Tuesday, November 08, 2005
One of those days...
Well, today Mackenzie got her first battle scars. As we were finshing lunch, Mackenzie decided to venture out around the kitchen. Groceries were not quite yet put away. Mackenzie thought it would be fun to climb on a bundle of paper towels. Unfortunately, at the tender age of 10 months old, she hasn't quite figured out the law of gravity. So after the bundle tipped, she landed face first on the floor. After a patented wail, Danielle picked her up to console her. Next thing you know, a trail of red is all over Danielle's shirt. Her first bloody nose. We try to clean it up, she is crying. I fill a dish cloth with ice cubes, unfortunately, her little nose was only one ice cube big, so that method didn't really work. Regardless, the bleeding stopped. So, we wonder, is it broken? Does it hurt? Our poor hearts melted for her. So, a bit of cuddling, a little walk and a little nap, Mook returned to her old self once my mom arrived. I am glad my father was there when it happened, otherwise all the commotion may have had us waiting in the hospital emergency room. So, I go to work and try and put the events behind me. Around 9pm, Danielle calls, next thing you know, she plays good news bad news with me. I said lets hear it. During their game of peek a boo with Danielles hair, my little Mook got a little too close and and Danielle bopped her in the head again. Her little nose bled once again. However, the good news is that she did not cry. Thankfully, she is as tough as her dad. :) Thanks to my father in law who called his surgeon brother in law in Boston, just to confirm the symptoms were not that of a broken nose. Hopefully, god willing she will sleep through the night tonight, and get a much deserved rest. Perhaps tomorrow, we will have an injury free day. I know there will be more incidents like this, and it hurts to see it happen, however, such is life.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Can anybody figure out this sleep thing?
Here we are, almost 10 months old. To think, at one month of age, we were pulling our hair out trying to figure out when we would get a good nights sleep. Looking ahead, we figured by this time, a piece of cake. Well, we were wrong. It all began Tuesday night, Nana spent the night and Mackenzie put on a show. Crying at 10, 11, midnight. Dad gets home from work, mom is up with her, mom puts her into the cribtonyte, and voila, more crying. Dad goes up to do his thing. A couple of attempts, to no avail. Into dads bed, I lay there, she is asleep, I can get out of bed she stays asleep. Try the crib, cribtonyte. She wails. Back to dads bed, try again. Asleep. this time I try the forklift approach of getting her up, and voila, success! She is asleep in her crib. 6:30 am, more crying. Based on the activities of last night, this is too early to get up. In to bed with dad, we buy another hour of quiet sleep. Mom is up, comes to the rescue, dad gets another hour of sleep.
So, Wednesday, my little Mookie should have some good naps based on last nights performance. Morning nap, 1/2 an hour. Hmmmm....Afternoon nap, another 1/2 hour. What is with this kid?
Wednesday night, Mackenzie goes to bed as usual. She was a happy girl all day, don't get me wrong. However, tonight would be different. Out like a light. Thursday morning, mom and dad awake. What happenned? Is she still alive, breathing? Voila, sleeps through the night. A solid 11.5 hrs. Yay! We feel human again.
So, based on that, we're off to a good start for the day. Sure enough, Mackenzie decides on skipping her morning nap. No problem we figure. We're told at this age they may start to get out of two naps and convert to one daytime nap. Noon, the nap begins. To our surprise, only an hour. Regardless, she is still happy. Bedtime, out like a light. This is where it gets a little foggy. I am sure we were up, played musical beds, and she didn't get full nights sleep. Danielle must have dealt with most of it. Thanks hun.
Friday, mom and daughter are tired. They nap in mom and dad's bed. 2 hrs, 15 minutes later, they get up. It's just after noon. That is what I call a nap. Mom is better, baby is better. Friday night, just like clockwork, up at 11pm.
dad gets home from work, Mackenzie is with mom. Asleep in bed. That's ok, she is teething, and everytime we get close to her crib, she wakes up. Go figure. I leave them be. 3:30 am, crying, I get up, meet them at the change table. Another messy diaper. They have been messy this week, and happening often. Fresh bum, dad takes over, mom goes to the room where dad was. Dad tries to settle her down. She decides to have a conversation with me. Try the bottle, not interested. She is happy, which is good. One problem, it 4:15 am! Time for sleep, not party. I lay there with her, time to sit up she says. I say, time for another bottle. Not an oz into her, out again. We go upstairs, cribtonyte, Back into dad's room. She is asleep again. Yay. It is 5am, I make a succesful transfer into her crib. I go get a drink downstairs, make my way back to bed. I finally get back to the verge of sleep, 5:45 am, wailing. This is too much. I will try and preserve some sort of a nights sleep for mom. I go get her, into bed with dad. She wedges her little body in between me and the pillows, asleep. I am too pooped to move her. Therefore, I only get a light sleep for fear of smothering her. Somehow, 8am shows up, mom awakes, plucks her from bed and they go downstairs. Dad gets back to sleep for 2 more hours. I awake, analayze the night, shrug my shoulders. She is a baby, she is teething, it must hurt. Or, do we comfort her too much, too soon? She does not come to bed with us everynight, nowhere near that. But as a first time parent you begin to question yourself and your choices. My sister has 3 children between 4 and 7. I feel out her thoughts on the issue, as she puts it, 'You gotta survive!' Her kids didn't turn out bad. I dunno.
