Rocking Out to 2Pac at 1 Day Old

February 3, 2012 //
0

Can You Hear Me Now?

This is the 3rd hearing test for the Worm.  At the hospital, they will give the hearing test multiple times if one or both sides fail.  Gavin failed the first hearing test on the right side.  (I thought he was only going to have one good ear, but I made amends with it because one good ear is better than none, right?)  The second time he took the test, he failed again.  (I made amends with this again, because it hadn’t quite sunk in that he could be deaf in one ear yet.)  The nurse said that the reason for the hearing test failure was that there could be fluid stuck in his ear, so she gave Gavin some drops and I held him over my shoulder for a few minutes to let the ear solution unclog his ear.  Voila!  She was right and he passed the third test with both ears functional!  Yeah!  He will have no excuse hearing me yell at him!

If you’re wondering about the above setup, the red and blue are the headphones and the electrode on the forehead is the probe.  The baby needs to be sleeping for the test to work properly, hence my dirty finger in his mouth.

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Categories GPOD

Oak Tree Catches Flying Squirrel

February 3, 2012 //
2

I don’t know whether to be proud of this or embarrassed, so I’m just going to think glass half-full.

As a teenager, I worked at a little supermarket in my neighborhood.  It was my dojo.  Kind of like the Karate Kid movie (the real one) where Ralph Macchio was washing cars and learning Karate. I, on the other hand, was honing my martial art techniques by bagging groceries.

Left hand cups the canned vegetables, right hand palms the lettuce.  Make eye contact with customer.  Is she going to tip me?  No?  Lettuce to the bottom of the grocery bag and canned vegetables directly on top.  Repeat with avocados and canned beans coming down the conveyor.  This time, eyes closed.

With this intense supermarket training, I was able to sharpen my hand speed and coordination.  By the end of my 2 years there, I was able to make the bagels on aisle 10 crumble to the ground with only a glancing blow.

Young student says “Master, when will I know that I’m done here?”
Old master replies “When you are no longer pink in the middle.”

Little did I know, that 20 years later, I still maintained my supermarket skills.  And I would need it to save the life of my son, Gavin.

Steph and I are in the bedroom.  It’s morning and she’s getting ready for work.  The Worm’s awake so she gets him out of his crib, brings him into our room and plops him down on the bed.  “Watch him, ok?”  She goes to the bathroom and fixes her hair.  Gavin and I are both sitting on the bed looking at each other.  The Worm then starts crawling around atop the duvet.  (You know where this is going, right?)  I’m caught up in conversation with Steph and I’ve got one eye on Gavin.  Well, he crawls to the edge of the bed and looks over.  I think nothing of it, because in my conscious mind, no rational baby would want to leap off the edge of the bed and plunge 2 feet to their fate…

This one’s not rational.  He dives.

This is an exact reenactment.

In the flash of half a second, I lunge towards him and grab onto his right lower leg catching him with his head dangling 2 inches from the ground.  (It was a one-handed grab, in case you were wondering.)  On a side note, since all the great techniques have names I call this one “Oak tree Catches Flying Squirrel”

Afterwards, with baby safe on the bed again, my adrenalin kicked in.  I also realized Steph watched the whole thing in the bathroom mirror.  (Yes, I got an earful from her.)  If I had missed, I’m pretty sure there would have been two doctor’s visits, one for his head and one for my a$$.  (I’m sorry Steph.  You are right again, as always.  It won’t happen again.  You are the prettiest woman in the universe.)

I’m patting myself on the back for this one.  I’m still in the awe part of my awesomeness.

Gavin – 5; Dad – 4

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Categories Play

I’ve Done Something Only a Mother Would Do…

February 2, 2012 //
0

I entered Gavin in a cutest baby contest.  I’m a little sheepish about this.  (SHAMELESS PLUG:  If you read Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine, you can vote for the Worm.) I never thought I would ever do such a thing.  I’m a man, for crying out loud!  (Which is something men don’t do, by the way.) So, why would I even think to do this?

I know every mother thinks their kid is the most beautiful thing in the universe, but that’s hormones playing with a woman’s mind!  I’m not a woman and I don’t even have hormones!  (At times, Steph thinks that I barely even have a heart!)  What’s gotten into me?  Does spending too much time with a baby generate estrogens in a man?  (Why is my underwear suddenly more baggy in the front?)

