Spin the Bottle

Last night, we learned that bottle feeding John Patrick is not going to be quite as easy as we had hoped.

In preparation for returning to work in a couple of weeks, Jude broke out the breast pump over the weekend, read the instructions and sterilized all the moving parts. Starting the first of the week, she began using the breast pump in between feedings, in an effort to start to accumulate a supply of breast milk. In the mornings and at night, before going to bed, she's been going down to the kitchen "to pump."

Now, I wasn't really sure what "pumping" entailed. Actually, I wasn't really sure I wanted to know what it entailed. You know, it's kind of like staring directly at the sun during a solar eclipse. You know you shouldn't do it because you might hurt your eyes, but you can't help yourself. That's the way I felt, Tuesday, when I walked into the kitchen and discovered Jude was "pumping."

Initially, I was speechless and I just stared. "Does it hurt?" I asked. "No," she replied. "Well, does it feel good," I asked. Looking at me like I was a complete idiot, she said, "no, it doesn't feel good. It makes me feel like a cow." I didn't really know what to say at that point. I just kept staring.

Well, she had worked so hard over the past several days to accumulate about four ounces of breast milk, it was important not to waste it when we tried to bottle feed him for the first time last night. The problem, of course, is once we heat the breast milk up, in the bottle, we can't use it again if John Patrick doesn't drink all of it. That's why mothers who are breast feeding say that breast milk they've pumped and stored in the refrigerator is as valuable as gold.

At first, John Patrick drank from the bottle without too much difficulty. However, after finishing an ounce of breast milk, he started fussing, crying, then refused to drink any more from the bottle. After a half hour or so of trying to coax him to start drinking from the bottle again, we gave up and went upstairs. There, Jude was able to breast feed him the traditional way, without a bottle. The disappointing thing, of course, was that we wasted three ounces of breast milk she had worked so hard to pump.

The best part of our night, though, was when we called our friends, Troy and Cyndi Baines, in Neptune Beach, Florida. They have three children, including their daughter, Finn, who is a month or two older than John Patrick. We put them on speaker phone and they commiserated with us first, then provided us with several helpful hints. Mostly, we laughed and joked with them, as we always do when the four of us get together, in person or over the telephone.

Every day is a new adventure and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Damn Those Paparazzi!

Seriously, Daddy, no more photos. I'm not kidding.

One thing I'm good at, as you can see, is multi-tasking.

Kool and the Gang at Peter Klett's Memorial Day Cookout and Party. Obviously, I'm "Kool" and the rest of the guys in the photo, including John Patrick, are "the Gang."

Proud papas Peter Klett and yours truly at Peter's annual Memorial Day Party and Cookout.

My friend, Mike Matteson, sitting on our front porch swing with John Patrick after our 7-mile trail run at Shelby Bottoms Saturday morning.

Memorial Day Weekend

Jude, John Patrick and I had a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend, although we were so busy, it passed by much too quickly. It was our first weekend to take him out in public, so to speak, and we were on the go the entire weekend.

Friday, as is evident from my previous post, John Patrick made his first trip to Franklin. He met some of the folks at my office and we strolled around downtown.

Saturday morning, I went for a 7-mile trail run at Shelby Bottoms with my friend, Mike Matteson. After we finished what was really a great run, we met Jude at the tennis courts near the entrance to Shelby Park. There we picked up John Patrick, so Jude could play tennis with her friend Allison. Although it was her first time back on the hardcourt since before giving birth, she played like a champ. Interestingly enough, though, Jude remarked that for the only time in her life she caught a glimpse of what Serena Williams feels like when she charges the net at Wimbledon. Jude had body parts . . . well, two body parts, in particular, bouncing everywhere, when she served and volleyed, if you get my drift. I only wish I had been there to see it!

Saturday evening, Jude, John Patrick, her parents, my mom and I ventured forth to Mafiozza's for dinner on the patio at the restaurant. It went reasonably well, although John Patrick got fussy toward the end of our visit. Jude's dad, Jim, and I strolled him down to Las Paletas on 12th Avenue, where we met the rest of our crew for Mexican popsicles just before closing time. As a group, we strolled across the street to Sevier Park and walked together, enjoying our popsicles in the twilight.

