Jenn and I have a baby girl! Her name is Mia Magdalena Umali, and she was born Wednesday, March 28, 2001. This is our first baby. And this blog will be a daily record of my thoughts during her first year growing up with us.
This page only shows one week's entries. To see older entries, access the archives.
I also have plenty of pictures of Mia.
Rick's Ramblings BLOG is still being updated.
More Rick Umali web sites at:
Lycos Tripod
The World
My Tech Blog
My Own Domain
Email: rickumali@gmail.com
Friday, April 06, 2001
My mother-in-law visited us for the past few days. She left this morning, and already we're sorry to see her go. She was a welcome help, making meals, helping us with laundry, and holding the baby so Jenn and I could do things.In a time not too long ago, families lived near one another, so that this help network could flourish. Jenn's mother lives two hours away. My own mom lives five hours away. I know that I wish both were closer.
posted by Rick Umali 11:06 PM
Thursday, April 05, 2001
Where do the days go?I can't exaggerate the nature of sleepless nights. Two days ago, Mia let Jenn and I sleep for almost five hours. We were scared when we awoke at 6AM, after a 12:30AM feeding. Did we somehow miss her crying? Not likely.
Our typical routine is to feed Mia at 11:00PM-ish, then again at 1:30AM-ish, and once more at 3:00AM, before we hit daylight. Each feeding brings about a spell of fussiness, a diaper change, and continuing sleep deprivation for yours truly, as I try to calm Mia down. I joke that I've learned to get to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep in less than five minutes.
Our emotions ride a roller coaster during these late night feedings. They range from a deep feeling of contentedness, to resentment. I find myself apologizing to our baby in the morning, for the negative thoughts from the night before. And as I write this, she's only eight days old!
I know that someday I'll look back on this time as the best of times. I suppose that's the purpose of this BLOG.
posted by Rick Umali 12:13 PM
Monday, April 02, 2001
This morning, at around 1AM, I plugged in and positioned an Oregon Scientific Projection Clock in the baby's room. This way, when Jenn and I are in the room late at night, or early in the morning hours, we only have to look for the time on the ceiling, in gentle LED light. It's a gorgeous gadget! Another cool feature: it sets the time for itself by using a radio reception from the U.S. Atomic Clock. There are other clocks like it, and I recommend it for any baby room.
posted by Rick Umali 8:48 AM
Sunday, April 01, 2001
There is no time management with a newborn. Our timetables have been turned upside-down, as Mia decides for us when to be awake, and when to sleep. Someone said to me "learn the value of power-naps". Yes.I had meant this BLOG to have 'more stuff', but for now, it represents the times that I can break away from my duties in helping Mia and Mom.
posted by Rick Umali 3:11 PM