If you're happy and you know it....

Picture time frame: 07/26/09 to 08/03/09

Dylan loves his feet. When he's happy, he kicks them crazily. When he's sad or angry, he kicks them crazily. Put a toy close to his hand, he will bring his leg up and touch the toy with his foot. Put your hand in front of him, he will smile and kick it with his foot.

The first time I realized that Dylan was intentionally using his feet, I was giving him a diaper change. He was flat on his back on top of the changing table and I was standing next to the changing table. His foot kicked me.

"Oh, was I in your way?" I asked him aloud. I usually engage him in my imaginary conversations as I go about my business. I moved to the side so that he could kick freely, and I continued with the diaper change. He kicked me again.

"Hmmm," I said, and I moved to the side another step, not really thinking twice about my baby's apparent random flailings. He kicked me again.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, realizing that the bottom half of his body was stretched at more than a 90 degree angle to the changing table and his foot was near his head as he was kicking me in the belly. Dylan smiled at me.

We were actually a little concerned about his lack of use of his arms and hands. At one of his checkups, the pediatrician held something in front of his face and asked him, "Do you want to hold this?" She was testing to see if he had cleared the developmental milestone of reaching out with his hands to touch something. Dylan's face lit up in excitement as he lifted his leg up and kicked the item away with his foot. He smiled at her, waiting for her approval. His arms remained at his sides as if they were pinned to his body. I expressed our concern about Dylan's seeming inability to use his arms and hands. She reassured me that he would figure it out in good time.

Eventually, Dylan did find his hands. Or rather, his hands found each other. One hand would creep up onto his chest and reach over to the other side of his body. It would feel around until it found its target. Dylan would grab onto his other hand and lift it up. He would smile at his newly discovered treasure and hold it up to examine it. Then he would look around for someone with whom he could share the thrill of his discovery. He would play this game again and again. He would alternate which hand would be the treasure hunter.

We wouldn't miss this opportunity to take many pictures of Dylan looking so sweet, clasping his hands together next to his chest or chin. So here are a couple.

I would pretend that he was clapping and celebrate, saying, "Yay! You're clapping!" when he clasped his hands together. It's the same game you play when you train your dogs. You take a naturally occuring reaction and repeatedly associate it with a command. Then one day, you reverse the game, and you give the command and see what happens. I play this game, knowing that it will likely come back to haunt me, either by my teenage son one day hating me for it or my friends and family telling exaggerated humiliating stories about me for generations.

The game is really just for my entertainment so I can play it a million times a day, every day, until Dylan has a new discovery. It's a pretend game, so I can also pretend that the results are successful, when he does clasp his hands when I ask him to clap, even though he only does it when he feels like it and he doesn't always do it for everybody else when they ask him to clap.

Once again, I ask Dylan to clap. He stares at me with that stubborn, almost defiant look he sometimes gets. His arms remain at his sides. Both feet slowly rise up into the air. He turns the bottoms of his feet in toward each other, and matches them together. He holds them there. He smiles triumphantly. See? He has already found a new way to play my game. He clasps his feet.

Let the fun begin!

Picture time frame: 07/05/09 to 08/20/09

For the first three months, Dylan was perfectly happy to look at blank walls. They were fascinating to him. The lighter colored and the less textured, the more interesting they were to him. He would choose one and stare at it, unblinkingly, for a disturbingly long period of time.

We took him to Trader Joe's early on in his life. We were eager to see his reaction to the bustling noises and movements of people grocery shopping and the colorful patterns of the cans and boxes on the shelves. As we entered the store, we spoke to him and pointed out people, patterns and things. His eyes became big and round and he looked quickly straight ahead, then turned quickly to the left and right. Slowly, his eyes and head tilted up toward the white drop ceiling. His face immediately lit up in happy amazement. I think he stared in awe at the ceiling for the entire shopping trip.

We would dangle toys over his head using the infant gym. He would quietly lay there, just watching. He would turn his head to look at us, as if to scoff at us and say, "What do you want me to do with that?"

So it was very exciting when he grabbed a toy and his face lit up, as he suddenly realized that it was under his control to make it move and make noise. A couple of the first toys he played with were soft plush toys, that wouldn't hurt him when he quickly kicked it away or flailed his little arms at them. Some were made with various textured fabrics, some jingled when they were moved and some crinkled when they were grabbed by little fingers.

He particularly liked to explore things with his feet. That is how I first discovered that he was playing with his toys intentionally, on his own. I had put him in the infant gym, with noisemaking toys hanging above each foot and above each hand. They were far enough away from him so that he would have to reach out his hand or foot in order to make the toy make noise. The toys were all inherited from older children, both friends and family, who had generously donated toys for Dylan's collection. It was convenient, for the purpose of my little science project, that each toy made a different noise. Occasionally, Dylan would flail an arm or a leg by chance, and one of the toys would make noise. I could tell which limb he flailed by the noise of the toy. I put him in this arrangement for a few minutes every morning. Eventually, he would get tired, bored or hungry, so he would vocalize for me to take him out.

One day, I put him in the infant gym. A minute later, I heard one of the toys sound off with a "ring-ring."

"Oh, great!" I called to Dylan, without even really looking at him, thinking he had randomly flailed yet another time. A few seconds later, I heard that same toy make the same "ring-ring" noise. I moved to where Dylan was and I looked at him intently.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I asked. Dylan looked at me, as if to say, nonchalantly, "What?" And then he stretched out his leg, pointed his little foot, and hit the toy again.

"Ring-ring." Dylan smiled. He was very pleased with himself. Then he kicked the toy several more times. "Ring-ring, ring-ring, ring-ring!" Dylan sang out a loud, high pitched "Aaaaaaa!" in excitement.

He had discovered toys.

Okay, so I'm a bit behind...

Changes have been happening so quickly! Dylan has two teeth now, and is becoming more and more mobile! My mom has been gushing about how quickly Dylan will be changing from here on out.

....From here on out? Obviously I've been neglecting this blog because Dylan has been developing and changing so quickly up until now!

In the meantime, I've been collecting up digital pictures in a folder on my computer, and marking them with topics for the blog. I imagined all these entries, and I have so much to say, but I just haven't written them all yet.

