Finding a Schedule

It's been an interesting week here at the Fletcher house. We think Kole is old enough to where we kind of went into a second gear finally. He's getting bigger and a little personality full of sounds and kicks and reaching is starting to evolve like a chick pecking its way out of a shell. Plus, all the books have said that between 2-4 months, we'll want to get a couple of things accomplished: get him on a nap/sleep and feeding schedule, and get him sleeping in his own crib.
The sleep thing, thankfully (and knocking on wood) he's been real good about. Two nights ago we put him down around 9:30 after a feeding and he went solid until 5:15am. We were both like ... damn! Last night he went down closer to 10pm and woke up hungry around 4am. So, the schedule is coming. KOLE-TV is alive and well in our room now. Our baby monitor has a little A/V plug and I run a cable from that to our TV so we get his little spy cam on our big 38-inch bedroom TV. So long, David Letterman, hello Kole - every kick and squirm live and in war-like night-vision video. He took to his crib real easily. We had been putting him there for a while, letting him lay on his back watching his mobile while stretching and kicking. Now he sleeps like a lazy dog.
We also made a formula change, which all the doctors and books preach against. But, Nestle Good Start with Natural Cultures goes for about $29.49 for a 24-oz. can at our Tom Thumb when it's not on sale. It's the most expensive formula on the entire formula shelf, simply put. But, formula is formula, we're learning. The FDA has such strict standards of what has to be in baby formula, and what cannot be in it, that the back labels of the name brands and the generics are a mirror image. Target sells its brand of denatured whey cultures with DHA & ARA and all the stuff Good Start has, and sells it for $17.29. It takes Kole about 5 days to suck down a can of formula. Do the math. The one thing the Target brand doesn't have is a reuterin additive, which produces antimicrobials. Good Start had it, and it's found naturally in breast milk - simply put, it helps digestion. So, we found a good reuterin additive from the Vitamin Shoppe, we give him a 1/2-teaspoon a day. When we made the formula switch, he at first was grumpy and occasionally screaming in pain, grunting in pain, and he'd have poops that were hard as a rock. The poor kid was constipated and gassy. But, with the reuterin additive he's back making green and yellow chili in his diaper, ooh-ing and smiling more.
I've done a bad job of updating the 'Milestones', but he's now kind-of reaching for toys when he's on one of those play mat things with little toys dangling around. Either that, or he's wildly throwing his arms around and hitting them over and over again.
[PHOTO: Maggie still hasn't warmed up to Kole one bit, but we're still trying.]

KOLE TV

As a further sign that things are getting back to normal, or pretty close to it - we were able to sit out in our hot tub tonight. Kathy needs it for therapy, and I need it to watch the sun set. We took Kole's digital video baby monitor, set up the camera fixed on him in his swing while he watched the Olympics, then took the receiver out to the hot tub. Not a bad system!

**Update: there is not a US television station with the call letters KOLE, but there is a radio station in Port Arthur, Texas - KOLE-AM, it's a Fox radio affiliate that does news talk and carries Rush Limbaugh. Let me know if anyone has access to a t-shirt or bumper sticker to this station.

** Helpful parent tip #1: I haven't offered too many of these because frankly I feel we're steeped too far in the learning process to pass off to many ideas we didn't learn from others first. However, we found an impromptu form of audio baby monitoring using phones. We recently got new digital cordless phones from Panasonic. They're real nice with phone books, caller ID, speaker-phone, just like cell phones. They also can intercom one another. Kathy can take a phone with her to a bath (Bedroom Phone 3) and intercom me in the office (Phone 4) if she needs something, instead of trying to scream at the top of her lungs. Now when we need to monitor Kole and don't want to re-set the camera, we'll just put a phone right next to him, intercom that phone to another wherever we are (Kitchen Phone 1, for example), then put our phone on speaker. Boom. Instant baby monitor.

