Incentive to shave

Katherine's preferred way to be held, by me at least, is over the shoulder. She sees where I've been and burps, and I get the wonderful feeling of her little head bouncing against my cheek. But if I haven't shaved, my stubble leaves a red, irritated circle on her forehead. It doesn't seem to bother her, but she's too young to be needing to exfoliate.

Lullaby

For at least a month - and really I think it's been at least two - Owen has wanted to hear "Yankee Doodle Dandy" sung to him at bedtime. Did you know that there are five verses to "Yankee Doodle Dandy"? There are when I sing it. (And he's quite particular that I be crouching, not standing, beside his bed when I do so.)

At some point during Yankee Doodle Days, he decided that he wants to hear "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", too. I think he picked up that one from Kerry, who perhaps thought that a militaristic, womanizing march was not a suitable lullaby. (She should hear the songs I used to sing to him.) Only three verses to "Twinkle Twinkle".

Smiles

Smiles from tiny babies (eg, your almost three-month-old daughter) are fantastic. I'd remembered that they were an important counterweight to infant screaming, but I'd forgotten how truly awesome they are.

Milestone - Sort of

So BabyK has had her first clothes-wrecking, room-clearing, laundry-stat, poo blowout. Lucky for Travis, she did this while he was at work!

Travis was the witness (and cleaner) of Owen's worst blowout when he was tiny and nursing. I was on call that night and on the phone with the emergency room, when I heard the bathtub running. I found Owen and Travis in the bathtub. Owen with a huge baby smile on his face. And Travis holding a onesie that had been befouled to the shoulders. I think we might have just thrown it away. It becomes a challenge to get the clothing off the baby when things are that much of a mess.

One of my friends from work solved the super-messy baby clothes removal problem by cutting them off using trauma shears. These are blunt-ended scissors used in emergency rooms to cut off clothing when needed. Also apparently very useful for removing a poo covered onesie.

Eating > Sleeping

BabyK's favorite pastime is eating. Right now that means she's nursing 12 times a day, which ends up being a full time job (30-45 minutes per session). Whew. Last night, her preferred eating schedule was 11 pm, and then 1, 3, 5, and 7 am. Whew. Now she's sleeping again. No doubt to digest the gallon of milk she's eaten in the last 8 hours.

She's visibly bigger - definite cheeks, jowls, and a tiny double chin. Arms are thicker and her thighs are starting to thicken up. She's also getting the baby potbelly that hangs over the sides of her diaper. She doesn't yet have the forehead fat that Owen had, but I figure this comes later.