Sunday morning, Jude and I took John Patrick to church at St. Patrick's Catholic Church for the first time. Father Eric Fowlkes was not there, but we were blessed to hear one of my favorite priests, Father Sanchez, give the homily. John Patrick slept in his car seat throughout the entire church service, much to our relief. It was great to be back in church and, more importantly, to have him with us.

Sunday evening, Jude, John Patrick and I went to our friend, Geralyn Hoey's, house in East Nashville for a cookout. Although we didn't stay long, we did get to see a few of our ultimate frisbee friends, which was nice. For most of them, it was their first time to meet John Patrick.

Monday afternoon (Memorial Day), Jude, John Patrick and I went to my friend, Peter Klett's, house for his annual Memorial Day cookout and party. We introduced John Patrick to his new best friend, Cortland Christopher Klett. Since he slept or cried the entire time we were there, I'm not sure John Patrick really connected with Cortland. That will come with time, though, since Peter and I are such close friends and Cortland is only three weeks younger than John Patrick.

And on the evening of the fourth day of the Memorial Day Weekend, we rested.

Road Trip

Today, I took the afternoon off to spend with Jude and John Patrick. Our family (wow, that sounds kind of strange!) walked down to Bongo Java on Belmont Boulevard for lunch, then returned home, so Jude could take a nap. At my suggestion, Jude agreed it would be a good day for me to take John Patrick to the office for his first visit.

I loaded the stroller in my truck, along with my manly diaper bag (a backpack, really), snapped him in the car seat and off we went - Franklin bound! I wanted to surprise my friends at work, so I didn't call ahead and let them know we were coming. When I came in the back door, by my office, and Deb Safar and Deb Rubenstein saw him, they squealed with delight. Quickly, I handed him off to Deb Rubenstein, who held him for a few minutes. After a quick diaper change on the floor of my office, Deb Safar took over and held him in her lap. Everyone was very excited to finally meet him.

When John Patrick began to fuss a bit, I put him in the stroller and rolled across the street to the courthouse. Gwen, one of my friends in the Circuit Court Clerk's office saw us through the window, then came outside to see him. Next, we rolled inside and visited with the ladies in the Circuit Court Clerk's office. He was awake, alert and staring at them all, even smiling at one point. Then, he got his first elevator ride, as we went upstairs to the Clerk and Master's office to complete our tour of the courthouse. I enjoyed showing him off, as I always do.

Another Smile

Keep on Smiling

Today, John Patrick turned eight weeks old! Damn, it's hard to believe he has been with us for almost two months. As so many of our friends have told us, time does pass by so quickly.

Already, he looks so different from when we first brought him home from the hospital. He's bigger, stronger and, most importantly, happier (or at least more capable of expressing his happiness). He's smiling a lot these days, which is truly an amazing feat . . . to me, anyway. When I'm changing his diaper and he looks up at me and smiles, it absolutely melts my heart.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite photograph of Jude and John Patrick, so far. I wish you all had the opportunity to see my lovely wife, Jude, interact with our son in intimate moments like this. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

Another Satisfied Customer

John Patrick, relaxing after dinner.

Where's Waldo?

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go To Bed

All right, all right, maybe I got a little ahead of myself. Monday, at work, I was bragging about how Jude and I had this "schedule" thing all figured out. John Patrick had slept until 5 a.m. two nights in a row (Saturday and Sunday) and as near as I could figure, there was no reason to expect he wouldn't continue to do so in the future. Although the "Babywise" book says that babies have the ability to sleep through the night at 10 to 12 weeks of age, John Patrick was obviously ahead of schedule, sleeping through the night at 7 1/2 weeks of age, or so I told my staff at work.

As I was bragging Monday morning, I could hear my legal assistant and good friend, Deb Safar, laughing uproariously from her desk outside my office. Deb has raised three high school aged children, and is one of the most together, coolest mothers I know. Clearly, she knew something that I didn't.