All day, Mook is not herself. More upset than usual. I guess so with that little sleep. We give her fresh air, food, bottle, whatever to keep her happy. Nap time, 1pm, we figure a good 2 hrs coming our way. 30 minutes later, nap over. Way too short. Besides drugging them or adding alcohol to their bottle, how can we get her to sleep more?
She gets more fussy. I go outside and present my conundrum to my neighbour over coffee. He has two boys under 4. As I make my way back inside, Mook is asleep in mom's arm. Mom changes her spongy diaper, she awakes. A soother keeps her calm. Upstairs we go, she is up. That is it, off we go for a ride. As I carry her downstairs, dad decides to get his stunt double and fall down two steps with Mook in my arm. A scraped knee on my behalf and a spooked baby. We're ok. As mom and daughter go to Nana's, she is good. Surprisingly, no car nap on the way over. They shop, Mackenzie is a ham as usual. 6pm, on the way home from Nana's, cell phone rings, Mackenzie is not happy again. This time, she passes out on the car before home. To wake her up, or let her sleep, that is the question? I have not heard back yet, so I have no clue what is going on.
Just when you think you have a system, it's gone. Just when you get used to a new routine, you lose it. too bad there are no books on this stuff. Wait a minute, there are. They lie. Life is not a text book. So, in the meantime, we'll hang in there. It can only get better. It has too. What's a little yawning every day? I have gotten used to forgetting everything, not being able to remember is pretty much the same thing. Besides, after awhile, you sort of get used to feeling like dirt so it becomes the norm. As my father once told me, once you decide there is no such thing as a bad cup of coffee, it all tastes good whether or not it is Tim's finest, or a cup of mud, it all tastes good to me. I guess its all about attitude.
So, Wednesday, my little Mookie should have some good naps based on last nights performance. Morning nap, 1/2 an hour. Hmmmm....Afternoon nap, another 1/2 hour. What is with this kid?
Wednesday night, Mackenzie goes to bed as usual. She was a happy girl all day, don't get me wrong. However, tonight would be different. Out like a light. Thursday morning, mom and dad awake. What happenned? Is she still alive, breathing? Voila, sleeps through the night. A solid 11.5 hrs. Yay! We feel human again.
So, based on that, we're off to a good start for the day. Sure enough, Mackenzie decides on skipping her morning nap. No problem we figure. We're told at this age they may start to get out of two naps and convert to one daytime nap. Noon, the nap begins. To our surprise, only an hour. Regardless, she is still happy. Bedtime, out like a light. This is where it gets a little foggy. I am sure we were up, played musical beds, and she didn't get full nights sleep. Danielle must have dealt with most of it. Thanks hun.
Friday, mom and daughter are tired. They nap in mom and dad's bed. 2 hrs, 15 minutes later, they get up. It's just after noon. That is what I call a nap. Mom is better, baby is better. Friday night, just like clockwork, up at 11pm.
dad gets home from work, Mackenzie is with mom. Asleep in bed. That's ok, she is teething, and everytime we get close to her crib, she wakes up. Go figure. I leave them be. 3:30 am, crying, I get up, meet them at the change table. Another messy diaper. They have been messy this week, and happening often. Fresh bum, dad takes over, mom goes to the room where dad was. Dad tries to settle her down. She decides to have a conversation with me. Try the bottle, not interested. She is happy, which is good. One problem, it 4:15 am! Time for sleep, not party. I lay there with her, time to sit up she says. I say, time for another bottle. Not an oz into her, out again. We go upstairs, cribtonyte, Back into dad's room. She is asleep again. Yay. It is 5am, I make a succesful transfer into her crib. I go get a drink downstairs, make my way back to bed. I finally get back to the verge of sleep, 5:45 am, wailing. This is too much. I will try and preserve some sort of a nights sleep for mom. I go get her, into bed with dad. She wedges her little body in between me and the pillows, asleep. I am too pooped to move her. Therefore, I only get a light sleep for fear of smothering her. Somehow, 8am shows up, mom awakes, plucks her from bed and they go downstairs. Dad gets back to sleep for 2 more hours. I awake, analayze the night, shrug my shoulders. She is a baby, she is teething, it must hurt. Or, do we comfort her too much, too soon? She does not come to bed with us everynight, nowhere near that. But as a first time parent you begin to question yourself and your choices. My sister has 3 children between 4 and 7. I feel out her thoughts on the issue, as she puts it, 'You gotta survive!' Her kids didn't turn out bad. I dunno.
