Our Budding Academic

It seems that Baby Michael is already taking after his daddy: staying up late to work on papers!

Michael, the baby and I had an all-night vigil on Thursday-Friday for Michael's paper. Michael took care of the hard stuff of writing the paper, while I tweaked the Bibliography and made us nachos.

I was expecting the baby to fall asleep while I typed. I wasn't moving around, I was sitting in the chair, but I guess he wanted it to be a family affair and stay up with the rest of us because that baby did not sleep at all!!

He had been awake much of the day, and he usually sleeps at night when I sleep (thankfully!) but last Thursday, was not the case. He was up the whole time!

Finally, when I got around to getting to bed, after many hours of the poor kid being sleep deprived, he went to sleep. What I perceive to be his sleep schedule has been a little off since then. He still sleeps at night but it takes him a bit longer to settle down, and he seems to be much more quiet during the day than before. Normally, I could count on him to be doing something every hour, but now it seems more common that I could go multiple hours without him moving, and then, usually after I eat, he'll stir around.

It was both fun to have him up with us in one sense (he was in solidarity) but after a while, it got kind of distracting. He wasn't just moving in there, he was doing all sorts of acrobatics. It almost seemed like he was bugged with me and was trying to get me to get out of the sitting position so he could sleep. I actually started feeling sorry for the poor kid and that was a primary motivation for leaving when I did. It wasn't just that I was tired, but I felt like i needed to let this poor baby sleep!

Our silly little boy!

The Registry

So, just as I am done organizing and putting stuff away from the wedding registry, it's time to make a new one...where am I going to fit all this stuff?

I went to Babies 'R' Us to set up a registry and found it even more overwhelming than Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was so hard for me to figure out what to put on there. Partly because there is so much stuff, partly because most of it is not just about our tastes, but finding stuff for this other person who I have spent 6 months with but don't know what he'll like or dislike, and partly because it's not just about cost, taste or style, but also about safety for this little guy, it's hard to know what to choose.

I definitely walked away from Babies 'R' Us with a desire to subscribe to Consumer Reports and dig up some safety facts on Car Seats, Play Pens, Strollers, High Chairs, etc.

And once the safety issue is addressed, what about convenience and Mom and Dad approval rating? In high chairs alone, there is such a wide variety of people rating these chairs anywhere from love it to hate it...who do I believe? I want a chair that is nice and not junky, but also one that is easy to clean and comfortable...I want a stroller that is light enough to easily collapse into a car, but durable enough to provide a safe, comfortable ride for the baby, and last for whatever other children God may bless us with.

This is much harder than just choosing what lamp I like best, or china patterns we like!!

On top of it all, many things to register for I know can be found much cheaper at other stores like Costco or Target. Why register for Baby Wipes or diapers at Babies R Us when more could be bought for much much less?

I guess the parenting stuff starts now in putting in the leg work to find the safest stuff for Baby Michael!

One thing I must say being around all that baby stuff is...I can't wait for him to come!!!!

Disneyland and a Roly-Poly Baby

Friday marked baby Michael's first trip to Disneyland! Our friend Hannah came out to visit, so we took her up there and met up with Marita, Noree' and Beau. We had a great time. I was able to go on many of the rides, since they are slow-paced enough, but a few of them I had to sit out under the category of "Expectant mothers should not ride." It's funny how many times I've seen that sign and it never applied to me....and now it does!

I don't think the teacups had that sign, but I was worried that if we went on those, baby Michael would come out cross-eyed, so I stayed off those as well.

It was a fun trip, and I wasn't too tired, but did need to take many sit-down breaks. Standing wasn't nearly as comfortable as walking, and of course sitting was the best. But I don't think I slowed the group down too much.


Baby Michael finally let someone else (other than Daddy) feel him kick! He had been busy much of the day moving and kicking, but finally Noree' and Marita were able to feel him squirming around. He gave Noree' a good-sized punt while Marita got a few little ones. He was slowing down by that point, so they weren't too obvious, unfortunately. I knew he was moving because I could feel him, but they were small enough that it wasn't like "Oh, that's definitely a kick" but rather, "I think I felt him moving." Hopefully next time he'll be even more active.

I can tell you since then, he has been very active, and now I can feel not only kicks and pokes, but he is getting big enough where I can feel him rolling around too. I don't know what body parts, but I'm assuming there is probably some head, knee and shoulder action going on. That's taking some getting used to. I'm feeling something of what I only guess to be fingers or toes, because they are more like little "swipes" and "flutters" than pokes and jabs (I'm still getting lots of those too) but now he's able to brush against the inside and I can feel those little flicks. It's cute, but weird. If my hand is there when he does it, our hands are separated by a very thin wall--which is neat. But it just reminds me that there is a human being swimming around in there, and that is still strange to me.

