Z’s – Baby Life

Those unforgettable moments

Having a baby bears many unforgettable moments. We had one of those the other day. While playing with Logan and doing tummy time I did lift him up and did set him down on my belly and started smiling at him. He looked around with his head still a little shaky but apparently he enjoyed sitting high up on Daddy. He started giggling like crazy and was laughing and smiling. This was so awesome. The joy he was getting from this play was just unbelievable.

Overall he is slowly getting very good in lifting his head when doing tummy time. Sometimes he starts complaining and is crying when put on his stomach but he slowly gets the idea that he can look around when lifting his head a little bit. Logan is really discovering the world around him now. His eyes and his head moves around a lot when being carried around or when being in a position where he can see a lot of things.

But seeing that little guy smiling and giggling – that is just so awesome.

We started doing that same sort of game on a nightly base now when I get home from work and it just blows away the stress of a long day at the office.

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Doctor’s visit – Time for vaccinations

It was time for Logan’s second round of vaccinations. Simone and I met at the doctor’s office shortly before 9.00 AM as I had been working already for a few hours in the office that morning. Logan was sleeping in his car seat – not knowing what was supposed to come down to him (poor baby).

In the doctor’s office we were called up fairly quick. The nurse did do all the measuring (size, weight, etc). When the pediatrician walked in she compared those results to charts of where a baby of his age should be at.

>From the last visit 2 months ago Logan had improved. He moved up to the

10% range in weight. Meaning – that 10% of babies in his age have the same weight (keep in mind that Logan was born 4 weeks early with just 4 lbs in weight). His head measurement put him into the 15% group and body length he moved up to 20%. That was awesome news and we felt kind of relieved.

Overall the pediatrician was happy with the results. She did do her physical on Logan and everything was good. Logan seems to be a very healthy baby. We asked a couple of questions that we had and discussed the answers with the pediatrician.

Then it was time for the vaccination shots. The nurse came back in and took care of that. Within a few seconds she punched Logan 4 times to give him the different vaccinations. Before Logan had time to realize what was going on she was done. But then the pain of the needles reached his brain and he started crying. He turned dark red and then he turned white. He was crying so horrible for a minute and we felt so bad. Poor guy. He just did not expected that. We were able to calm him down after a minute and after

2 minutes the whole thing was over and forgotten

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Home alone

Simone and Logan went to Germany to visit our relatives. Especially a visit at Simone’s grandma is planned. Her grandma is 91 years old and this is the first grand-grand child for her. You do not want to risk the moment by waiting too long for visiting a 91 year old lady. We were quite concerned about the flight with Logan. A 10 hour flight is a long time – especially if you have a 4.5 month old baby with you. What if he does not like the flight and starts crying for the whole entire flight?

We thought about getting baby Benadryl, but then decided against it. Especially Simone did not feel comfortable sedating the little guy. In the end we bought some colic related natural stuff as the last option. Simone would also have Baby Tylenol with her. We were hoping this would be enough. The day of departure came and Logan acted kind of cranky during the day. We had to leave for the Airport around 2.00 PM and that made us feel nervous. We made it to the Airport just to find a long line of people waiting at the Lufthansa check-in. Great. That was one of the last things we wanted to do with a baby – standing in line with other people.

It took almost an hour before Simone and Logan were called up. The actual check-in went quick and smooth. We left that area towards the concourse the Simone and Logan would have to go to for departure. We stopped at a public restroom. Simone wanted to change Logan’s clothes one more time. Once that was done we headed for the departure area and security check. Time to say good-bye. This would be the first time for me to be separated from Logan for such a long time.

I went home with mixed feelings. How would the flight turn out? At home I took care of the dog. After feeding Aspen, I took her for a long walk. My thoughts were with Simone and Logan. Later at home I turned on the TV to have some background noise. The house felt empty without Simone and Logan around. Very empty. I went to bed early but did not sleep very well. What if this would be a ‘hell of a flight" with a crying baby?

I got up at a quarter to five and took the dog for a walk. When I came back and had breakfast the phone rang. Simone! The flight went well. Logan had cried a little bit in the beginning but then basically slept the remaining time of the flight.

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

How does it feel?

Logan and Simone are now gone for 1.5 weeks and I have another 1.5 weeks without them to go. In one way it is nice having a little more time for yourself, but then it feels very strange suddenly being all alone. The house feels empty. The dog feels lonely and has no hesitation showing it. So, how does it feel? I admit – I horribly miss my family. 3 weeks in a baby’s life are a lot and I have a little fear that Logan will not fully recognize me the first moments when they come back.

