Christmas Over

You are probably wondering why no Christmas post has been made. Well, it's been a very busy holiday, and now that I'm back to work I still haven't had much time to login to the BLOG to make a post until now. Most people will be pretty sad to hear that I didn't take to many pictures over the holidays, especially when it's the baby's 1st Christmas. Well, I in fact took more video's instead. I am in the midst of saving them to my PC and producing a Brenden's 1st Christmas DVD. I think I have almost an hour of footage at least. I can probably grab some stills from the video camera and have them printed, however I don't think the quality will be that good. I do have some pictures and I will post them as soon as I figure out which ones I want to put up.
Overall the holidays for us are very busy. We put over 1000km on the car during a 4 day span. Brenden was a little trooper and hardly fussed about all the driving. Being strapped in a seat can't be that much fun. In and out, in and out. I found out as long as I sing his favorite song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while strapping him in, he laughs about it instead of fussing over the fact he's being strapped down, over and over again.

Brenden would like to thank everyone for his wonderful gifts. He plays with everyone of them and loves them. Michelle and I have learned most of the tunes each one emits down to a "T". It's funny, because while I'm at work, occasionally I sing to myself, the tunes these toys emit. It's getting into my head and I can't get it out. I guess this is where our childhood starts to come back to us.

For the videos, I may make it available on-line, but you'll have to make sure you have high-speed access to see it, or possibly download it to your PC first before viewing.

Hands Off

Brenden is now finally able to hold his own bottle when he eats. We still hold him, but we are totally, "Hand's Off", and he likes it that way.

We finally put up our Christmas tree on Sunday, and Brenden seems to have taken a liking to seeing something new in the house. He likes the lights and the reflections. He can sit for hours staring at that tree, as if he's waiting for it to make the first move.

Yester Michelle swears that Bredned said, "Mama" for the first time, but since she's said that, I've yet to hear him say that. Michelle has taught him to make the kissing sound, simply by puckering the lips and making the kissing noise we all make (try kissing without making a noise, talk about wierd). It' so funny when he does it.

Anyway, have to go get ready for work. Another Christmas party to attend this afternoon and much to get done before that.

Later,
Dave

First Santa Sighting

Well here it is. Brenden finally got to meet the one and only, Santa Clause. Surprisingly enough, he smiled for this picture as well. He's very photogenic apparently. I'm off to bed, so I'll keep it short. Here's the picture. Good night.

Chrismas Portraits

Well, we got our Walmart Christmas portraits back and they turned out great! Smiles all around. Not much to upadate this week, but I will post the pictures at least.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Almost back to normal

Well, Michelle came back home last Friday and was feeling much better. She has recovered quite well and is almost back to normal. As you can see from the pictures above, Brenden isn't to fond of his beans. Not a vegetable man yet.

Brenden has started getting Gerber baby food, which makes those morning poops smell so much better. Ew! He likes a few types and won't give the time of day on others. It's quite funny seeing him eat various things and the expressions you get out of him.

On Sunday Michelle and Brenden met me at the Ajax Santa Clause parade. Brenden's first parade. He loved the loud bands belting out the tunes from the trumpets and trombones, and at the end of it all, really could care less about the man in the big red suit. He would rather look at his own reflection in the window of the car behind us. Next year, he'll be more inclined I think.

Brenden is now sitting without support. We do put pillows around just in case, but he never falls over. He is a very happy baby in that position. He still hasn't figured out how to crawl, but that's ok. That means we don't have to chase him around yet and we know exactly where he is.

Brenden loves the mirror. Every morning we get up, before he eats, we have to look at the other baby in the mirror. He laughs at him everytime. Or maybe he's laughing at the fact that his dad has a twin. Who knows.

Until next time, check out the picture site, as I've added many more photos. Here's the link again. http://thevipers.ca/ourbaby/index.html

So Quiet, It's Eerie

For the last few days it has been very quiet here at home. Michelle had her gall bladder surgery on Tuesday morning. All went well, although she said when the pain killers wore off she was in so much pain. She is staying with her mom and so is Brenden until Friday or so. Chevy our cat, is keeping me company, so it's not totally lonely here.

Brenden is doing well away from home I here, so that's good news.

I would like to say congrats to Michelle's cousin Justin and Christine on Thomas' first tooth. For those that don't know, Thomas was born the exact same day as Brenden. Brenden just drools a lot, no teeth though. He's still gumming everything to death.

Anyway, back to my lonely night, here's a couple pictures of the company I've had the past few days. See you soon Michelle and Brenden!! Miss you!

Brendens First Post

Brenden has a few words of wisdom before bedtime.

njjjjjjjju,k. I think that means good night in baby typing.

Brenden

Sleeping

Had to show you a picture of Brenden sleeping. He sleeps like I do already!

Lack of Postings

We're all still here and doing ok. I caught a little bit of the flu bug and think I've passed it on to Brenden. He has a little cough, but still pretty happy nevertheless.

Within the next week, Michelle will be having surgery to have gall stones removed. She's been having attacks regularly and not feeling well because of it. She may be going on Tuesday if she has another by then. The pain is unbearable and she said she would rather give birth than have attacks. It has really limited her to what she can eat and what she does eat, she can't keep it down. We are blaming Brenden for the Gall Stones, as they say it's pretty common after giving birth. We believe this is the contributing factor, "Estrogen: Excess estrogen from pregnancy, hormone replacement therapy, or birth control pills appears to increase cholesterol levels in bile and decrease gallbladder movement, both of which can lead to gallstones".
I'll keep you posted on any further updates to this.

Today, we had our first family pictures done at Walmart. We also got Brenden to pose for a few himself. We were late getting there and had to wait about 20 minutes at which time Brenden starting getting tired and a little crusty. He hung in there like a trooper and smiled at every picture taken. Once we get the pictures, I'll scan them and post them here. They turned out awesome. Can't wait to get them.

Brendens' sleeping patterns have finally changed. He is finally on Eastern Standard Time. On a good night, he'll sleep until 8-9am without making a peep, and other times, he'll wake up during the night 3-4 times in search of his soother. Right now he may be a little off at night due to the cold which I generously passed on. It's so hard to stay away from him when you have a cold and you need to help out.

As far as words, he hasn't picked any new ones up yet. He still makes motor boat sounds and blowing spit at the same time, all while driving his bouncy car.

On Saturday (Nov 13) I gave Michelle a much needed break and took Breden to see my Aunt Marilyn and Cousin Brian and went to see Grandma & Grandpa Schaefer for the day. He was very good and in high spirits all day.

Other than that, nothing else is new. Sorry for those looking for photos. I don't have any new ones to show you. Since I know there are many out there that want to see more. I've had a few people mention that I should post 1 each day. Yeah right! I'm lazy, can't you tell by the lack of postings?

Daylight Brenden Time

Well, since we have all changed our clocks back, most of us in the EST are now on Standard Time. As I said, most. Guess who's not? You got it. Brenden is still on Daylight Savings time. He is waking up almost exactly one hour before he's suppose to be. This makes for less sleep for us. I can't complain, since it seems that he is starting to get back to routine. It is closer to 7pm once again. We had to hold him off one nap in the late afternoon to get him off the old schedule. I can't believe how much babies are like clockwork. Brenden tells time better than I do. I can use him as an alarm clock now. When he cries to get up, that's my queue to get ready for work.

Well, Brenden's first Hallowe'en has come and gone. We didn't go trick or treating however we did put him in a costume. Had to get some pictures for his first Halloween. We did visit some family though. For his first one we had to dress "B"renden up as a what? A Bee. His first initial. Creative eh?

