Bring on the grand parents

It is hard to believe that the time has gone by so fast. Today we celebrated my first Father's Day. My treats for the day included sleeping in until almost 11:00. That was so awesome. I have been running on empty for the past couple of weeks. I have been falling asleep rocking Teagan in the wee hours of the morning when she wakes up. I have been feeling a bit drained so it was a very nice gift. My next gift was time. Kelly gave me a BUNCH of time to try and get caught up on some of the much needed yard work. We still have a pile of mulch sitting on the driveway. I finally got the newest tree covered and was able to add more mulch to the front of the house. The dirt and mulch had settled to expose a good portion of the top brick. I came in from my work to a nicely prepared dinner. Kelly made some soup for dinner and it was delicious.

So far, I can only guess, but there must be about 1000 pictures of the baby so far. This past Friday I hung a new picture on the front of my desk area. Teagan has changed so much. She is also becoming a more interactive baby. We are getting more and more smiles every day. She is starting to coo and talk a little bit. One of my favorite games with her is catching on. I stick my tongue out at her and she responds with either a smile, wide eyes, or by sticking her tongue out too. I also crack up when I notice her talking to the fish that circle her head when she is in her swing.

As I sit here and type this, Kelly is on her way home with Ga Ga (Grandma Cumpata) who will be watching Teagan this week. Once again, it is hard to believe that Kelly's maternity leave ends Monday night. She returns to work on Tuesday. Eight weeks sure went by quickly. I am not quite sure I totally understand how Kelly feels about returning to work. On one hand, she will finally be returning to a regimented day. She is also looking forward to the socialization that Teagan will get in day care, but I wonder how she is really going to feel about not being with the baby during the day. I have the feeling there will be lots of calls home during the day.

Next week, after two days with the day care provider, Grandma Rosario gets Teagan for 3 days. I am wondering if we might give Grandma an overnight visit too. Not sure if Kelly and I are ready for her to be gone overnight. We will have to wait and see.

Once the grandma's have had their turn, it is Daddy's turn. I get to fly solo for three days after the 4th of July holiday. I have no doubts in my ability to care for the little girl, after all, I did giver her a bath all by myself this past Saturday. I am just hoping that she accepts having me around non-stop instead of her mommy.

For now, welcome back Ga Ga. Looking forward to you getting some good time in with Teagan.

Patrick

7 weeks

What is Teagan doing at 7 weeks?

Her neck strength is improving .... she still doesn't like tummy time but can hold her head up (for a bit) when she's sitting on you or pull her head back when she's over the shoulder in the burping position.

She continues to chew & suck on her fist. This week I even caught her sucking her thumb!

We are out of newborn diapers and onto size 1. Although they are still big (overlapping the waist tabs) the newborns were beginning to be quite tight.

She's begun to wear 0-3 month clothes. Some newborn outfits still fit - like dresses. But things like sleepers are too short.

Her eyesight is more focused and she has been able to follow something moving in front of her face from side to side. We practice daily following rattles and blinking toys since she really likes things that light up and blink. And as far as hand/eye coordination - Today was the first day I saw she was concentrating on the elephant with rings on her play gym. Moving her arm up and down I could tell she was trying to reach it. Sure enough after a bit of work she was finally able to hit the rings. It was a great accomplishment.

Smiles have become more pronounced and more frequent - but are still too quick for a camera shot. :)

Her and daddy are working on mimicking - they've been sticking their tongues out at each other.

Family

Well, well, well,

Just seven short weeks ago, I settled into my makeshift bed listening to the heartbeat of my unborn child. Kelly had been given a drug to help move us along into the birthing process. My thoughts were focused on Kelly, baby, then myself. I wondered what it would be like to have my own family. What would the world hold for the three of us and our dog? How will we manage the rough times? How difficult would raising a baby be? Not one single time, no tiny little thought, nothing crossed my mind other than the three of us. I fell asleep listening to the heart beat, and a little snoring from Kelly.

Fast forward seven weeks... my how times change. One would hope that it does not take a serious event for family to reach out to each other. One would hope that family would be there no matter what. That isn't always the case. The past several weeks have been interesting, exciting, happy, overwhelming, and a whole list of other emotions. Part of me wants to lock the door and shut myself inside with just me, Kelly, Teagan and Cabo. I want to crawl into a little hole and just spend a week with my family... just to feel normal again. But that would be counter-productive.

Over the past few weeks, someone put a spotlight on me. That someone is Teagan. Since Teagan's birth, I have been found. Suddenly, people started reaching out. They started with saying congratulations, then hello. Hello turned into small conversations. Small conversations turned into meetings. Meetings turned into reflection.

People say that just before you die, your whole life flashes before you. I think they may be wrong. My life has been flashing for the past 2 weeks and I have no intention of leaving anytime soon. For example, I have recounted the past 23 years of my life since I set up a meeting with my grandmother. I cannot remember the last time I actually saw her, but I am pretty sure it was prior to moving in with my father when I was 10 years old. When I finally saw her, she was just as I remembered her. Obviously she has aged (as we all have) but I remembered her voice, the way she smiled and the way she loved. I remember visiting her when I was young, playing with my brother before we went to sleep. I remember hearing her tell stories while we were all at Aunt Carolyn's house (got to see her again too.) I remember learning to swim at Aunt Carolyn's house. I remember playing in the channel behind her house. I remember her poodle, that I believe was named Tootsie, that could jump way over my head when I was there.

