Dear Holly: I am Your Fitness Instructor and Speech Pathologist

9 weeks.

Dear Holly: I am Your Fitness Instructor and Speech Pathologist

Dear Holly,

One of my exclusive daily responsibilities as your Daddy is to make sure you’re being physically challenged in your exercises. So when I’m home, I do exercise time with you after each feeding.

You curiously love to stand up while I hold your hands. This seems peculiar to me, in that you’re only 2 months old. But yes, you stand on your feet for several minutes at a time before you need a break.

It’s funny because you always stand with your feet perfectly together; never in a regular stance.

Sometimes I pretend we are having a father-daughter dance, jokingly signing “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman. You totally go along with it, not knowing any better.

But while it is a joke, I look forward a lifetime of dancing you with as your father.

After you get tired of that, I turn you over on your stomach, which forces you to attempt to crawl. You have every reason to cry within in a few seconds, yet you never do.

Instead, you are always inspired to keep trying to crawl until I finally flip you back over due to your puddle of drool.

In addition to you having an obsession with maintaining mobility, you also are getting very serious about learning to talk.

During our exercise training, you also will smile at me and starting talking:

“Grrrr-ooowww-ahhh…”

I’ve learned that as I make random sounds back, you try to imitate them.

You’re also fixated on trying to roll all the way over from your back to your stomach.

Rolling over from your back to your side is easy for you at this point. My favorite time was last weekend when you were laying down on your play mat, smiled at me real big, then just threw your whole body into immediately rolling over.

It was as if to say, “Hi Daddy, bye Daddy!”

We have fun together! I am your fitness instructor and speech pathologist.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

2 months.

Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

Dear Holly,

It was exactly 2 months ago today that our family was graced with your glorious arrival, in which Mommy amazingly gave birth to you with no epidural. You are everything I hoped you would be and more.

I love getting to go home each day and spend time with you. You are such a delight.

This week Mommy took you to the doctor for your newest check-up:

You are now 10 pounds, 2 ounces and 23.5 inches long; which puts you in the 38th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height.

If you remain growing at these proportions, I suppose you could end up being as tall as your brother, by the time you are both adults.

Speaking of Jack, I can tell you two are going to be really good for each other. Even if he’s just coming over to you to making funny noises in your face, you seem to like it.

And he’s so quick to help out Mommy and me when we need some help. He runs so fast to go find the burp cloth or the pacifier or the diaper that we need.

Having you as a sister is a really good thing for him. I feel you’ve arrived at the perfect time in his life. He’s less than 2 months away from starting Kindergarten; starting that new stage in his life.

Simply because of your existence, he is becoming more independent and mature.

I guess I need to start taking more pictures of the two of you together. A common question that Mommy and I get is, “Do Jack and Holly look alike?”

If nothing else, you both have the fairer toned skin; unlike Mommy and I who both have a sort of yellow-tinted olive complexion.

Happy 2 months! We have an exciting trip coming up in a few weeks…

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: You are 2 Months Old Today!

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

8 weeks.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Dear Holly,

Mommy and I have been friends with John and Amelia Kennedy for as long as we’ve been married; nearly 8 years now. I will never forget how back in 2011, when our family moved back to Alabama for nearly a year, they visited us from Nashville. That meant the world to us.

A few months ago they had their first child, a son named Hudson. Our family visited him when he was first born. This past weekend they came to see you, as well as our “new” house. (And they were very kind to bring us vegan meals, as well!)

It was fun (and funny) to see you and Hudson interact with each other. While you have seen two other girl babies, your cousin Darla and your friend Hanna, I don’t suppose you’ve met a boy baby before.

It was inevitable that we as the parents would joke that you and Hudson will go to prom together in about 16 years: Holly Joy and Hudson James.

Nonna and Papa were also at our house for the weekend. It was their 39th wedding anniversary. I took Papa and your brother Jack to the Monster Jam event in downtown Nashville.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Papa was surprised how you were able to sleep through all of Jack’s noisy playing. At one point, Papa was using a Lego snake to try to bite Jack when we walked by. It was hilarious because Jack seemed genuinely afraid of the snake, even though he knew it wasn’t real. Through it all, you remained asleep while Nonna held you on the couch.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Once you woke up, Nonna entertained you by pretending to feed one of Jack’s stuffed animals your bottle. You were quite into.