Double-Date at the Doctors and little Michael's Happy Snack

What's really neat about having the same doctor as my sister is having appointments on the same day, right around the same time!

Without planning it, our appointments were scheduled the same day, 15 minutes from each other, so Kathy, the kids, and I piled into her car and we made a fun day of it. We saved some $$ on parking since we only took one car, and then got to go to lunch together, it was really fun.

I wanted to be of more assistance to her, and watch the boys while she was in her appointment, but the doctor seemed to move pretty fast today, and almost as soon as we got there, I was called in, and shortly thereafter, Kathy was called in for her appointment. I felt bad I couldn't help too much, but we did have a good time at lunch afterwards, and I could do little things, like help get the kids in and out of their carseats (though I feel like a rookie at it!)

I also discovered a delicious snack that is good for me, and makes little Michael jump around like crazy. I can only assume he likes it, but don't really know what he would do if he didn't like it. Anyway, the snack is a helping of cottage cheese and fruit. It is SO tasty!! And since it is lowfat cottage cheese and gets me my dairy and fruit, I feel no guilt upon eating it!

I remember Kathy told me she liked it a lot at the beginning of her pregnancy, and the thought of it just sounded so gross, but I recently went to a coffee shop with someone, and the only thing they had to eat that sounded alright was cottage cheese and fruit. I got it and loved it. I immediately went to the store to get some.

I got a small container, thinking I wouldn't really like too much of it, but in less than a day, have practically finished the whole thing, and now must go get more (plus I have to get more pickles, which satisfies big Michael's sudden onset of craving pickles).

Anyways, within a few minutes of eating it, littl Michael jumps and kicks and does all sorts of crazy movements....it's pretty fun.

So maybe this is craving #2? I hope so! I'm really feeling craving-deprived!!

Playing with the Baby

A few nights ago, little Michael seemed to get really bugged with me!! I laid down to go to bed and gave me two really solid double-footed kicks! I was so startled!! I think because I was laying on my right side, and that's where his head was, he wasn't too keen on being on his head...but I tell you, this little kid is developing some strength in those legs.


Today, little Michael seemed to be in a playful mood. He kept kicking me (way up high, near by ribs!) so I gave him a few pokes and tried to have my hand where he was kicking. So he kicked again, and I would poke at him, trying to touch his foot, and again he would respond. This kept up for about 10 minutes. I know he can't see much in there, and maybe he was just squirming and had no idea what I was doing, but it really felt like he was playing and responding to me.

Now if only I could get him to do that for other people!

Mini St. John the Baptist and the Mama Bear

Maybe this is an indication that we are going to have a VERY special child (we know he's already special, but I mean EXTRA special)...or maybe it was just something I ate.

I went to Mass a few days and it was pretty much business-as-usual. Baby Michael was not too active that day, a few little rumblings here and there, but all-in-all, he was just sleeping a lot, or not moving very much. But when I was kneeling down during Mass, and Fr. Richard lifted up the Eucharist and said "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" little Michael moved....A LOT. This wasn't just a kick or poke, this felt like a full-blown tremor or squirm. I smiled because of course he had impeccable timing and it made me think of John the Baptist leaping at the sound of Mary's voice and the presence of Jesus in her womb. To Michael's credit at not producing much of a leap, and more like a ripple, John the Baptist was six months when he encountered Jesus, and little Michael is only 5 months old...but still. It could have been a coincidence, but it was neat.

As for the mama bear, I think I got my first glimpse at what people mean when they talk about a mama bear's instinct to protect her little cubs. I mean, I've gotten a good glimpse of what a mama bear must be like when she's hibernating, because a few months ago, that's all I could do. But a few days ago, I was walking to the laundry room to take care of some laundry, and a couple was walking ahead of me going to their apartment. They opened their gate and out bolted a huge dog. I don't know what kind...maybe a labrador. It was a big dog, though, easily capable of running me down if it jumped on me.

However, instead of being scared, I just got SUPER defensive. Like, I was SO ready to take on this dog if it came any closer. It was a really weird feeling. I was ready to fight to protect the little one! Fortunately, the owners managed to get a hold of the dog as it darted towards me, and I didn't have to do anything drastic, lucky for the dog!

Toys for Baby Michael

I wanted to post a big thank you to the Barbers for sending a fun baby gift for Michael Jr.! Full of blankets, toys, slippers, and even a rubber ducky! It was tucked inside of a big block with the letter "B" (perfect for the newest member of the Barber family). It's so cute, I almost don't want to open it and see all the goodies inside, but fortunately, I've got a few months to go before he'll be needing anything in there. It will just be hard to not take out the items, fold them, unfold them, and do it all over again. Why do they have to make baby items so darn cute?!

Thank you to all the Barbers! It was very kind of you!

Love,

Kim, Michael, and little Michael.