If there is anyone still reading it has been a crazy couple of months. Sadie is still having some diaper issues but is growing without any problem. Her last checkup on Wed had her at or above the 90th% across the board in height weight and head circumference.

She is finally sleeping three to five hours at a time during the night, and a few naps yet during the day. She’s been smiling at us often and cooing. No laughing yet, but with me as a dad I’m sure that’ll come very soon.

Her older sisters are doing well, keeping out of trouble for the most part. They stay up way too late now that it is summer time, and are spending a lot of time either crafting on the table or reading. I kick them out back as often as I can.

I finally got the pool set up but it is still cold as … cold. I’ve got a solar heater type thing I need to set up for it.

That’s all I have time for, Sadie woke again and she’s hungry!

Peace,
Tony

We’re still trying to figure out the fussies gas and diarrhea on the kid. Going through a lot of diapers. My wife tried an elimination diet, the doctor ran some tests and we’re still without an answer. She’s on some antibiotic cocktail that is supposed to knock out any bad bug she may have gotten from our hospital stay her first week.

She’s still gaining weight like a champ and has started smiling (when she’s not uncomfortable). Fun times.

Peace,
Tony

Sadie is a month old now. We’re trying to figure out her poop, gas and fussy issues. When she sleeps we’re good for a couple hours, but waking time usually consists of screaming and crying and many many diaper changes. The slightest bit of crud in there makes her cry. I’ve written before (probably a long time ago, now) that we are Huggies Supreme users. The bit more per diaper cost is mitigated by the fact that they hold soil way better than any others we’ve found.

With the baby on a gas off “shart”* fest we’re chewing through so many diapers she doesn’t have much chance to properly fill a good diaper, so we’ve switched to store brand during the day. Heck, there’s been times where I’ve gotten her cleaned up and haven’t even fastened the tabs when she lets another juicy one rip.

Since she is exclusively breast fed, my wife has started on an elimination diet to try and pin down what is causing the problems. She’s spent last week with no dairy to no noticeable effect. Wouldn’t it be our luck that Sadie is sensitive or allergic to soy? Or worse, wheat?!?

Oy. The great relief in all this is knowing that everything with kids is going to pass. At some point we’ll figure out her food, she’ll sleep the night (or more than two hours) and I won’t be changing 20 diapers a day. I can see how new parents could get really overwhelmed!

That’s news from the front line for now.
Peace,
Tony

*definition of “shart” should be pretty easy to figure out, but in case you are confused, it’s a mix of two words, one of which is fart… figure out the rest.

Once we settled on the diaper brand and style that worked best for us it was a challenge to figure out the best deal. I took to carrying a piece of paper in my wallet with best price per diaper and where to find it. That way if I ran across some on sale elsewhere I could quickly figure out if that price per is better than at the usual place. For whatever reason the same diaper and size are packaged in different numbers at different stores. I couldn’t just say “Oh, it’s $19.99 at A and $16.95 here” because one was a 100 pack and the other an 88 count or something.

Anyway, every little bit helps. There are a couple online retailers that break it down per diaper too, which is helpful.

No, I don’t want to talk about disposable vs. cloth.

Peace,
Tony

Another thing I had forgotten was the football hold for little ones. A friend of mine showed us this one when Tara was just a newborn. He was over brewing with me and she was screaming her little head off as only a newborn can do. She had eaten, burped and was warm and comfortable but just mad as heck and wanted to let the world know.

Jay asked to hold her, flipped her on her tummy and laid her along his forearm with her head lying along side his elbow. Just like holding a football for the run to the end zone! He called it the “Grandma hold.”

I’ve done it with her head facing both ways to varying success. When nothing else seems to work, that does.

Peace,
Tony

It only took me a couple times before I remembered a trick to quickly diaper a little butt. It has been so long that I had forgotten how quickly they can leak on you, the changing table, dirty diaper, clean diaper…

The trick is two fold, the second part is probably girls only. Simple enough get the clean diaper open and ready under the dirty butt and used diaper. Open the soiled diaper and use the relatively clean front to take care of the first wipe folding all that up. Then finish with wet wipes, roll up the dirty dipe and pull it out like a table cloth on a full table. The new clean diaper is all ready to go. Seal it up and we’re done!

This process takes a matter of seconds and greatly reduces the “exposure”.

Ahhh, the fun.

Peace,
Tony

We have had a rough week.

At the end of my wife’s labor her blood pressure started to rise, and even though she was discharged on Saturday afternoon it continued to climb. By midnight we were back in the E.R. trying to get a handle on it. They sent us home after three and a half hours with nothing more than some advice to lay on her side when she starts to feel bad.

Monday had her admitted to the hospital again to get a better handle on it. Wednesday afternoon, with a new prescription in hand and a plan of attack we were sent home once again.

Wednesday evening we got to see the Intensive Care Center of the hospital.

Friday evening finally found us back home and taking it easy with new medications and a stable blood pressure. I can’t begin to describe how scary it is seeing my wife sitting there so uncomfortable.

Some things I’ve learned from this:
Read the rest of this entry »

Our third daughter was born Thursday evening, we’re all home and doing ok. The big sisters are trying very hard to be helpful!

Sweet Sadie

There is another Woot off today. This is a great way to find some awesome deals. Kids.woot is also doing it. I’ve purchased from them several times with no complaints. One thing to look for though is if it is a  refurbished or new item. (If that matters to you…)

Enjoy!
Tony

Last night we had hambarkers for dinner. There was a pound of hamburger in the fridge and a dozen hot dog buns. “Why not shape the hamburgers like hot dogs to go in the buns?” asked my wife. Why not indeed. Several minutes later she came up with the name.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are two!

Hambarkers on the grill almost ready to come off. (Yes, I know I need to clean my grill.  Thanks for noticing.)

A hambarker in the bun with home fries and beer, mmmmm, beer.

Before you ask, no the relish on the side isn’t me trying to get creative after watching too many Food Network shows, the thing actually rolled over before I could take a picture. Darn barker. It was as good as it looked and the kids appreciated the different delivery of a plain ol’ hamburger!

Peace,
Tony