Side Benefits

We went to the forks Sunday and for the first time ever got to park in one of these awesome little "parents with kids" spots. They are totally great. Not only is it a fun little perk of the job, but also it is super handy given all the gear we need to schlep.

Beer and Popcorn

K got her first "Beer and Popcorn" cheque today. $100 bucks to help with childcare. Part of the government's strategy for universal child care. We bought pizza and stayed home with Matthew for the evening. Guess that is child care.

By The Numbers

Matthew is a real person today... in the eyes of the government anyway. We have successfully registered him for his social insurance number. Welcome to the duties of citizenship my little one.

and now we are six

Six weeks. The usual applies: “it feels like we have had him forever" and "where did the time go already". There is lots of that kind of stuff going on. And apparently 6 is a fussiness peak – which we are certainly experiencing. For example. For the last the last 3 nights he has gone to bed at 10, woken up at 3 and then again at 7. That kid is rough. Ok last height he actually did wake up like 3 of 4 times, but still, we have actually hand a semi-normal nights. Normal being the old normal, not the new normal, which frankly is not normal at all yet.

And he as officially outgrown an article of clothing. Unfortunately it is one of our favourites. The polka dot sleeper that Grandpa Gerhard picked out and that we brought him home from the hospital has officially be relegated to “keepsake”. Sigh.

Snerking

Babies have snotty noses. Who knew?

Matthew has been having some issues with his snotty nose these past few nights. He has been making ridiculous noises and getting a bit fussy what with the trouble breathing and all. Apparently this is fine and normal and there is nothing we can do. At this age the little ones are "obligate nose breathers" meaning that they can't breath through their mouths (see what you learn when you read the manual). So if there is gunk all up in there, it gets noisy (really noisy). We have become experts at the nasal aspirator, steam therapy, and appropriate angles of bedding to maximize nasal drainage. A whole new world of bodily fluids is opening up to us. By far the best advice we have read/received – from many sources -  is to just shut the door and turn down the monitor. Easier said that done. We have both spend hours sitting on a stool in the dark beside the crib watching baby snerk and snort the night away.

One Month

The one month shot is the most important - assuming that one plans to continue this month-after-month for the foreseeable future. The spot is critical. It must be stable (in that it will be there for a while so the picture is consistent - not so much relating to the structural integrity) and it must be big enough to have him grow into it (ie, not a bag like what joey favours). It also must allow for appropriate size differentiation from month to month. Anyway this is what we picked - the chair. We have pictures with him and one of his myriad of stuffed beings. We hope this works (oh the pressure!)

Dramatic Debut

We may have set the little guy up for a life of failure. In his first ever dramatic performance - a the tender age of 28 day old - he has played the role of a lifetime: Baby Jesus. How does one top that? Where does one go after playing the son of God! Oh well, at least he was brilliant in his role. And aside from the slightly unplanned interaction with the communion table, all was alright. Marissa (Mary) was taking Matthew up on stage and there was the gentlest of bonks on the table. Kristine and I didn't notice, but all the other parents did and there was this collective gasp and a swivel of heads to look back at us. We were all like "what? Is it wrong that our baby is playing Jesus or something?" Matthew didn't really care, but in the reprise performance we ensured that there weren't many table about.