I think I will try to backtrack, noting the date range of the pictures, and tell some of the stories that I have backlogged.

Baby's First Cold

Ok, not all of the "firsts" are a good thing. I was warned by family and friends that that seeing your baby sick is something tougher on the parents than the baby. That's a safe statement. He's had his flu vaccination but it doesn't seem to have helped him dodge this one. I was up with him at 3:30 and saw the sunrise while he lay sobbing on my shoulder and making moaning noises in his sleep. He'll get well again and get through it but not before he shares his affliction with his dad, who will lie in the corner sobbing and making moaning noises in his sleep.

Dylan eating "solid food"

Parents are People Too

You can't appreciate how much your parents love you until you are one.

Innocence of Ignorance

Obviously it's been far too long since my last posting. With work consuming much of my free time, the remainder I try to spend with little Dylan. He honestly gets cuter every time I see him. He's had a couple of tough phases with colic and teething, but he and mom seem to have gotten through the worst of it.

It's fun to look at Dylan and know the world the lies before him as he slowly discovers it. First shapes, then his hands and feet, sounds, and on an on. It's daunting when you realize how much a baby learns in a short time that allow them to classify and recognize a seeming never ending list of new experiences, both externally and internally.

But this phase in Dylan's life also holds some unique benefits. It's only in this time in one's life that there is no such thing as:

• anger-he screams, but only because his music box stops


• sadness-he cries, but as a way of telling us that food needs to go in, or has come out


• sin-how much trouble can you get into if you can't even roll over


• wars-he as waged war on a couple of diapers, but thankfully no casualties


• peace-no war then no peace


• guilt-likely to change when his mobility increases


• jealousy-loves daddy and the ceiling fan equally


• death-he's killed off a couple of formula bottles but nothing serious


• loss-if I hide my face with a cloth, he immediately thinks I've disappeared...and he's ok with that


• lies-unless his babbling is just a ruse


• embarrassment-the kid is quite happy to be laying stark naked on a scale while nurses dodge the stream of pee


• condemnation-maybe once he sees pictures of some of the things we've made him wear

When a baby is born, they know how to breathe, blink, cry, even identify mom and dad. These abilities are birthed with the baby and are available from day one. If Dylan doesn't have an understanding of the list above, how does he learn them? I believe that the world, or society, or whatever you what to call the mass of public perception slowly roots into people and with it come the unnatural and bitter components of living life in this world. It's a challenge as a parent that I didn't anticipate. You can't learn and grow into the world without being a member of it.

"Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil" Gen3:11

Monkey Madness

Dylan See No Evil
Dylan Hear No Evil
Dylan Speak No Evil

Summer Swimming

The weather started out with some June gloom, but it has become so fabulous this summer. I have been looking forward to finding an excuse for getting Dylan into the swimming pool. I bought his swim trunks and matching sun hat over a month ago. I was out shopping for diapers and such, and I saw them and just couldn't help myself.

Dylan's first time in water that was not a bath or shower was on June 27th. Dan was working on cleaning the backyard and trimming the plants, and he also swept and cleaned the filters in the swimming pool. He was admiring his handiwork and thought the pool looked so great that he just jumped in. That was all it took for me. I checked to see that the shade had spread to the spa area and had Dylan in his swimsuit in no time.

I didn't really have a plan. I thought I'd just put Dylan's feet in the water and see what he thought. We hadn't turned on the water heater, so the water was only heated by the sun, and still much cooler than the surrounding air. We didn't think that Dylan would last very long in the water, so the water would not have enough time to heat up. That's what we get for spontaneity.

I put my feet in the water and rested them on the step in the spa, and held Dylan in my arms like a swing. Dan moved from the pool to the spa to help and watch. I slowed dipped the bottoms of Dylan's tiny feet in the water and took them out. He flinched at the cool water, but he didn't scream or make angry faces. I did it again, but held him so his feet dangled to just barely touch the water. He started kicking at the water. That was very exciting! A few minutes later, I lowered him so the water was up to his knees. He just relaxed in my arms and let his feet hang in the water. I dipped him down to his waist and he didn't like that so much. I picked him up out of the water and he calmed down right away. He was still fine with me dangling his feet in the water.

Dan was already in the spa and he thought it would be fun to hold him above the water. He reached out and held Dylan around his ribcage. Dylan yelped. Dan had forgotten that his hands were wet and cold. We quickly took Dylan out of the water. He calmed down, a little. I took the opportunity to dip him back in down to his waist really quickly, just once for my personal satisfaction, before wrapping him in a towel and drying him off.

We took this family photo to commemorate Dylan's first swim in the pool. Note to self: take pictures before tormenting the kid, not after.

On July 3, cousins Ashley and Hannah and Uncle Daryl came to swim in our pool. When Dylan woke up from his nap, there was shade over the spa area, so I changed him into his swim trunks and brought him out to play. This time, Dan heated the water. If Dylan didn't last long enough in the water to enjoy it, the cousins would for sure. We started out like we did before, with my feet resting on the step and Dan in the spa. Dylan was great with just his feet in the water. The water warmed up a few degrees pretty quickly to a comfortable temperature. Dylan loves the warm water in his baths and showers, so we knew he was happy. I lowered him into the water a little at a time, just like last time, but the water was warm and Dylan stayed relaxed. After a while, I had him propped up, sitting on the step in the spa.

I couldn't resist trying to get him out in the water again. I told Dan to take him. Dan remembered about his hands this time and dried them off quickly before taking Dylan. Dylan let him carry him into the middle of the spa and move around the water with him. Dylan was so relaxed. At one point, Dan laughed and said that Dylan was about to fall asleep. Here are a few pictures from Dylan's water adventure when he was just about 3 months old.

Cute Crying Baby Dylan

Unfortunately for little Dylan, we think it's kinda funny when he makes pouty faces or cries at people. Here is some evidence that he is not always a happy baby, but when he is unhappy, he's awefully cute at it!

This is the best picture of his pouty face that I could get. He sticks out his bottom lip and does Sad Sam eyes. He started doing this spontaneously early on, and it is just the funniest face! The expression is fleeting, though, and quickly changes to smiling or crying. You just never know which way he'll go.

Dylan crying at my mom.