Enjoy the pics......Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Also, feel free to leave me comments, or any advice you think we could use, or just leave a comment to say "hi", so I know someone out there is reading these BLOGS.

Dr. Visit at 6 months

Well, Brenden had another checkup and some more shots on Tuesday. The Dr. says he's a healthy boy. This is very good since Michelle has come down with a cold a time or two the last few weeks. Brenden now weighs 18lbs and get this, he's 28 inches (71 centimetres) long. The Dr. said a normal 1 year old is on average 30 inches tall. Brenden still has 6 months to go and only 2 inches to grow. Makes me wonder what's really in our water today? The main thing is, that he's healthy.

What's new and exciting in "B" land? Not much more development yet. He does however have a permanent smile now, or at least that's what it seems like. He also rolls over, but only in one direction. Eventually the wall stops him from going any further, if he's already rolled 3 or 4 times.

We've had to buy some new outfits, as you can imagine with the rate he's growing at. Not only because of the size, but because of the weather. TIme to break out the baby mittens, it's getting near the freezing mark. Heck, it's almost time to break out my own mittens at this rate. I almost need a snowsuit to cut the lawn, just to stay warm.

Anyway, that's about it for another week (or so).
Next week, Brenden will be typing his first words on this BLOG........

6 Months Ago

Well, tomorrow Brenden will be 6 months old. Half a year! Wow! Just amazing how fast time goes. He's much more happier than he's ever been. Smiles and laughs at just about everything. He actually loves his Toronto Maple Leafs hand puppet (thanks Aunt Terry). Everytime he sees it, he smiles then laughs at it.

Not a heck of a lot has changed. He has got bigger and heavier, but that's a gimme. He pretty much stopped rolling over. He would rather be lazy (like me) and just lay there. He does move around, but just from rolling side to side. He loves his car and now loves his jolly jumper. He is very strong. He can almost stand. Not on his own, but he keeps his legs straight and rarely bends his knees.

He loves Chevy (our cat) now. Starting to pull his hair, whiskers, tail. Chevy is tolerating it for now. Brenden can now suck his own toes which is wierd. I tried to do it, but got stuck and needed Michelle to help me out of it.

Funny, as I write this, Brenden rolled to his stomach, then back to his back. You can see him really concentrating on on items now, trying to figure out how they work.

He is amazing! I am loving every minute of this stage. Can it get any better?

Until next time. Dave.

Gobble Gobble!

HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING!

This past weekend Brenden has been happy go lucky. I'm quite surprised his face doesn't hurt from laughing and smiling so much. I know mine does.

He didn't seem to mind the fact that we put about 800km on the car over the past weekend, travelling, visiting all the family. He seemed to take it better than I thought. The times he was awake in the car, he didn't fuss about it. Most of the time he just talks to his soother, probably hoping it will talk back to him. It doesn't. I tried talking to it too, but nothing.

As I said previously, he seems to become more aware of his environment day by day. He loves to watch the cat simply walk around him in circles. Brenden is tending to follow every single movement an animate object or person will make. You can see the wheels turning. I really think he would jump in and help if he could. Do your chores Brenden, then you can play. OK, were not at that stage yet...*sigh*, I'll put the dishes away this time.

Brenden has now moved away from laughing at the word, "naked", and will now smile and/or laugh at pretty much anything that has the letter "B" in it. "Baby", and sadly enough, "Boo-bee" is now his favorite words. I taught him well.

He can now roll over both ways consistantly, however, he hasn't figured out the crawling part yet. I'm 'ok' with that. He will also sit up, albeit aided, but just lightly holding on to his arms and he sits fine. He can also stand quite well. Holding on to his arms, he will put his legs straight out as if he wants to stand up. Not yet, "B", not yet. We're not ready for that quite yet.

He now eats his pablum from the spoon much easier. He's almost an expert. On the weekend, he got his first very small sampling of ice cream. "Thanks Bill!", just what I need, a baby wired on ice cream. Actually, he was fine that night, nothing happened out of the ordinary.

Anyway, once again I've updated pictures on my picture site. The link to "Baby Pictures" is on the left side of this BLOG Site. We are enjoying the 5-6 month stage a lot. It's awesome!

Hamilton Trip

Well here i am again, pondering what to write. One week later. Where are the latest pictures you ask? Not here, but you can go to http://www.thevipers.ca/ourbaby/index.html to see them still. I have added the most recent there.
This past week has been pretty cool. Brenden sounds like he's trying to say his own name now. It's probably just giberish, but he's putting his lips together and making sounds like, "B" and "Ba". I'm sure, "Brenden" is quite far away from his personal vocabulary though. He still has his happy and sad/mad days. It's usually a trade off. 1 good for 1 bad day.

On Sunday, Oct 1, Brenden got to meet my dads aunt and cousin from Germany in Hamilton. As well, I got to meet my 2nd cousin, which apparently I last saw when I was very young and don't remember. Brenden was in a pretty good mood that day and enjoyed being passed around. He even had a nice sleep there without any issues. There are a few pictures on the website above of the trip to Hamilton. Unfortunately our German family left for Germany Monday evening. It was great to see them again, and we hope to see them again soon. Next time we'll take Brenden to Germany with us to visit, a few years down the road. We'll see.

Oh, and regarding the picture at the top of this post, that is my 2nd cousin, Theresa, and her 2 month old baby girl. Putting Brenden beside her really made him look big. It was hard for me to imagine that he was that small only a few months ago. As yoo can see, Brenden was quite amused that there was actually someone smaller than him there.

Anyway, maybe I'll splurge this week and put a 2nd post in, then again, maybe not. Who knows?

More missing posts

Has it been 2 weeks already? I didn't fall off the earth, really I am still here and Brenden is doing just fine. Hard to believe he is already 5 months and will be half a year on Oct 20. Just wow! Where is the time really going? This month has been a very busy month, as you can probably tell by the lack of blogging. Also I have been lacking in taking pictures, as I don't realize that Brenden changes so much every day, until I bring him to someone who hasn't seen him in awhile and they tell me that he's changing so fast. Holy crap Dave, smarten up...take pictures daily. *sigh* I wish it were that easy. This is tougher than I thought. I tend to want to spend more and more time with him as he goes through his stages. It's great fun to sit back and watch this happen as it's so amazing. It tends to lead me away from my computer time which is just fine, but that means less and less Blogs as you can tell here. That's 'ok' too. Blogging isn't everything. It's great and a plus to have, but nothing we should fuss over if there hasn't been a post in awhile.

As of this post not really much has changed, well really, a lot has changed, but you really have to see him to see the changes. Really hard to describe. He's getting bigger, that's for sure. He interacts quite well now and loves to be picked up. He used to hate being carried around. Now we walk around the house together and I point at objects and he tries to grab them. Occasionally he'll stare back at me and giggle a little. I love it! This is the best feeling in the world, knowing that a child relies on his parents to help him grow. He is now eating pablum with a little maple syrup in it. He now opens his mouth when a spoon is carefully aimed at it. Sometimes it reminds me of, "Hungry, Hungry Hippo" when he lunges forward to get the spoon. Most nights I don't like the fact I work so late, because really we only get to spend 1-2 hours together before he goes to bed for the night and in the morning he is a great alarm clock. Wakes up between 7am and 8am.

I will post more pics soon, I promise. Just have to get my trigger finger ready and catch him in mid smile or laugh.

Favorite Words

Here is the a picture of Brenden eating pablum. Most of it is on his face as you can see. Eats like I do.

Anyway, well, what can I say...I'm officially lazy now. Over a week and no new post until this one. I am not so sure you can call it laziness when you've been just so darn busy, between work and the family life. Well for those that read these posts, I am still hanging around, but just can't seem to post much anymore. I knew that would happen. At least a once-a-week update is better than not posting anything at all.

