About A Dog(s)

Day 3 part two.

The "Lactation Consultant" has assured us that we are doing the right things. The critical tip she imparted which has made a great deal of difference, and perhaps it will sound obvious to all y'all, is making sure that Ada's lower lip is 'flanged out' and her tongue lays over her lower gums. Since learning this technique, Ada has decided that all she wants to do is breastfeed and so I have spent the morning puttering around, doing dishes, laundry and cooking (and writing more emails than I typically write in a month) while my girls play cafeteria upstairs.

In other news, not only are the dogs adjusting to Ada's presence, their behavior is changing as well. Normally when I am home they are where-ever I am. Now it would seem that their loyalties are divided. When Kimberly, Ada and I are in the bedroom, they are right at the edge of the bed. When I head downstairs, they follow about halfway, then they park themselves at the top of the stairs. I can get them to come down for food, but that's about it.

The Daily Ada Ruth Lorraine, 2008.11.10.01

Life on Mountain View continues to be interesting. Yesterday it seemed as though our final hurdle, breastfeeding, was conquered. Kimberly and Ada enjoyed a couple of very promising sessions. But then last night Ada resumed her fussy ways and we returned to the syringes. We have a "Lactation Consultant" coming over to the house in an hour and a half and are optimistic that we'll soon be able to do away with the wretched things.

That said, in the wake of a great checkup yesterday afternoon Ada Ruth remains our healthy little delight. Her crying is infrequent and almost invariably caused by one of us (she doesn't like the changing table, or changing positions, or any type of change apparently). Fortunately her life is relatively uncomplicated. She is fed and changed every three hours and sleeps the rest of the time. For the time being we have been 'napping' with her between us on the bed. It's a comfort to be able to reach over to feel her at any time. I confess that I'm doing so several times an hour, hopefully to the detriment of my sleep alone.

As you might imagine, Kimberly is quite cheerful and undeterred by Ada Ruth's breastfeeding antics. The dogs are also doing well, I think. Tycho's interest comes and goes, but when it's there he licks Ada's feet and ears ever so gently. Ella is far more intent, particularly when Ada cries or has the hiccups. In the case of the former, Ada sounds a bit like Cartman when he whines to his mom (South Park reference, sorry). In the case of the latter Ada sounds a lot like a broken squeaky toy. In either case, Ella is absolutely determined to find out what is making that noise.

Daily Ada Ruth Lorraine #2, part 2.

Kimberly and I have finally managed to get a few shots of Ada Ruth wide awake, squirming on the bed. These are the picks of the pack plus a few more.

News: we were in for our 48 hour check this afternoon and Ada Ruth checked out just fine. Most babies lose about 10% of the weight after two days, which would have put Ada at 7 pounds. But she was at 7 pounds 8 ounces. Ahead of the curve!

Also, while we were there I asked for some surgical tubing to help with feeding. They actually had something which was designed specifically for the task at hand and thus armed we were able to cut her feeding time by over three quarters. She not only stays interested, the tube allows her to suckle at her own speed ... which is quite a bit faster than I'd originally estimated.

More reports to follow... distribute these pictures as you see fit...

Daily Ada Ruth Lorraine, day 2

We got through the night without mishap and with one nice 4 hour block of sleep, bookended by a pair of one hour naps. Ada Ruth continues to get more active and stronger. Her crying can be heard the length of the house and she's eating a lot more. As you may or may not know, we haven't been able to get her to latch on with any real success, so we have been supplementing with a syringe. The only nice thing about it is knowing precisely how much she is eating, which is increasing dramatically.

Another change in the last 24 came shortly after we started her on formula. She had a short period of more or less complete alertness, eyes open and craning her head to look around (a little). She's had a couple more of these periods but I haven't had a hand free with the camera. I'll work on it, I promise.

Kimberly's milk continues to come in and hopefully we will be off the syringe soon.

Ada-Ruth Lorraine Southern-Weber

As many of you have heard, yesterday Kimberly gave birth to our darling daughter, Ada Ruth Lorraine. The time was 1714hrs, Mountain time. She weighed 7 pounds, 13.5 ounces and was 19.5 inches in length. Both mother and baby are doing well and were able to come home less than 5 hours after delivery.

I Have Returned

Only a month ago I was describing what I was hoping would be a pleasant adventure (new job, house hunting, moving, etc). Today we are a little less than halfway through the adventure and so far, so good.

I have completed two weeks of work at my new posting and work is going well. In fact it's going very well. I arrived during a fairly busy part of the year for western fire and well over half of my peeps were on out-of-forest assignments. This has allowed me to meet folks incrementally and really learn a bit about them. All said and done there are 26 people on the org chart beneath me, with another couple informal assignees for fun I guess. So meeting them one by one has been a real boon.

When not meeting people my boss has had me driving around the forest and getting to know the roads. I have taken a handful of pictures and as soon as I find my cable I will be uploading. As you might imagine there are some stellar vistas, particularly in the Red Feather area.

House hunting has been kinda rocky. We have placed offers on four different homes and gone to inspection on two. With any luck we will be taking possession of this charmer on August 18th. The actual address is 2937 Mountain View, but because Google Maps - Street View is approximate I tweaked it to give you the right view. It's the split level on the south-east corner of Mountain View and Princeton. I also have a pile of photos of interior and backyard which will have to wait until I can find my cable.

The adventure of moving will be getting into full swing tomorrow (Sunday). It's a sorta funny story actually. At the time that I was applying for my Transfer of Station benefits, I indicated that I had what they call an 'extra stop': my storage unit in Indiana. My counselor assured me that although we would have to pay for it out of our own pocket, it rarely cost more than $50. A month later I got the estimate: $3000. Naturally I was concerned so I called my counselor back. While that price will not change, I was informed that I could avoid it altogether if I brought my stuff up to Chicago for the movers on Monday. I was told that I would be reimbursed for the cost of a rental truck. And a dolly. And blankets. AND, if I hired anyone I would be reimbursed for labor. Naturally at this point I wanted to know why the &#$% they wouldn't just pay the moving company to do it.

The outlook/schedule for the next week or so: today we have our shower & party, Sunday I load the storage unit. Monday the packers arrive. Wednesday the loaders arrive. Thursday we get on the road and Friday evening we arrive in Longmont to begin our new life.

Wish us luck!

On the road again .. and again... and again

Well, things are really starting to shape up. First and foremost I think it is worth mentioning that all of my misgivings and any bad-mouthing I may have given to the Albuquerque Service Center were misplaced. To date they have been very prompt and helpful, a complete change from what I was expecting.

But they were hardly the only piece of the process which had potential to perturb (all hail alliteration!). In the next month I will be driving between Illinois and Colorado a grand total of four times, with a flight thrown in for good measure. This Saturday, the 5th, I will be heading to the Longmont area on a week-long house-hunting expedition. I will return to work at the Indiana Dunes for my final week then return to the road on the 20th. I will report for my first day of work at CO-ARF on the 23rd. Then I will take off again on Friday, August 1, returning to the midwest for our baby shower, going-away party, packing, loading and leaving. IN THEORY we will be settled in our new place by August 10. In theory.

All of you who are reading I am making this small request. Please put positive thoughts and prayers toward the selling of our condo. There is the distinct possibility that the government will have a relocation company buy it from us, but it is not written in stone. Your well wishes will help and be very appreciated!