Baby Burrito

Here's a series of photos I took while Samantha was swaddled. She totally looked like a burrito....aaay caramba!

Babies love being swaddled (at least most of the time), and this study from the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrate that; click here for the article.

Study discussion excerpt:

"The study showed that, when infants between 6 and 16 weeks of age sleep swaddled and supine, they sleep longer, spend more time in NREM sleep, and awake less spontaneously than when not swaddled. These findings are reminiscent of previous reports of an increase in sleep continuity among swaddled infants. These observations have been attributed to the motor restraint imposed by swaddling. This motor restriction could reduce the proprioceptive stimulation to the reticular activating system and hence the frequency of spontaneous behavioral arousals"

While a swaddled baby would eventually love the "restrained" feeling, it is sometimes a battle to get these little ones to stay still in order to get that swaddle on. In fact, Kristen would do "Houdini's" and escape from swaddles however tight they are applied.

Here's a interesting "How to video". I'm not sure how they got that baby to stay still but it looks like they gave him some sedatives :)

Mobile Mania

These photos were taken when she was 10 days old. Now while most books say infants do not visually track objects until they are at least 1 month old, some studies suggest newborn infants can actually perform visual tracking as long as the object being tracked has high contrast AND there is some sustained attention (here's an interesting article).

Speaking of high-contrast, we like this very simple mobile (Stim-Mobile); it's classic and has received awards. Check out these photographs and see how Samantha reacts to these simple mobile images.

Funky Childhood Nostalgia, Part I

Mana Mana - from The Muppets



All this baby talk throws me back to my own childhood growing up in the 70's. In my opinion, children's TV was at its prime back then (of course I'm biased --- what is up with today's shows like Teletubbies and that giant singing purple lizard, Barney?!).

I remember how funky the shows were. I just loved watching Sesame Street and The Electric Company (Rita Moreno in an afro -- you gotta love it). Take this clip from The Muppets, called "Mana Mana". All non-sense, but all funky! What the heck is a "Mana Mana"? The question is who cares?!

Faces

Samantha usually freaks out when here diaper is being changed (read = very loud cry). In this series of photos, though, she seems to enjoy her bottom being wiped (I would too!).

Burp time

Ok...I really thought burping a baby was pretty simple. I guess it is after a few tries but it just seems precarious whenever the baby hangs over my shoulder. At the hospital when Samantha was born, the nurses mostly advocated the "bulldoggy burp" method (www.ehow.com/how_51_burp-baby.html). I actually like this method since it's simpler and you can keep an eye on the baby while she's sitting on your lap. So far, though, the over-the-shoulder method (tried and tested by moms everywhere) seems to work best. The bottomline is you have to try all methods to get that gas out.

If I could only sing...

...and play the guitar, I would sing this song to my wife and daughter.




"Sunshine (I Can Fly) - Live" by Raul Midon

What's a cross between Stevie Wonder and Jose Feliciano? This amazing musician, Raul Midon (www.raulmidon.com). Born blind, check out how talented this musician based in New York plays his guitar like making love to a woman. Amazing! The song plays in my mind at work and makes me think of Kristen and Karen....

Sunshine

by Raul Midon (2005)

Sunshine when you're with me I can fly
Sunshine when you're with me I can fly

Every day I wonder why
Peace on earth's so hard to find
Real peace begins inside
In our hearts and in our minds
Hearts and minds begin to see
That one and all means you and me
And what we know can set us free
Rearrange reality

Reality is what we know
We can change a river's flow
Plant a seed, watch it grow
Build a shelter, build a home
Home is where my heart will stay
Even when I'm far away
Makes no difference what they say
As long as you will be my sunshine

Sunshine when you're with me I can fly
Sunshine when you're with me I can fly

When I'm feeling sad and low
And I'm not sure where to go
And all the good times that I've known
Have gone and left me all alone
All alone I'll never be
Long as you are here with me
You're in everything I see
And everything I'm doing
All I do I do for you
You're my sun, you're my moon
Every lazy afternoon
You're my inspiration
Inspiration lights the way
Brings a sparkle to each day
Makes the dark clouds go away
Let us let the children play

Sunshine when you're with me I can fly
Sunshine when you're with me I can fly
Music is the reason why
People laugh people cry
Sing and dance and clap their hands
It's how the whole world understands
Understands that we are one
Makes no difference what you've done
Or where you live under the sun

We are only human
Only human yes it's true
Still the mystery is you
And the sky so clear and blue
Makes every day feel so brand new
Brand new day throughout the world
For all the little boys and girls
If everybody lends a hand
We can live together!

Sunshine when you're with me I can fly
Sunshine when you're with me I can fly

Blood, Sweat & Tears --- and Pumped Milk

NOVEMBER 7, 2006 - I got to hand it to Karen: she's been great just staying up, breastfeeding and pumping milk to make sure the baby's got the supply she needs. It's tough but we're determined to get the pounds (our ounces) on this kid.

Here's a photo of the SNS (supplemental) nurser and bottles of pumped milk with the date and time of extraction. We use this breast pump, which is pretty good (www.medela.com).

This morning the lactation consultant (www.ilca.org/) came to the apartment for a personal visit. She brought in her own scale, pictured here with Kristen trying it out. Our goal was to gain some weight before the doctor sees us later that afternoon.

By the time Samantha was weighed in Dr. Gandhi's office, she gained an ounce. This was welcome news and we were quite confident that she'll start gaining weight from now on. We were scheduled to go back for a weight check in 3 days.

First visit to the pediatrician

NOVEMBER 6, 2006 - This is the first day at the pediatrician's office: Cornell Medical Associates (www.cornellphysicians.com/cma/). Dr. Gargi Gandhi (www.cornellphysicians.com/ggandhi/index.html) is our pediatrician and we like the fact that she's young and has a baby of her own; she's pretty good, I think.

Dr. Gandhi wanted Samantha to gain weight quickly so she suggested we contact a lactation consultant to help us out with breastfeeding personally and also asked us to ensure the baby gets about 8-10 feeds per day (every 2-3 hours round the clock). She also asked us to come back for a weight check just to make sure we were in the right direction.

Chillin' at home

NOVEMBER 5, 2006 - I really dig these photos of the baby with Karen while sleeping. Also added some photos of the baby being carried by Ninang Lea.

First day home

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 - It's a New York law to bring an approved car seat to the hospital prior to discharge --- that is of course if you're bringing home your baby in a car. Well, since the hospital is so near we used our nifty green stroller and Samantha had her first whiff of New York City that day. When we got home Tita Linda (Karen's mom's friend) was there to greet us as well as a nice fruit basket from the Concepcions (Mom, Dad, Lea and Ernest).