I convienentley named this post, "Favorite Words" for a reason. Not my favorite words, but actually Brenden's favorite words. These are words, when said 2 or 3 times to him, will make him smile and eventually laugh. I find it very amazing that certain words are more amusing than others. Simple words such as 'peek' and 'cover' said 3 times fast will cause a reaction. The best word seems to be the word, 'naked'. It's so funny that when he laughs, I start to as well. When he's on his change table getting ready for bathtime, I can say 'naked, naked, naked!' and he will literally laugh is face off. It's so funny, you have to laugh back at him. He thinks that word is the funniest ever. Now, even when he's just lying on the floor playing, you can say that word and he'll pump out a little smile at first, and when said again, he'll start to giggle about it. I am not sure if it's the expression in my face or the tone of my voice when I say it, but no matter what, it's hilarious. I love his reactions and faces he makes. Even when you've had a bad day, a smiling baby can make all the difference in the world!

The Daily Routine

We have tried very hard to keep Brenden on a routine at night time. We give him to spoonfuls of rice pablum mixed in a bowl with some of his bottle and he eats it all. It's quite amusing trying to feed him with a spoon at this stage. The looks we get are priceless. I'll have to get a picture of the feeding tonight so you can get the idea.

Following that we bath him, then wrap him (yes, we still do that, as it's comforting to him), and feed him what's left of his bottle. Shortly after that, he's out like a light. At this point, it's very easy to put him to bed. This whole process starts about 8:30pm and we're usually finished between 9:30-10:00pm. He'll generally sleep until 4am, at which point he will make some noises. Usually all it takes is a walk to the room to put the soother back in his mouth and he sleeps until 7:30am or so. He sleeps well, which is good for us, as we';re starting to just now catch up on missed sleep.

Not much else is new as far as advancing in any other activities. It is really easy to get him laughing now. Laugh at him and he laughs back. It is quite funny at times seeing him react like that.

Anyway, gotta go, baby's crying.....I think he just said dada....nope....just my imagination.

Over and back

Brenden had a Dr. Appointment this week and he's healthy as ever, which is a great sign. He now weighs 15lbs 5oz and is a little taller than the average baby at this time. He also got his next set of shots, so needless to say, he wasn't the happiest camper that day.

The above picture is proof that he's now holding his head up high. There have been times now where he has rolled from back to front, then front to back again. A great accomplishment. The downside to that, now we have to watch him more carefully. Eventually he'll start rolling around the house. He hasn't caught on the fact that if he pushes with his knees, that he'll actually go places. For now, I think we should stick with just the rolling over part.

Anyway, other than this minor update, not much news to post this week. I would imagine that this week and next week will be real busy for parents, getting their kids ready to go back to school. Good luck with that, we'll be in the same boat soon enough!

Away for a few days

Well, it's been a long time since the last post. The past 5 days I was away from home spending time at the Havelock Country Jamboree and Michelle was away for the weekend in London in a baseball tournament. This was Brenden's first time away from home without mom or dad around. He spent the day (Friday) at Grandma Schaefer's house, and spend Saturday and Sunday at Oma Vanderwel's. Apparently he was an angel and there wasn't any problems at all. That's a sigh of relief. I kept thinking that while I was away, hoping that all would go well. As we found, it is very, very hard to be away from him more than a few hours. I managed 5 days, but was dying to see him. I missed him a lot. Michelle on the other hand stated that 3 days was way to long and said that she's not ready to give him up for anymore than a half day at a time. Apparently, I'm going to my ball tournament in Niagara Falls by myself this year, since that will be 3 days as well. Unless of course we brought him with us, but that would be tough right now.

Yesterday once major accomplishment happened. Brenden rolled over on to his stomach all by himself. The past few weeks he made it half way to the stomach, but couldn't get that extra umph to get all the way. Now he rolls over and puts his head up. Only thing now, he has to learn how to roll back. After a few minutes he starts crying while on his stomach, so we have to roll hime back over. Of course, we couldn't catch that one on camera, but maybe later today I can.

Last week I also produced Brenden's first DVD. Clips from Day 1 up to 4 months (by the way, Brenden turned 4 months yesterday). It turned out quite well.

Anyway, now that I'm back home, I'll start taking more photos and videos again. I can't post the videos here as the size is to big and the bandwidth wouldn't allow it. However, feel free to ask for a copy of the DVD, it's only $20 + shipping and handling. Just kidding.

Until next post, which I promise will contain the latest photos of the growing Brenden.

B's 1st time camping

OK, well, those that were camping on the weekend are probably wondering why I haven't posted about it yet. Plain and simple. Just to busy this week.

Camping was or to us anyway a success! Brenden loved it from what we could see. He cried some while being passed around, but that was more or less the excitment getting to him. He can only handle so much at a time. During the nights he went to bed around 9-10pm and woke up about 4am to feed, then went right back to sleep and work back up around 7:30-8:00am. He did well from my point of view, since it was a first for all of us. First time camping for him and a first for us to bring along a baby with us. We didn't know how it would turn out, but we're very happy it worked out so well.

Brenden had another first. Not only was he a trooper at camping, he is also a well defined swimmer. OK OK, Michelle was holding him, but once he got used to it, he loved the beach & the water. We must have been in the water for a good 20 minutes or so, and he never cried about it once. He would carefully watch each wave roll in and then go past him. He was so focused on the reflections in the water as well. I actually had the video camera out and filmed every minute of it. He was just facinated and so were we.

Overall it was good to go camping. We all got out of the house to visit family and it was a good time for all of us!

Click on the pictures for a larger view!

August Long Weekend

Looks like the August LONG WEEKEND is here. This weekend will be Brenden's first time camping. We are leaving today, and returning on Monday. I sure hope he likes it. We are camping with the majority of Michelle's moms side of the family, which usually includes 50+ people altogether. Brenden will be held by several people, I'm sure.

There hasn't been much changed this week, and the roll over on the stomach thing hasn't happened yet, so that's kind of good. He still rolls on to his side and falls asleep that way, an he looks very cute that way. Picture of that to follow soon. Brenden really has the smiles down pat. He smiles from dimple to dimple and occasionally laughs (at me mostly, probably because I'm funny looking).

Anyway, back to packing, since we are trying to avoid the traffic, since it'll be very, very busy. Have a good weekend everyone!

Ride for Diabetes

I hate to solicit money using this BLOG, but I have entered myself into the "Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Ride for Diabetes Research" and it's for a great cause.

Here's how it works:
Teams consist of 5 Riders, and on event day each team member will alternate riding a stationary bike for 8-minutes over the course of 40 minutes. Many teams like to compete to see who can clock the most kilometers, raise the most money, show the most spirit, make the most noise, and have the best costumes.

Click this line to sponsor me any amount you wish. $1, $2, $5, $10 or $20, heck, I even take $50's and $100's. Anything will help. I have set my goal of raising $500+. So far I have reached $125. Thanks to those that have already donated and to those that plan on helping me reach my goal.

Here is the information about the ride:
Ride InformationCity: Toronto, ON
Venue: Nathan Phillips Square
Date of Ride: 9/15/2006
Ride Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Length of Ride: Every hour on the hour from 9:00am - 4:00pm

Again I am using this to promote a good cause, so any donation will help.

Thanks,
David Schaefer

PS. I will post the events of the week on Friday. Not much to post, but I'll try and think of something.

Rollin Rollin Rollin

OK, not rollin' over completely yet, but he's half way there. Brenden is now rolling on to his side and will sleep that way (see above). He gets his feet in the air and swings them to his left, and his body goes with them. It's quite interesting that he's learned that already, and he seems to like it. He can also roll back on to his back. Next step, he'll be rolling to his stomach and crawling. Scary!

