All of us need a little praise and acknowledgment from time to time.  Whether it is at work, with your partner, or in life.  I have been trying to provide that support/praise to Victoria since Connor has been born.  I’ve been telling her what a wonderful job she has been doing with Connor.  Her and Connor have been very successful at breastfeeding which I think is great for both of them.  They have playtime together during the day and this is helping form a wonderful bond between the two of them.

Well, I provided the praise to Victoria but that kind of leaves me without any praise.  No, this is not going to be a pity party for Daddy but rather a thank you to my wife.  Now, I have heard comments/praise on my parenting skills from others (my mom, Victoria’s parents, my brother, friends, etc…) but none of it really sunk in…

Victoria has told me time and time again that I am a great father and that “Connor loves you”.  But, I guess I really never took the time to listen to her and absorb what she was telling me.  Well, the last couple of times she has done this, I actually just listened and watched her facial expression (and eyes).  Victoria’s eyes and facial expressions tell me a lot about how she is feeling and what she is thinking.  And as I have taken a moment to look and listen, I have been filled with unbelievable amount of pride in my fatherly abilities.

So, this posting is my way of saying “thank you” to my wife for giving birth to our little miracle and “thank you” to my wife for showing me that I am a great father.

is truly amazing!!!! He has sparked such new energy in me that it is truly incredible. I was told that fatherhood would change me and that it would be an immediate transformation.

Honestly, I somewhat doubted that. I mean I figured I was already a sentimental, caring, and loving person and that having a child would not change me too much. Boy was I wrong. The little things really spark more energy and love into my life now. Most of those little things are coming right from Connor these days. His smiles (even if they are still “gas smiles”) are incredible. Tonight was the first time I think he truly interacted with me with a smile. I was changing his diaper (after it had leaked all over me) and has he was laying there, he started to smile. Of course I smiled back and started to talk to him and then the smile got larger. Then he started make faces and smiling more. It was pretty incredible and made me forget I was wearing a pee soaked shirt. 😉

Here are Connor’s stats at 1 month:

8lbs 3oz

19 3/4″  (same as the 2 week checkup, but we believe they measured wrong last time)

The doctor says that Victoria and Connor are doing a great job with the breastfeeding.  He also said we can “let sleeping babies sleep” at night.

Connor slept 6 hours last night and then we woke him to feed him.  (We just can’t let him go too long, plus Victoria can’t go too long or she starts to get engorged a bit.)

that Connor looks like Mommy. My family visited from New Jersey this past weekend and first thing my cousin Melissa says to me is that Connor looks like Victoria. I mean, she wasn’t even in the house more than 2 minutes (I don’t think she even had a chance to hold him yet) and she is trying to fill Connor’s head with this propaganda. I politely told her that it was time for her to leave. 😉 Connor stuck up for Daddy by pee’ing on Melissa as she changed his diaper for the first time. (That’s Daddy’s boy!)

While Melissa and Victoria were talking and much to my amazement, I overheard Victoria tell Melissa that Mimi (Victoria’s Mom) told her that Connor looked like Victoria as well. Blindsided by my favorite mother-in-law. Victoria’s look on her face when she realized I overheard the conversation was priceless. You would have thought she sold top secret information to the Soviets or something.

That’s alright — Connor can look like Victoria as much as everyone wishes. One thing he has from me is his demeanor. He is such a wonderful baby and has such an easy going personality that he has to take after his father!!!!! I’ll trade quiet and restful nights for looks any day!

Back to what everyone sees in Connor and why I don’t understand…

I hear the following (my response in bold).

• he has Victoria’s nose.
  • Come on, do you actually believe I was born with this nose? 😉
• he has Victoria’s forehead.
  • Ok, maybe.
• he has Victoria’s feet.
  • See me in about 16 years and tell me if he wears a women’s size 5.5 or a man’s size 12. My bet is he will be closer to the size 12.
• he has Victoria’s legs.
  • See me in about 16 years when he is taller than Mommy and Daddy.
• he has Victoria’s rear-end.
  • I hope not — we want a manly rear-end.
• he has Victoria’s eye structure.
  • As long as he has my eye color (check back in about 5 months).

Alright, I have to admit that I have not been flawless in this entire process (imagine that). Victoria and I read books, listened to others, and attended several classes as well as observed others. I felt pretty confident in our skills and figured since we were raised from such wonderful parents that “the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree”.

