4 oz To Freedom

After nearly 3 months of training dad got the opportunity he was waiting for - to take on solo parenting responsibilities so that Sheri could attend a jewelry making class with her girlfriends. I'll admit that there was a part of me that was nervous about sailing all morning without our captain, who would be 20 minutes away... which is a long time if young Aiden decides dad isn't doing it for him anymore.

So with a kiss goodbye daddy took the reigns and our morning together started off great with a 30 minute nap in his swing (mom had done her part to start us off well with a full feed). He awoke suddenly, as he usually does, threw a short tantrum that led to a diaper change - WOAH, I think he's eating/processing more these days. We then proceeded to spend 20 minutes on our playmat and new vibrating chair downstairs (lesson for all those new/soon to be parents - the vibrating feature is very nice on ANY product, especially a bouncy chair). After wearing out our welcome, dad and Aiden proceeded to take a cradle walk outside (where I hold him like a football and sway back and forth), apparently our son loves when he sweats, cause he instantly cheered up in the 110 heat (that's in the shade mind you)... we headed back inside and it was time to eat.

The most critical point of the whole morning was upon us - time to get the bottle out and see if both of us are up for the challenge. Breast feeding is great for so many reasons, but one thing it doesn't do is train daddy and baby on how to feed when mom's not around. We had a 25% success rate on bottle feeding going into this morning, so the nerves were high - if I couldn't successfully master the bottle latch mom might have to make it a short jewelry class! I now know what Sheri must have felt like during those first few days of masting the latch... my son's happiness was entirely in my hands.

We typically target 4oz a feed...

The first 1.5oz went down smoothly... in one of dining table chairs with a number of classic iTunes jams playing in the background Aiden was settling into his bottle and dad was loosening up a bit (Modest Mouse, Boyz II Men, Interpol, and Montell Jordan all cheered us on)

The next 1oz required intervention - shifted from dining room chair to the couch, back to the chair, burped... 2.5oz down, 1.5 to go

With all my usual tricks exhausted (I don't have many to begin with), and a significant amount of milk to go I resorted to the ultimate back up plan for EVERYTHING Aiden related, the walk around the house method... after about 6 trips from living room to kitchen (with detours to maid's quarters, dining room, and backyard) we were down to our last 0.5oz



At this point baby and daddy were tired, having spent nearly 45 mins on the first 3.5oz... we sat down for the final push home in dad's TV chair, that's when Aiden gave in, could go no further... not in a "grumpy/cranky I want more food" way... but in a "thanks for all that delicious milk, I'm going to nap now" way... that has to be the cutest face I've ever seen - as his eyes rolled back, his lip hung open, and his body gave in to sleep. I've seen that face before, but always after Sheri did the heavy lifting and handed him over - this time I earned it!

Mom called 15 mins after Aiden fell asleep and I was still beaming when she returned home to a calm household (she was probably as nervous as I was about being 20 mins away). It was only a 3 hour adventure, but success is measured in small steps as a parent.



Two observations after the morning alone with my son:
1. Sheri is an incredible mother. She keeps our son fed, clean, and happy 24 hours a day... with only the occasional help from dad (bath, burp, etc)... I'm so proud of what she is doing with our son. Any success I have as a father is from mirroring her behavior and attitude.
2. Being a father is the most incredible experience of my life. It has changed how I prioritize my days, how I provide for my family, and how I define success in my life.

Fun In The Sun and Water

We couldn't resist any longer... our son's board shorts are just too cute, and at the rate he's growing might only fit another few weeks (thanks grandma & grandpa P)... so we did what any respectful Doha family does on a Friday afternoon, went to the pool - for Aiden's first plunge.

I grew up at the neighborhood pool. It was only fitting that after being raised on Cool Deck, Chlorine, and Otter Pops that I became a lifeguard and swim instructor - hands down the absolute greatest job in the world; getting paid to hang out at the pool 7 days a week! Secretly part of me wants to retire now and pursue a full career as lifeguard on the beach somewhere in Western Australia or Southern California (specifically the part of me that loves flipflops and Otter Pops).