The Dr. appointment earlier in the week went well. We were told that Brenden is in the 75 percentile in size. To me that means he's 25% larger than the average, which is still ok. Dr. thinks he'll be tall like me. He now weighs 13lbs 13oz and is 62cm tall. Everything is going great (as it should be). No problems which is great news.

Tomorrow, Friday, Michelle and Brenden are stopping by her work, and then coming to my work, to show-and-tell Brenden. Hopefully Brenden will enjoy it, and will learn what it's like to work.

Week 13 Developments

Developments at 13 weeks. Can a 3 month old actually laugh? Apparently this one can. Could be my funny looks, but I actually got him to laugh the other day. The mouth was open with the biggest smile ever. I should have got that one on camera, but it wasn't in the vicinity. I'll have to try and get one and post it up for all to see.

It's just amazing watching the stages a baby goes through. Everyday it seems like something new. We are at the point when we can actually carry him around for 10-15 minutes without him fussing about it. We'll go for little tours around the house and look at pictures, mirrors, plants, out the window, etc. We try and point to things, but he hasn't grasped the finger pointing thing yet. When we take him outside, we'll look at colorful flowers, trees, a fence, etc. Anything to visually stimulate his brain. He loves the outdoors.

The long weekend in August we are taking Brenden camping for his first time near Sandbanks (on Lake Ontario, near Picton). This will actually be quite the experience for all of us. Totally different, since we won't have the luxuries of home while were away.

This weekend Michelle and I are in a ball tournament, so Grandma Schaefer will be taking care of him on Saturday for us.

12 weeks old now

Clothes courtesy of our family in Germany!
Thanks to Marc, Melanie and Family!

Well, "B" is almost 13 weeks old now. He has almost gained total neck control and he smiles up a storm while he tries to put words together. The past week he has learned how to grab objects. He will hold on to them for 5-10 minutes at a time. Most notably he likes to grab his shirts and pull on them. I figure maybe they're a bit to tight and he wants to stretch them a bit. Brenden also loves to stare at the TV. He likes his "Baby Einstein" DVD's. He will sit in your lap and stare at the tv for 10 to 15 minutes before he decides he's had enough. I had him interested in a Bluejay's game the other day and he watched it quite contently.

It seems he's crying less and sleeping more at night, but that could be just an illusion. Brenden is doing goood, and so are we.

Sorry for such a short update. I will try to get another one in midweek as well.

Go to sleep, Go to sleep

Another week gone by and no post. What's going on here? To me it almost seems like a chore, however now that I think about it, I am really writing this for Brenden right? So he can read it later on, and laugh at it. I should post more. But what? It's almost as if I, yes me, has run out of things to talk about. That's not like me. There's always something out there to mention. Then I think. I am posting, but is anyone really reading, or are they just looking at the pictures I post? I'll never know. I can't let that get in the way of me posting every couple of days. So once again, I am going to step back, and post every few days. Heck, even if I just post a picture/video and a caption, at least it's something for those reading this, to see. Better off doing that, then to have you come here daily only to find I've posted nothing, and then you lose interest. All ramblings aside though, lets talk about past and recent events, if I can remember them....*sigh*, I must be losing it or something.

Lets start with my own ability to walk. The sprained foot is nearly healed. I would say about 75%. I bought myself new high-cut cleats and have been wearing the ankle brace I have and it has helped considerably. I played 3 games of ball this week, and although I have used a runner, I have been able to hobble down to 1st base. I think my stats for this week, were something like 10/12. Not bad, batting .833. Maybe I should sprain my ankle more often. I find I can't swing the bat as hard, which generally means I bloop the ball in between the infield and outfield. Whatever works.

Enough about me...How's the baby you ask? Great and growing I have to say. He smiles and you can tell much more when he is happy now. The oddest thing about this baby though is that he doesn't like to be held. He would rather lay on his blanket and stare at you, and "goo goo gaa gaa" at you. He plays with is mobile toys, and kicks the crap out of them with his feet. He loves it. Everything he kicks it, it plays music. He is at the point now where he's able to lay on his blanket for a good 30 minutes and play on his own, and he smiles and talks to his toys. It's quite amusing at times.

On July 5th, Brenden visited the Toronto Zoo. Albeit too young, at only 2 and a half months to know what he was seeing or even where he was, it is a day spent outside, which now, means more sleep for us. We find now if we stay outside for 4-5 hours with him and bath him at night, he will sleep 7-8hrs. In fact, that night after the zoo and a bath, he slept for 9 hours straight. Not a peep. Last night was similar. He was outside for a good 4 hours, taking in the scenery at my Aunt Marilyn's and he hardly slept there. We got home, he woke up, gave him a bath, fed him and he slept for almost 8hrs. We also find that when he gets his sleep, he is much happier. Sounds a lot like me. Need my beauty sleep. Haha.

So far everything is good. Bad moods and crying are tough at times, but we're starting to get the hang of what to do if that's the case. The hardest is when the baby is crying in public. Because Brenden at times, has vocals higher than that of Mariah Carey. Just when you think he's screaming at the top of his lungs, he goes louder. That's usually the point I take over the stroller. People may stare, but I could care less. As long as we know he's fine, then that's the main thing. Eventually he stops, and all is fine again.

Anyway, another week in the books. Can't believe in 2 weeks, Brenden will be 3 months old. Everyone is right...they grow so fast. Gotta head to the baby's room. Sounds like he's waking up. Time for a feeding.

A week already!

Wow, seems so long since my last post. I am really slipping now. This can only me one of two things. Either I am so darn busy that I have no time, or that I am just to lazy to log on and write something. Well, maybe a bit of both. Here are the events of the past week in point form, because I am just too lazy to write them out in full (haha), thje truth comes out.

The bad:
- 2 weeks ago, Thursday, I sprained my ankle playing ball. I have played ball a little, but couldn't push it to hard, since I can't run.
- We had to get rid of one of our cats (we had her for 1 year) as she kept peeing in the basement and not in the litter box. The last straw was when she peed in the baby's room. She was put up for adoption. Hope Cali finds a good home.

The good:
- Germany won versus Argentina in a shootout today, and they advance despite the fact Argentina outplayed them. GO GERMANY GO!
- Today is the Friday before the July 1st long weekend.
- Brenden is really trying to talk now....goo goo ga ga. Soon enough he will be posting to this BLOG.
- One less cat, half the food, half the litter, half the mess.

The weekend is here.....later all!!!!

2 months & Growing

The baby is now officially 2 months old as of June 20. Brenden received his first needles today. He wasn't overly impressed, but managed to get by better than I ever would. Brenden now weighs in at 11lbs 3oz and is now 58cm (23in) long. Growing like a weed it seems. He is very healthy and forturnately for us, he never had any side effects to the needles. He was a bit sore however and we had to gove him some tylenol drops to sooth him. Since that night and Wednesday part of the day, he has been fine. Cheerful most of the time and screaming when he's hungry. One thing Brenden doesn't have, is patience. If he's hungry, we have time to change him and he smiles away. But as soon as we pick him up, the crying/screaming starts up. He can't wait to get the bottle in his mouth. Once the bottle is heated and we've sat down to feed, he stops crying until he's finished, then lets out a few more cries. After that, he is soothed either by laying down on his fuzzy blanket and watching his overhead toy, or sitting in his swing, watching the environment move back and forth. Generally this puts him to sleep, but now always. At least it calms him down if he his crying.

Events up to date

Well Brenden is 8 weeks old today, 2 months exactly on June 20. ! Wow! I've added a few more pictures to the gallery, finally.

