Saturday, June 16, 2001

Mia cried for almost thirty minutes this afternoon. It was a frustrated cry. I changed her, and tried to give her the bottle. She kept crying. Jenn woke from her nap, and after more crying from Mia, Jenn calmed her down by burping her. Eventually, Mia fell asleep on Jenn's shoulder. Mia took a good long nap, and Jenn fed her afterwards.
posted by Rick Umali 11:40 PM

Friday, June 15, 2001

Jenn received terrific news today: We've moved to the top of the waiting list for day-care! Jenn and I looked at two day-care places in our town, and humbly put ourselves on their waiting lists. We feared that neither place would take us until at least the Fall, but now that we have day-care, Jenn can get back to working in her office as early as late July!

This is tremendous news, especially since I start a new job this Monday (June 18), and I won't be home all day. The next steps involve deciding which two days for day-care, working out payment terms, and figuring out the routine. It's an exciting step for Jenn and I, which I'll be sure to document here.
posted by Rick Umali 10:05 PM

Today, I opened a tomorrow's scholar college savings plan. It's a Section 529 savings plan ("qualified State tuition program"). There are numerous methods for saving money for college, but the Section 529 plan seems to be the best. The details are numerous, but the main benefit: tax-free withdrawals of the money that grows in a Section 529 plan. It's very hard to beat tax-free withdrawals.

Our financial advisor, who met with us on May 18 about saving for college, helped with the application process.
posted by Rick Umali 9:48 PM

We started using a larger sized nipple on Mia's bottles. One should pay attention to the size on a bottle's nipple. When Mia started with the bottle a few days ago, it took almost thirty minutes to feed her. Jenn bought slow flow nipples, which are one step above 'newborn' nipples, and our feedings from the bottle go much faster.
posted by Rick Umali 9:39 PM

Thursday, June 14, 2001

Yesterday, on Oprah, I watched a terrific show about stay-at-home dads. I must tip my hat off to these fine gentlemen.

In particular, I was greatly moved by the story of Huygen, the father of a boy who cannot be left alone, because of a genetic disorder. The sheer patience of this man instantly inspired me. ("Sometimes, I find myself driving in silence.") He vowed to give love to his boy for the things that he can do, and not focus on the things the boy cannot do. He told Oprah that he always writes one thing positive about each of his children in a journal.

I don't spend much time rereading my BLOG, but I do know that I've been impatient whenever Mia "doesn't" do something. After watching Huygen's story on Oprah, I'm amazed at how selfish I seem to be. Can I learn from this story? Yes. I can learn to stop, and be more patient.
posted by Rick Umali 10:20 PM

We put Mia to bed a little before 9PM. We'll see how this goes.
posted by Rick Umali 10:10 PM

I brought Mia to my old office, to say hello to some work colleagues. It was a lot of fun, showing Mia to nice people. She was 'good' (i.e. she didn't have a crying fit). A few of the women held her. I really enjoy watching other people hold Mia. Most of the men touched her feet, or hands.

One of the guys said to me that his wife was pregnant, and I had to bite my tongue on all the advice that wanted to pour out of me. In the end, all I mentioned was 'be prepared for great change', and 'it's never too early to look at day-care'.
posted by Rick Umali 10:10 PM

Wednesday, June 13, 2001

Jenn and I were perusing BabyCenter's sleeping guides, and we may have been keeping Mia up too late. Normally, after 7PM, we keep Mia up with us, until 10PM, when we put her to bed. After reading suggestions for healthy sleeping habits, we're going to try to put Mia to bed earlier.

Mia will still wake at night: she needs to eat and be changed. But we're going to try to get her to sleep earlier.
posted by Rick Umali 10:26 PM

Tuesday, June 12, 2001

Last night, Mia woke up twice: 2AM and 5AM. Sigh.

We did enjoy watching her play with her mobile today. She is starting to bat at the hanging objects. We also see her making an effort to 'grab' these objects. It's amazing how much they have to learn!

Mia also enjoyed the company of her grandfather (Jenn's father) today. He held her, and fed her from the six ounce bottle.
posted by Rick Umali 11:02 PM

Monday, June 11, 2001

Mia joined Mom and Dad for dinner tonight. We bought her a high chair. She doesn't eat with us, but she can at least see what we're doing. She stares at us when we're eating, and occasionally she mimics our chewing. Before, we used to sit her down in a chair below table height, and she would stare up at us. Now she can see what we're doing.
posted by Rick Umali 10:02 PM

Sunday, June 10, 2001

In a recent post, I said that Mia is up to two bottles of formula per day. Of course, that's in addition to Jenn nursing her.

This evening, Mia drank her entire four ounce bottle of formula, and was fussy for more. Jenn mixed two more ounces of formula, and Mia drank it all. We think Mia's in a growth spurt. We weighed her, and she was 11 pounds, and 8 ounces.
posted by Rick Umali 10:50 PM

Mia is starting to 'play' more. We have a Tiny Love Activity Mat. Before, Mia would lie on the mat quietly. Now, she is starting to actively look at the mobiles, and flail away at the objects that dangle in front of her. We've also noticed that she's starting to 'grab' things 'involuntarily'.
posted by Rick Umali 5:39 PM

Mia is up to two bottles of formula per day. Jenn said that we may need to start using larger bottles (we use four ounce bottles now).
posted by Rick Umali 5:34 PM