Even though I've replaced my flipflops with dress shoes, I remember my past life as a swim instructor... which means little Aiden gets private lessons with two pretty cool people - his parents. Almost from birth an infant can hold his breath under water (yes the 'blow in the face' trick is a legitimate technique taught in instructor training)... thought: dunking hundreds of little kids in swim classes should prepare you for dunking your own son (FALSE) - so I was relieved when Sheri annouced that Rule #1 of first day at the pool was that Aiden was not to get his head wet!



Problem with Rule #1 of the pool is that it directly contradicted Rule #26 - Aiden has the right to ignore any of the aforementioned rules in pursuit of his own agenda... 12 seconds after handing him to Sheri our son performed a face plant; a move that on land typically bruises our cheekbones, when near water the face plant results in one wet little baby. Aiden came up with a puzzled look on his face, and returned to his peaceful state of mind. He was a pro - looks quite natural in the water, as you can see in the photos we snapped (underwater housing for our Canon Elph = greater invention than the iPhone and DVR combined... especially with kids).





Public Service Annoucements: Teach your kids how to swim as soon as you possibly can. Great materials are available from the Red Cross if you feel comfortable teaching them yourself - otherwise find a local aquatic center or trained professional and enroll them... not only does it provide 30 mins of 'free' baby sitting, it teaches them one of the most critical skills anyone can learn. Did I mention that learning how to swim trains the next generation of lifeguards and opens up the door for your youngster to get the coolest job in town?

Thank You Cell Phones

An hour before quitting time Wednesday my phone decided to take a dump... it locked up while drafting a text to Sheri. I used the 'take the battery out, put the battery back in, press power' trick that had worked on previous such occasions, but this time when the phone powered on it reached the Windows Mobile screen and started vibrating uncontrollably - which led to a subsequent battery removal. 4 attempts later I realized that my phone could not be resucitated.

Brandon's Samsung Blackjack: pronouced dead at 4:04pm local Doha time, May 20th, 2009

So I finished up at work, passed the bad news to Sheri via gmail chat, and headed out to run a few quick errands. As I drove down one of the busier streets in Doha I suddenly felt very naked without a working mobile phone, realizing that if I broke down or got into an accident I wouldn't be able to easily call for help like I did after getting rearended a few months ago... quite an uncomfortable feeling. Then I got stuck in terrible traffic halfway across town without anyway to call home and let Sheri know I'd be running late... making a stressful situation even more frustrating.

I later stopped by Carrefour on the way home to pick up a new phone (fortunately here the phones are all unlocked and ready to throw a SIM card in). I rushed home to charge my new Nokia and immediately felt at peace again.

In that moment of 'chaos' I realized that world of instant communication, adorned with Blackberry's and iPhones, provides us the opportunity to stay connected 24 hours a day. It has revolutionized how we interact with one another on a real time basis. How far we've come from the days of letters and physical phone lines, how did folks manage to survive:
1. No caller ID to know whether to pick up the phone or not, but on the flip side you didn't have voicemail tag battles
2. No text messaging so you actually had to call someone in person
3. Couldn't just call your wife or kids in the supermarket or mall to locate them before going to the security desk for a PA annoucement
4. Couldn't call from a traffic jam to tell your family/friends you're running behind, or phone the restaurant to extend your reservation 15 mins from the cab
5. Couldn't call the police or a tow truck from the side of the road after an accident or breakdown, you had to hitchhike to a phone booth or local farm house instead
6. International or State to State calls used to require a second mortgage, and had three minutes of echo'd reverb

So many aspects of our lives are 'easier' because of the mobile phone. The problem is that once you start participating in the connectivity revolution, be it with your spouse, kids, friends, or boss, you take on the responsibilities associated there with - you are left with few excuses for not informing others (late for dinner, cancelling the poker game, stopping at Krispy Kreme on the way home, etc).