Dylan crying at my dad.

Dylan crying at Uncle Dave and Cousin Alyssa.

Dylan in the Magic Front Carrier. Puts him right to sleep. I use it for doing chores around the house, for shopping, for going to the bank and for going out. I pretty much bring it everywhere we go out in public. Keeps my hands free and keeps him happy.

These two pictures we had to take because he reminded of us of a movie star...

... The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the movie Ghostbusters! Can't you see the resemblance?

Colicky Baby

As everyone can see from our many pictures, Dylan is a happy and healthy baby. He is growing strong very quickly and has a lot of cute, happy awake time. We have a lot of fun playing with him and trying different outfits on him. Dylan wakes up in the morning as the happy baby you see in our pictures. He eats voraciously and spends the morning practicing his latest skills and playing. He takes some of his best naps in the morningtime. But these past few months have not exactly been easy ones.

As we progress into the afternoon, though, his belly becomes more and more distended and he becomes more and more uncomfortable. Friends and family who have visited us in the afternoon have experienced first hand Dylan's strong lungs and vocal range. Dylan's unhappy time was 4:30pm to midnight. Sometimes it even started as early as 3pm. Sometimes it went as late as 2:30am. Dylan's little belly would puff out and he would burp and pass gas often. We could tell that something was really bothering him, specifically in his belly. He would arch his back and start screaming his head off. Putting him in the crib on his back would stir up the gas and his eyes would pop open, no matter how tired he was. The tiniest little gas bubble in his belly would set him off. Once he burped every last bubble in his belly, his little body would finally relax from exhaustion and he would go straight to sleep. Then his belly would wake him up for the next feeding time because he was hungry from all the activity.

The pediatrician told us that we have a "borderline colicky" baby. I think she said "borderline" because he was quite happy during the morning doctor's appointment, so he obviously wasn't colicky all day and all night. Colicky babies are known for smiling less and scowling more. Dylan was very happy to see the pediatrician and was smiling, cooing, kicking and blowing bubbles for her. The pediatrician said that when it seems to be gas-related colic, then it tends to focus on a certain time of day or night, usually the evening hours. Because I emphasized to the pediatrician that the scary time was 4:30pm to midnight, she told me that's colic, not gas.

Colic is a nebulous condition that has various causes, depending on which source you read. The main criteria for its diagnosis is at least three hours of crying, at least three times a week. It doesn't specify if these are three hours in a row of constant crying, or cumulative hours throughout the day. All the books and Internet sites say there are many different causes and all of those causes have scientific research that disputes it. We think Dylan's colic is due to an immature digestive system trying to work itself out. Neither Dan nor I have observed other colicky babies, so we really don't know if our experience is the same or different than theirs.

Essentially, there is nothing to do to cure colic. It just goes away with time, usually by the time the baby is around 3 or 4 months old. The pediatrician told us that pretty much holding him and comforting him until the colic disappeared was probably the best we could do.
In previous blog postings, Dan and I both mention hours spent trying to burp and calm the baby. At first, I attempted a flexible, loose scheduling for Baby Dylan. I wanted to make sure that he ate regularly and that we had the best opportunity to successfully breastfeed for as long as possible. I hoped that if he ate well, then he would automatically sleep better. If he slept well, all the rest would come somewhat naturally. The more upset he became in the late afternoons and evenings, I focused even less on the activities and even on sleeping and more on the feeding, cuddling and comforting.

I have considered the possibility of having a spoiled baby. But one look in the exhausted eyes of a baby with serious pain in his tummy at 2:00 in the morning convinced me that he would otherwise be happily sleeping. I also came to the conclusion that this crying baby doesn't know what is going on or who is coming to help him. He just knows that he hurts in his belly and he can't make it stop. He doesn't have the psychological capacity yet to cry just to get what he wants. He doesn't even know what he wants yet. After the gas is expelled from one end or the other, he always goes to sleep quickly and soundly. He still always wakes up generally happy, but hungry, just like any other normal, non-colicky baby.

The colicky time has diminished quite a bit now. He has been sleeping from four to six hours in one span at night, save for periodic growth spurts. He enjoyed the Fourth of July afternoon barbecue and evening fireworks show. However, he still has his sudden colicky times. Last night, we happily noted how quiet and calm Dylan was at 8:00pm, even though he was awake at the time. However, at 10:00pm, Dylan spontaneously shot from zero to sixty. His belly was distended and he was crying his poor little lungs out. He was uncomfortable when he was held and he was uncomfortable when he was put down. He burped large loud burps a few times, but even that did not seem to calm his belly discomfort. Dan and I tag teamed holding him and comforting him until late into the night.

Dan and I are hanging in there and doing what we can to keep little Dylan calm, especially in the evenings. This evening as I'm writing this, he is napping nicely and hasn't yet had a colicky incident today. Since Dylan is obviously growing out of this phase, we are not worried about it. We think that the best result from this experience is that we have the confidence that we can handle some of the worst discomfort and Dylan knows that he can trust us to take care of him. We're good with that.

Father's Day video

This was Dylan's video that we sent to the grandfathers for Father's Day. It became such a viral video hit with friends and family that I thought we should post it.

Burnett Great Grandmas

Dylan just barely missed meeting his three Great Grandmas on Dan's side of the family. Great Grandma Pearl Glerup passed away on June 22nd of this year, 2009. On her last visit down to California on September 18, 2008, Dan and I decided to announce to the Burnett family that we were expecting a baby. As we were posing for a family picture, Dan announced, "Hey, everyone, did I tell you that Marci's going to have a baby?" We tried to take video of the moment, but alas, as we were new to using the video camera, we accidentally recorded over it. I think Dan's brother Dave has a digital picture somewhere, though.

Here is a picture of Grandma Pearl and Dan at our wedding in 2002.

Grandma Pearl was a firecracker and had the typical Burnett sense of humor. After the announcement, Dan and I spoke with her again, to make sure she had heard the announcement. Dan asked her if she had heard what he said. She said, "Well, sure I heard! Another squalling brat, eh?" Dan was quick to respond, "Well, it may not be your best great grandkid..." Grandma Pearl didn't miss a beat. She said, "Well, it surely can't be, because it's gonna be yours!" Now, of this moment, we have video, so we can prove that it was all said in good humor. Grandma Pearl was thrilled that we were going to have a baby and honored that we chose her visit to announce our news.