Is my sanity in fatherhood spiraling out of control?  Is SAHD life making me soft?  (Am I growing man boobs?)

I feel like a different man.  Not quite a wo-man, but a more sensitive man…I guess I would say a Wham!-man.  I’m no longer a Bad Boy.  For certain, Last Christmas, I was a manly man.  (How many Wham! song references can I make?) Now, I’m a sopping, photo-taking, face-wiping, diaper-changing shadow of my former self.

Is this going to lead to professional photo shoots in Gavin’s future?  Yes.  Will I be his driver for his future road-trip beauty pageants all over America? Yes!

The ultimate question is….Will I teach him how to toss a baton?  Yes!

We’ll be kicking ass and taking names, my Little Miss Sunshine.  Toddlers and Tiaras?  Hell no, Toddlers and Testicles.

Look out for us on the baby beauty pageant circuit.  We’ll be in the old Land Cruiser.

Photolicious!

 

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Categories Random Thoughts

Punxsutawney Phil? No, Gabrielino Gavin!

February 2, 2012 //
0

It’s Groundhog day!  And guess what else?  Gavin turned 10 months old today!  In the new custom of weather prediction California style, Gabrielino Gavin (Gabrielino was the only G named Indian Tribe in California…Come on, I had no other choice!) is going to tell us if we will be enduring 6 more weeks of frigid 60° temperatures.

We’re too far away for Pennsylvania to even think about Punxsutawney Phil.  And we don’t get any ice here other than the nice crescent-shaped ones found in our freezers.  So, I’ve taken the liberty of modifying the old groundhog weather device and replaced it with its west coast equivalent, Gabrielino Gavin!

Similarities between Phil and Gavin:

  1. Both walk on all fours
  2. Both have hair on their heads
  3. Both have two sharp front teeth
  4. Both have claws and scratch the crap out of your neck repeatedly, even if you scream in pain (Sorry, I’m just venting.)
  5. Both eat fruit, leaves, grass, dirt and insects

From the “town of the sandflies” to the “town of sand-als”, Gabrielino Gavin has seen his shadow on this very morning of February 2, 2012.

Winter will be upon us for 6 more weeks.  One should bundle up in a long-sleeved shirt or grow a mustache to stay warm in Southern California for a wee bit longer.  (Maybe think about wearing long pants too, if you own any.)

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Categories News

How To Dad

February 1, 2012 //
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Cover of "How to Dad"

How To Dad By John Boswell and Ron Barrett

I received How To Dad By John Boswell and Ron Barrett as a gift.  It’s a fun book that I’m not ready for yet.  I mean Gavin isn’t ready for yet.  He’s almost 10 months old, and even though he’s big for his age, I don’t think he’s ready to catch a baseball at this moment.  (But, it won’t stop me from trying to toss one at him…)

Steph and I received a ton of books from our family before Gavin came.  (Maybe our parents agreed that she and I needed some serious guidance on parenthood.)  One day, about a year ago, I was sitting beside myself waiting for my clone baby to be born.  So, I read How To Dad from cover to cover.  It’s a short read and is 80 pages.  (I read slowly, so it was 3 weeks of reading for me.)  After going through the book, I could say that I was pretty excited for Gavin and I to start doing these fun things together.  Almost excited enough to start pulling the baby out of Steph’s body myself.

Boswell and Barrett know how to strike a chord with fathers in this book.  I kept flashing back through my own memories of my dad doing lots of these things with me.  I love my dad for spending this time with me and I hope that one day I will get to do this with my son.  With this book, I’m sure I won’t miss any of the finer father-son teaching moments.

The book is written well enough for both parents and children to read.  It’s a fun book and has cute illustrations on every page.  It touches on how to perform various life tasks (like whistling and snapping your fingers) and just as important, how not to perform them.

I enjoyed reading How To Dad before Gavin was born and I will be sure to dust it off and review it once Gavin is old enough to start doing cool stuff with his old man.  This book makes a great gift for Father’s day too!

—–

Overall Rating:  8 Worms

Readability:  9 Worms

Usefulness:  8 Worms  (This rating depends on how much you already know.)

Manliness:  10 Worms  (Nothing makes you more of a man than spending time with your kids.)