Which, of course, brings us to Monday night. And Tuesday night. And, in all likelihood, tonight. Monday night or, actually Tuesday morning, about 3 a.m., I awoke to the sounds of extremely loud, guttural noises (grunts, groans, etc.) emanating from the Pack-n-Play next to our bed. I tried, and failed, to go back to sleep, but the noises were too loud. After 15 minutes or so, I rolled over, looked at Jude, who was also awake, and suggested she might need to feed him.

"What about the schedule?" she said. "I want him to sleep until 5 a.m.," she said. My response was, of course, "I want to sleep now! Feed him. Please feed him." And she did.

Last night, same song, different verse. John Patrick woke up at 3 a.m. or so, the noises started and we didn't even fight it. Jude fed him, then he went back to sleep.

It's always an adventure, every night.

Night Moves

Last night, John Patrick slept from 11 p.m. to just past 5 a.m.! That's the longest continuous period he has slept at night, so we're pretty excited. Hopefully, it's the beginning of a trend. He was seven weeks old Friday and we're anticipating that maybe, just maybe, he will be sleeping through the night when he's ten to twelve weeks old. We realize that may be a bit too optimistic, but it's good to have goals. So far, he's adapted well to being on a regular schedule, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

He's been taking more naps, during the day, in his crib, too. It's nice, because if Jude can put him down for a nap in his crib, she can lay down on our bed in the bedroom and catch a nap, as well.

The photograph above was taken a few minutes ago, as he napped and dreamed of the day he can accompany his father to Knoxville to watch the Vols play in Neyland Stadium.

Happiness is . . .

Happiness is a cup of iced coffee from Bongo Java on Belmont Boulevard, this week's New Yorker and my Blackberry. And, of course, my son. What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Our Cup Runneth Over

It's a beautiful evening in Nashville and I'm in my customary spot on our back porch, as I write this. The back door is open, so our cats are going in and out at will, roaming around the back yard. Our next door neighbors are having a cookout and I can hear voices laughing and talking across the fence. We've had quite a bit of rain this spring, so the grass and trees are really green and healthy. I'm listening to Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall (1971).

Friday evening, before it was dark, Jude and I were upstairs in the "Men's Lounge" (a.k.a. nursery) decompressing after a long week and watching John Patrick sleep, when we heard someone knocking on our front door. I went downstairs and was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend and fraternity brother from college, Brent Neal, out front. Brent sits near us at the Nashville Predators' hockey games and I had showed him photographs of John Patrick shortly after he was born. Brent, who had never been to our house, had stopped by to deliver a baby gift.

I was really touched, since Brent and his wife, Kay, are not people I see on a regular basis. The fact that he would find our address and drop by to leave a gift meant a great deal to me. We talked for a while about children, schools, work, etc., then he left. It was nice to spend a few minutes with him.

Later that evening, I was reflecting, again, on how lucky Jude and I are to have so many good friends. People have been so generous and thoughtful to us, throughout Jude's pregnancy and after John Patrick was born. It is a humbling experience indeed to have so many people - people whom we admire and respect - take the time to send us a card, telephone us, stop by to see us or send a baby gift. We are blessed to have so many wonderful friends. It's reassuring to know we have a network of friends and family to support us while we find our way as parents.

FEE, FI, FO, FUM . . .

In case you're wondering, this is what a 10 lb, 9 oz, seven week old child looks like!

Yesterday, Jude and John Patrick stopped by our doctor's office for a quick weight check. Much to our delight, he weighed in at 10 pounds, 9 ounces. Great, great news! Friends and neighbors had remarked to us how much he had grown, but it's hard for us to notice when we see him every day.

Wow!

Captive Audience

Lately, I do some of my best work on our front porch swing.

Tonight, when I returned from Amerigo's with dinner for Jude and me, John Patrick was in a fussy mood. As we tried to eat (and as Jude played in an on-line poker tournament), he kept crying and wriggling around in his "bouncy seat." Finally, I picked him up and sat him in my lap. I tried the pacifier, but he kept spitting it out. I got the message when, at one point, he managed to spit it straight out of his mouth, like a missile, right into my chest. Jude and I laughed really hard when that happened.