On November 1, 2008, Grandma Maria passed away. She was an interesting woman, too. I found this picture of her from her obituary online. She was a very talented crafter and knitter, and she is responsible for various knit doilies and potholders and other knitted and beaded crafts that we have around our house. She had saved a baby blanket and a burp cloth for our baby, but she passed away a month before we found out the gender of the baby. Dan's mom brought them to us. It is nice to know that she was excited for us to start our family and we will always imagine her planning which crafts to start for the baby as soon as she found out what the gender was.

In private, I nicknamed her "Worm Grandma." When I first met her, we were visiting her house. She was out in front of her house with a car battery with two wire probes attached to the poles. She put it down and ran into her house to wash up and change her shirt before she came out to meet us. We went inside and talked with her for a while and when we came out again, we continued talking. She hadn't brought up the subject of the car battery, so we didn't, either. Before we left, though, she saw the battery on the ground and told us that she had better remember to bring it inside. Then she asked, "Do you know what I use this for?" Of course, we really wanted to know, but we nonchalantly nodded. She explained to us that she used to do a lot of fishing. We continued to politely nod, even though we hadn't made the connection. She said she still collected and sold worms to use for bait. She explained that she would put the probes into the ground a certain distance apart, and the worms would jump out of the ground, still wriggling and alive. She would catch them before they were able to dig back into the ground. As she was miming her worm collection, she rolled up her sleeves and we saw that she had some decorative tattoos. We never got the story behind those. But we will always remember her as a very interesting, intelligent and funny woman.

Grandma Bevie passed away on December 3, 2007, at the age of 94. To differenciate this grandma for me from the other two, Dan called her "Cookies Grandma," because she looked like a woman straight off of a package of homemade cookies. She was soft spoken and she always looked after everyone. Dan's mom said she especially loved taking care of children.

I was looking her up on the Internet, and I found a news article about her. I remember Dan's dad telling me this story. When she was 81, she was still active and bowling. She bowled a 234, which is excellent by anyone's standards, but particularly for an 81 year old. They wrote up an article about her in the newspaper, and they couldn't really get a good quote out of her, because she thought it was silly to talk herself up like that. I think it's a good representation of how active and yet how sweet and humble she was.

I found this picture of Grandma Bevie when she met Alyssa as a baby in 2004. We put Alyssa's hat on Grandma, and put Alyssa in her lap.

I just wanted Dylan to know what fantastic people and interesting characters his great grandmas all were. It's very sad that they couldn't be here to meet him in person, but we know they will be watching over him all of his life.

Happy Father's Day!

It's easy to extoll the virtues of motherhood. We carry around the baby for 9 months as it grows from a little speck into a little baby. We can imagine being mothers and start planning for the future of the child, long before it arrives into our lives. Yes, there is a special bond between a mother her child. Fathers don't naturally get that early connection. They squint at the fuzzy blotches on the ultrasound as the doctors and mothers tell them, "Look! A baby!" They read the books, go to the classes and watch the movies. It still is an abstract concept. When the baby actually arrives, the full effect of fatherhood begins. All of the sudden, fathers really see that there is this little tiny person that will forever change their lives.

Dan has always been the type to step up to the various life challenges throughout the fifteen years that we have known each other. In fatherhood, he has been no different. I have been terribly lucky to be able to say that my husband has been thoroughly involved with the entire process of starting a family. He came to as many doctors appointments as his work schedule would allow him to. He came to the childbirth classes with me and watched the movies. He read various books on childbirth, some with rather graphic pictures and descriptions. He even found some childbirth movies on his own and set aside time for us watch to them together. But it is Dan's actions since the baby was born that amaze me the most.

When Baby Dylan arrived, Dan did everything he could be involved with the care of the new baby, from the cutting of the cord to watching the first baby bath. He asked the nurses questions about swaddling and the heat table. He was never more than a few feet from the new baby.

As you can see from the pictures, the baby looked nothing like Dan. I would have guessed that this would disappoint most dads. Instead, Dan marvelled at how much he looked like me, and he thought that was so adorable. It made me feel beautiful and special as his wife and the mother of his child.

When it came to the first diaper change, I have heard of many fathers stepping back in fear of the grossness of the tar-like baby poop. Not Dan. He took on the charge with enthusiasm and excitement of the new challenge. Dan has been a regular diaper changer since then.

Now we are just over 10 weeks into Baby Dylan's new life with us. We are still learning the ropes of parenthood, but Dan is always willing to feed and diaper change the baby or try new ways to hold or burp him. He has been ever vigilant about emptying the diaper pail so I won't have to. He makes up songs to sing to Dylan as he plays with him. He notices all of the changes in Dylan as he becomes stronger and more alert. He muses with me about what Dylan's future will hold. Which sports will he play? Which video games?

Dylan is so lucky to have a father who is so excited to have him in his life. I am so lucky to have a husband who takes such great care of us and is so involved as a partner in parenting. I would not be able to endure the occasional long crying spells or the sleepless nights without Dan's dedicated support and encouragement. I look forward to our growth as a family, because I know I will always have Dan at my side.

I love you, Dan! Happy First Father's Day!

Forever Mom

There are a lot of things you kinda anticipate as you transition into parenthood. The yelling and crying, crazy eating, and constant changing, not mention what the baby does. One characteristic of becoming a parent caught me by surprise. There is a special bond between mother and child that is something I haven't been a part of in the past. I have family who have kids but you really can't understand that tender love between mom and baby until you're a part of it (being the guy that changes the diaper pail for example). The burping for hours every day when he's got colic. The gentle holding of his head when he's learning to sit. The giggle at his strange noises. The scream of 'dimples!' when he smiles. The patient feeding when mom's so tired she doesn't know that she's awake. I think everyone's built for something great and it's obvious when you see it.

I know what your thinking. Dan's in trouble and he's trying to get on Marci's good side. Although it's a good idea and you'd have sound basis to make the assumption, I'm still in good standing. With the idea that one day my wee one might be reading this I wanted him to know how much is mom loves him like no other one can...and about how he let her know in as loud of a voice he could. And trust me, this kid is loud.