Since I haven't posted for awhile (once again), here are some point form notes I have either missed in previous posts, or are new updates.

Brenden
- Apparently there was a reason for crying. We have figured out (with the help of Michelle's mom) that the bottles are the problem. We have bought the ones that take the baggies, therefore reducing the air intake on the baby (sounds like something my dad would refer to on a car).

- On Tuesday, Brenden returns to the Dr. for his first shots to prevent Polio and other diseases.

- I finally took the picture above when Brenden was smiling. I've been a little lax on the camera since I fixed it. I also haven't attempted to use the video camera yet. I figure I'll wait a bit longer before I use it.

David
- Where do I start....ok...how about injuries for $1000 Alex. Tuesdays injuries include, bruised middle finger, and swollen right hand, due to diving for a ball, and slightly missing. Thursdays injuries include, left foot, baby toe, bruised for taking a ball off it, and right ankle, rolled it just walking to first base. I am now hobbling along. The ankle was quite swollen, but looks better now. I think I may need to take a week off of ball just to heal all my wounds. At least the appendix feels 100% better, not to say much for the rest of me.

- Busy, busy, busy. Lots of stuff going on at work, which is the reason for not posting all the time. Leave early, come home late.

- Tonight I am doing the babysitting thing and of course, watching the hockey game (Carolina vs. Edmonton (3-2)). Go Edmonton go...I would love to see a Game #7.

- My first father's day this weekend! Very exciting!

Michelle

- Very happy that the new bottles are working. Baby happy, mommy happy.
- Also working very hard. She still can't figure out why the days go by so darn fast.
- Michelle gets an extended break tonight because she's going out with some friends.

Well that's it, that's all for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

Babysitting & more

Well, on Saturday night, it was our turn to be alone, albeit only for about 4 hours, but it was nice. We went to see the 1976 remake of, "The Omen", a very good remake with more guesome graphics then ever. Now we have to wait until the new version of, "The Omen II" which may or may not come out. After the movie we went out for dinner. Come 10pm it was time to pick him up again. My mom and my Grandmother were babysitting him for us at my Grandma's house in Ajax. We considered it a nice little break, although Michelle tried to get me to call to see how he was, after the movie. I told her, "no". It won't be long before we're picking him up again.

On Sunday, he had quite a hissy fit. It was quite scarey actually, since he was hitting notes I had never heard. He wouldn't eat either. I finally got him comfortable on my legs and rocked him back and forth. He was soothed for the time being. After 10 minutes or so, he seemed to be better. Seems he had to let one out, since he hadn't gone in a 24 hour span. Could have been cramps or something. This morning he let out almost the same cry. Seems like he's learned a new cry which gets our attention quite fast. Our reation time is almost instant when we hear that cry. It's almost piercing. Even Mariah Carey can't hit notes like he can! Maybe we'll have to send him to the Opera, or put him in a horror movie and cast him as the screamer!

My ER Dilemma

Brenden is fine. I am recovering. I had a sharp pain on my lower right side of my stomach on Sunday. Felt more than a stomachache, and didn't feel like I had pulled a muscle or anything. I decided I had better go to the hospital to get it looked at. I was there from 9pm until 2am Monday morning. The Dr. finally got to me about 1:30am. At this point I was in a lot of pain. He checked me out and thought it may be an early sign of appendicitis and ordered that I come back in the morning and have an emergency cat scan done. I went back to the hospital Monday morning for 8am. This time I was there longer, from 8am until about 2:30pm. A long day with most of it spent in the waiting room. The ER was packed. Finally I had the catscan done, and had to wait again. Then, finally I got to see the Dr and the results. *Negative* was the answer I was looking for, and that's what I got. Nothing showed up. On Wednesday I felt much better, although when I eat, I sometimes get a sore stomach. If it doesn't get any better by the end of the week, Iwill have to see the Dr.

As of today, Thursday, I feel about 75% better.

Just lazy??

Apparently, laziness has set in. I login to add a post, then I turn around and decide not to post anything. I continually ponder as to what I am going to write on the BLOG.

On Wednesday Brenden visited his Grandparents on both sides of the family. I am sure he had a great time.

Thursday night, Breden decided to sleep for almost 7hrs at night. What a shock to us! We both asked each other if we had got up in the night. Both of us slept.

Tomorrow we are heading to Cobourg, to visit friends and family. It's suppose to be a little cooler out, which should be nice compared to the 30-35C it was on Monday and Tuesday.

Right now our air conditioner isn't working, but it will be installed on Sunday. I can't wait. Anyway, I'm off to bed, since we are getting up early tomorrow (Saturday). And guess what tomorrow is? Brenden will be 6 weeks old.

Sleeping patterns

Hey guys! Well, 3 days and no post. You're probably wondering if something is wrong by now. Well, nope, nothing. Either we haven't been home, or when we're home, we're too tired to login and post something. Evereything is going well. Baby is growing, baby still screams occasionally, baby hates baths, baby knows the difference between day and night (which is awesome!). The average night sleep is 4 hours at a time, and after feeding at night, he goes to sleep right away. During the day, it takes a little bit of swinging in his swing to get him to sleep. Sometimes he'll just stay awake for the full 3hrs, from about 7-10am and we'll have to feed him again. Usually after that one, he will sleep for a bit. We must be getting used to the sleep thing ourselves. The baby generally wakes up at 7am. Even if Michelle gets up, I will tend to wake up to and just stay up. I never thought there would be a day I would have to wake up before 9am on a weekend. Apparently now, I am not allowed to sleep in anymore. That's ok. I'm sure I can get used to it. Especially since the baby is starting to do new things and I don't want to miss anything.

I would like to thank Mike P (from Oshawa) as he has given us a great swing, that actually swings both front to back and turns so it will go side to side as well. We have found that the baby loves to swing side to side, similar to that of him laying on my legs and swaying them side to side. It's amazing! Also he gave us a little car, where the baby can sit in it. It has a bunch of rattles and toys for him to play with. We'll use it when he's a bit older.

Anyway, that's it for now, the baby is swinging away, but starting to cry a bit, so it's time to check on him.

Anyway, off topic, here is a picture of Chevy (our oldest cat) trying to stop me from leaving the house with my baseball clothes. Good try CHEVY!

Front Loading Carrier

Wow! What an invention! this baby simply straps on you like a knapsack, but on the front of your body and the baby simply hangs in it. Now he has to go everywhere you go and like it. Brenden enjoys it very much (although I'm not so sure sleeping counts as enjoying, but to us he is). We walked to the store last night and I got the opportunity to lug him around on the front of me. It kind of made me feel like I was pregnant with a 9lb 9oz baby, but on the outside. Either that, or an extra large belly. Michelle got to use it while I was at work and she said it worked like a charm and she was able to do stuff around the house without him crying about it. That was $20 well spent.

May 24 come and past

Well May 2-4 weekend was relatively laxed. Went to a wedding on Saturday, and the baby was good in church, but decided to belt out his own tune at the reception. We were forced to take that car ride for 15 minutes in order to get him asleep. He finally did and didn't wake up again for quite awhile.

Today Brenden had another Dr. appointment, and everything checks out "A" - OK. He is now 9lbs 9oz and growing as he should be. This is good news.

Now for the bad....ok well not so bad, but I believe that he has moved his fussy periods from every other day, to every day. He just loves to belt out a tune, sounding almost of that of some of the "Canadian Idol" singers. Maybe he should audition, heck, can't be any worse then most of them.

Today we went to Walmart to splurge a little. We bought a front-loading carrier so Michelle or myself can carry the baby around in while we walk and do stuff around the house. We put him in it, and he wasn't to thrilled, but I think that was because he was hungry. We also bought some other baby necessities. Heck, walking out of Walmart with a baby costs way more then Michelle and I walking out by ourselves!

