A Poop in the Hand...

...Is worth a week of TV. We got a lot of mileage out of this one. Our petite princess Piper has one powerful pooper and a penchant for picking particular pants for pooping. Affectionately know as "the rhumba pants," the red ruffled article in question is a favorite for explosive poop. We've tried different size diapers, but every so often the floodgates open, and we get to see what all the baby books identify as the proper color excrement. I was holding Piper when this one appeared in my hand. Thankfully, she's breastfeeding (no nasty smells), and it remained in my hand rather than on the carpet.

After something like that, one needs a brisk walk, so we all headed out to Loantaka for a stroll in the woods. Piper has been all over town, but the miles and miles of Loantaka's paved trails are perfect for strolling with the Orbit and giving Lily a chance to chase squirrels, geese, and deer. There are a couple of streams that Lily frequents, and it has been warm enough for her to take a dip.

Piper continues to delight us with her hilarious noises, bright smiles, and easygoing demeanor. We've been pretty good about keeping the evening routine, so getting her to bed is not a problem. After the bath, it's some food with a story with Kristin, and two or three rounds of the "Lullaby" extended mix from the Cure's Mixed Up CD to put her to sleep.

Just before Easter, we tossed her and Lily in the (Piper) Aztec and went for a short flight over my parents' house. They both earned their wings! Sadly, our photos of the event didn't turn out very well, so you'll have to take my word for it that her first flight was a success. The weather is getting better quickly, so a ride in the sidecar can't be far away....

Poached Breastmilk in a White Wine Sauce

Piper has been all over town lately as Kristin and Lily take advantage of the spring-like weather we've been having when 70 mph winds aren't ripping telephone poles from the ground.

On Saturday, we celebrated Alison and John's birthdays in Millburn at Cafe Monet. Piper's first visit to a restaurant turned out to be a French bistro rather than Applebees, but she was a doll and turned out to be a hit with the couple at the table next to us. Thankfully, the Orbit stroller is compact. Even though the restaurant is cozy inside, we were able to nestle it between us, and no one tripped over it.

Choosing between carrying on about the restaurant or the stroller is a tough call. Cafe Monet is run by Tracy and Wes whom we first met in Chatham years ago when they owned The Show Bistro in town. Sadly, there were problems with the landlord, and they moved to Millburn, but that's 10 minutes away, so the best French food we've had outside of France is always within reach. Our favorite story is from our anniversary last year. We didn't feel like eating out, so we asked if they could do take out. Wes (the French-trained Egyptian chef) was a gem--he picked the menu for us; plated it on the restaurant's china; and watched in amazement as I pulled away with his best work riding in the sidecar. When I returned the next day, we shared cafe-au-lait outside the restaurant and talked about the motorcycle.

The Orbit stroller is turning out to be quite a conversation piece. We haven't seen anyone else with one around here, and when people did see us with it, we didn't warrant a second look. Then Giada deLaurentis featured it on the Today Show recently, and now we get lots of questions. It really is a treat to use. The thing folds up like landing gear on a fighter jet--and just as quick. Tossing it in the car for a run to the supermarket is no hassle at all, and finding a spot for it in the house was easy: it's about the size of a carry-on bag when folded. I'm a huge fan of it, but I do recognize it's foibles. The wheels were a complaint (the air valves were awkwardly placed), but Orbit changed the design and kindly shipped us a new pair when I asked. The front wheels do need some work. They don't give very well on rough sidewalks, so we'd like to see a springier suspension on those. The handle is a problem for me. I'm definitely in the single-bar stroller handle camp. The "pistol grip" trend is a bit frustrating. I just don't think the control is there with the pistol grips, and even though they are adjustable, there is enough play in them to make me wonder what happened to the guy who did such an amazing job engineering the folding base? Despite those minor complaints, though, I do think it's a great piece of engineering, and I heartily recommend it.

Everyone seems to ask, "How's Lily doing with the baby?" I'm happy to report that Lily is at once an attentive mother hen and jealous first-born. If Piper cries at night, Lily is up and letting Kristin know. Not that Kristin's Spider Sense isn't tuned to high-sensitivity already, but it's cute that Lily tries. She's also more wary of strangers at the door. Everyone gets a warning "WOOF!" now. Lily has always been a creature of habit, but she gets credit for being flexible as we work Piper into our schedule. The long walks are now during the day with Kristin and Piper, but we still enjoy a stroll together when I get home from work. After a long day of swinging, spitting up, and staring at everything around her, Piper loves to curl up with Lily in her bed. Lily? She still prefers the box the Milk Bones came in.

Say Hello to Piper!

Yes, it has been a month since we last posted news about Piper, but how many times do you want to read about the eat/poop/sleep routine? Honestly, every two hours with that was a bit monotonous--thank goodness Piper has been a wonderful baby whose cuteness kept any complaints about sleep deprivation to a minimum.

So here she is! She's got her shots and she's been really sociable lately. TONS of smiles for the past couple of weeks, and she began rolling over this weekend. We've been able to take her on walks with Lily regularly now that the weather is a bit warmer. As a matter of fact, Kristin took this photo as they were getting ready for an afternoon constitutional today.

Piper has been cooing and giggling up a storm, and she's such a nosy little girl. She wants to look at everything, and that's been the motivation for some great exercise. Piper had great strength in her neck early on, and now she's holding her head high and taking in every detail around her.

So the ball has started rolling. We'll do our best to keep you posted on all the fun!

Over to you, Piper!