Simple Pleasures

Back in December 2008, we had an ultrasound to check on the baby while he was still small enough to take a good picture. It was that doctor's visit when we found out the gender of the baby. The person doing the ultrasound said that this was the visit when she sometimes could get a good picture of the baby sucking its thumb. Our baby was not exactly sucking his thumb. She took this picture, saying that his hand was close enough to his mouth to look cute.

Now that Dylan is here, we have found that he doesn't suck his thumb. He sucks the back of his right hand. If he happens to catch the thumb part of his hand, he sucks on the knuckle of his fist, not the actual thumb. It completely explains the ultrasound picture, where the fingers and thumb are in front of his mouth, but pointed away from him. Just like the ultrasound picture, Dylan looks like he is almost sucking his thumb. But he's not.
The first injury we found on Dylan after he came home was a strange open-circle shaped bruise on his right forearm. Dan noticed it, and asked me what it was. I had no idea, but felt a little guilty that he had gotten his first bruise on my watch and I didn't know what had caused it. I spent all day worrying about it and wondering what it was. Then Dylan clumsily reached his head out to grab for his fist, and he missed. He started sucking on the first thing that touched his mouth, which was his forearm. I took his arm away and had to laugh, because I noticed that the bruise matched the shape of his teeth marks exactly.

Now that Dylan's mouth muscles are stronger, he created injuries far greater than a cute little open circle that goes away in a day. A few weeks ago, he latched on to my bicep as I was carrying him, and I thought it was cute, plus it kept him from fussing at the time. Within moments, I blurted out an exclamation of pain and quickly removed him from my arm. What was left on my arm was a large purple blotch that remained there for over a week! I've kept his mouth away from my arm and shoulder since then, but that doesn't keep him from finding his own forearm. Last week I noticed about an inch long bruise on Dylan's right forearm.

Shortly after that, I observed him doing this:

While I feel badly for his little arm, there really is nothing I can do to completely prevent his self-inflicted injury. Therefore the best I can do is take pictures and post them to this blog as evidence.

Recently, Dylan has become more and more coordinated and prefers his right fist over a pacifier. However, we still use the pacifier periodically to help keep him happy and calm. We just received a gift called a Pacimal, which is essentially a pacifier stuck to the head of a stuffed animal. Dylan is just starting to learn to control things with his hands, and he is having a good time hugging the stuffed Rhino and chomping on the pacifier on its head. It makes for some cute pictures.

Feeling Like a Mommy

Earlier this month, I celebrated my first Mother's Day. We started the celebration on the Friday before Mother's Day. Dan arranged for his parents to babysit Dylan while we went out to a nice seafood dinner. I hadn't been out to a restaurant since little Dylan was born, so it was a treat for me. It was a combination birthday/anniversary/Mother's Day/Date Night. I was still healing and recovering from childbirth for my birthday in April, and we didn't make it out to dinner for our seven year anniversary at the beginning of May. Dan knew I was becoming extremely stir crazy and he wanted to commemorate all these very important events this year. We made all the preparations. Dylan had a shower and we worked to schedule his feedings so that he would be happy, fed, and sleeping for Dan's parents. We packed a diaper bag full of all the things Dylan might need "just in case." We dropped a sleeping Dylan off at the parents' place, chatted with the parents for a little bit, then excused ourselves because we weren't sure how long it would be until Dylan woke up, or what mood he would be in when he did. We drove to the restaurant and had a wonderful tastey meal. I made a conscious effort to not look at the the time or call Dan's parents even once the whole time we were out. Yes, the main topic of dinner conversation was Dylan, but it was pleasant conversation and we were not fretting too much about him. Dan and I had a delicious and relaxing dinner together. When we returned to Dan's parents' house, Dylan was still sleeping. Success!

On Mother's Day Sunday, my parents came down to our house to visit. They wanted to play with Dylan and maybe give Dan and I some time to ourselves. Instead, Dan decided to make the day a great Mother's Day for both my mom and me. He cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, cooked up lunch, barbecued dinner, washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen afterward. My parents had a blast cuddling and playing with Dylan and taking pictures every time he changed position or made a face. It was a great day.

The question I was asked most often about my first Mother's Day was, "Do you feel like a Mommy?" Strangely, my answer was, "No." The whole experience of New Mommyhood has been very surreal.

I have been mulling over my feelings with Dan since we were recovering in the hospital after Dylan was born. Sure, it was a great relief to hear Dylan's first cry after he was born. It's a fact that indeed, my life did drastically change at that moment. But there was no lightning crack and angelic music playing and floaty little sparkly specks of light in the air and a magical poof that brought me to tears. Somehow, it felt a little like someone had dropped off this little baby for us to take care of for a little while, and they would be back soon to pick him up. Don't get me wrong, Dan and I both loved the new experience of learning about swaddling and diaper changes and trying to figure out what all the strange baby noises meant. We both thought right away that Dylan was the cutest baby we had ever seen. We just felt a little detached, at first.

There are a couple of primary factors that likely contributed to this almost anti-climatic feeling. First, we had been trying to start a family for a very long time. It was something we expected and eagerly anticipated. We felt as emotionally ready as any new parent can be. We proactively took the Childbirth and New Baby Care classes, read the research and asked the doctors questions. Second, we observed and marveled at the many friends and family who made the transition from Couple to Family. We watched the adults grow and change as interactive and doting parents and the babies turn into healthy, intelligent toddlers and children. We barraged our friends and family with questions about their successes and hardships of parenthood and raising children. The addition of Baby Dylan to our family was everything we had hoped for and more.

After some contemplating about these feelings, I have come to the conclusion that this experience has been like falling in love. When I first met Dylan at the hospital, I thought he was the Most Beautiful Baby Boy in the World. I loved his soft hair, his olive skin, his long limbs and his big, round eyes. He was perfect and healthy and I wanted to do what I could to make him happy. When I brought him home, I started learning about his funny quirks, antics and facial expressions. I enjoyed firguring out what made him tick. As he is becoming more and more aware of himself and the world around him, he often becomes overwhelmed and sometimes scared. He is learning about new startling noises and gas pain in his belly. Now, I can comprehend that I am the one he turns to for comfort and protection from pain and potential (even if they are just perceived) dangers. I have that heartbreak when he is upset about being overtired, being overstimulated or having gas pain in his belly. As his personality emerges, I am emotionally tied to him. I am sad when he is sad and I cannot seem to help him. I am happy when he is happy. When I hold him in my arms, I tell him that we are here to take care of each other and we can make it through anything together.

