Thursday, August 30, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Happy 60th Birthday Mom!
Below is a picture I came across at mommy's house. I love finding pics of my parents from back in the day and this one especially because I've never seen it. There's nothing like going through old albums of my childhood, turning the thick pages as they squeak because they havent been opened in so long, and peeling back that clear sheet of sticky plastic that holds the pictures in place. In this digital age, hard copy photo albums to kids today are like 8-track players to me when I was younger. From the look of each picture, it's so easy to tell when it was shot. And it's funny that we apply the same Instagram filters to achieve these same effects that I find in every picture. I guess that's why Instagram is so popular. We all have that inherent need to reminisce and think of old times that made us smile. This picture here makes me smile for a number of reasons. I love seeing mom and dad together in pictures when they were younger. They loved dressing up and dressing us up too. It's funny that I've never EVER seen my parents in a pair of jeans. Crazy talk right? What's also great about this picture is the background. This was taken in our old apartment on Baldwin ave. Behind them on the wall is our family portrait taken when I was about 3 or 4 and mommy still has that hanging on her wall today. I also see our old TV with that antenna and our stereo on the left. I remember spending so many hours in front of our old stereo recording hip hop off the radio onto cassette tapes when we moved to Seaview. Of course, my sister Meera did this all the time in our room using her black double decker radio and I wanted to be like her, so I did the same! Hahaha definitely good ol days.
Growing up as the youngest, only son, ive definitely been the momma's boy. I don't think I was ever really spoiled and neither were my sisters but I was definitely attached to her when I was younger. I remember taking the bus every morning with her to Bergen School and we would play a hand-clapping game and she would let me pull the string to ring the bell which was the signal for the driver to stop the bus. Those were some beautiful times that pictures wouldn't even do it justice.
Anyway, I just want to wish my mom a very happy birthday and her grandsons love her very much!
Growing up as the youngest, only son, ive definitely been the momma's boy. I don't think I was ever really spoiled and neither were my sisters but I was definitely attached to her when I was younger. I remember taking the bus every morning with her to Bergen School and we would play a hand-clapping game and she would let me pull the string to ring the bell which was the signal for the driver to stop the bus. Those were some beautiful times that pictures wouldn't even do it justice.
Anyway, I just want to wish my mom a very happy birthday and her grandsons love her very much!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Bonding with Jericho
The last 2 weeks, me and Lisa found that one of us taking care of both babies at night is really rough especially when their feeding schedule is so close. When they first came home, we both would try to do that so the other can get some sleep but were always unsuccessful. I would usually end up waking Lisa anyway because I would get peed on and would freak out. (now I've become a pro at changing them...sorta) So after we decided to assign one kid to each of us, Lisa always wound up with Jericho mainly cuz he poops a lot more and I hate changing poop (cuz I always get peed on cuz I take a long time cleaning his little butt). And Lisa said I have better luck feeding Gray aka the spit-up king. Gray would actually sleep more throughout the night...which was a plus for me! But I would always stay awake longer after feeding him to keep him elevated and make sure he doesn't spit up. I've heard stories of babies choking on their spit up and it really freaked me out...those stories I read on baby center aka the site with all the crazy bitches sharing every story of their "LO" (Little One - shorthand on the site which took me like 20min to decipher.) anyway, so where was I? I'm blogging on my phone while Gray takes a nap on my lap btw...so a few nights ago, we switched babies and I took care of Jericho. Everything went smoothly up until 4am where he had a bottle and actually went straight to sleep. And then he woke up 1.5 hours later, changed him cuz he was wet and of course he pees as I change him so wardrobe change #1 happens. Feed him again, he poops a big one, clean him up, doesn't go to sleep, fusses about an hour later so I change him because he's wet and he starts to poop again. Grossed out, I handle it in stride and didn't wake lissy. Wardrobe change #2, I feed him again and he sleeps for about an hour. I drink some tea and eat a doughnut. (in the midst of this, Gray is fast asleep) its now 9am and I go downstairs to feed him again and watch some television. I snap some pics, cuddle with the little guy as he plays on his tummy on my chest and feel great that I handled all that by myself without bothering Lisa. I've definitely come a long way and can't wait to spend more time with both my boys.
