| Dad's Diary |
| Archived Journal |
| Week 34 The Health Update Erika is now getting these sharp tingling pains in her legs. She talked about it with the midwives and they told her it's a circulation issue. That seems a little strange to me since it's a sharp intense pain. Erika thinks it's a pinched nerve somewhere. Maybe baby is pressing against a nerve in the spine or something. Sitting down seems to make the pain go away. Otherwise, Erika is feeling good, managing the end of the 8th month pretty well. This week it was very warm here in Chicago (upper 80's), which, as you know, is unusual for this time of year. Erika was a little worried because she didn't buy any summer maternity clothes, because you don't really think it's going to be that warm in April and May here. So, this week she was pretty uncomfortable and thought about going out and buying some cooler clothes. However, today it has cooled into the 40's so she might be able to make it 4 more weeks (or less) without buying more grotesquely expensive maternity clothes. Feeding Time This week we went to "Breastfeeding Basics" class at the University of Chicago hospital. I must admit I never thought I'd be taking a class with that title. There were about 5 couples in the class, two of who are expecting twins. The classic moment of the class was when the instructor was telling one of these couples that in order to speed up the feeding process the mother could feed one baby while the father could feed another with a bottle of expressed milk. The father then said, "You mean she can't do both at the same time?" He did not seem real interested in the process. I see problems ahead for them. That's not to say I'll be Mr. Super Enlightened Father, either. I can definitely see me saying at 3 a.m. some night, "Honey, I think he wants the real thing--I can just tell from his cry." They showed us a video (from England, naturally) of new mothers starting to breast-feed. I was surprised by how difficult it is to get started. I imagined it as being a bit more instinctive. The parents and newborns in the video had some real problems getting in the right position and so on. I had read that it could be difficult but this kind of drove home the point for me. Oh, and no bipolar people in this class. Furniture Delivery We had the crib and changing table/dresser delivered this week, thanks to Erika's parents agreeing to be here during the day on Thursday. It all looks great. We put up a mobile over the crib. It is in very bright primary colors. I thought I had read that for newborns everything needed to be in black and white. Erika says primary colors are OK. Anyone know anything about this? Did any of you put out black and white toys for your children and now find they can't see shades of gray in arguments? By the way, I have successfully assembled the furniture we bought from IKEA after hours of blood, sweat, and tears. Or at least, by my definition it's successful. The wobble is minimal. My friend Fred is coming in for the weekend and he may decide to take them apart. His standards are pretty high. Next week: It's starting to rain |