I feel more like a Mommy every day. I have most definitely fallen in love.

It's a Start!

(Big Daddy Edit - I don't know why the video took the screen grab of "Convict Everyone" to represent the file but whatever. Convict Everyone!)

Uncle Agoo

Our life is changing more quickly than we could have ever imagined. Little Dylan is growing and changing more every day. Dan and I are adapting to parenthood and changing our sleeping and eating patterns to fit in those necessary daily events in the small spaces of time in Dylan's schedule of eating and sleeping. Dan is helping to keep the house clean, grocery shopping and cooking, while I juggle Dylan's ever-changing schedule as he grows.

At the last pediatrician's checkup, he weighed just under 10 pounds. His hair is actually getting longer. The cleaner it is, the more it stands up. I don't even bother trying to get it to stay down any more. It's kinda cute when it sticks up on his head, so I actually just brush it upwards, now. The pediatrician logged him in at 21.75 inches long, but we think he's just under 24 inches already. The Newborn-sized clothing is a bit tight on him, so he's mostly wearing the 0-3 month sized clothing now. He is still wearing N sized diapers, but switches from N to 1 sometimes. The 1 sized diaper is significantly larger. Shouldn't there be a size "N and a half?"

He must be able to see a little better every day. A few weeks ago, it was fun to see the surprised expression on his face when he first noticed the ceiling fan in his room. Despite it being a white ceiling fan on a white ceiling, Dylan seemed to notice and be enthralled with the strange movement he had never seen before. Shortly after that, he noticed some of the plastic rings hanging near his head in the playyard. He figured out how to bat at them with his right hand. We still don't think he knows whose hand is hitting the rings, but he is able to make the dangling rings move pretty consistently. He also has started to track me from the crib with his eyes and head as I move around his room. I had been taking the opportunity to straighten up his room as he was falling asleep in the crib. Much to my surprise one day, I saw two little round eyes following me as I moved from the chair to the closet to the dresser and to the shelves. Dylan is amazed with blank walls for some reason. Perhaps it is the fascination with the different colored walls in different rooms, or perhaps he just doesn't know that he has the coordination to turn his head in a different direction, but he will stare at a blank wall for disturbingly long spans of time. The most disturbing part is that he does it without blinking.

He is getting stronger from "tummy time" and can hold his head up in the push-up position really well. He uses that arm strength to push away from you when we are holding him in our arms up to our shoulders. He has somewhat discovered his legs, and sometimes flexes both his arms and legs when we pick him up, making him feel like a stiff doll. He can roll over from his belly to his back, but not consistently. I did get some video of him rolling over for the camera, though. He is also using his swaddle as resistance training for arm strength. Swaddling him in a blanket or a specialized swaddling wrap with velcro helps him sleep, but there have been times where he starts to wriggle out of the swaddle as he wakes up from a nap.


He is sleeping decently well. At night, he sleeps in 3.5 to 6 hour increments pretty regularly. About once a week, though, he has a growth spurt and he sleeps for shorter periods and eats more often. those days are really tiring, but we are extremely fortunate that it doesn't happen regularly.

The most exciting development, though, is his interaction with people and things. He smiles when he looks at people. His face lights up especially in the morning when he first sees Dan. Dylan also makes faces and coos and makes other noises when his diaper is being changed. It is fun to watch his face when he is moving his lips to try to make new sounds. He tries to imitate the facial expressions of the person who is holding him. It is also fun to listen to him make new noises. I brought him to Dan once to show off his noises Dylan was making. He had been experimenting with new noises, so it was thrilling for both of us to listen to him. As if on cue, Dylan said, "Unka? Ah, goo!" Then he gave a big smile. We have translated this as Uncle Agoo, and we unfortunately don't have an Uncle Agoo to attach the name to. But Dylan speaks of him often, and he makes us all very happy. In the past few days, Dylan has been adding to his vocabulary with various, oohs, gahs, and boos. He looks forward to having long chats with his Uncle Agoo very soon!

The sun doesn't shine on him. He shines on the sun.

Webster's was forced to redefine 'adorable'.

He laughs in the face colic.

His used diapers have been sold on Ebay and every reserve has been met.

The hospital was charged for the privilege of delivering him.

He's credited with making baby talk an official language.

When he flails his arms in a seemingly random fashion, an hurricane is prevented in China.

Big Bird has pictures of him on his diaper.

Photographers are careful to use a cuteness reduction filter so as to not overwhelm their cameras.

When he was born, Matt Dillon changed his name to Matt Dylan.

He doesn't stay inside or outside the lines. He draws the lines.

He once made a sound that couldn't be spelled in the English language. There are now 28 letters in the alphabet.


He is

THE

MOST INTERESTING BABY

in the

WORLD

'Stay Thirsty My Friends...'

Cutest Baby?

How do you know if you have the cutest baby in the world? It's easy. You don't, because I do.

This picture was taken today during a class photoshoot where Dylan was one of the models. The guy to the right with a lens bigger than my arm was a little disconcerting. Might have been zooming in to see the cuteness of Dylan's atomic structure. Dylan did a great job! In one of the poses with him in my arms, looking blissfully up into my eyes I felt like I was really connecting with my son. He seemed to know that I was thinking and really could really look forward to who he would become. Then pooped on my shirt. Twice. I have photo evidence of this assault. But how do you punish a baby that just eats sleeps and poops? I took his binky out. We're even.

Dylan's First Baby Bath

Yesterday, Dylan had his first real Baby Bath! All we had to do is wait for his circumcision to heal (which amazingly only took about a week) and for his "raisin" to fall off. We waited a little longer, because of all the horror stories we heard that even baby soap dries out a newborn's skin.

