for her to pay for the clothes, Caitlyn’s screams just got louder and louder and was beginning to draw a crowd, so I finally decided to head back to the car first.

Somewhere between me leaving the store and walking towards the parking lot, there was a bit of miscommunication and later, when the wife finally found us, she angrily asked why I hadn’t picked up my phone when she had called. I actually hadn’t heard the phone call, but because I wasn’t happy with the way she asked, I replied back, “I was carrying a crying baby and pushing the stroller. How could I pick up the phone? Isn’t that what your excuse always is when I ask why you never call or text back?”

That last line probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I have this real bad habit of taking the wife’s words and turning them on her, which really just irks the heck out of her. Therefore, she let me have it, by way of a night on the couch and an earful of not too delicately selected words.

And to add insult to injury, I had major diarrhea when we got home. At least she was considerate enough to let me have a blanket and the remote control to the air conditioner, albeit without batteries.

So much for putting the ‘happy’ in Happy Mother’s Day. This disaster ranks right up there with eating at Burger King for Christmas, but at least she wasn’t angry about that. At least I don’t think she was. Ok, she probably wasn’t too amused by it either.

 At least one person's happy on Mother's Day

 Rockin' the knee pads

 Doh! I dropped the picture of Mommy!