2 Months in the Books

Calendar says August 18, which is two months from June 18, but time is so weird right now. At times it seems hard remembering life with out the little guy in our life. Other times, Kathy and I look at each other and say - 'Can you believe he didn't even exist this time a year ago?'
His existence was to begin shortly after we got back from our anniversary trip to Vegas last year. But, it ended up taking a little more time. It's a good thing. This way we didn't feel compelled to give him the middle name of Caesar or something (stayed at Caesar's Palace last year).
Did the weigh-in thing while burping him during the early-AM feed - weigh the both of us, minus the weight of me without him. In the past Kathy has done it too, then we see how close we are to his weight difference. She's still asleep, so I went solo and came out with 13 pounds, 1 or 2 ounces. He easily stretches the tape 24 inches. Yesterday we finally got some sort of apples-to-apples comparison to how big he's got. Our next-door neighbors recently had a little boy (named him Cameron Cole, oddly enough) and we finally were both lolly-gagging around our garages yesterday to go fetch our kids and show each other. It was weird walking up and seeing how they're already identically sized. I asked how old he was, she said "he'll be four months in about a week". Okay, he's nearly 4 months, Kole's a day away from 2 months. "How big is he?" I ask ... she then explained where at his doctor's visit earlier in the week he was 12 pounds, 8 ounces. HOLY CRAP!!! So, Kole may have topped 13 pounds in 2 months before our neighbor's kid hits 13 pounds in 4 months. Kathy and I then spent 2 hours convincing oursleves that we are are not doing anything out of the ordinary - feeding him when he's screaming, 3-5 hours between feedings, stopping when he stops. At the pediatrician's visit last week, he went on and on how great Kole looks, everything is normal, normal, normal, he's healthy and great, etc. Yes, he's above average on size right now, but every kid will hit his own growth spurt at a different point in life, then when his voice starts yodeling and his boy parts become man parts, yet another growth spurt may emerge. Still, this kid Cameron was nearly a mirror image of Kole's size, but he could keep his head still, he was blowing spit bubbles, hands neatly propped on his mom's shoulder, all the things 4-month-old kids do; while Kole has nearly the exact body and head, but he's got the tongue stuck out, head bobbing around and hands flailing like an Irishman on St.Patty's Day.
The summer is winding down. It was a blast. Couldn't have picked a better time to have a kid. It's my down-time of the year with the show, and there were some weeks where I only went in for a day or two. I still never technically took a single day off this entire summer, as I continued to play catch-up with my off days from the year (at some points I'd work 25-35 straight days with travel all over the place, all without a single day off). Then the Olympics came along and provided some outstanding 2:00am-6:00am TV watching during feedings. Not to be all name-droppy, but I know probably about 50 athletes in the Olympics - covering their exploits in college, interviewing them, being chummy with them before and after events, meeting their parents, etc. Among my interviewees are gold-medal swimmers Garrett Weber-Gale, Aaron Peirsol, Ian Crocker and Brendan Hansen - all swimmers at the U. of Texas. I'm also buddies with Ben Askren, freestyle wrestler at 74 kilos (from U. of Missouri), Priscilla Lopes, hurdler from Canada (and U. of Nebraska), and distance runners Jorge Torres and Jenny Barringer (both from U. of Colorado). Still, I've caught myself watching badminton matches between a Spaniard and Mongolian at 4AM and been reasonably entertained. So, the timing of having a kid couldn't have been any better - and it all comes to a crashing halt next week. College football beckons.

The Swing Comparison

Today we finally removed the second head rest from the swing for Kole. The "second head rest" you ask? Well ... do you remember the photo from the "We're Home" post on June 20, when we came back from the hospital. With him in that seat as a "before" photo, here he is today also, just before closing out his 7th full week on this earth.
So, the before/after age difference is: 3 days ... 7 weeks.

Photos from Riley/Reagan visit

Be sure to check with the post below of the video of Kole with Riley and Reagan. I'll add these photos, as Kole first met his only two blood 1st-cousins, who he'll hopefully grow old with and treat like sisters, God willing.
First is a photo with he and I, showing what a big boy he is and how he now holds up his head with no help (I know my left hand is missing, but it's not like I'm grabbing the back of his hair and holding his head up - it's all on his own, I swear! Big t-shirt love to the Valero Alamo Bowl folks out there!).
Then comes photos with Kole and Reagan, then Riley.

Kole video

This is an experiment, if nothing else, at uploading video to this site. Since the video speaks for itself and needs little introduction, I'll address some name-ties to those who don't know my family, or to those out there who apparently have latched onto this blog out of the middle of the nowhere of cyberspace and made a point to tune into my personal life, for whatever reason. My sister, Kelley, has two daughters - my nieces Riley and Reagan - who have been on the road throughout the summer with their daddy (bro-in-law Kelly) since just before Kole was born. Kelly is a pro golfer on the Nationwide Tour, and they have a nice RV they've been touring the country in since about early June. So, when Kole was born, they were hopelessly on the road. Kelley made a return last week before her 40th birthday trip to Mexico, and met Kole then, while Kelly (Don) and the girls just met Kole earlier today. It was the first meeting of Kole with the cousins he'll grow old with, and though my face never showed it, it was an emotional day in my brain.
I thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch on video what Kole has been doing the past week - cooing out loud, nearly on command. Little Reagan got her first chance to hold him and he responded immediately with his own little greeting.

Doctor's visit 2

Today was not a fun day at the pediatrician's office. Shots were the order of business for this visit. Four in all - the 'DTP', Polio, this-that-and-the-other. Kole took it like a boy - screaming his head off at the first poke, but quickly calmed and was cool as a cracker by the time he got in his car seat and was ready to leave the place.

He measured, officially, 12 pounds 13 ounces, 23-and-1/3 inches long, and a head circumference of 16 inches. Doctor says he looks great, is growing well, and is probably on the above-average scale of growth. The slap in the face from that is - it means his body is growing faster than his brain. Doc says smaller babies develop more motor skills (turning over in the crib, etc.) quicker than those who grow out a little faster.

