(mis)Adventures in Fatherhood

I solved my photo posting problem and abandoned Hello (software owned by Picasa, Blogger and Google) in favor of Flickr. I was disappointed with Hello's tech support and their inability to resolve my issues. Fickr seems to be very powerful and, at least, works.

Enjoy the new pictures.

I have heard that in the wild, animals who have their limbs caught in a trap often chew off their limbs to escape their predicament rather than end um as dinner.

I have also "heard" that in college, after a night of indiscretion, people who wake up with their arm around someone else often contemplate chewing off their limb to escape their predicament rather and to escape undetected rather than facing the reality of their hookup.

I know that the principle of "The Coyote Chew" also applies to childcare.

Most of the time, Kayla is an angel. Following her bath, bottle and book, she usually drifts off to the music and bubbling of her Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium.

However, there are some times when Kayla is so over tired that the system breaks down entirely and she is reduced to a screaming, inconsolable wreck. Finally, after rocking my daughter to sleep and resting her peacefully in her crib, I often feel like an animal caught in a trap or like I am transported back a weekend morning in college.

So we are a week out from Kayla's fever and she is doing better than ever. We had a great time on Sunday with Kayla's first swim class followed by brunch in NYC with Julian, Talia and their parents. We suffered through Kayla's third round of shots and recieved an excellent report card from her pediatrician. Kayla continues to amaze us on a daily basis with her charm and enthusiasm.

Unfortunately for us, we continue to suffer from Kayla's ailment. My WW continues to suffer horribly and has developed a sinus infection and I am still plagued by congestion. After finishing our Z-Packs (which, according to studies in The Lancet, are no more effective than Vitamin C or Placebo in the majority of cases) we can only hope that the sun an warm weather of St. Barth's will cure our ailments.

In 2 days, Kayla will be 6 months old and, at least in our minds, elevated to "big girl status". In practical terms, it means that Kayla is old enough to participate in swim class at the JCC.

Anyone who knows Kayla knows that she loves the water. She has always loved her bath and a good bath can instantly turn her into an angel even when she is desperately trying to be a devil. Now that she is a big girl, her favorite bath time activities are sucking on washcloths and cotton balls as well as attempting to escape from her bath seat.

Compared to most kids her age, swim class will not be her first pool experience. At 9 weeks old, Kayla expressed an affinity for the pool at our hotel in Aruba and who wouldn't? However, the ocean was not as big a hit with her as she was swamped by even a 6 inch swell.

My WW and I were looking forward to swim class, likely more so than Kayla who probably couldn't care less. We felt that it would be a nice activity, would get her comfortable in the pool, increase her water safety and give us a clue as to what to do with her in the pool and at the beach in St. Barth's.

The first class went well. Unfortunately, it is scheduled during prime morning nap time which increases the potential for disaster. Aside from a 5 month old, Kayla was the youngest. Kayla seemed to enjoy herself and was splashing and kicking while I held her in the pool. In fact, she was doing so well that the instructor decided to use her for a demonstration. This was probably a bad move as it resulted in a meltdown which resolved once she was back in my arms. During the remainder of the class we did a lot of kicking, splashing and bubble blowing. For the finale, we all did "The Hokey Pokey" and called it a day.

The biggest disappointment was the fact that the camera battery was not fully charged and died during the class. A rookie mistake.

After yesterday's fever scare, Kayla decided to sleep for 12 hours. When I got up to go to the gym at 5:30 am, she had not made a peep since going to bed the night before. I had to go into her room and put a hand on her belly to make sure she was still breathing.

The little princess decided to wake from her beauty sleep at 6:45 am and suck down 5 oz of formula. Her fever had broken and she was her normal smiley self. Later that morning, she ate a bowl of cereal and had a "conversation" with me over the phone. Kayla assured me that she was OK and told me that the telephone reciever was a great teething toy.