Quite a conversationalist

So D.J. is only 6 weeks old and he's already quite a conversationalist. The other evening he told me all about the shopping trip he had been on that day.

My best friend at work

I recently had to take a job satisfaction survey at work which included the question, "Do you have a best friend at work?" While I like my co-workers, I can't honestly say that I have a best friend at work. Thinking about it some more, I realized that I do have a best friend at work, largely due to my somewhat unconventional work routine.



You may remember that, long before the baby arrived, I was wondering what we would do about day care. Since I am a writer and most of my work is done on computer, I had proposed altering my work schedule such that I could tele-commute more and spend less time in the office. That plan was quickly dismissed, not by my immediate boss, but rather by his supervisor.

The long and the short of the story is that I've come upon a compromise that seems to work out for all parties. Little Elvis' overnight routine typically includes a feeding around 4 a.m. (I change him, Meredith feeds him). He's back up again around 7 a.m. Rather than putting him back in the co-sleeper after a changing and feeding, I take him out with me into the den. While he goes back to sleep in his basinette, I get online and start my work day. I manage to get in a couple hours of work and Mere gets to catch up on the rest she missed due to the overnight feedings. By 9:30 or so, he's ready to eat again so I take him back in to Meredith. I catch a shower and head into the office. Though it's not a perfect set-up, I feel I'm at least a little bit of help to Meredith on the child care front. Besides, spending some quality time with my little coworker allows me to honestly say that I do have a best friend at work.

Anyone else with child care/telecommuting success stories?

Play ball!

"Little Elvis" is only five weeks old, but Mere and I have already had a discussion about which sports he will be encouraged to play. We want him to have fun and succeed, but most importantly we don't want him to sustain an injury that might hamper him the rest of his life.

I'm a big baseball fan (go Pirates!), so there's no doubt that I'll be playing catch with him as soon as he is ready. My father-in-law coached high school football and soccer for years and is an avid outdoorsman, so he's got his own preferences. Mere loves football (she's such a big Manning fan that she tried to sneak "Peyton Elijah" onto the baby name list) and thinks that "Little Elvis" will make an excellent place kicker for the Indianapolis Colts someday.

The only sport that is currently on the list of sports to be avoided is ice hockey. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hockey (go Penguins!) -- in fact, it is probably my second favorite sport behind baseball. However, with the potential of broken noses, lost teeth and the overall expense of equipment and ice time, we'll try to steer "Little Elvis" in other directions.

Since he'll not likely play for the Stanley Cup, I took the opportunity today to put "Little Elvis" (or at least his picture) in the Stanley Cup today when it made a stop at my workplace.



So what sports are your kids involved with? Do you consider any to be particularly dangerous? Are there sports that you would discourage your children from playing?

He's the D.J., I'm the wrapper

Hopefully, I'm not dating myself too much with the reference to the classic Will Smith rap album from 1988, "He's the DJ, I' m the Rapper." Yeah, you know the one with the song, "Parents Just Don't Understand."

Little Elvis is almost three weeks old, and I have yet to send out baby announcements. Before you think I'm the world's biggest slacker, let the record show that thank-you notes have been sent to those who sent gifts for the baby. In fact, they weren't just cards, but were customized postcards with the baby's picture and a hearty "Thank you . . . Thank you very much" from Little Elvis.

However, I've been a little behind in creating baby announcements. Meredith came up with the idea to use Hershey's candy bars (she'd seen it several times before), but rather than ordering them (just do a Google search and you'll find plenty of options), she knew that her cheapskate husband would want to make his own.



She was right -- it has just been a matter of finding time to design the Word document (mine is about 5" wide and 5 1/2" long), printing the wrappers and assembling the final packaging. Now it's a matter of getting them into the mail before the warmth of Spring rolls around (I don't want the announcements to melt en route).



What creative ideas do you have for baby announcements?

Daddy on doody-count duty

It must be NCAA Men's Basketball tourney time, judging by the number of times the phrase "one and one" is used around the Swanson household. For non-basketball fans, "one and one" refers to the free throws awarded to an offensive player when a non-shooting foul is committed and the defending team is already over the limit of team fouls. More than you wanted or needed to know, right?

For baby fans, "one and one" refers to the contents of a dirty diaper. When we were still in the hospital and in the days at home immediately thereafter, we were asked to keep a record of feedings and changings. On the feeding side, we were asked to keep track of the start times of feedings as well as to monitor the number of minutes spent on each breast. On the changing side, we had to dutifully record each "doody." That is, keep track of whether it was a pee, poop or both, putting a checkmark in each column. In the days immediately after the birth, we also gave a visual description of bowel movements (noting, in particular, the yellow-brown meconium that was working its way through Little Elvis' system).

While we no longer have to keep and active record (our pediatrician said we could discontinue the rigorous count following the baby's first doctor visit) Meredith and I still use "one and one" as shorthand for what Little Elvis' bowels are up to.