It wasn't until my phone went KiA that I realized just how far technology has impacted how we live our lives. And judging from the capabilities of today's top phones it looks like we're only going to get more dependent on them in the future.

Update: 5 mins after making this post we were watching CNN international and saw the following piece: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/05/22/finighan.uk.smart.phones.cnn

The Number 2

Aiden celebrated his 2 month birthday last week, which marked the first week of seeing himself in the mirror above his window swing - ADORABLE! He also has a much broader range of emotion... expanding from open mouth 'laughing' to full on squeals and from occasional frown faces to full on tantrums. I wish I could say the more dramatic expressions of his feelings would tire him out and extend naps times, but it's been quite the opposite. He continues eating like a hippo, and has actually started waking up more frequently at night to get the nutrients he needs (pray for Sheri as she continues to pull the weight during the nighttime feeds).

There is no shortage of parental advice outside the protection of our villa; even in Doha, Qatar folks have the audacity to come up to Sheri and I to 'correct' our poor parenting. I'm not boasting that we are the foremost parenting experts; we'll be the first to admit we've learned an awful lot the first 2 months of this gig, but I do have a problem when folks get in my face pushing wive's tales that lack any substantial basis. The most awesome examples actually come from the Doctor's office and Church - 2 locations you'd typically expect some slack on the new parent - child abuse accusations.

When getting our son out of his stroller at his last doctor's appointment (which dad unfortunately had to miss for work), the Surgeon noted that Sheri 'incorrectly' held Aiden, failing to keep two fingers on his neck... and judging by his tone of voice he was seriously concerned about Aiden's well being. Standing joke around our house now is to hold two fingers on Aiden's foreneck - as if checking his pulse... "two fingers / two fingers". I have now commited to be at each doctor's appointment so we can use all 20 of our fingers to slowly slide our son out of his stroller and avoid redicule! If any Doctor has more comments during our trip this morning I may have 2 fingers for him (actually Aiden has learned the fine art of the flip off, so we may let him take the honors)!

Remember that we live in a town where half the babies this pediatrician sees don't have a carseat; where I also get strange looks for pushing a stroller or holding my son in public (woman's work)... and we get the guilt trip on "two fingers" - frustrating!

Then at church last week, Aiden was able to champ through the first 70 minutes of music and message - but during the final wrap up he got a bit cranky, so Sheri (being the amazing mother she is) stepped out into the foyer with him for the last 5 minutes. While out in the foyer she was approached by a lady who offered some 'great' advice to help with Aiden's hiccups (which he gets once or twice a day). Apparently babies with cold feet hiccup more (missed that chapter in my latest issue of Pediatrician Weekly). Quick solution - "you have to cover his feet to help his hiccups". How do you cover up feet when they already have shoes on? I told Sheri she should have handed Aiden to the Motherhood 101 instructor so she could feel how sweaty he was from the overcrowded church service (wall AC units can only do so much)... cold feet? I guess I'm a bit too quantitative/logical; seems like in our situation the more appropriate 'random guess at how to make the hiccups go away' wasn't to make my baby sweat more with socks or a blanket - I would have gone with the dunk him in the holy water and hold him upside down method.

The best 'indirect' part of parenting (ie not Aiden related - because the list of amazing things grows by the day), is our weekends seem so much more productive. The very act of parenting suddenly makes mundane activities seem important; take yesterday (which ended up as a 2 movie day - aren't those the best). We started the day lounging around the house - then between feeds and diaper changes we watched 'Yes Man' - rented off iTunes, worked out at the clubhouse gym, did groceries, started laundry, cooked dinner, bathed and put our son to bed, then finished the night by watching our second movie rental 'Marley & Me'. Safe to say that anyone who has gone through the puppy training phase or new parent phase of their lives will immediately connect with this movie. I think more than 70% of the dialogue between Owen and Jen in the movie came straight out of a Brandon / Sheri discussion. It felt so awesome to sit on our couch, snuggling with our two dogs, the occasional grunt from our sleeping baby over the monitor, watching a movie that was entirely wholesome and perfectly aligned with that moment in our lives. Highly recommend 'Marley & Me' - I did not expect a movie built around raising a rambuncious puppy to so sweetly and meaningfully intersect my life and remind me how special the experience of life really is.