He's a high maintenance, expensive baby. Afterall he does where everything designer. I dress and look like I just stumbled out of a dark alley on Halloween, compared to him. Just hope he appreciates it later on, when he'll have to start buying me designer clothes and diapers. Haha!

One Month Old today

Happy One-Month old Brenden -> http://www.babycentre.co.uk/stages/1004

Today Brenden is 1 month old. Where did the time go? It escaped us again. Brenden is doing fine. He has his good days and bad days much like most of us today. Seems to be every other day. He is smiling more now. I'll have to try and get a picture of him while he's smiling.

Last weekend we had an unfortunate mishap with out digital point & shoot. It fell on the ground and the preview screen (LCD) cracked. Now I can't view rhe pictures on the camera anymore. I found out to by the LCD and install it myself, it will cost about $75. I am trying to get a used camera on EBAY, then I can use the screen out of that one. I'll know by the end of this weekend, if I win on any items.

Anyway, I would like to wish everyone a good (Long for some) weekend! All the best!

Smile, it's Gas, or not?

Some have said to me, when the baby smiles, he really has gas. When in the hospital, one of the nurses told me that this is no longer true. It has been proven that babies do smile from the time of birth. It is true, the baby also does have this grin on his face when he releases gas (and more), but today was the first day he was truely happy! Before I left for work, while Michelle held him, I was approx. 2 feet from his face and made those cute little sounds only a baby would appreciate. Adults and children would most likely laugh at the stupid faces and sounds coming from my mouth. Brenden smiled, and not for just a second as he had in the past. Everytime he looked at me he had that cute little smile on his face.

The Happy Family

I hope all the moms had a great Mother's Day on Sunday! It was my wife's first mother's day and Brenden got her a great gift! I necklace with two charms on it. One charm has little baby feet on it and the other say, #1 mom. Mom loved it very much! Way to put that $20 to use, Brenden.

The weekend was packed with travelling from family to family for us. This jsut meant more sleep for Brenden, and more rest for our ears. The car trips are great. Very peaceful, very quiet. Once we got to our destination we knew it was feeding time. The cries began.

Our first stop was Saturday afternoon at Michelles' Grandmothers for lunch. Then off to her dads place, nearby. After spending most of the afternoon there, we went to my parents place where we spent the night. It seemed logical to spend the night, because with gas prices the way they are and the distance to travel, and since the following day was mother's day. All the while Brenden did very well his first night away from home. He was a little unsure of his surroundings at first, but he got used to it. Her mom also lives further east than my parents, so there was no reason to go home and come back again. I am sure Brenden wouldn't mind, but he had no money left for gas, since he spent his $20 for mother's day. On Sunday we spent the morning at my moms and then went to her moms in the afternoon. We headed home about 4pm.

Lately it has been much better, as Brenden hasn't been crying as much, and it seems that he is actually starting to smile more, and not just because he has gas.

One thing I find hard to believe is that this Saturday, Brenden will already be 1 month old. Wow! Time does fly by.

Got the cat by the tail

Wow, time does fly. In just 8 days Brenden will already be a month old! Where does the time go? How come when you're at work, the time doesn't go so fast? Time has always amazed me. Maybe save that one for a later discussion.

So we've now narrowed the fussiness down to, every other day. Yesterday Michelle tells me, "He was an angel." This morning. Not so much, until we picked him up and the two of us spent time with him. He smiled and did cute little baby things. He even checked out our cat, which he was quite interested in, mind you. I can't wait for the day where he can grab the cat by the tail, afterall, before Brenden was born, the cat used to step on him, so it will be sweet revenge, I'm sure. I probably should have taken some pictures this morning, but i really had to go off to work. Hopefully I can get some good ones tonight. I say that now, but if he's fussy, I don't even want to attempt it.

This weekend we are doing some traveling. Heading out to see he dad, about 1hr 30mins away, then spending the night at my parents, and doing the Mother's Day thing. I wonder what Brenden is going to get his mom? I left him with $20 this morning, so we'll see.

Anyway, have a good weekend, since my next post won't be until Sunday/Monday. If I get a good picture tonight, I'll attach it to this post. Later.

What's your sign again?

OK, I don't know if I'm jsut typing this for pure discussion or if it's because I'm confused. While googling many websites on baby astrology, and entering April 20 as the date Brenden was born, I get 2 signs. Aries on about 50% of the sites and Taurus on the other 50%. This leads me to believe Brenden could be a little of both. Hopefully he takes on the best attributes from both and eliminates the negative ones. It seems there is an actual time (and date) associated with astrological signs. The time an Aries turns to a Taurus is 20 Apr 2006 01:26 am EST. Brenden was born on the same date at 00:06 am EST, thus he should be an Aries (the same as Michelle). Traditionally we go by the date you were born, so in the newspapers you would find April 20 as a Taurus. Maybe we'll have to wait and see, and decide ourselves. Heck, it is afterall, only astrology and may mean nothing at all. You can't believe everything you read, can you?

Aries
The Rambo of the play group has arrived! With an Aries baby around, you can expect lots of action and activity in your midst. Don't expect this tot to sit still with a rattle -- it just won't happen. The Aries baby is one who makes a lot of noise and will definitely be heard. There's really no choice! As a Fire sign, the little Ram will be dynamic and always up to something. Will this be a tough baby to deal with? More than likely. To that end, parents would be wise to show this child how to work with other babies early on. Things such as sharing won't come naturally -- they must be learned. Even where siblings are concerned, the Aries child won't be a walk in the park. What the Aries baby may want most of all, however, is attention, so parents be well advised. In a play setting, the Aries tot will easily get the attention of others on their own. This baby will also start many things early, the better to get to the finish line in a hurry. To sum up, the Aries baby can be quite independent but enjoys interacting with others. This baby is a fairly physical child and craves constant stimulation. They will be ready from day one!

3rd Dr. Appointment

Brenden had his 3rd Dr. appointment on Monday. The Dr. said everything is great! He is up to 8lbs 2oz now. Growing fast. Not much else to post right now, but if I think of something later, I will add to this post.

Here's Your Sign

TAURUS - Parents of a Taurus tot are going to have to be very sensitive to this baby's need to be touched. Loving caresses and a tender touch are what the Taurus baby lives for! Along those lines, this is a child who needs to be comfortable. Things to keep in mind are providing a room and bed that are neither too hot nor too cold, food that is tasty (a budding gourmand has arrived!), soothing sounds, and whimsical toys. As Taurus rules the Second House, the House of Possessions, this baby's playthings will be very important. When it comes to the learning curve, the Taurus baby is not in a hurry to grasp new concepts. This tot will learn things at their own pace and be unresponsive to pressure, yet persevering in the end. In light of this, a gentle manner to get this baby to react and respond is the sensible course of action. Also familial in nature, the Taurus baby will enjoy having the family in close proximity, especially siblings. You can consider this baby a people person in general; they are also likely to control the play circle where that well-known Taurean stubbornness will reveal itself! To sum up, the Taurus baby wants to be touched, will revel in delicious toys and, as an Earth Sign, will want to have both feet firmly planted on the ground!

Sleep baby sleep

Lately after the baby wakes up, we change him, feed him, change him again (sometimes), then try and get him to sleep. Most of the time he wants to keep his eyes open for awhile and occasionally cry. Rocking helps to ease the crying, but trying to make the baby go to sleep is a chore. Once asleep after approx. 45 mins or so, we put him in his crib. 10 to 15 minutes after that, he starts crying again. When picked up, he's fine. Put him down, he cries. We've come to the point now to put him down and check on him every 10 minutes or so if he's still crying. Most of the time he will eventually fall asleep, sometimes for 30 minutes at a time. Most of this happens during the day which is good. This routine wouldn't be to good if it were in the evening. Anyway, we're managing the best we can. It would be great if I could just teach him my sleep patterns, then he would sleep for 12 hours straight.