Monday, August 13, 2012
6 Weeks
Jericho and Grayson are now 6 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday we took them home from the hospital. Time really flew by...I actually go back to work next Monday and I know it's gonna be so hard to leave them. Right now the boys are being fed 3 times at night. Usually around midnight, 3:30am and 6:30am. Give or take an hour for each feeding, but that's pretty much the gist of how our nights go.
The formula situation has been the most stressful part for us. Grayson has been the more difficult baby. He has acid reflux and after unsuccessfully changing formulas to stop/ease it, we had no choice but to put the poor guy on meds. He's taking Zantac twice a day and I think it's helping. He's still spitting up after his meals but he's no longer in pain which is great. We switched his formula back to Enfamil AR which is a thicker rice-based formula which is specifically meant for spitting up but this kid still spits up like an hour after being fed and elevated. We're not really sure what to try next but we're gonna stick with this formula for the next few weeks until our next doctor appointment. Not sure if he's spitting up because he's being fed too much [3oz for a 6 week old baby sounds right, right?] or maybe he doesn't like the kind of milk? He's on a preemie nipple so the flow is just right for him so we know its not that. The good part is that he's keeping down more than he's spitting up.
Jericho is on Enfamil Gentlease and he's been handling it well. He poops a lot from it but of course, we google it to make sure that's normal and all the forums on BabyCenter have said it's fine. Grayson is still the heavier bigger baby weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and Jericho isn't too far behind at 6lbs 6oz. Jericho actually fills in his carseat much better now than when we first brought him home and he's got some more meat on his bones.
Lately the past couple of nights, Lisa and I have split the parental duties per kid. I would handle everything for Gray and she would take care of Jericho. This has worked out great because the boys are on different schedules now, maybe an hour apart and this way, we can each get in more sleep. We get about 4 hours of sleep per day...on good days, we'll even remember to take a shower and eat...We've been sleeping in the living room the last few weeks because its just been more convenient in terms of bottle preparing. Most of our sleeping "gadgets" are downstairs too like our bouncer seats and swing. Grayson loves the swing and can fall asleep within minutes but Jericho hates it, probably because he's still a little guy and doesn't really fit into it properly.
I just got word that the new TV for our LR has shipped and will be here by Wednesday woohoo!! Cant wait!
The formula situation has been the most stressful part for us. Grayson has been the more difficult baby. He has acid reflux and after unsuccessfully changing formulas to stop/ease it, we had no choice but to put the poor guy on meds. He's taking Zantac twice a day and I think it's helping. He's still spitting up after his meals but he's no longer in pain which is great. We switched his formula back to Enfamil AR which is a thicker rice-based formula which is specifically meant for spitting up but this kid still spits up like an hour after being fed and elevated. We're not really sure what to try next but we're gonna stick with this formula for the next few weeks until our next doctor appointment. Not sure if he's spitting up because he's being fed too much [3oz for a 6 week old baby sounds right, right?] or maybe he doesn't like the kind of milk? He's on a preemie nipple so the flow is just right for him so we know its not that. The good part is that he's keeping down more than he's spitting up.
Jericho is on Enfamil Gentlease and he's been handling it well. He poops a lot from it but of course, we google it to make sure that's normal and all the forums on BabyCenter have said it's fine. Grayson is still the heavier bigger baby weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and Jericho isn't too far behind at 6lbs 6oz. Jericho actually fills in his carseat much better now than when we first brought him home and he's got some more meat on his bones.