As hinted at earlier in the post, we're off to the doctor this morning to tackle the first big round of vaccines (the 2 month shots). We've got our tissues and children's tylenol ready - we've been advised from our parenting mentors to buckle up for this doctor's visit. Plenty of tears and a good chance of mild fever to follow; can definintely use your prayers that our little man avoids the more severe side effects and that mom and dad can make it thru the experience. I think movies may be the order of the weekend!

What would a post about the meaning of 2 be without mentioning that after an impressive game 7 win against the Ducks in round 2, the Redwings have 2 rounds standing between them and a Repeat Cup... you have to think that the Motor City could use a boost in morale with the American auto industry in ruin.

PS. Aiden made it through the shots, at the looks of him and the dust storm outside today is shaping up to being a 2 movie day as well! Especially if you consider the Biggest Loser 2 hour Finale a movie

(note the Band-Aid and tired baby)

What's Cuter Than a Sleeping Baby

What's cuter than a sleeping baby - two sleeping babies!



Our friends Natalie and Charlie came over last weekend for dinner and to trade new parenting stories (we met them at our local prenatal course). They brought their son Lars so the boys could have some bonding time. After dinner we alternated bath time and play time, and after a quick feed Natalie and Sheri successfully put both boys to bed in Aiden's crib. They lasted nearly 3 hours while we all socialized downstairs; with the occasional grunt and squeal... if Natalie and Charlie hadn't left they boys would probably have made it a true sleep over; which is incredible given Aiden's tendency to kick and punch in his sleep and Lars' ability to effortlessly move about the crib. Video confirmed our suspicions that the boys were only 'pretending' to be asleep and were probably playing Truth or Dare before we interrupted their shinanigans.

Nearing our second month as parents, our boosted confidence prompted us to enjoy the neighborhood Cinco de Mayo party down the street while Aiden slept in his crib... a first for parents and baby alike that went well (despite our nerves). We took turns checking on him via our video baby monitor to make sure he hadn't crawled out of his crib. We were using 10 minute intervals at first, but quickly realized our man is a heavy sleeper and are proud to report that he survived for nearly 3 hours without realizing we had gone (although when we returned home he figured things out and Sheri paid the price with far less sleep than the typical night).

Since our posts seem to come less frequently as Aiden becomes more active I'll include some other tasty updates for our viewers at home:

1. Aiden is growing like a weed (specifically like a weed in our sideyard when daddy neglects his yardwork)... already kissing 0-3 month clothes behind and fitting nicely into his 3-6 month outfits. Thankfully we have enough 3-6 clothes to get us to our summer holiday, because the options in Doha are limited and VERY expensive!
2. Accordingly, our boy has grown out of the second tier diapers and is now in 'active baby' diapers, which I had incorrectly thought would be used when he was crawling, not when he was 7 weeks old. We've learned that the decision to upgrade diapers or clothing sizes is often driven by the recurrence of 'blowouts', which naturally signal the progression from one level to the next.
3. Aiden is also growing less picky in his eating habits... taking 4oz of bottle milk straight out of the fridge with few complaints. This means good things for Sheri - since dad can help share the load on the weekends (especially Mother's Day).
4. Two weeks ago Brandon was 3 weeks into a terrible sinus infection and 1 week away from a very important budget presentation, Ha'bibi was spayed (small dog + large incision = long recovery), Zona's energy level tripled following her 'annual' haircut, and poor Sheri was stuck taking care of the whole circus. We survived on her strength and care... kudos to my wife for not booking a flight home!
5. Speaking of flight home, Aiden and family all have valid visas and exit permits, giving us the green light to book flights back to the USA this summer... our first legitimate vacation in over 8 months, first trip as an expanded family, and something to focus on as the heat cranks up in Qatar (where did the double digits go?).