Harvey with Harvey

Harvey got to meet one of his namesakes, Harvey Biskin.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Harvey is now in San Antonio. It is so warm that he doesn't need to wear footed sleepers - a onesie will do! He was remarkably good for the airplane rides. He hardly ever cried or needed a diaper change. He sucked his binky the whole time. He was the envy of all of the other parents toting trying tots! Yesterday he met Aunt Teresa and Aunt Genevieve - that puts the Aunt Count at 6. He slept for 5 hours in the pack-n-play that Aunt Chita bought for him, woke up at 3 AM, nursed, and proceeded to "talk" to himself. It was the funniest thing - it sounded like he was speaking in about 27 different languages. Finally he went to sleep. Tonight we did a four step Cradle Cap removal process to get him all gussied up for dinner at Rosemary and Jimmy's. Tomorrow is his 3 month birthday. He is 12 pounds and 3 ounces. Happy Birthday Pooka!

Yes, I Love My Bessie....She's My Fav-o-rite Cow!

 

I am starting to feel a bit like Bessie, having to produce milk for the bottles that Harvey's babysitter, Jan, gives him when I go to teach piano lessons. Lately I have been a bit busy feeding the baby, so there is very little time to "pump" in between. What puzzles me is that I talk to so many women who "stockpiled" their milk. One mother had to throw a whole freezer full of milk away because her daughter wouldn't take milk from a bottle. I figured that maybe I needed something more aggressive than the "cheap" $50 hand-pump by Avent. So I purchased a state-of-the-art pump from Medela - the Steinway of breast pumps. It is electric and goes "choom, choom, choom - a - laka". You are supposed to empty the breasts within 10 minutes keep the milk cold with the handy cool-pouch, wipe it clean and go back to work. I don't know how the career women do it because I tried it the other day and got about 15 drops of milk and was feeling like a bad cow. What if I get "put out to pasture" for my faulty milking abilities? So I called the company and after listening to about 15 minutes of pre-recorded messages advertising all of the breast pump accessories and fancy pump gear, I finally got an operator. What was astounding was how much this woman really knew about the specifics of pumping. She said that because I was switching from a manual single pump (one breast) to a double pump, that my let-down had to get acclimated to the new pumping mechanism and the fact that it is a double pump. After picking this woman's brains for a few minutes I found out that there is a BETTER pump out there that mimics the baby's suckling patterns (also put out by Medela). So I said, "Well if this pump doesn't do the trick, I guess I'll just have to resort to the old-fashioned method of pumping." The woman said, "Oh, you mean hand expression?" "No," I replied, "I'll just use the baby when I need to pump." 

Harvey with his babysitter Jan

Uncle Michael with Baby Michael and Harvey

Christmas In Texas

We're fixin' to travel down to Texas for Christmas where Harvey will meet his Texas Grandma and the rest of the Texas clan for the first time.

Here is our packing list:

For Harvey
6 onsies
4 t-shirts
3 booties
Stawberry Hat
Blue Hat with little things on it/matching booties
Bear outfit
Christmas Reindeer outfit
Cowboy Outfit
Dressy blue outfit
Blue Sweater
Yellow/Green pants
Footed Sleeper
Medula breastfeeding machine
2 Bottles
Big Diaper bag
10 diapers
5 bibs
4 spit-up rags
2 blankets
(....and a partridge and a pear tree)
Vibrating Googly-eyed toy
Small Honking Duck
4 binkies (pacifiers)
Nail clippers and emory board
Baby bulb
Thermometer
Cradle Cap Kit
Aveeno Baby Bath Soap
Baby lotion
Baby powder
Desitin
Baby Tylenol
Chamonile Colic Medicine
Firefly which plays "You Are My Sunshine"
Car Seat
Native Carrier Sling
.....of yeah, one baby!

For Joe:
pajamas
toothbrush
2 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of sox

For Laura:
nightie
toothbrush
4 pairs of underwear
4 pairs of sox
2 hair scrungies
lipstick

Yes, I Love My Bessie....She's My Fav-o-rite Cow!

I am starting to feel a bit like Bessie, having to produce milk for the bottles that Harvey's babysitter, Jan, gives him when I go to teach piano lessons. Lately I have been a bit busy feeding the baby, so there is very little time to "pump" inbetween. What puzzles me is that I talk to so many women who "stockpiled" their milk. One mother had to throw a whole freezer full of milk away because her daughter wouldn't take milk from a bottler. I figured that maybe I needed something more aggressive than the "cheap" $50 hand-pump by Avent. So I purchased a state-of-the-art pump from Medela - the Steinway of breast pumps. It is electric and goes "choom, choom, choom - a - laka". You are supposed to empty the breasts within 10 minutes keep the milk cold with the handy cool-pouch, wipe it clean and go back to work. I don't know how the career women do it because I tried it the other day and got about 15 drops of milk and was feeling like a bad cow. What if I get "put out to pasture?" So I called the company and after listening to about 15 minutes of pre-recorded messages advertising all of the accessories and fancy pump gear, I finally got an operator. What was astounding was how much this woman really knew about the specifics of pumping. She said that because I was switching from a manual single pump (one breast) to a double pump, that my let-down had to get acclamated to the new pumping mechanism and the fact that it is a double pump. After picking this woman's brains for a few minutes I found out that there is a BETTER pump out there that mimics the baby's suckling patterns (also put out by Medela). So I said, "Well if this pump doesn't do the trick, I guess I'll just have to resort to the old-fashioned method of pumping." The woman said, "Oh, you mean hand expression?" "No," I replied, "I'll just use the baby when I need to pump."

Music Matters

This has been the week of playtime for Harvey. It started right after Thanksgiving. He starting craving quality time with the barnyard animals from his mobile. He would cry if I didn't wind it up immediately after the music "expired". A few days later we started winding up the flashing firefly, which plays a musically inaccurate version of "You Are My Sunshine" and its fuzzy red wings flash like a strobe in a disco. It is mesmerizing to Harvey, but in the words of a music theory nerd, "The six-four chord is incorrectly substituted with a two chord." Okay, so now that we are on the subject, I am having SERIOUS problems with the music that my infant is being subjected to via "innocent" wind-up toys. How can these irresponsible toy companies flood the market with music that has wrong notes and wrong harmonies and still sleep at night? In my book, it is important to introduce children to GOOD music as early as possible. It seems that all of my efforts to play Brahms, Haydn and Mendelssohn whilest my little peanut was in utero are being undermined by lazy toy manufacturers! Okay, I suppose I am overreacting, but it is such a simple thing to fix - a note here and there could make all the difference. I would even be willing to donate my music skills toward that end to help purify the music that our babies are being exposed to. The other day I was in the local Baby Boutique where the overly-zealous (read "pushy") salesman was singing the out-of-tune praises of the Symphony In Motion Farm Animal Mobile . It plays the great C Major Prelude from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier - a tune that just about everyone recognizes from weddings as "Ave Maria". Well, this tune has not only been transposed to D-flat Major, but THIS toy company has decided to completely change (destroy) the simple and brilliant harmonies of Johann SEBASTIAN Bach. It actually took me a bit of listening before I could discern any resemblance to Bach.
I am willing to overlook the fact that these tunes are being churned out through some overly synsthesized mechanism that sounds more like a dishwasher than any keyboard instrument I have ever heard. And yes, I realize that this is a fruitless rant against the baby industry. And granted the babies LOVE this stuff. BUT!!! It would be so wonderful if musicians could find themselves in a Baby Mart where there were signs on the toys, "approved by the MFBBMB*".

* Musicians For Better Baby Music Bureau

Growing Like a....Weed

I zippered up a bag containing the Layette Set (that's baby speak for the clothes that an infant wears during the first weeks after birth) and put it away until the next baby comes along. Harvey's legs are just too darned LONG! Everyday I take out a new outfit labeled "6 months" and remark to myself, "Oh, that won't fit him for a while, but I'll try it on him just to see how far he has to go!" And his not-so-little-anymore body just glides right in and hugs him like it was custom tailored. I guess I have some sort of mommy denial syndrome that causes me to see my child through lenses that make him still look like he's that tiny little peanut that we took home from the Birth Center.

With Mom, Grandpa and Cousin Alyssa

Alyssa was such a good babysitter! She found the "last" diaper in the "back-up" diaper bag when we were about to give up and resort to cloth and pins. She also knew how to keep Harvey happy with all of her jiggling and shushing. All of the cousins wanted to take turns holding him. Of course this violates the Pediatrician's cardinal rule: "Don't pass the baby..." (I think it was the first thing he told us at our first visit.) This of course is much easier said than done. Who doesn't want to hold Harvey (or any little bundle of love for that matter). What is worse is how to diplomatically remind people to wash hands - especially the "experts". Finally towards the end of the night, I announced, "Harvey is CLOSED for the night!" PS Notice the resemblance to HS's right hand and mine?

Piano Lessons at the O'Neill's

 

Harvey went to teach a piano lesson with his Dad the other day. He is making new friends fast!