What I've Learned...so far...

So it's been about 10 weeks since Lily's been born, and we've been through some great experiences so far. Some fantastic, and some that leave a head shaped dent in your drywall. That reminds me, has anyone seen that Beaver movie with Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson? Weird right? I only caught the middle of it, but it seemed awkwardly interesting. But I digress.


Before I get into it, I'll let you have your "awww" moment.

Lily Flirts 

Adorable, right?!? Yesterday we had a great moment right before her last dinner. Lily has a subtle way of telling you she's hungry. It starts with her sticking her tongue out and opening her mouth so wide it forces her to yawn. If you haven't gotten it by then, she starts slamming her face onto your chest. If you can tolerate that, you're in for a show. Her next move is shoving her whole face onto your chest while simultaneously moving it from side to side and downward, as if she's digging for boobage. By then, we've got the point. 

So after her first dinner, I joked and told her she's got to be a little classier about telling us she's hungry, and not so neanderthal-ish. "The milk's a little sweeter when you work for it, " is what I believe I said. 

So, at 8:45 pm on Wednesday, she took my advice and had us cracking up. While she was resting on my legs, Lily looked at Jenn, and starting smiling and raising her eyebrows in a way that would make Joey Tribiani proud with her finest "How You Doin'?" She flirted with Jenn for about 15 minutes, then finally stuck out her tongue and smiled. She was eating within 30 seconds. Missed a great video op, but it was a great moment.

The 5 S's

So I was turned on to this book and DVD set by a co-worker who had just had a little boy a month earlier. He told me his son was colicky and it was terrible, but he found this, and it changed EVERYTHING. 

Now we've been VERY lucky with Lily. She wasn't colicky, had a great mellow demeanor, and seemed to be pretty happy. But at night, it was starting to get tough. Not only was she waking up at 2, 4 and 6 (and sometimes a few times in between), but it was impossible to get her back down without a struggle, or just having her lay on you. 

At that point, my 5 S's were:

• Sway sleepily while standing
• Sing and try to calm her down
• Scream Silently as she continues to wake up even more alert than before
• Sob myself to sleep and wish her the best of luck

Not the best system, but it got me a solid 5 minutes of sleep a night. 

So I figured I'd give this book a shot, and downloaded it on my Kindle. It's called "The Happiest Baby on the Block." The book's main purpose is to educate the parent on the true cause of colic. He goes on for a very long time debunking myths and old wives' tales, but the gold in the book is the 5 S's. 

• Sucking can be accomplished with a pacifier, nursing, a finger or a bottle. The urge to suck is strong for babies. "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain."says Karp. 
• Swinging is comforting to a baby and reminds them of being inside mom where there was motion whenever mom moved. Side to side swinging, riding in a car, rocking, walking the room with a parent are all examples of motion that reminds baby of the womb environment. 
• Shushing refers to white noise. Inside the womb was actually quite loud most of the time. Babies are used to hearing their mom's heartbeat all the time. White noise machines or white noise CD's can help with this instead of running the vacuum cleaner or saying "ssshhh sssshhh" loudly for long periods of time.
• Side/stomach refers to holding the baby on the left side to aid in digestion or holding the baby on her stomach to provide support. Being held on their back often causes babies to startle. Once a baby is calmed down and sleeping, they can then safely be put on their back for sleeping.
• Swaddling helps provide the continuous touching and support baby experienced in the womb. It also prevents baby from hitting themselves in the face with their hands. Learning how to tightly swaddle a baby is a great skill, or there are products that help with it.

The night after I started reading the book, I went out to dinner with coworkers (there had been a 3 day conference, this was the final night, and I had missed the previous dinner).Well, after about 3 Johnnie Walker Blacks and a nice dinner, I made my way home. I was in a FANTASTIC mood when I walked in the door. So I washed my hands, smothered Lily in kisses, and proceeded to drunkenly walk through the steps.

• baby gets the swwllaalaa...the swaallala... swaddle the baby
• here baby, lay on your tummy on my tummy...stand up baby...i stand...we stand, i hold you, you're on your tummy
• shoooooshh shhooooshh baby, this is good sleepy time shhooooshhh
• swing side to side...hey baby, you asleep yet?
• JENN! Where's the binky??? 
• Shhooooshhhh, sorry baby, sorry

And I kid you not, I put her down in the co-sleeper, passed out on the couch, and she was asleep for 6 straight hours. That was at about 3 weeks old. The 2 of us have mastered the 5 S's since then, and I've promised never to have 3 glasses of Johnnie Walker before we go through the motions.

Music

I owe a HUGE thank you to Rob Cutler and Jess Snow for this one. Nap time has been one of our biggest challenges. Lily likes to sleep in itervals of 10 minutes, rather than an hour or 2 at a time. It's great for the night, because she's so tired from being up all day. But during the day, it's like a marathon. 

So a few weeks ago, our friends came over to visit and brought some gifts for Lily. A red onesy (Philly red I believe), an awesome pair of blue sunglasses, and Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Beatles. BEST. GIFT. EVER!

That Saturday, she had a great time playing and started getting tired. So I opened the CD, popped it in the blu-ray, and the second she heard the chimes of "Yesterday" her eyes lit up and she gave an approving "aawooo" (she still does this, especially if she hears it somewhere other than her room, like the car). While Jenn insists that she loves them all, I think her favorites are "Yesterday", "Here Comes The Sun", and "Yellow Submarine". The COOLEST thing about getting her to listen to this is that she becomes familiar with the tune. So if she's fussy while eating, or trying to take a nap, and the music isn't handy, we just sing the song, and she immediately calms down. 

I just bought the U2 version this morning. I listened to the whole thing while Lily and Jenn slept in bed. I think this whole series is absolutely worth getting, especially if you have an appreciation of music.

Thanks for listening to my rambles again. I promise to try and update this more frequently so every post isn't a novel.

Naldo