All day, Mook is not herself. More upset than usual. I guess so with that little sleep. We give her fresh air, food, bottle, whatever to keep her happy. Nap time, 1pm, we figure a good 2 hrs coming our way. 30 minutes later, nap over. Way too short. Besides drugging them or adding alcohol to their bottle, how can we get her to sleep more?
She gets more fussy. I go outside and present my conundrum to my neighbour over coffee. He has two boys under 4. As I make my way back inside, Mook is asleep in mom's arm. Mom changes her spongy diaper, she awakes. A soother keeps her calm. Upstairs we go, she is up. That is it, off we go for a ride. As I carry her downstairs, dad decides to get his stunt double and fall down two steps with Mook in my arm. A scraped knee on my behalf and a spooked baby. We're ok. As mom and daughter go to Nana's, she is good. Surprisingly, no car nap on the way over. They shop, Mackenzie is a ham as usual. 6pm, on the way home from Nana's, cell phone rings, Mackenzie is not happy again. This time, she passes out on the car before home. To wake her up, or let her sleep, that is the question? I have not heard back yet, so I have no clue what is going on.
Just when you think you have a system, it's gone. Just when you get used to a new routine, you lose it. too bad there are no books on this stuff. Wait a minute, there are. They lie. Life is not a text book. So, in the meantime, we'll hang in there. It can only get better. It has too. What's a little yawning every day? I have gotten used to forgetting everything, not being able to remember is pretty much the same thing. Besides, after awhile, you sort of get used to feeling like dirt so it becomes the norm. As my father once told me, once you decide there is no such thing as a bad cup of coffee, it all tastes good whether or not it is Tim's finest, or a cup of mud, it all tastes good to me. I guess its all about attitude.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
So much for daily posts....
Well, to my loyal readers, I think that list includes only me. Regardless, the responsibilities of a new parent never end. I try to balance my life to have a little bit of time for everything I want to do, if that were the case, I would not sleep. So as a result, daily turns into sometimes yearly. Someday soon, I will post some more photographs.
Since my last post, Mackenzie has five words, mama, dada, nana, papa, and bubba (bottle). The problem is, she has had these same words for 3 months now. Maybe she will need to go to a special school after all. Regardless, last week was a momentus week at Westminster Ave. Mackenzie cut her first tooth. Mackenzie has now decided to pull her self up to a standing position on anything she can. Also, she now has realized, she can crawl. Only far enough to get whatever is in front of her. After that, she gives up. I guess once she understands the concept of being in the other room, vs disappearing act, then she may stop getting frustrated and continue to crawl. In the meantime, I have another week before I need to install the baby gate. Last, but most importantly not least, until I screwed it up last night, we were blessed with 3 consecutive sleeps through the night. Good sleep makes a world of difference. I have been more fortunate then Danielle in this aspect. Thanks again honey. However, once your spouse starts getting good sleep, voila, life is good again. So, now that I am back at work and Danielle is in charge again, 2 good things will come out of this. Mackenzie's routine will be more regimented and hopefully more sleeps through the night, and secondly, at least it won't be my fault if she doesn't.
P.S. It looks like our weight loss program is about to start. A walking and crawling child will enhance our mobility, and activity level, for the next few years. Might be time to adjust her bedtime 1 hour earlier.
Since my last post, Mackenzie has five words, mama, dada, nana, papa, and bubba (bottle). The problem is, she has had these same words for 3 months now. Maybe she will need to go to a special school after all. Regardless, last week was a momentus week at Westminster Ave. Mackenzie cut her first tooth. Mackenzie has now decided to pull her self up to a standing position on anything she can. Also, she now has realized, she can crawl. Only far enough to get whatever is in front of her. After that, she gives up. I guess once she understands the concept of being in the other room, vs disappearing act, then she may stop getting frustrated and continue to crawl. In the meantime, I have another week before I need to install the baby gate. Last, but most importantly not least, until I screwed it up last night, we were blessed with 3 consecutive sleeps through the night. Good sleep makes a world of difference. I have been more fortunate then Danielle in this aspect. Thanks again honey. However, once your spouse starts getting good sleep, voila, life is good again. So, now that I am back at work and Danielle is in charge again, 2 good things will come out of this. Mackenzie's routine will be more regimented and hopefully more sleeps through the night, and secondly, at least it won't be my fault if she doesn't.