Michelle had a baby shower yesterday and received a lot of gifts from family and friends. We would like to thank everyone for their contributions of gifts for baby Brenden. Much appreciated.

It's Friday (TGIF)!

That time has come back where I can actually say, "It's Friday!". While I was off, I didn't need to say this, but once your back to work, as so many put it, "TGIF (Thank God It's Friday)".

We have learned this morning that the 3hr feeding schedule we were trying to enforce doesn't seem to agree with one individual. There was a 66% vote for the feeding schedule and apparently one decides to vote against it. I wonder who that could be? This morning he was fed at 6am, then decided to wake up at 7am for no apparent reason, other than the possibility of being changed. Michelle did that and put him back down. Nope, doesn't want to sleep. We decided to try and give him a little more, kind of a "Top Up". Put him down, wrapped him tightly and so far he hasn't made a peep.

I have this issue with our local radio stations. They say some babies like classical music. Do you think I can find a classical station that will come in on the clock radio in his room? Last night I found some for about an hour, then the station changed to talk only radio. I know there has to be something out there. I may have to hook up a stereo system in his room with full surround sound, an MP3 player, and play some nature sounds throughout the night. That thought HAS crossed my mind. What would be better than having surround sound as a baby? Ither than the kitchen sink, nothing I can think of. Heck maybe I'll even move in the same room to have a listen.

Grandma Visit

Well yesterday Michelle and I decided to take a break. My mom came over and spent the night last night. We got some yard work done yesterday, and are going to do some shopping today.

Yesterday went well at the Dr. I was in the office until the Dr. pulled out the metal tools and knives and I had to leave. I am not one to watch any kind of cutting going on, and knowing that exactly what was being done didn't help. Let's just say, I don't think Brenden was impressed by the procedure. He was out most of yesterday due to children's tylenol, but today has been up since about 8am, and crying for most of it. It will take a few days, at which time he will forget all about what happened and sleep much more comfortably. Us too.

Grandma will head back home today and for me, my holidays are over. It's back to work for me tomorrow. *sigh* Holiday's always seem to fly by so fast.

Growing Up

Went to the Dr. today and found that the baby has gained more weight. He's now 7lbs 7oz. Up from last week. He has grown upward about 1-2cm from last week as well. He is very healthy and strong.

Last night he slept for 4 hours straight from 2am-6am. It was great to get that extra hour sleep. After that he woke up at 9am. It seems between 9am-12pm is his crusty time. Wants to cry and doesn't want to sleep. I'm not sure if it's because he has his days and nights mixed up, but for now I'm ok with that. I would rather him do it between those times rather then throughout the night. Sleep is good.

Looks like 10pm is time for his next feeding tonight, so I gotta go. Tomorrow will be a horrible day. He is getting the "C" word done. I don't think I can be in the room for that. Ouch!

The Softball Game

Here is a picture from a Friday nights visit from my Aunt Marilyn and cousin Brian. Can you tell he is thrilled to hold a newborn? His first time perhaps?

Well, today was a good day. We took Brenden to the ball diamonds to experience his dad playing softball. He spent about 4 hours in the fresh air at the diamonds and hardly did anything. It was unfortunate that it was so windy, as I would have let him see more, but we had to keep the cover on him. He wasn't impressed with the wind at all. After that we came home, and fed him and out him down. Today he screamed a bit, but shortly after, he fell right asleep. He has been sleeping on average between 2 to 4 hours per feeding session. At night time the average is about 3 hours. Michelle was up twice last night. Tonight I am staying up until the baby wakes up (should be around 1AM or so). I'll feed him, change him, and put him back to bed. Let's hope he gets about 4hrs tonight. A little sleep will be nice. Tomorrow we have a Dr. Appointment for the weekly checkup. We'll let you know the weight when I return. He is getting a little more chubby faced, so I believe he is eating well. Heck, he has almost outgrown 3 of the sleepers we bought for him early this year. Growing like a weed I guess. Good night all.

Baby Soother

Well, the baby took a hissy fit this morning and screamed his head off. I stopped on the way home from a baseball tournament to pick up some soothers. Fed him, then plugged them in, and it worked like a charm. He sucked the daylights out of it and loved it. We loved it as well, as it kept him "soothed", hence the name, "soother". He cried very little.

Thanks to the soother, maybe we can get a little more sleep at night, because this every 2hr thing is killing Michelle and I. Who would have thought it would be so darn hard. Should be just eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop, sleep, every day, but no, someone had to throw the screaming, crying parts in there as well.

Anyway, we're managing with bottle feeding and soothers now, and tonight will be the first test to see if we can actually sleep for more then 2hrs at a time.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, *yawn*

Nurse Visitation

Today we will have a RN visit us to check on the baby and answer any questions we may have. I'm sure we'll think of a few. Not much to report, baby is healthy, but does unfortunately only sleep for like 2 hours at a time at night. Talk about wearing us old people down.

Today he went on a crying spurt. Changed him, cried, tried to feed him, cried, consoled him, cried, rocked him, cried. Nothing has seemed to work to stop him. Right now and hour later from the start of crying I believe he has cried himself to sleep. All is very quiet now. Maybe I can get a bit of sleep, before he wakes up. I can't wait until he's on the same sleep schedule as me. 8hrs and rarin' to go the next morning.

Here's my quote of the day, "My baby's only noisy when he's crying."

Through Week #1

You can't see me! Today we went for our first walk with the stroller. The baby got his first breath of fresh air. He cried when we stopped, but slept when we walked. So when we stopped at the neighbours we didn't stay long, just so we could avoid the baby cries.

I believe the Jaundice is totally gone. Since the Dr. hasn't called us back, I assume that it is good news. When you see him you can tell that there is very little left.

Almost a week!

As you can see by the picture, I am very thankful that our baby came with washing instuctions. I wouldn't want him to shrink while washing.

Wow, has time seemed to fly by. Just after midnight tonight, and the baby will be a week old. They were right when they said time would go fast.

This week has been a little tough for us. Getting up throughout the night is not us. We both don't like it. Even though we both say, "It's ok, I don't mind." The real answer is, "Can I just get some sleep please."

Brenden has been a little fussier at night recently. He normally slept for 3-4 hours, but lately it has been only 2 hours throughout. The need for milk has seemed to increase. Before I know it, he'll be all grown up.

Anyway, I missed yesterdays post. Just too busy and no time for the computer. We went to the hospital yesterday to get the Jaundice retested. Took about 15 minutes and went home. The Dr. office called me and said I had to go back to the hospital because the test didn't work and they would have to redo it. Apparently nothing can be easy for us. As of now, we haven't heard back from the Dr. office about the results. I would assume that they would only call if their were a problem, so I guess everything is 'ok'. He doesn't look as yellow as before, unless of course he has his yellow sleeper on.

I just fed Brenden and put him to sleep, so I had enough time to post today and yesterdays posts. I'll be putting up a few more pictures today on the picture website when I get time, maybe before he wakes up. Visit the website here: http://thevipers.ca/ourbaby/index.html

On to Day #5

Part 1:
Well, another night in the books. Brenden woke up twice throughout the night. He is a little fussy at night time trying to get him back to sleep, but once he's asleep, he's out for a good 3 hours or so. He has been asleep since 7am or so this morning, so a good 4 hours this time.