The only thing that made Kathy and I wait till the doctor to leave to giggle about was that he said that we may go ahead and allow more tummy time now, that we need to watch how much time he spends on his back. Truth is - even if he's dead tired, putting him flat on his back is a recipe to have him go ape. On his tummy, he sleeps like a rock. Yes, we know, we know, we know - it's not recommended. But, in the big picture, I think sleep is recommended over no sleep. He likes being on his tummy, so that's that.

The Five Faces of Feeding

Face #1 - This is the early stage, when hunger is imminent. He does not suck his thumb, but will suck a hand or wrist. Getting the sucking muscles warmed up.

Face #2 - This comes 5 to 10 minutes after Face 1. Sucking is accompanied by grunting and kicking. Still very pleasant to be around and fun to watch.


Face #3 - Showing signs of defined unhappiness and distress. If you're not mixing the bottle by now, you're about to have problems.


Face #4 - PUT DOWN THE CAMERA, CUT THE CRAP, AND GET THE DAMN BOTTLE!!!


Face #5 - Resolution. We are beginning to call this the "Victory Stretch", or "5-ounce Touchdown". After he is done, quite instinctively, he goes into a full-body stretch - stretching the biggest stretch he can stretch ... then halts mid-stretch in a full catatonic freeze.


Face #5b - Exhibit B of Victory Stretch. It's so hilarious - he stops sucking, you put the bottle down then get ready to position him to burp, then comes the stretch and the freeze.

First-time visits

I'm not sure if Kole had an eventful week, or if others had more of the eventful week involving him. Anyway - lots of people got their first gander at the little nipper. First was Wednesday, when we went to Graford, TX for a funeral of Kathy's aunt Linda - a great lady who was an old GP High alum and knew many members of my family. If you don't know your Texas geography, Graford is just west of Whitt - so we actually had the opportunity to drop Kole off at my mom and Gedy's house (just 15 minutes away) first for a few hours while Kat and I went to the funeral. We then picked him up, skipped the graveside burial service, then met back up with Kathy's family at her uncle Doug's house in Millsap. This time we brought Kole with us, and he started getting fussy and cranky right about the time we passed through the town of Cool, TX. It brought some needed comic relief to the car ("Cool! This is really Cool around here! I mean ... Dallas is cool, but this place is really, really Cool!!!" Pointing at nothing on the side of the road "Hey - COOL!!") It took 60 seconds for the joke to get old, but it was nice while we had it. Eventually we had a bottle in Kole's mouth when we drove up to the uncle's house. He lives on a hill on about 10 acres and his next door neighbor is Alice Walton, who Forbes currently has at #9 on their list of richest Americans - sitting on a cool 15.5 billion. She's Sam's youngest daughter. Kathy's uncle Doug is a state trooper and provides some security for Alice on the side, so he's the only neighbor she hasn't bought off (she apparently owns most all of the land along the I-20 corridor between Weatherford and Mineral Wells, raising and ranching horses) and they stay in very good graces. ANYWAY - long way to say that all of Kathy's mother's side of the family (the Wood family) got a chance to meet Kole and there was barely a moment when he wasn't being held and loved on.
Then earlier today, Kelley arrived from Omaha so she can turn right around tomorrow and leave for Mexico with my mom and a couple of her friends to go have her 40th birthday bash. I picked her up from the airport and brought her by the house and she got a nose-full of Kole for a couple of hours herself. So, lots of good times had in recent days - even in light of the unfortunate passing of Kathy's aunt.
Through Kathy's pregnancy she couldn't sit in our hot tub - since water that hot raises her body temperature, and thus of the baby, and gets dangerous. So, the hot tub has been idle since last October. Last weekend, I emptied it, cleaned it out, filled it up and balanced the water. With Kathy still in recovery and not quite ready to hop in a 104-degree tub, I just left it at its temperature straight out of the hose, about 88 degrees. Instead of putting on the normal lid - I put a tarp over the hot tub. The normal insulated lid has a hole in it, and disgusting rain water gets through it and into the hot tub. So, I just got a $20 tarp from Wal-Mart (have another dollar, Alice) and put it on top. Today, I mowed the lawn with it 104 degrees outside. My gift to myself was a little dip in my cool-water hot tub. I pulled the tarp off and confirmed that the heater had not been turned on. It hadn't. It was still set on 88. But the water temperature?? 106 degrees!! On the settings, I can only set it as high as 104! The tarp must have acted like a magnifying glass for the sun, then trapped the heat. It was damn-near boiling! So much for that idea. So, I dropped a few choice 4-letter words, came inside popped open a Michelob Light. Take THAT, hot tub!
(PHOTO 1: Kathy's cousin Laura with Kole at their Uncle Doug's in Millsap. PHOTO 2: Kole gives Aunt Kelley the smile she's only read about for the last few weeks.)