Kiss Me Kate: May 2005

The Learning Curve

Tougher day with Kate today, part of the evolution. She simply didn't want to sleep. Candace left for a few hours, during which Kate mostly half-cried or called out. You can feel her ability to cry coming like an approaching storm. When it arrives, say goodbye to your patio furniture.

So I tried much of everything, holding her, bouncing her, feeding her. Nothing much worked. And when Candace came home, nothing she much did worked either. I've read where these early days can lull parents into a false sense of security, as they become convinced that somehow their precious child will be the exception, be the one-in-a-million angel that never cries through the night or throws a tantrum. But in reality, I doubt there any any infants like that.

We know so little and are entrusted with so much. It hardly seems right. But somehow, everyone figures it out. Well, most do, at least.

(Postscript: They just played Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" on TV and I thought it was the baby monitor telling me Kate was acting up. That's either hilarious or pathetic.)

Katharine and her father, May 29, 2005.

Mom and Kate, in front of Kate's spiritual ancestor.

My mother, Betty, came to stay with us last week, and managed to get our house in order, at least temporarily, in her time here.

The happy threesome, in a rare moment when all three are together. What isn't surprising is that someone is asleep. What is surprising is that person is Kate.

A New Day With Kate

Kate studies her new Cot book that was shipped in from London yesterday. Thanks Deirdre and Doug!! And, she is going to love the dresses too. BTW - she cannot wait to meet Nathaniel. -- Candace

A smile? (I know, I know - not old enough yet.-- Candace)

She is still very tiny - most of the newborn clothes do not fit her yet. As of last Thursday, she weighs 6 lbs. 13 oz. -- Candace

Uptown Saturday Night

This is the dark side of parenting: It's Saturday night, close to midnight. Candace is out seeing Ryan Adams with a bunch of our friends at the 930 Club in DC while I'm here, marooned in Rockville, babysitting Kate. Life has indeed been turned on its head.

Yes, Candace deserves to have some fun after being on the shelf for nine months. And yes, if you strapped a lie detector on me, I'd confess that hanging out with my daughter, even if she can't talk, is pretty all right. Kate's done her best to make things difficult by setting a new record for quantity of milk consumed, burning through diapers, and refusing to go to sleep. She's three weeks old, but she already wants to stay up for Saturday Night Live. (Note to Kate: Don't make Lindsay Lohan your role model.)

Earlier, we watched the Indians together and they actually won. Maybe Kate's good luck.

Kate's Sunday visitors - Ben, Ron and Mary. -- Candace

Daddy and Kate on Sunday. We decided not to deprive Kate of the dreaded pacifier. It is calming and she loves it almost as much as her hands. Now, we just have to get up the strength to cut her long fingernails. -- Candace

Aunt Miranda begins to spoil Kate. Kate loves her new bunny. -- Candace

Kate took a long moment to look around yesterday. We went out shopping, and the things in the store woke her up. She could not get enough of her new world. I know from experience with my Taurus friend Trish how much Tauruses love to shop. (A bit scary for a mom who doesn't.) -- Candace

Candace's aunt Miranda has arrived to help out, although Jim has been the main beneficiary. He's been freed (temporarily) from the dreaded night shift.

Kate's been opening her eyes more and more, taking stock of what's around her.

Kate and new friend.

Candace begins involving Kate in her yoga poses.

Candace placing a brave face on turning into a human milk dispensing machine. Fortunately for her, this is a rare moment when Kate is not hungry. It doesn't last.

Kate, finally, at peace. To us, she already looks older.

What are you lookin' at? Note mittens, which Kate wears to keep from scratching her face. Or to fight in the super-featherweight division.

Kate likes the vibrating chair more than her bed.

Warren and Carolyn with Kate. They were Kate's first official babysitters, and she apparently behaved. No one expects that to last.

Kate's granddaddy comes from Alabama.

The Late Shift

To make things easier on Candace, I have taken on a late shift, in which I stay up with and feed Kate from about 9 p.m. to 1 or 2 a.m. Kate and I have taken to watching movies; it's becoming our movie hour. Thursday night, we screened "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which she must have liked because I had to change two diapers. Although she drank more formula during "Star Wars" Friday night, so I'm not sure if that isn't the better measuring stick. By the way, Kate believes the montage scene in the middle of "Butch Cassidy" when the two go to Bolivia seems dated and almost sinks the film.

Last night, Warren, Candace's father, and his wife Carolyn, babysat for us so we could go out to dinner. Guess what we talked about at dinner?

Home Alone

Dad got his first taste of mainline parenting today, as he was alone with child for a terrifying two hours. (Candace volunteered to go to the BMV, of all things. Amazing what being trapped in a house with an infant will do.) It all looked so simple, but what I forgot was that it is much harder to concentrate on doing things you have never done before when a newborn is screaming. Fortunately, Kate survived, despite my almost poisoning her with diaper rash cream, dropping her in the kitchen, or overcooking her formula. But there were times, especially when I was fumbling with her while trying to feed her, that she looked up at me with her big eyes as if to say, "Great. It's Amateur Hour."

Later, we went to the pediatrician, who gave Kate a clean bill of health. There, I resumed the role that suits me best: The guy who goes to Starbucks and gets coffee while important things are taken care of.