World News Now aired the spot about our stay at the Parrot Mill Inn this morning at about 4:00 a.m. Any other nursing new moms or dads out there happen to see it? If not, try this video clip of the segment from ABC News.

Ready for Our Closeup!

I ended the last post with the call from Maria Parlapiano, the owner of the Postpartum Place in Chatham (pospartumplace.com is the website, but it's coming soon, so check it regularly). Last week, Kristin had just missed a call from her to be in a New York Times article about a service they perform at the Parrot Mill Inn bed and breakfast next door to the Postpartum Place. Kristin was crushed because we would have been guests in the Mommy Nest Suite at the inn, and Maria would stay in the adjacent room to help all night with feedings, and she would take Piper when she was cranky so we could both sleep.

I didn't even show Kristin the article when it came out, but we hit the jackpot when ABC News called! We were invited to stay at the inn for the night, and we were going to be interviewed for a spot on ABC News! What a delight the visit was! I slept to my heart's content, and so did Kristin. Maria took excellent care of Kristin and Piper. At every feeding, Maria came into the room and helped Kristin with Piper. She even gave Piper some pumped breast milk at one point, so Kristin could sleep a bit longer.

I had the good fortune to sleep through it all, so I've got enough energy to add to the blog again, and Kristin is feeling so much better with some rest and extra consultation time.

We had a lovely breakfast with Toby, the son of Betsy Kennedy, the owner of the Parrot Mill Inn, and then we headed back to the Mommy Nest for the interview. I know that it can take a long time to shoot just a few moments of film in the movies, but I had no idea the same was true for network news. The spot we'll be in may run between 90 seconds and two minutes. The shooting took four hours.

Of course the excitement of being on national network news helped us get past the hunger (we missed lunch). So would we be on Good Morning America? World News Tonight? 20/20? Uh, no. World News Now. Every morning--just at 2:00 a.m.

Okay, so that's what they make video recorders for. We can set the DVR for that. The reporter must have seen our faces sink a bit because she said this was actually the best place for the spot. WNN has a huge new-parent following since so many parents of newborns are up at that time. We also found out that the irreverent news show has a cult following. Apparently, people record it and watch it in the morning instead of GMA or the Today show.

Hey, we're not complaining--we slept!! So set your VCR, DVR, or TiVo for World News Now every morning next week (she didn't know what day the spot would air). Maybe you'll catch us on TV!

The Rest of the Story

Whew! Now we know how that cow in the movie "Twister" feels. The past three weeks have been a blur as Kristin and I stumble through life as sleep-deprived zombies, but while I usually forget where my keys are and whether the milk goes in the cupboard or the refrigerator, I never forget how beautiful Piper is and how delightful and peaceful it is to have her sleeping in my arms.

Our trip to the hospital was unexpected: Kristin had an ultrasound appointment on Friday afternoon, and the doctor told her to go home, get her bag, and go to the hospital right away because her amniotic fluid was a little low. Even though we didn't rush, we still sat for 45 minutes before being admitted since the hospital was swamped with 15 deliveries in one day and we arrived right before the shift change.

Eventually, Kristin got settled in, and was induced around 3:00 a.m. Saturday, December 29. Her drill sergeant, I mean nurse, stomped in around 7:00 a.m. to begin checking on her--only a little dilation, but by 2:00 p.m., Kristin was ready to push, and push she did--for two hours.

It wasn't looking good. The doctor had that "Hmmm, maybe a c-section is in order" look about her, but when she saw our faces, and Piper's head so close to coming out, she whipped out the vacuum. With some suction and more pushing (not to mention an episiotomy with scissors so big I thought she could sever bridge cables with them), Piper joined the excitement in the delivery room in a flash.

After a few minutes with the pediatricians, she was cleared for takeoff, and we had her in our arms. I was sent off to the nursery with Piper for processing, and Kristin was being sewn back together by the doctor.

Giving birth the weekend right before New Year's Eve isn't optimal. Over-caffeinated baby nurses and missing lactation consultants made the weekend a struggle (apparently babies don't breastfeed on weekends). We were being discharged on Monday at 11:00 a.m., so a lactation consultant was supposed to see us first thing Monday. In hospital-speak, this means 11:30 a.m. To be fair, the woman was lovely, but it was too little too late, so we went promptly from the hospital to the Postpartum Place in Chatham for the first lactation consultation.

Maria, Dawn, and Sharon at the Postpartum Place have been wonderful as they guided Kristin through some tough breastfeeding times the past couple of weeks. Things started out well, but Piper developed some thrush in her mouth, so it was tough going for a few days.

Fortunately, Kristin's mother was visiting, so she took care of cooking, cleaning and laundry, so Kristin could get a little rest, and I wouldn't feel too guilty about going back to work after my "generous" five days of paternity leave. This was very nice since everyone at work felt that since the holidays were over, we could now do five months of work in the next two weeks.

As all of you parents know, the killer has been no sleep. Piper is a lovely baby whose cries we have mostly figured out, and who has a relatively predictable schedule, so we are blessed by not having any true worries.

We didn't even have to worry about how Lily would react. Lily initially seemed to be unaware that Piper was even in the house, but now she's sniffing the bassinet to see what that smell is (diaper #18 no doubt), and wondering which stuffed animals are her toys and which are Piper's.

We're settling into a bit of a routine, and work has calmed down a bit, but we needed some rest somehow. Then, two days ago, we hit the new parent lottery when a call from Maria Parlapiano, the owner of The Postpartum Place, called. See the next entry for more information!