Another example was found this past Sunday when Kelly, Teagan and I headed back home to see my family. the first shocking reminder of how quickly time passes was when I saw my father for the first time in almost 7 years. Then I saw my little sister... now a teenager and 6' tall. Then I saw my little brother, again a teenager and 6' tall. Then mom came in... well, she isn't 6' tall. The house was much like I remembered. Same styling, same collections, same walking garden. My brother and most of his family came over too. We crowded that house.I do have to say it was nice to have them meet Teagan. Everyone got a chance to hold her, except my little brother. I didn't see if he got to hold her or not. When I first got into the house, I started remembering the way each room was set up when I lived there. I lived in each of the three bedrooms upstairs at various points in time. I remembered all of it. I remembered when my father asked me hold the front wall of the barn while he bolted it to the floor. I remembered what it was like to cut the lawn.

I have had multiple conversations with cousins, all of which have made me try and remember things from so long ago. I have heard stories of times I can't remember. I hear about what I was like as a child. I hear how much Teagan looks like me. It's fun, but again, overwhelming. My desire to crawl in hole is to take a break from the barrage of imagery associated with the stories. To take a break from the rush of feelings that come in when I remember the good and not so good times from my past.

One thing is for sure, this is what family really is. It is catching up. It is taking care of others. It is realizing that even through some bad times, you can still come together. You can reconnect. You can try again. Even after years and years, some things never change. So maybe I should start referring to Kelly, Teagan, Cabo and I as my branch of the family instead of "my" family. After all these years, I have stumbled over my roots again... and I think Teagan needs to see those roots in order to grow big and strong.

Hello Family... I do love you all.

Patrick

Crib Time

For the past two nights Teagan has slept in her crib :) It all started Tuesday - Pat and I had been talking recently about moving her to her crib because

1. The bassinet she had been sleeping in was smaller and she scooches down off her positioner in her sleep & therefore would wind up with her feet/legs scrunched at the base of the bassinet AND

2. To get her ready for when I go back to work and my mother is here taking care of her for the week

So Tuesday rolls around and I decide to bring her to her crib after she fell asleep in my arms. She did so well Tuesday for nap time that we decided to put her there for the night and as they say..... the rest is history.

6 weeks

Teagan is 6 weeks today. It was a very rainy, gloomy day out so we stayed inside and worked on some tummy time and back time stimulation.
Teagan isn't to fond of "tummy time" since her head still pretty much face plants on the ground. - We need to work on her neck strength. - She is however very interested in laying on her back, looking at things that pass in front of her face, and listening to sounds around her.
She's talking or Coo'ing more especially when you strike up the conversation first and I think I've even caught a few smiles. The smiles give me a great feeling. I can't wait for when she is able to put a belly laugh with that smile - to laugh at her goofy parents.
Her schedule, if you can call it one, has been changing. She is much more alert in the afternoon and will stay up rather than nap in between feedings soaking in the environment around her. On occasion this makes for a cranky, overtired baby.





It's only the beginning - I can't wait to see what's in store and how much she'll evolve in the upcoming weeks.

Happy Birthday!!!

Just a quick note to say happy birthday to my beautiful wife, the mother of my child, the owner of my heart. I hope your day was wonderful.

5 weeks

Teagan is 5 weeks today.

She is drinking around 4oz a feeding (sometimes more) and is on somewhat of a schedule. She's eating every three hours during the day and at night gives us closer to four or four and a half hours.

She's awake for more time in between feedings and naps (most of the time an hour to an hour and a half).

She's found her hands and likes to suck on them. I wonder if she'll be a thumb sucker, only time will tell.

She's still in newborn diapers and clothing. I would not have thought that at over a month old she would still be in "newborn" but I'm not complaining. I am however anxious to break out the 0-3 month clothing choices for some more variety in her wardrobe.

Her hair has turned from mid-brown at birth to more of a reddish blond. So far, she's kept it all and it hasn't started to fall out. It's growing like crazy, and most days she has a great "bed head" going on.

She is most definitely becoming more and more alert. She responds to mom and dad's voice, although she only looks in our general direction. she does get bright eyed when daddy makes funny faces at her. Also, she is becoming quite the art connoisseur. During her alert hours, Teagan is quite consumed by the beauty of two-dimensional, colorful art. I know it is because of the amount of contrast, but I still get a kick out of her expression when she comes across these colorful displays.

We've found that Avent pacifiers work wonders for her and she LOVES her Ocean Wonders Fisher Price swing. Most times, if she's not falling asleep all we have to do is place her in the swing and in 5 minutes she's out.

Status update from last weeks' 1 month doctor visit. She weighed 9lbs 8oz and was 22.5 inches long.