Today Brenden has his first Dr's appointment at 4:15pm. Should be interesting because I am going to my family Dr. here in Ajax who delivered me 30 years ago. Here's another generation for him, until he retires. I will post when we get back from the Dr. Appointment.

Part 2:
We made it through Day #5. Went to the Dr. and he said everything was fine. He said the Jaundice looks very minor, but says we should go to the hospital tomorrow and have it tested one more time, just to make sure. We are going to go in early just to get it done as soon as we can and come home. The best news is that the baby has gained his weight back. He dropped 3% from birth and is now back up to 6lbs 14oz. Now the growing should continue.

So today was the baby's first ride in the car, and first ride in his stroller. We went to Walmart to pick up a few items. He slept all day, and missed it all. Apparently he likes shopping as much as I do. If only I could sleep through it too.

Let you all know tomorrow what we find out tomorrow. Good night, it's passed my bedtime (11:52pm).

First night at home

Throughout the night we were up about 4 times throughout. The baby slept in our room, but every little noise we woke up to make sure everything was ok. The baby slept quite a bit, for a 3hr span or so, other than one time it was only an hour between feedings and he cried like crazy. Finally after about an hour or so he stopped and fell asleep. He slept for almost 4 hours after that, providing Michelle and I with enough sleep for the night.

We made it. Today we have had a lot of visitors and phone calls, and overall the baby hasn't cried hardly at all. He has been very good. I am sure he'll wait until everyone leaves.

Later all.

Welcome Home Brenden!

Well, after another long boring day at the hospital we have finally made it home. Can you tell, Michelle is happy now?

The day was tough because Brenden came down with borderline Jaundice. They retested this morning at 6:00am, and we expected to hear results early, since they told us it only takes 1 hour for them. Time was ticking, nurses were in and out, and as of 12pm we heard nothing. I asked at the reception and they told me the results were they but they had to wait for the pediatrician to come. We waited until 3pm. Finally an RN came in and told us that we were recommended to have 1 more test done and would have to stay longer. Honestly, this was the worse news. I know it's best for the baby, but at this point when they tell you you'll most likely get to go home before noon, and now we have to stay for another test at 3pm, we expected it would take 3-4 hours at least. They said it would be an hour again. From 3 to 4pm was the longest hour ever. I tried to sleep to make it go quicker. I did, then woke up, looked at the clock and it was 3:15pm. Could it go any slower. Finally at about 4:15pm, a different RN came in. The words were sweet harmony, much like that of someone who has commited a crime and the sentence is finally over. "You're all free to go home now," was the words we wanted to hear. We did. A big sigh of relief, then the biggest smiles ever appeared as we looked at one another. "Finally," we said, "It's time for Brenden to see the world and visit his new home!" The moment we were waiting for.

Well we're here, and all we have to say is,

"Welcome home, Brenden!!!" "Welcome to your new paradise!"

Can you tell the cat is interested already?

One more night

The 3 of us are spending one more night in the hospital as the baby has a mild case of Jaundice. The nurses have suggested that we stay one more night, and retest for it in the morning. We should be home by Saturday afternoon, as I said, the results from the blood test were low levels of bilirubin, which is a good sign that it's only mild. A retest in the morning will show if Brenden has more or lesser levels, and if less, then we will be sent home, if not, the baby may need a light treatment and we will be sent home later that day most likely. It'll be nice to come home, and not have the nurses disctracting us every few hours.

Last night was amazing! Brenden slept from 2AM ti 8AM. That's my normal hours of sleep, so he is right on schedule already. We'll see what happens tonight, althrough the nurses advised that tonight we get up every 3 hours to feed because of the slight Jaundice.

Well, just picked up a few more diapers and sleepers and once again I'm heading back!

I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Justin and Christine (Michelle's Cousin) on delivering their baby boy (Thomas Kuipers) the same day as ours! April 20 is a great day for both of our families! All the best to the Kuipers and Christine's Family!

It's a ..................

Hi everyone. I made it back from the hospital tonight, just to pick up a few items and grab a shower. Today was an amazing day! Michelle was induced yesterday (April 19, 2006) about 6:00pm. Contractions had started and once she was 6cm she couldn't stand the pain and called for an epidural. Unfortunately the first one they did, didn't work and Michelle was given a second one. That one worked like a charm she said. The scares part about the whole night was shortly after the epidural, the baby's heartrate dropped to about 50 Beats per minute. Too low. The Dr. considered the baby in distress and decided she would need a C-Section. At this point I was shocked and scared. Then some luck hit us. The heartrate started to slowly climb. The Dr. said, "Wait! Let's give it another minute, it looks like the rate is climbing." At this point I was just praying and kept saying to myself, "Come on, you can do it, climb, I know your strong!" Then it hit....the amazement as the BPM went back up to 140 and the Dr. declared, "We're going to deliver this baby normally!" I think at that moment I shed a bit of a tear....as I knew the time was near. At 11:30pm, the nurse said, "Looks like it's time, we're going to start pushing now." The next step was to determine if it would be before midnight or after. The pushing commenced and exactly 36 minutes after (and with a little suction help), the baby was born. It was absolutely the most amazing sight I have ever witnessed, as the Dr. declared, "You have a baby BOY, congratulations!" I am not a hospital person and I thought for sure I would pass out. I witnessed every minute of the natural birth with a huge smile on my face and tears in my eyes. Wow! It's so amazing that it's so hard to descibe if you haven't already had a child.

Anyway, mom and baby are healthy and in great condition!

Well, I gotta go back to the hospital for the night. We should be back home sometime Friday afternoon as they've already told us we would be discharged on Friday. I'll post a new message when we arrive home with our new pride and joy.

Here are the details and some pictures:

Sex: Boy
Name: Brenden "David" Schaefer
Birtdate: April 20, 2006
Time: 12:06am
Weight: 6lbs 13oz
Height: 53cm

(Click on pictures to make them full-size)

Dr & Hospital Visit today

Michelle had a Dr. Appointment today.

We're off to the hospital......
more news to follow.......

...............

So what's new?

Since yesterday? Nothing. Another very exciting episode of "Prison Break" last night. I was however, kind of hoping for that other show to come on last night. What's it called? Oh yeah. I think it's called "Water Break". It wasn't anywhere to be found.

So we are officially into Week 42. The final week. Friday is the date. After the final Dr. Appointment tomorrow, we'll know exactly what's going to happen and I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I know. We do know that Michelle will be induced on April 21, if nothing happens by then.

What's Friday? The NHL Playoffs start. I wonder if they get all the games in the hospital?

Coping strategies after 40 weeks:

"It can be hard to cope with the waiting now you are overdue. If everyone's ringing to ask if you've had the baby and you're sick of repeating yourself, put a message on your answering machine and get out of the house. Several BabyCentre mums have suggested driving over speed bumps to bring on labour naturally — your bladder might not like it, though!"

• Have something planned for every day. Don't stay at home wondering whether you can feel anything happening. Get out of the house — but not too far!
• If you haven't already stocked up the freezer, do so now. After your baby is born, you'll be really glad you've got lots of food in the house. (Try our tasty freezable recipes for new mums.)
• Tell friends and relatives not to ring every day to find out what's happening — say you'll ring them when the big event has taken place!
• Go out for lots of last-minute treats with your partner. It won't be so easy after your baby's born.
• Rest — if you're finding it difficult to sleep at night, take a nap during the day. Put your feet up. Play some music. Don't fret if you can't sleep, dozing is fine. Build up your energy stores for labour. (Read more about sleep in the last months of pregnancy.)
• If you think labour's started, but you're not sure, phone your midwife and ask for advice. Never hesitate to give her a call if you're worried. (Remind yourself of the signs of labour.)