Tatay ka na!

Isaac is now 19 days old. We haven't weighed him in a week or so, but I'm sure he's pushing 7.5+ lbs right now. Tuesday night was probably our roughest night so far with him. He would fall asleep while nursing, but wake up wimpering and crying once we put him down in his crib. So, we finally succumbed and let him sleep in the bed with us. And it worked for the most part. He did get up again around 4:30 am to feed. He didn't want to be put down though, so Tina let him sleep on her tummy. Last night, he was back to his "old" self, and was able to sleep through most of the night without the whimpering and light sleeping.

As new parents, Tina and I are still trying to understand this little person. We think we're pretty good with the routine aspect of it all. We change diapers when needed (though it's taken a little of trial and error to remember to point his little manhood down all the time...otherwise pee just shoots up through the top of the diaper!), feed him regularly, bathe him when he starts smelling like milk, wash and fold his clothes, change and pamper him...you know the little procedures that just need to be done.

The challenge is understanding and interpreting what the little dude wants.


Like any newborn baby, he seems to have only 4 modes: eat, sleep, cry, and not cry. Three of the four are the easy ones. It's the crying mode that can get tricky to read. As crying is Isaac's strongest communicative attribute, I think I've finally narrowed his crying down to it's distinctive stages: whimpering, crying, and crying hard enough to make himself purple.

People always warn us not to spoil the baby. "Don't carry him too much, or he'll get used to it!"

Tina and I have decided to "spoil" him as necessary. We want to address little man's needs ASAP. At this point, all he knows is whether he's fed, rested, and dry. As he learns about the need for nurturing, we''' answer to that too... so that he knows Mommy and Daddy are there for him.