Month: November 2009

A Learning Experience

Tonight was one of the first times the burrito’s cried for a long time with no apparent reason. I burped him, fed him, changed him, bounced him over and over while he screamed bloody murder. It wasn’t even that long, but the biggest thing was the uncertainty – the “WTF IS GOING ON!?” feeling, since prior to this with very few exceptions, he cries for a very limited set of reasons, all of which are relatively easily addressed.

Then moments after the frustration peaked, he fell asleep. Guess he just doesn’t know how to go to sleep, but gets upset that he’s sleepy. What an idiot. 🙂

On the plus side, he had his first trips to places other than the pediatrician. Had brunch at Merritt with the usual crew, then demolished K in Street Fighter 4. 😀 After that, we headed over to A&T&a’s to meet the “a”, and then off to Bebeh’s R Us to check out a “glider” after Ei-Nyung really liked the one that A&T&a had.

Through all that, J handled it pretty well, so all told, there’s nothing to complain about if he’s frustrated for a couple hours in the evening. I know we’ve got it pretty good so far.

Tomorrow, the front of the house comes off, and we’ll probably find out how much damage these water leaks have caused. Good times.

Still Life With Bebeh

So, bebeh’s now 1 month old, as of yesterday. It’s been an interesting month. Busy, tiring, frustrating, rewarding… all the things that everyone seems to say, and none of it really captures the feeling of it all.

I’ve been as tired as I’ve ever been in my entire life. I’ve found that with enough sleep, I can tolerate his cries for as long as need be, but with too little, I get really frustrated, and sadly, really angry, which is difficult, because I know that being angry doesn’t serve any purpose. But still, that’s part of the reaction, and learning to deal with it is part of the process.

We’re still trying to figure out how to get enough sleep to both be fully functional people, and it alternates. Last night, Ei-Nyung let me get a full, uninterrupted 9 hours of sleep. When I woke up, I nearly wept with gratitude. I wish I could do the same for her, but biology makes that a bit more difficult. Still, I do what I can.

It’s interesting watching him grow. He follows things, clearly, with his eyes. He looks at his reflection, though I have no idea what he’s thinking when he sees it. What a strange little guy. He’s sleeping now, in a sling, as I type this.

Some unsolicited advice for people who may be in a similar situation – the first month, when you’re dealing with a new addition to your family, the level of stress, of fatigue – they make everything more intense. You may feel euphoric after the slightest positive step, or you may become completely despondent over the smallest frustration. Anything that you introduce during this time is going to be heightened. If you have a poor relationship with your family or friends, now is not the time to try to mend those relationships, or even maintain them.

It’s been an interesting month. Seems like only yesterday it was just the two of us & the dog, yet also forever since he’s been here.

Tomorrow, scaffolding goes up in preparation for home repairs to hopefully fix the 8 years of leaking windows. Next week, the entire front of the house comes off. Let’s see how that goes. 🙂

Crazy.

Man. So, kid. Here. It’s been a couple of weeks, but things have been pretty busy. Ei-Nyung’s mom came out and helped out loads, cooking TONS of food, and hanging out with the new addition. After Ei-Nyung’s mom left, my parents showed up. My dad left for St. Petersburg a few days later, and my mom’s still here, helping out. She’ll be here for another week, and then it’s just us on our own.

It’s pretty strange, being a dad. Frustrating at times, satisfying at times, just crazy all around. People tell you that it can be really stressful, but even after taking a couple classes, you really don’t get the intensity of it all. Kid needs to eat 12, 15, or more times daily – as things ramp up, they eat a LOT – not much at any feeding, but a lot of times during the day. It’s exhausting, and the lack of sleep is a real problem.

Knowing that neither of us functions all that well under limited amounts of sleep, that was my biggest worry going in – and in the end, that fear was definitely justified. Keeping both of us rested enough that we don’t get really frustrated or upset has been one of the hardest thing.

The kid’s pretty good-natured so far. He cries when he’s hungry, gassy, or needs a change of diaper, but for the most part, he’s otherwise pretty laid back. Crying a bit more these days, and harder to get him to settle down, but still definitely bearable.

Woo. It’s all very strange. Still trying to settle in. Particularly getting back to work, definitely… whoo.

Happy, though. Kid’s healthy, growing and changing every day.

On a totally different note, Forza 3 = awesome. Dead Space: Extraction is fun, if simplistic, and looking forward to getting into Brutal Legend, Dragon Age, and Uncharted 2, among other things. Not that I’ll have the time, but hey. 🙂