P.S. It looks like our weight loss program is about to start. A walking and crawling child will enhance our mobility, and activity level, for the next few years. Might be time to adjust her bedtime 1 hour earlier.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Growing up so fast.
Already, we have done many things. One thing we decided, was to not limit what we do because we have a baby. Some people want a break, some want a family. For the time being, we do it all as a family. We are going to Mexico in January, so, we thought we'd get some practice swimming.
Likewise, get ready to have those comebacks for the little guys on the beach eyeing her up.
Mackenzie actually has a couple of potential boyfriends, James Kowalewski, who is 10 months older.
And Colby Bennett, who has only got 4 months on her.
Not to mention Riley next door, who has 6 months on her, picture to come, and Owen, or is it Nolan, up the street, who Mackenzie has 2 months on. Regardless, I'll really start to worry in about 15 years. For some reason, she thinks she's that age already.
Likewise, get ready to have those comebacks for the little guys on the beach eyeing her up.
Mackenzie actually has a couple of potential boyfriends, James Kowalewski, who is 10 months older.
And Colby Bennett, who has only got 4 months on her.
Not to mention Riley next door, who has 6 months on her, picture to come, and Owen, or is it Nolan, up the street, who Mackenzie has 2 months on. Regardless, I'll really start to worry in about 15 years. For some reason, she thinks she's that age already.
Happy Birthday!...well, sort of...
Every day in the first year, I find you are always looking for a reason to celebrate. So, on the eve of her 7 month birthday, I thought it would be fitting to make another post. Alot has happened, and it seems to happen faster. Mackenize is now a master of her hands and can use her soother at will. As you can see, we have started on solid food now...
most of it gets in her mouth.
We had some company recently, Aunt Clara from down home.
For those of you not familiar with the term 'down home', that translates to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Danielle's parents are from there. Above and below is her dad with Aunt Clara
and her mother, with Mackenzie, otherwise known as Nana, and Papa.
Speak of the devil, guess who just showed up :) Gotta run.
most of it gets in her mouth.
We had some company recently, Aunt Clara from down home.
For those of you not familiar with the term 'down home', that translates to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Danielle's parents are from there. Above and below is her dad with Aunt Clara
and her mother, with Mackenzie, otherwise known as Nana, and Papa.
Speak of the devil, guess who just showed up :) Gotta run.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Ups and Downs of Parenting...
Today Mackenzie got another shot. She is pretty good getting a needle. At first it made us cringe...but now, it's just another thing. I found out that the doctor doesn't like the way her feet are looking. So, we will be referred to a specialist. Amazing what goes through ones mind. Worst case scenario's of surgery and more pain. Hopefully everything will be fine. I like to keep more positive memories...like having my first nap with Mackenzie in the hospital.
Or watching the amazing bond between mother and daughter.
Watching her laugh and smile for one of the first times.
Watching her reaction to discovering herself
Or seeing her grow up and be a teenager
Oh...wait...she is not a teen yet...hopefully she'll be a little bigger.
Or watching the amazing bond between mother and daughter.
Watching her laugh and smile for one of the first times.
Watching her reaction to discovering herself
Or seeing her grow up and be a teenager
Oh...wait...she is not a teen yet...hopefully she'll be a little bigger.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Our house, is a very very fine house...
With two cats that will soon be in the yard...if you ever heard the song by CSNY that might mean something. Not only are we new parents, we are also new homeowners. On September 23, 2004 we bought our first house. In polite terms, it will be a fixer upper for us. The previous owners neglected it, along with the owners before that, and the ones before that. It was a wonderful couple of weeks, repainting the house to get ready to repaint. Removing a bit of history from the basement, shag rugs, panelling...the basement itself. Now that summer is here, we are trying to clean up the yard. Hopefully next year, the fruits of our labour will start to show. Here is a picture of our house.
We love our neighbourhood, and our neighbours are great. Hopefully we will be here for a long long time. Enough time for Danielle to get that pool I promised her.
We love our neighbourhood, and our neighbours are great. Hopefully we will be here for a long long time. Enough time for Danielle to get that pool I promised her.
Day 1...Actually Day 150
This blog is dedicated to our daughter Mackenzie. She is 5 months old as of yesterday. She was born December 28, 2004 at 9am. She was 8lbs, 7.5 ozs. Hopefully this will still be here one day and become a family history diary. Now if I can only teach my wife, Danielle to use this. :)
Here is a picture of her at 3 weeks old.
Here is a picture of her at 3 weeks old.
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