I swaddled him in one of his blankets and took him outside, where we sat down on the front porch swing. As I sang to him and kind of rocked in the swing, he stared up at me and calmed down, as he usually does. After a few minutes, he fell asleep. Tonight, I featured "The Police," and my selections included bits and pieces from a variety of songs, including "Tea in the Sahara," "Synchronicity," "Every Breath You Take," "Walking on the Moon" and "King of Pain, among others."

Now, I like to think that I have a pretty good singing voice. What really strokes my ego, though, is when I sing to John Patrick as he's crying and he calms down, then goes to sleep. That's pretty cool, actually.

What a Weekend!

John Patrick, relaxing after another exhausting weekend.

Oh No, it's Bath Time!!!

Apparently, for John Patrick, baths are going to be an acquired taste.

Built for Speed

John Patrick, training for the one man bobsled event in the 2030 Winter Olympics. I think he's got real potential.

Saturday Afternoon on the Front Porch

John Patrick, watching Jude and I playing cards on the front porch. He's very interested in what's going on, as you can see.

No Time Like the Present

Last weekend, a friend of mine, Rebecca Larson, said something that really struck a chord with me. "When you have a baby," she said, "the days seem to last forever, the weeks go by more quickly and the months fly by." That really makes sense to me, when I stop and think about it.

I've always looked forward to weekends and time off from work, to do what I wanted. The weekends always seemed to pass too quickly, though. Since John Patrick was born, however, on Friday afternoons I feel almost giddy, like school is about to be dismissed for the summer. Just knowing I have the entire weekend to spend with Jude and John Patrick puts me in an ebullient mood at the end of the day.

And here's the thing. The weekends really do seem to drag by, which is amazingly nice. It seems like we have so much time on our hands, all to spend with John Patrick. There's such a pleasant rhythm to our activities . . . feeding him, burping him, changing his diapers, playing with him and watching him sleep. The cycle repeats itself, over and over, and somehow that's very reassuring to me.

Here's another thing that's really nice. Before John Patrick was born, Jude and I would literally sit down each Sunday evening and review our calendars to see what the coming week looked like. On many occasions, one or both of us would have activities scheduled after work during the week. As a result, we would jealously guard the few weeknights when neither of us had anything on our schedule.

I was telling Jude the other night, it's totally different now. Although it may change when Jude returns to work, at present there's rarely a weeknight when either of us has to be anywhere other than home after work. It's great, too, because we're completely focused on being at home and spending time with John Patrick.

For us, there truly is no time like the present.

The Human Alarm Clock

There is no snooze button on a baby who wakes up, at night, and wants to eat.

I'm fairly certain the question I get the most from friends and colleagues who know we've had a baby is some version of "are you getting any sleep?" We're getting some sleep, of course. Not as much sleep as we got before John Patrick was born, however, and not what I would call "quality" sleep.

Normally, Jude feeds John Patrick at 9:30 p.m. or so, then puts him to bed. On a good night, he'll sleep until 2 a.m. or so, at which point he cries, wakes up and Jude feeds him. Again, if it's a good night, he'll go right back to sleep, then wake up at 7 a.m. or shortly thereafter. That's not every night, mind you, that's a good night.

On a bad night, John Patrick only will sleep until 1 a.m. or, if he sleeps until 2 a.m., after Jude feeds him, he won't go back to sleep for an hour or two. In other words, she may finish feeding him at 2:30 a.m., but he won't go back to sleep until 4 a.m. Those are the tough nights, because then he wakes up again a 6 a.m. or so and wants to eat again.

Lately, though, Jude and lay in bed and laugh, because when John Patrick first starts stirring, he grunts, growls, sighs, whimpers and generally makes more noises than you can possibly imagine. Really strange, loud noises. Noises you wouldn't normally associate with a human being. All of this occurs with his eyes closed. He'll do that for five minutes, get quiet again and sleep for another 10 - 15 minutes. Then, the noises begin again. Jude will lift her head up, look into the "Pack-n-Play" (where he sleeps) beside our bed and if his eyes are still closed, she'll put drop her head back down on the pillow and try to go back to sleep.