Retail Price:  $9.95

—–

Pros:

Lots of cool things that you can (learn for yourself as well as) teach your kids.  Teach them how to: throw a football, bait a hook, ride a bike, build a campfire, and lots more.  It’s geared towards kids that are a little older.  I would say this book is great for ages 4 and up.  This book gives some pretty nice techniques on HOW to teach your kids to do something.  It is an excellent guide for you to review if you tend to have difficulty explaining things to your children in a way they can understand.  In fact, you can even let your kids read it!

Cons:

Nothing.

Things I would modify:

Nothing.

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Categories Product Reviews

Summer Infant Best View™ Handheld Color Video Monitor

January 31, 2012 //
3

Summer Infant Best View Color Video Monitor (Silver)

I’m a little old-fashioned.  Not old-fashioned 90’s style, but old-fashioned 70’s style.  There’s a lot of technology that I believe should be left out of parenting.  A video monitor WAS one of them.  I don’t know why, but I guess BC (before child), I thought that I should be able to hear a baby crying through 3 walls and a door no problem.  Silly me.  I learned quickly that the Summer Best View video monitor in the baby’s room was almost as incredible an addition to the family as the baby.

We mounted the video camera about 15″ above the top of baby’s crib.  From that vantage point, I can pan and zoom to any part of the crib without a problem.  In the daytime, the screen is color.  At night, the infrared kicks in automatically (I assume it’s infrared, but someone please correct me if I’m wrong here.) and I’ve got night vision.  The camera has plenty of range of motion as well, which increases the number of mounting options.

I use this camera every day.  It’s another one of the items in my house that gets a lot of use and wear.  So far, the Summer Infant Best View Camera has been holding up very well.  Once I put Gavin to nap, I can see what he’s doing and hear what noises he is making before he falls asleep.  I love it.  Now, I don’t have to run to his room every time I hear a noise.  I can just look at the monitor and avoid waking up the baby.  The silent mode is excellent for when you are watching TV or something and only need a visual sign if the baby makes noise.  The LED’s light up on the monitor according to the sound level in the baby’s room.

We don’t have a need for the A/V output portion of the Summer Infant Best View Monitor, but someone mentioned on another website that they hooked it up to their TV and recorded some of the video from the monitor.  (That’s a great idea, especially if your baby starts to do things alone in his crib before showing it off to the family!)

I used to think that having a video monitor was a lazy man’s way of taking care of his baby.  But, I was very wrong.  It is great for checking on the baby without disturbing him.  I can do it while typing out this blog!  I can do it while hanging out in the garage!  I can do it while watching a movie in the living room!  It’s baby management at my fingertips.  It’s so handy, I may even continue to use the camera well into Gavin’s teenage years…

NOTE:  If you are going to mount the camera above the baby’s crib, you need to find a place to hide or shield the camera’s power cord from the baby’s reach.

———-

Overall Rating:  7 Worms   

Ease of Use:  10 Worms  

Performance:  8 Worms 

Features:  8 Worms 

Durability:  7 Worms 

Manliness:  10 Worms (Come on, it’s a gadget!)

Retail Price:  $199

———-

Pros:

Provides easy monitoring of baby room, both video and audio.  Silent audio mode.  Remote controlled pan, scan, and zoom.  Day and night viewing.  Can add up to 3 extra cameras.  A/V outputs to a TV.

Cons:

Could use more volume control.  Vertical axis movement makes a bit of noise.  Video could be a little more crisp in night mode.  When you are moving the camera, the audio cuts in and out.  Battery life?  (I don’t know, but I’ve heard elsewhere that battery life could be poor.  I’ve been using this product for 9 months now and yes, there’s been a degradation in the battery life, but not much.  If the battery dies within a year or so, I will adjust my rating accordingly.  But, so far, it’s been fine.)

Things I would modify:

Higher resolution night vision.  I guess it would be nice to have a thermometer built into the unit to remotely monitor baby room temperature.

Where to find:

http://www.summerinfant.com/Products/Monitoring/Video-Monitors/Best-View%E2%84%A2-Handheld-Color-Video-Monitor.aspx

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Categories Product Reviews

Boy, I Feel Like I’ve Been Squeezed Through a Straw

January 31, 2012 //
0

Cleaned Up and Ready to...Sleep

This picture was taken a little while after the incident with the lederhosen and the pitchfork.  What?  I’m trying to make this picture interesting…Ok, he’s napping soon after completing his descent from the warmth of mom’s womb.

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Categories GPOD
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