Dylan's "raisin" (a.k.a. umbilical cord stump) fell off last week. It was during a 4am diaper change on the morning of Friday, April 17th. My mom gave it to me, which I thought was very interesting to look at, but gross, nonetheless. Apparently some people keep it in their baby record book. Ew. Later in the day, I showed it to Dan. If something grosses me out, I know it gets to Dan even more, and that's really funny to me. It was interesting because you could see the clamp mark on one side, and the inverted shape of Dylan's new belly button on the other. We now know why the nurses in the Childbirth Classes kept calling it a "raisin." It looked just like one. I saved it until Sunday, when my dad came to visit. I thought, as a doctor, he would find it interesting, too. And he did. But he also thought it was gross. Anything that grosses out my dad must be really, really gross, so Dan and I agreed that it should be thrown away after Show and Tell with my dad. But I took pictures first, so Dylan can have be grossed out when he reads his baby book when he's older.

On Friday, April 24th, Dylan experienced his first baby bath. He had his Newborn Photo Shoot scheduled for the next day, so I thought we would get a head start in preparing Dylan for it. Also, he was having a particularly fussy day, so I thought I'd give him something to be fussy about. During one of his naps, I made all the preparations. I dressed in grubby clothes that I could change out of if I got soaked. I put out all the items I would need for getting Dylan into the bath, wash him, dry him, diaper change him, dress him, and get him settled for a nap. After Dylan woke up, Dan was making some phone calls. I held and rocked Dylan to keep him quiet, and waited for Dan to finish his phone conversations, because I was certain that Dylan would start to yell when he was wet.

One of the nurses at the hospital had given me a tip for Dylan's first bath. I was prepping for the worst, so I figured I'd take all the advice I could think of into account for the bath. The nurse had said to take an extra baby towel, drench it in very warm water, squeeze it out, and lay it on the baby. Then you take out one limb at a time, clean it, then put it back under the warm towel. Occasionally you dump more warm water on top of the towel to keep the towel and the baby warm.

I undressed Dylan and put him into the bathtub and buckled him in his little baby mesh bath seat. The baby books say to actually undress him in the tub, but I figured if he messed it would be no big deal since he was already in the tub. No screams yet. I started the water at the tub faucet, but Dylan was far enough away from the faucet to not even get wet. I was worried that even the sound of the rushing water would scare him. It didn't. I waited for the water to get warm, and drenched the baby towel in it. I gently squeezed out the towel, but not enough to get all the warm water out of it. It was the moment of truth. I quickly draped the towel over Dylan's body and waited for a reaction. Dylan let out a contented sigh and looked at me. I remained tense, thinking that he was just working himself up. I filled a small plastic bowl with warm water and gently poured it on the already wet towel. I waited for Dylan's reaction. He stared at me for several seconds, then closed his eyes.

Relieved, I went ahead and gave Dylan the rest of the bath with no incident. Dylan actually fell asleep in his bath chair because he loved the warmth. It just made my job easier. Dan came in and checked on us. He was worried about both of us because it was so quiet and I had been repeatedly warning him that the bath would likely be a very loud event. Dan went to get the video camera.

All in all, the First Bath went well. Dylan was clean and wasn't traumatized by the water or the baby wash soap in the hair. My grubby clothes didn't even get very wet! We are probably just lucky, and Dylan's probably just storing up his resentment for the Second Bath. But as First Bath experiences go, I think this was a success! All clean!

Tiny Little Baby Parts

In the afternoon of Delivery Day at the hospital, we started to make our phone calls announcing the arrival of Baby Dylan. My mom called my cell phone, and Dan answered.

She asked, "Does he look like you?"

Dan answered, "Nope, not even a little bit."

When Baby Dylan arrived, he reminded me exactly of a baby picture of my dad. I share many of the same features as my dad, so I guess Dylan looked a lot like me. As the days progress, though, I'm noticing changes and details that don't look like me at all. It's been fun to try to figure out which baby parts look like which parent.

Initially, many of Dylan's features appear to be Asian, and there is a definite resemblance to my side, and particularly my dad's side of the family. But as Dylan is growing in to himself, and as we look more closely, we are noticing more and more features that don't look Asian at all.

When Dylan was born, his hair was jet black. As the days progress, I see brown highlights that remind me of Dan's color hair. My dad says that the shape of Dylan's ears is not Asian. I don't know anything about ears, but I trust my dad. It's his profession to know about the shapes of ears. Dylan's eyes are big and wide, not little "rainbows" like mine, that tend to disappear when I smile. He has points at the corners of his mouth and his mouth turns up when he's happy and down when he's upset. My mouth is what I call a "Wallace and Grommit" mouth that is rounded and has no corners. Those "chipmunk cheeks" are just like mine, though.

Dylan has relatively long feet, and long fingers and toes. He also has beautiful long and strong limbs. We are hoping that means he will take after Dan and be thin and tall. Dylan didn't have eyelashes when he was born. I was hoping he would have Dan's long eyelashes, and I was worried when it seemed he was born without them. But after about a week, they have been starting to slowly unfurl and lengthen, and it seems that he will have nice eyelashes after all.

And then there are the features that are uniquely Dylan's. Dylan has a beautiful brown skin tone that doesn't come from either parent. I can get a deep tan pretty easily, but I definitely wasn't born brown. Dan thinks that Dylan's eyes look like mine, and I think they look like Dan's. We'll have to see how Dylan develops as time progresses.

Dan and I both agree that we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. We both have that parent bias that we think he is just so cute, as is evident through Dan's deluge of emails and blog entries, all entitled with some version of "Isn't my kid the cutest thing you ever saw?" We are both definitely having fun our new parenthood, despite the sleepless nights.

Let the Sleeplessness Begin!

My mom has been an amazing source of help during the past couple of weeks. She came down to stay with us and help out as soon as Dylan came home. She helped with the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Best of all, she gave advice when we were at those "What do we do now" moments. It was helpful and reassuring, when, at particularly frustrating times, she didn't know the answer, either. She's helped us deal with the first couple of weeks of this drastic change in our lives with a decent amount of sleep and lots of good humor. Dan, my mom and I have been tag-teaming the sleep schedule, hoping to fend of the sleeplessness nights that exhaust many new parents. However, there were several times when all three of us were standing together with droopy eyelids watching over the crib, while little Dylan slept peacefully. I swear that, at those times, I saw a little smirk on Dylan's face, as if he already knew that he had all of us wrapped around his tiny little pinky.