The other night, I compared it to the snooze button on an alarm clock. He makes these bizarre strange noises for five minutes, then stops. That's the equivalent of hitting the snooze button, because we desperately try and steal another few minutes of sleep until the cycle starts all over again. Eventually, he'll start crying, at which point we know it's time to get up, change his diaper, and feed him.

Mafiozza's

This afternoon, while Jude was feeding John Patrick, I slipped away for a trail run at Shelby Bottoms. It was an absolutely gorgeous spring afternoon, clear blue sky with the temperature in the upper 60s. The Cornelia Fort Trail was muddy, with standing water in places. There's nothing like splashing through the mud and water on a trail run to make you feel like a kid again.

When I got back home, Jude suggested we take John Patrick out to dinner with us. An excellent idea! We loaded him in the stroller and off we went to Mafiozza's on 12th Avenue. After a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the restaurant and requested a table on the patio, which was already crowded with people enjoying an early evening meal. After a short wait, the waitress led us to our table. I carefully maneuvered the stroller (yes, the City Elite, by Baby Jogger) around and in between tables and chairs. I think I only ran into two or three chairs on the way to our table in the far corner of the patio.

We had a nice meal of pasta and pleasant conversation, although probably not two minutes went by without one of us peeking down into the stroller to check on John Patrick. He slept through our entire meal and didn't even stir until we arrived home just after 7 p.m. His first dinner outing was a resounding success!

Rolling, rolling, rolling . . .

I've been catching some grief from the folks at work, because right now, Jude and I have four strollers. That's right, four strollers and one child. One small - but getting bigger every day - child. Originally, we had three strollers, all of which we received as gifts from friends or family at baby showers. However, a couple of weeks ago, I purchased a fourth stroller, on-line. It arrived last week and I assembled it last week just in time for our friend's (Cyndi Baines) weekend visit with her daughter, Finn.

Taking inventory, we have two handy, lightweight strollers, the kind we can keep in our vehicles (one in each) and use at the mall, etc. The backs of the those strollers don't recline, however, so we really can't use them until John Patrick is a little older and capable of sitting and holding his head up for an extended period of time.

The third stroller is a Graco stroller. It's the "Cadillac" of strollers - sturdy, lots of strorage space and compatible with our Graco car seat. It's not real fast or overly maneuverable, but it has a nice, dependable ride. The back reclines until it's completely flat, which is helpful since John Patrick generally falls asleep as soon as the wheels start turning.

The fourth stroller is my baby. Well, my other baby, that is. It's a City Elite, made by Baby Jogger. It's the "Land Rover" of strollers. Sleek, trendy, fast but very functional. Also, it's capable of traveling off road. It has three, larger wheels with tread like you'd see on a mountain bike tires. In fact, the tires have spokes, just like bicycle tires. The front wheel can be locked, so it stays straight, or unlocked, so it swivels. The swiveling option of the front wheel makes the stroller very maneuverable. It's also fast and it has a lot of features (or options). There are a couple of storage compartments underneath, wind flaps on the sides to let air in or keep it out, flaps on top to let the sun in or keep it out and pockets attached to the handle to store items (wallets, cell phones, etc.). The back reclines, as well. Also, I ordered separately a small cooler (capable of holding a 6-pack . . . of baby bottles), which attaches to to the bottom of the stroller, between the rear wheels, and a cup holder. Last but not least, it's really lightweight and is easy to fold up to store or load in a car.

I'm very proud of my baby . . . and John Patrick, too.

Stroller number five is coming soon, too. I haven't ordered it, yet, but it's a performance model, also made by Baby Jogger. It's designed for runners - larger, narrower wheels (x 3) and more aerodynamic than normal strollers. The idea, obviously, is to able to go for a run, while pushing your child in the stroller. I don't think John Patrick is quite ready for it, yet, but it won't be long!

Now, where are we going to put all these strollers?