Well, we lined everything up. We have successfully tackled breastfeeding (I am very proud and happy Victoria and Connor were able to do this even after introducing a bottle during the first 7 days). We have him sleeping in his crib. We have him in somewhat of a routine. We are not totally exhausted like we were led to believe. We still find time to spend as a couple (ie. having breakfast together). Check, check, check, check…

Well, let’s just say I figured the “old school parents” had nothing on us. (I am saying this jokingly, so don’t start sending me hate mail.) Well, I was wrong…

Rubber donut:

About 2 months before Victoria’s delivery, my mom suggested that I order Victoria a rubber donut for her to sit on once she had Connor. She said that it would make her feel comfortable. Well, I had heard from a couple of other “newer moms” that the boppie would work just as well. So, Victoria and I decided against it and figured she could use the boppie. Well, let’s just say 2 days after we were home, my mom had picked up a rubber donut, blew it up, and hand delivered it to Victoria. Victoria carried it with her everywhere she went (even to the doctor’s office) for the next week. Chalk one up to Grandma.

Treating diaper rash:

All I remember from the childbirth class was not to use baby powder to treat diaper rash. Well, I lumped corn starch in with it. Connor has developed a diaper rash and the creams don’t seem to be working too well. My mom has been telling me about corn starch for the past week and I keep telling her it is not good for the baby. Well, after some reading and a suggestion from Victoria’s friend I broke down and bought some corn starch tonight. It seems to do a better job on Connor’s bottom. Chalk another one up to Grandma.

I guess what I am saying is, continue to make the suggestions — we listen but sometimes we just have to try it our way for a while. If and when we have another child, you can bet I will have that rubber donut handy for Victoria!!!!

Love you Mom!

The first night Connor was home, he slept in our room in the pack-n-play.  I don’t know how anyone can sleep on a lopsided board, but he did.  I figured since he has a comfortable, clean, quiet, and freshly painted room, why not let it get some use.

I have had several parents warn us not to allow Connor to co-sleep with us because it would be a bad habit to break later.  I listened and tried him in his crib the second night he was at home.  It seemed to work well for him and for over two weeks now, he has been sleeping in his crib like a big boy.

Our house is not enormous and since I am the one who retrieves him for his nightly feedings, I don’t mind walking an extra 20 feet to get him.  The monitor works well and even lets us know if there is no movement for a period of 20 seconds.  If there is no movement for a period of 40 seconds it really sets off an alarm and I spring out of bed.

So, the three of us (and the cats) get a good night sleep.

Swaddling has worked wonders with him.  We swaddled him in the hospital and then purchased a couple of the SaddleMe blankets and have used them every night since.  He loves it and it definitely calms him down.  I remember being a little skeptical when I saw it in the class we took, but figured it would be worth a try.

We are sure glad that we took that class (“Happiest Baby on the Block”).  There is a DVD and book out about it as well.  I remember saying in class, “It’s magic” when one of the screaming babies stopped crying after being swaddled and shh’ed.  Well, it is not magic and it truly does work on Connor.

Well for a little over two weeks now, Connor has been in a pretty good routine.  We usually get the last feeding in somewhere between 10 and 11pm .  Prior to going to bed, I turn on his lamp and night light in his room, swaddle him, and read him a story.  That usually signals to him that it is time for bed and he usually starts to fall asleep while in my arms.  He then sleeps for about 4 hours (which gives us about 5 hours in between night feedings).  After his middle of the night feeding, he then usually goes right back to sleep and gets his morning feeding right around 6:30am or so.

Now that I am back to work, Victoria has settled into her own little routine.  She feeds him before I head to work and hops in the shower as he relaxes after his morning feeding.  She usually takes the baby monitor downstairs with her as she has a quiet breakfast.

During our childbirth class that ran for 12 weeks, we learned quite a bit and they helped us think about things you might not regularly think about.  One such thing was how to continue to do things for yourself, as a couple, and as new parents.  One exercise was to write down 5 things that you would miss most once your child is born.  Victoria and I love when we have a quiet breakfast on Sunday mornings and read the newspaper.  Well, Connor has been quite accommodating (so far) and has allowed Victoria and I have to have our quiet breakfasts while I have been home.  The first week I was home, we had a quiet sit down breakfast each morning and every Saturday/Sunday we have had so far, we have been able to enjoy breakfast together as Connor was in his swing or pack-n-play.

Connor has been such a good baby as far as allowing us to sleep that I am constantly waiting for “that night”.  You know, the one where he is up all night crying and fussing.  So far, so good.  I am sure since I am writing about this, he will be sure to get even with us sometime soon.

Good night — it is almost our bedtime because he is getting his final burps now.

took a great picture of me today while Daddy was giving me a bath. I enjoy being in the bath tub and don’t cry at all. Afterwards, I smell so fresh and clean and my hair is brushed and I look so cute.

Look at the great picture Mommy took of me today!