When talking to Simone on the phone I can hear Logan ’talking’ in the background, but he stops as soon as she holds the phone next to him so that I can better hear it and maybe even say something. "That little brat." ….. just kidding. According to my wife he is doing very good. He had only one real cranky day since being in Germany 1.5 weeks ago which is good. He is the star where they go. Logan is really awesome in making faces and showing great attitude. I think it will be hard for the grandpa’s and grandma’s letting him go back home to the United States of America.

There is another major change in our life at the horizon. It will provide us with more financial freedom and security, but it raises the question about time allocation (available time for the family) a little bit. It is difficult to predict and that makes times a little rough right now. Haven’t had a goodnight’s sleep in a while. More about this some time next week.

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

A Day from Hell

Logan and Simone arrived safely back from

Germany this week. 8 hours time difference are taking a toll and the 2 are only adjusting slowly to the local time again. Especially

Logan seems to be having a lot of problems getting back into his normal daily routine. He does not eat well. If he eats well it is mainly at night and that is when he is supposed to sleep. During the days he is cranky or extremely tired. We are trying to adjust him by keeping him awake when his little eyes are just trying to shutdown again for a nap.

Of course we are still giving him enough sleep during the day that he would need anyway but to adjust him to the local daylight and night cycles it is quite some work. This Sunday he was really having a bad day. Very cranky. I have not seen him having such a bad day in a very long time. He did not want to eat at all and we almost were ready for force-feeding because he was on his way to dehydration.

This worried us a lot and put us under a lot of stress. The crying baby around just did not make things easier and it all exploded into a heavy fight (with words only of course). But in the end that was like a heavy thunderstorm that cleared things out between Simone and me. Still – it left us with

Logan not eating properly.

Late Sunday I had to leave for a 5-day business trip to

California . I did not leave very lighthearted. I was full of worries about how this whole thing would turn out. Simone and I had decided that she would call the pediatrician in the morning if

Logan would continue to be so troublesome through the night. We’ll see how that turns out (I am writing this article while being on the plane to

Los Angeles ).

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Life away from the baby

If you are a keeping track of how life with a baby is for my wife and me you know that my went to Germany with

Logan for 3 weeks. When they came back from

Germany a little more than a week ago it was a reunion short of time. Just 5 days later I had to leave for a business trip. I spent the last 5 days in

Irvine, California . I like

California and I enjoyed the trip but I really started missing my wife and my little son.

A year ago I would not have imagined that I want to get back home as desperately as it is now. I am finally sitting on the plane writing this article. I do have a window seat and we are just passing over the Sierra Nevada and/or

Mojave Desert . I see canyons and desert. I see mountains and every once in a while I see a lake.

Anyway – I am feeling very relieved coming home now. Simone started feeding solids to

Logan this week and I missed this (for me) important moment in his life. Every time I talked to her he was “talking” in the background.

Last Sunday was a horrible day if you recall and in a certain way I was very glad to go away for a few days. But it is as it is. Once you are away you realize that you left the most important things of your life behind. Lesson learned

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Job and Baby

Simone had applied at her old company she used to work for as they had a few openings for part-time work. This Monday she interviewed for a job and received the job offer at the end of the interview. This is awesome news for us. The money in this case is not the most critical issue, but the additional income will certainly help. Kids are not cheap.

The really good news is that Simone can take

Logan with her to work. She will work in the daycare centers of our community association that they operate in the 4 recreation centers that they have. Highlands Ranch (http://www.highlandsranch.us) and its community association offer quite a few amenities for its residents. 4 local recreation centers are part of this. Residents gain free access to the rec centers with their monthly home owner fees.

This job – even if it is completely different from what she had done in her job before she quit to stay at home with

Logan – is a good step for her to slowly move back into the workforce. It adds some additional routine to her life and also keeps her in touch with other folks. The occasional getting together with other moms is just not the same. Simone will have to work a maximum of 3 hours a day 5 days a week. This job also helps when keeping her resume up to date as it will show potential employers later on that she is flexible and willing to work.

Filed Under: Z's - Baby Life - Diary

Those unforgettable moments

Doctor’s visit – Time for vaccinations

Home alone

How does it feel?

A Day from Hell

Life away from the baby

Job and Baby

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