Lately the past couple of nights, Lisa and I have split the parental duties per kid. I would handle everything for Gray and she would take care of Jericho. This has worked out great because the boys are on different schedules now, maybe an hour apart and this way, we can each get in more sleep. We get about 4 hours of sleep per day...on good days, we'll even remember to take a shower and eat...We've been sleeping in the living room the last few weeks because its just been more convenient in terms of bottle preparing. Most of our sleeping "gadgets" are downstairs too like our bouncer seats and swing. Grayson loves the swing and can fall asleep within minutes but Jericho hates it, probably because he's still a little guy and doesn't really fit into it properly.
I just got word that the new TV for our LR has shipped and will be here by Wednesday woohoo!! Cant wait!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
So Many Changes
This last month has been crazy to say the least. Crazy in every sense of the word. I wrote up this long summary of the day the boys were born but I never got a chance to finish it and I have since lost interest in describing what I felt on that wonderful day. Since then, the boys have been home and things have been quite a learning experience. I've learned about their different types of cries, different types of formula, different positions to hold them to get a burp out...but that first week for me was very hard. Changing them for the first few times at home was tough for me because they would be screaming their little heads off while I cleaned them. (they still do that btw) and then they would pee on me and I would freak out and get frazzled. And then I would get emotional when I would see their little tears because i would think i wasnt doing a good job. But Lisa has been there to help me out and encourage me to remain calm. And also teach me a few things about soothing them. That's probably been the biggest change for me...turning into a "dad".
I love watching them sleep, seeing their funny facial reactions. Sometimes they laugh out loud too which my sister has said when they do that, the angels are playing with them. I've always felt like my dad has been my guardian angel since he passed and its comforting to think he's playing with them in their little dreams. I know he's watching over all of us.
I love sneaking in kisses when they're fidgeting for a bottle. I actually had to shave off my stache cuz Lisa claims its irrititating their skin. But I don't believe it. Isnt it just baby acne?! Either way, I'm never gonna stop kissing them while they're this little because I will never get this time back with them. Each day goes by and they get bigger and bigger and they will soon not want to cuddle at all once they start crawling around.
Our house has also changed since they have arrived. Baby stuff is everywhere! We actually bought new couches because our sectional just wasn't cutting it anymore. And of course the day we bought the couch our living room TV broke! Yes ive been dying to get a new TV for a few years now but the timing was just so funny. We got a leather sofa and loveseat this time so we have more room down here. And I just ordered a new plasma from amazon which I can't wait to set up.
This parenting stuff is hard work. I may be sleep deprived but there's nothing more rewarding than spending time with Lisa and our sons especially this early in the game. That father-son bond is growing each day and I love it.
Can't wait to share some more thoughts with all of you. Below are a few pics of our sweet little guys and also our new Living Room set! (we ran out of bibs yesterday and had to do a wash so yeah, pink was all we had hahaha)
I love watching them sleep, seeing their funny facial reactions. Sometimes they laugh out loud too which my sister has said when they do that, the angels are playing with them. I've always felt like my dad has been my guardian angel since he passed and its comforting to think he's playing with them in their little dreams. I know he's watching over all of us.
I love sneaking in kisses when they're fidgeting for a bottle. I actually had to shave off my stache cuz Lisa claims its irrititating their skin. But I don't believe it. Isnt it just baby acne?! Either way, I'm never gonna stop kissing them while they're this little because I will never get this time back with them. Each day goes by and they get bigger and bigger and they will soon not want to cuddle at all once they start crawling around.
Our house has also changed since they have arrived. Baby stuff is everywhere! We actually bought new couches because our sectional just wasn't cutting it anymore. And of course the day we bought the couch our living room TV broke! Yes ive been dying to get a new TV for a few years now but the timing was just so funny. We got a leather sofa and loveseat this time so we have more room down here. And I just ordered a new plasma from amazon which I can't wait to set up.
This parenting stuff is hard work. I may be sleep deprived but there's nothing more rewarding than spending time with Lisa and our sons especially this early in the game. That father-son bond is growing each day and I love it.
Can't wait to share some more thoughts with all of you. Below are a few pics of our sweet little guys and also our new Living Room set! (we ran out of bibs yesterday and had to do a wash so yeah, pink was all we had hahaha)
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