Even though you won’t remember it, take it from me, you had a really fun weekend with family and friends.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Dear Holly: Your Weekend of Visitors

6 weeks.

Dear Holly,

You are a popular little girl. This past weekend, our family mainly stayed home and got to chill out while the activities came to us.

First, on Saturday, Mommy’s boss’s wife and son came to see you, making your brother Jack’s day by bringing him a new Lego set, which he built by the time they left.

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Shortly after, Mommy’s good friend from work, Lena, came along with her husband Mohamed and their young daughter Hanna, who is just a few months older than you.

We placed you and Hanna next to each other on a blanket to see how you would interact. I pointed out to everyone that it was if you were looking into the mirror, seeing your reflection.

Hanna’s Mommy Lena added, “Yes, the Middle Eastern version of herself.” We all laughed, because with your fairer, pink-toned skin, it sort of is the difference between Elsa from Frozen and Jasmine from Aladdin.

Dear Holly: Your Weekend of Visitors

I know the two of you will grow up knowing each other, as we have been friends with her family for a while now.

The next day, on Sunday, your brother Jack’s longtime friend Madison and her family came to visit you.

Jack and Madison attended the same preschool for several years.

Her family also graciously brought us dinner, which for a vegan/vegetarian family… I know might seem a bit intimidating.

But just like the last family who brought us dinner, the Crawfords, they brought us a fresh vegan pizza from Whole Foods.

Dear Holly: Your Weekend of Visitors

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to just stay at home at chill out at the house for the weekend, which is basically what we did. But at the same time, we were able to see people.

This past weekend was undeniably your weekend of visitors. As for this coming weekend, we’ll be taking you and your brother Jack to the Reptile Show. We’ll see how you do on that outing to help determine how often in the future we’ll be able to get out of the house with you.

We would love to take another road trip… like to Florida. But the reality of it is, it’s probably not wise to take a baby like you on a road trip right now.

 Love,

Daddy

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

We survived! Yay for us! With Baby Holly turning 6 weeks old as of yesterday, my wife and I have apparently made it through what I hear is the toughest part of the postpartum days: the first 6 weeks.

That first month or so is when you as the parent must figure out the details on what works best for your baby regarding sleeping schedules, formulas, and diapers. It’s a culture shock as a parent, even after already having one child. I knew it would be challenging going into it.

However, I must have kept my expectations lower than I needed to because, honestly, it hasn’t been that bad!

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Despite us managing our newborn’s infant acid reflux, for the post part, things have been fairly predictable. There have really been just 10 simple steps to caring for our newborn during the first 6 weeks:

1)      Feed her an ounce, burp her. Repeat until each ounce is gone.

2)      Change her diaper.

3)      Play with her by talking to her and helping her do exercises.

4)      Take a cute picture of her.

5)      While you teach yourself newborn photography, by the default of taking so many pictures, Instagram your work to show it off to friends and family.

6)      Change her diaper.

7)      Wrap her up in a blanket and rock her to sleep with the pacifier in her mouth,

then place her in the crib.

8)      Change her diaper, now that she finally fell asleep but wet herself again.

9)      Rock her back to sleep and place her in the crib again.

10)  Repeat two and a half hours later when she wakes up again.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Those are my 10 simple steps. This has been my life for the past 6 weeks.

Granted, these 10 steps have been my wife’s reality more than mine, since she’s on maternity leave, but I still work during the day. A lot of the time my main responsibility is to take care of our 5 and a half year-old son Jack while my wife Jill takes care of the baby.

This past weekend I celebrated the end of those first 6 weeks by shaving off my postpartum beard, as well as getting a hair trim. As you can see though, I was unable to overcome the temptation of shaving (and Instagramming) in stages.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

And if my eyes look bloodshot and cross-eyed, and I look like I need some ginseng because of lack of sleep, it’s probably true.

As for Baby Holly, she doesn’t have that problem so much…

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Fare thee well.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks