Feeding Machine!

The science of paleontology tells us that several million years ago there lived a giant shark, over 50 feet long, 35 tons of eating, feeding, teeth-filled muscle. Today, a new father tells us that there lives a little girl, over 2 feet tall, perhaps 13 lbs. of eating, feeding, gum-filled cheeky jowls...devouring all the rice cereal her parents can shovel into her mouth (assuming we're able to push it past the tongue she keeps sticking out at us).

Here are a few pictures of her enjoying, yes I think actually enjoying, her most recent introduction to our world - warm grown-up food. If you look closely off to the side, you can just make out her parents' dread of the stinky diapers they know are just around the corner.

It's clear she enjoys the food - she inhaled each tiny spoonful; and when her mummy wasn't getting it out of the bowl and into the same area code of her mouth, where she practically lunged for it, she'd start complaining.

Hope to get some video of it soon for later, riveting viewing.

Caroline Turns Four (months...)

Awright, my co-workers have shamed me into adding to this. Not that I didn't want to put up anything, mind you, but as I know they'll attest - a baby is the epitome of the proverbial "time eater." Our lives rotate now around what I lovingly refer to as "the little dictator." What time we go to sleep, what time we awake, what time we eat, whether we go out, whether we attend the Christmas party, how loudly we talk, what music we listen to, and the list goes on. I'll bet each person reading this has their own stories to share.

So anyways, Caroline has started putting on more weight. She'd plateau'd, we feared, a couple months ago at around 10.5 lbs. Since then she's started fattening up, perhaps around the time I started lovingly calling her a little piglet. She now tips the scale at...I have no idea, her next checkup is in a couple weeks so I guess we'll find out then. Mom is doing well and isn't as worried as she was, because Caroline is clearly starting to tack on the weight. Caroline is also - cue the hallelujah choir - tentatively, knock on wood and toss the salt over my shoulder...sleeping through the night. If you count going down at around 9 PM and getting up at 6:00 AM - and her mom and I sure do - then that's that. It's not permanent, she's broken our gentleman's agreement a couple times, but she is far better than just a few weeks ago when as surely as USC's football team will continue in its mediocrity she'd wake up once or twice for a 3 AM snack.

She also is sleeping on her back - a much welcomed change from time as far back as when we were in the hospital when that nurse who I'll never forgive cheerfully suggested we prop her on her side to sleep. That became her position until last weekend, when we put her on her back and she took it like a champ. Oh, one last thing...last weekend we also gave her some rice cereal for the first time, got the moment on tape, and also successfully gave her the pacifier. It's one of those ortho-correct, latex things, made by Playtex. Works like a champ. Score one for mom, as I told her it didn't matter what kind of pacifier she used. We men have lots to learn.

Other than all that, she's cooing, talking to herself, letting loose with the occasional peal of laughter, and generally acting like a four month old. Sigh, it's almost kind of sad, in that she's getting old enough to the point where we have to start talking how old she is in terms of months, no longer weeks. Pretty soon it'll be years, and braces, and the prom, and....ah, heck, no need to rush things along.

New Baby in this World

Caroline has arrived! September 28 at 2:13 AM Vitals: 20" 7 lbs. 1.2 oz. 8 out of 9 on the APGAR = healthy little girl Here is her first "professionally taken" picture (done at the hospital and on their website for the next few weeks). We took her in to the doctor yesterday, as she is slightly jaundiced (normal & common); this goes away in 5-7 days w/ regular exposure to direct sunlight and her normal poopie diapers - which she has started cranking out with startling efficiency and regularity. Today we are starting her on a regimen to get used to sleeping in the pack-n-play and co-sleeper; she's been fairly calm during the day, but gets active at night, so not only do we want to get her used to the idea those things are made to sleep in we'll work on getting her used to the notion that daytime is active time and night time is sleep time. Her first night home was rough, with none of us (Elisabeth is here to help us) getting much sleep and me making a 4:00 AM run to Wal-Mart for some anti-gas drops.

First family portrait, taken not long after delivery.

I've always liked taking pictures in b&w, and thanks to digital cameras it's so much easier. This picture was taken later in the day she was born. I think that's my mom holding her in the picture.

Soooooo sleeeeepy....although compared to what Jessica went through I suppose I had a pretty restful time. After she was born we didn't sleep more than an hour or so until the next night. So after waking up Thursday morning, Jessica at 4:00 and Barry at 6:00, we pretty much got 1-2 hours of sleep during a 40 hour stretch. Of course, what sleep we got after that was nothing to write home about, but we'll take what we can get.

Three generations of Caruso women. When we spend this Christmas in Florida with the Carusos and Granmere visits from Arizona, we'll have a picture with, count 'em, FOUR generations of beautiful Caruso girls! Caroline certainly has some good genes in her.
In the car for her ride home from the hospital...out of her first little world and into the rest of this great big one.
First steps into her new home.

"The Name" has been decreed

What started with the first page of "100,000 Baby Names" has been whittled down to one. This is what happened:

• 89 names from Jessica
• 78 names from Barry
• Dozens from family

We combined the ones that appeared on more than one list, along with the ones we (together) wanted to be "in the running", into a single list and began whittling them down.

• Round One - each protect 10 and scratch 5 (although I magnanimously allowed Jessica to scratch an extra one). The name we picked was protected by Jessica
• Round Two - same thing, except this time we both protected her eventual name
• Round Three - ditto, and ditto
• Round Four - we protected 10 each, but put the remainder up for discussion (ie: whacking); interestingly, I was the one who protected the name
• Round Five - the time arrived...Jessica scratched my favorite (Lydia) immediately, I cherished no illusions. Scratch, scratch, scratch on the way back home until only two are left: Gabrielle/Gabriella and....
• ...and then, last night, celebrating our Second Anniversary, we pulled the trigger.

Meet Caroline Marguerite Brandes, soon-to-be newest member of the Caruso/Brandes club. We chose her middle name to honor Jessica's grandmother (that's "grandmère" in lingua Franca). Now that THAT'S out of the way, let's keep on keeping on...just a couple months or so left to go until I can't sleep in on Saturday's any more. Sigh.

Amy & Bill's Wedding...and the name saga continues

After travelling nearly 7 hours to Orlando, arriving after midnight, enjoying a fun few days helping Amy and Bill celebrate their nuptials, then driving back home after spending some quality time with John & Elisabeth and Max & Maryellen and the boys, we almost didn't make it through the list of 18 names. We ultimately started on the list somewhere south of Brunswick, not finishing until we were somewhere on the Columbia side of Hilton Head. All in all, we've not had a single argument over the names...oh we've had plenty of disagreements, but no arguments. We were able to get it down to two names and we're sitting on them for at least a few days, hoping we'll have a nod one way or the other. I have my favorite of the two, which may or may not be the one Jessica favors, but we both like the two finalists and don't think we can go wrong either way. No hints, no "make a guess"...we're just going to mull them over before making any decision. Never let it be said we don't give a lot of thought to these things. Also, I finally got around to uploading some additional ultrasound videos, plus some photos from the wedding this weekend. We've a OB appointment tomorrow (July 10). Tomorrow evening, and Thursday night too, we're taking an infant CPR/First Aid class at the local Red Cross.