My mom left yesterday. As she was doing some last minute shopping and cleaning, we warned her that now our house would explode in to the mess it was before she came. The dishes are already piling up next to the kitchen sink, and the only laundry that we've done are the loads my mom lined up before she left. Dylan has taken to suddenly changing his sleep habits to much shorter cycles, and we've given in to just waking up, giving him a diaper change and feeding him every couple of hours or whenever he wants. After all, they say you can't spoil a newborn...

I need a nap.

Sweeter Than Pepsi and Pixie Sticks

Welcome, Dylan Kimura Burnett!!!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

My last day at work was Friday, and I had already planned to be off for Spring Break and the rest of the school year. On Sunday, Dan and I decided to take another belly picture in front of the house, in a similar pose as the first belly pictures we took.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Dan and I attended the Childbirth Tour Night at the hospital. As we were going through the Childbirth Classes throughout this past month, Dan noted that he had never seen a warming table or a birthing bar, and he was very curious to know what the birthing suites at the hospital would be like. I had seen warming tables and baby nurseries in hospitals, so it had not occured to me that it might be a novel idea to Dan. We spent the evening with many, many other couples learning about and viewing the various amenities available to birthing mothers and "coaches" at the hospital.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I had a routine doctor's checkup, where it was determined I was 2cm dilated. Apparently pregnant women can walk around and be fine for weeks when they are "only" 2cm dilated. 4cm, on the other hand, would be a different story. So, the doctor calmly sent me home with a clean bill of health and said that if he were to guess, he'd guess the baby would be born within the week. But he couldn't be sure.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

12:00am - I couldn't sleep at all at night. I was restless and didn't feel right. I just couldn't get to sleep. I wasn't experiencing anything that I would call pain.

4:00am - I couldn't stand it anymore. I just couldn't stay in bed without making too much noise for Dan to sleep. He had a big meeting scheduled in San Diego that day. I told my sleepy husband that I was going to go out to the front room and read our childbirth literature we had gathered. I didn't think it was any big deal, because all the reading materials from our classes all said if it was contractions, then I wouldn't be able to walk or talk during the uncomfortable phase of the contractions. I obviously could talk to Dan and walk to the front room, and I had no problem reading through the childbirth education material.

5:00am - I had already made too much of a commotion for Dan to sleep. He came out to check on me. I told him that I was uncomfortable, but the intervals did not seem to be consistent. I continued to sit and read and be uncomfortable. I could still talk to Dan and walk around the house. We both decided to add to our hospital packing pile, just in case we might be leaving later that day or the next. So I was wandering around the house, picking up things and putting them in the pile. I didn't want to call the doctor, because I could still walk and talk and I physically, I felt the same as I did the day before. I did not want to have to go to the hospital, just to be sent home again.

6:00am - I decided that maybe the intervals of discomfort might be somewhat consistent. I went and found the stopwatch, got a notebook and pen from the office, sat down and started timing my own contractions. At the start of the uncomfortableness, I would jot down the time. Then I would wait for the discomfort to subside. I would check the stopwatch and write down how long the discomfort had lasted. I waited for the next round. Actually, Dan has video of me timing my own contractions. We all find this video to be very amusing, after the fact.

6:40am - I reviewed my times with Dan, and we both thought the times were pretty consistent, and that the uncomfortable times were lasting longer and getting stronger. Dan called the doctor, who casually asked us to go to the hospital and get it checked out, but he didn't seem certain that it was the Real Thing. Dan and I didn't really think it was, either. I kept telling Dan that I didn't want to get all the way over to the hospital, just to be sent home again. But I was feeling worse and worse, so we went to the hospital. I hated the car ride. That would be the time when I think I would consider what I felt as "pain." The movement of the car made the contractions feel worse.

7:00am - We arrived at the hospital. They brought me to the Labor Evaluation Room. They determined that I was still at 2cm, so they couldn't figure out why I was in such pain. I definitely was feeling pain with the contractions at that point, and I was very unhappy at the thought that they might send me home. The nurse said that she would monitor me for about a half hour, and then she would determine what we were going to do. At that point, I was certain I was going home.

about 7:30am - My water broke. I grabbed Dan's hand and told him happily, "They can't send me home now!" I was right. They admitted me and wheeled me to a birthing suite. They checked my dilation again, and were surprised that I was already at 7cm! That got everyone hopping. I still hadn't had any medication for the pain. The pain was getting worse and worse, but I could still communicate with Dan and the nurses. I was just really, really unhappy about it.

a fairly short time later - About now, my sense of time is all fuzzy, understandably. I finally got an epidural, and the pain slowly subsided. Dan watched the monitors in alarm and watched the lines move up and up as my body experienced the contractions. Fortunately at this point, I was medicated and therefore feeling less and screaming less. Then, the beeps from the baby heart monitor on my stomach strated to fade every time my body had a contraction. The nurse panicked, which of course did not help Dan, who was doing his best to stay calm to help me relax. She took out the internal fetal monitor probe that Dan and I had seen in one of our childbirth classes. It's essentially a small wire coil that is attached to a wire cable that goes to the computer. The wire coil is literally screwed into the top of the baby's head. Dan, understandably, asked if that was really necessary. The nurse tried to explain, but then she realized that I had already dilated to 10cm, and that the baby was in the birth canal and that was why she couldn't detect the heartbeat from my stomach. Now that I was at 10cm, everyone was hopping even faster! The nurse called the doctor to come up right away because the baby was coming. A short time later, the nurse called the doctor again.

9:36am - Baby Dylan was born. Yep, that's a 2 and a half hour labor and delivery. The people at the hospital said each subsequent child you have comes out more and more quickly. So, if we were to have another baby, if I sneeze or have a slight headache, Dan should get me to the hospital right away.

Dylan Kimura Burnett

Born April 8, 2009

at 9:36am

7 lbs. 6 oz.

20 inches long

First Family Picture

Happy Grandparents!

Going Home!!!

April 10, 2009

First Car Ride!!!

Welcome Home!!!

Check out Dan in the background! (I didn't know he was there.)

Look at that head of hair!!!