Couplehood

The Monday (Almost) Faithful: Messed Up Timing

My Boy and Me (It's His F1 shirt)

It Really Felt Like Monday Today
Sorry about that. This is the second time I've missed the Monday edition unintentionally. Gah. Not that faithful after all.

Thanks For Visiting, Guys
A bunch of the lady's friends came by yesterday, to visit the boy and us. I think there a mix of marvel and disbelief, and a dash of all-round happiness seeing him. We're the first among our college friends to be preggers, and I think it makes everyone feel older. Actually, if it were up to us, we'll be waiting a year or two longer. Thank God it's not up to us, because if it were, we'll be missing out on Mr. David coming into our lives.

We're Finally Getting Our Lives Back
It came with a revelation that the key to getting more time inbetween feeds was not to drag the duration between, but rather to increase the feed. It sounds inhuman if we tell you he's drinking nearly 180mls for a single feed, but trust me, it's the best thing we've done so far. The result? He gives us 4 hours inbetween his meals, and he sleeps longer also. Oh, he also drinks less as a result.

I'm Undergoing Coaching
It's amazing. I've never believed in it, but if I'm going to take the next step in my life, this is where I'm going to be working towards - human development. I've talked about it in passing for a while, but haven't really gotten into talking about it yet. I'm working with a coach who's been having sessions with me about my life in general. There's more I will say about it, but that will be on another page - because that one's personal. You're welcome to come and hear what's happening, but you'll have to ask me for the link to it ;)

I'm On The (Inside Cover) of Tribes!
Seth Godin, a marketer and all round genius, invited a bunch of people into a social network as an experiment and proof of concept. If you check out the new book, look out for me. I'm hanging around the lower left side drinking a milkshake - it's a familiar picture, so I'm sure you'll recognise if you've been here long enough. It's humbling to be part of the project, and the revolution. Thanks Seth, for including me.

Us at Church

We're just about to settle in on his new feeding pattern, and we're going to try out lunching out later.

We're glad to be in Church though! It's great to be among brethren.

Pastor Mak's Birthday

It's wondeful to share this day with you, dear pastor and brethren! 50 years old and not over the hill yet! :)

David the Judge, Just For You

He Was Bald, But Soon Got A Perm.

Just for you. :)

It's His 2nd Month!

 

I'm 2 Months Old. And Heavy.

I'm Going To Go Home To Take Photos, Because I Didn't Get One This Morning
He's grown 6cm since his birth. At this rate, he'll be the lady's height by 3 years old, and he'll outstrip his old man by the time he's 6. He's already feeling heavier after we increased his feed to 120mls per feed. They grow so fast! Anyway, it was a good decision to bump up the milk volume, because he's sleeping longer. That means better moods and more active wake times (he cries LOUDER now). Though it's a little harder to put him to sleep, it'll all solve itself after some adapting. [Edit - Here's a photo!]

His Temperament, Personality, And Look Are Changing
And so startling is the change, that sometimes you wonder if he's the same guy you put to sleep the night before. This morning, the little guy was all sunshine and smiles, looking content with the increased feed we're giving him. Then we began to clean him up (which he absolutely hates) and it was back to the old days of thunderstorms and lightning. Still, it's wonderful to see him smile in the mornings. It just starts your day right, don't you know? :)

Financial Matters Are Shaping Up
It hard to find good news in an economic meltdown, but while everything is crashing, I'm looking at my financial best. I've managed to bring down my credit card bills to an awesome all time low, and it's not by pulling any belts tighter or anything. It came with selling the car and developing better money habits, which easily helped to shave off 2/3rds of my monthly bills. Of course, I've also taken over the household bills and charges, so the net decrease isn't that dramatic, but still rather significant. Really - it's a whole load off your shoulders once you release bad debts and rid yourself of poor money habits. I've got a load of links if you want to find out more, but I'll have to lead you to my new article on Whakate if you want to check those out.

All In All
The best part of him growing up, getting more independent (read: sleeping longer) and getting the house back in order is simply this: there's more time for the lady and me to spend time together, and catching up on some much needed couple time. I'll try to be home earlier, dear, and we can have that soup we saved for today. Velvety mushroom, slurp!

Pictures Like These To Remember Us By

Man, These Are Nice Photos
I took a look at the photos Andy passed me when we visited him and the wife (and of course, little Raeann) and I thought a bunch of things to myself. I'll never want to forget these memories. He'll never be small like this ever again. Am I spending enough time with the family? Am I making these moments count for the lady? Will I ever get more than 5 hours of sleep? (Haha)

It's not easy raising the boy, says the lady, and I agree. It'll be much easier doing it together though.

Us
Because, you see, it's no longer you, or me, or him. It's us. We're a family. That's what makes it important.

Monday Faithful: Such Happiness, Such Doom

I'm Missing A Picture Here, But We've Had Quite  A Few Recently, So That's Okay
It's awesome having friends who are going through the same phase in life as you are. There's the brethren at MBC - a mix of new parents and some experienced ones - and there are old friends who have just given birth. It's a great deal of change, and we all need as much help as we can get. Times like these, everyone bandies together, and starts to understand that we truly can't make it alone.

My Conversations With New Parents, And Experienced Ones
This is no one in particular, just some of my observations of the conversations that the wife and myself (and, some really new parents) had over the past two months. We've still a long way to go!

New parent: 'OH NO WHY IS BELLY BUTTON LIKE THAT DOES HE NEED SURGERY!!!" (This is because David's got a bit of a belly button hernia. It happen one out of every ten babies, and no, most probably he won't need any surgery)

Experienced Parent: "Nah, it's alright. It'll get better by itself."

New Parent: "GOODNESS HE CRIES SO LOUD! IS HE IN SERIOUS PAIN?" (David has powerful lungs, and he cries phenomenally loud when we do something torturous to him, like changing his diapers.)

Experienced Parent: "He's alright. Remember to burp him after he's done crying. In fact, we just got you a T-Shirt for David that says, 'Here comes Mr. Noisy!'. " (The T-shirt's really awesome, and we can't wait for him to grow big enough to wear it.)

New Parent: "Keep the whole house quiet, or he won't sleep!" (2 construction works at my place and a busy 4-lane road prevent us)

Experienced Parent: "Peace and Quiet? Just try it when you have 3 other kids running and dashing around. Get them used to noise fast. Try MBC's Cry room" (Which is, very, very noisy.)

New Parent: "Are you able to handle it? Looks like you're bungling something!"

Experienced Parent: "You'll do fine."

I really hope so.

Us at Mount Alvernia

Welcome to the World, Raeann!

Here she is!

What a little wonder she is.

Congrats again, Mr & Mrs Auyong!

Congratulations to the Auyongs!

You're parents now! And happy 0th Birthday to Raeann :) You've been blessed with wonderful parents!

If I'm lucky, I'll get to come over tonight!