TMI Tuesday: Blasting The Baby Monitor

When we first starting putting the baby registry together last year one of the things that we made sure to put on there was a monitor. Rather than going with the usual ones, we wanted to upgrade a little bit and get the video monitor for no other reason than we felt more comfortable being able to see our son and not just hear him. So far, that has been the primary use of the camera (especially when he is eerily quiet in his sleep) but it has also been a great source of entertainment at times.

There have been many nights when our son has had trouble sleeping or getting to sleep. Being able to see him has allowed us to take preemptive action during those times. While he may not be screaming yet, we know the restlessness that comes before the ear piercing. We both hate to hear our son cry and preventing that from happening by calming his flailing legs has been a great way to avoid those moments.

Sometimes there are moments, especially after a long and/or tiring day, when we just want to see him. It is calming to watch our son sleep but sometimes we don’t want to risk stepping on that one squeaking floorboard and waking him up. The camera has afforded us the best of both worlds by watching him dreaming peacefully without the risk of disturbing those restful moments for him.

And then there are the entertaining times. Whenever we hear him rustling in his crib we turn on the video. Sometimes, as mentioned above, we need to climb up the stairs and settle him. Other times we know what is about to happen. It can be just as loud as those aforementioned screams and they are much stinker as well. Those are the times when we know he is about to let his colon calm him.

It usually starts with the legs high in the air as if he is practicing some odd form of flatulent yoga. Keep in mind that we are watching this from the foot of the crib (maybe the funniest of all the possible angles). This is followed by a little shimmy. This can happen several times depending on the intensity of the end result. Once everything is primed the fuse is lit and the explosion vibrates the crib. I guess you could say that it is a brief moment of satisfying wakefulness for our baby. Once the dust settles he turns his head to the side and falls right back into a deep and restful sleep. At this point we just hope our laughing isn’t so loud that it will wake him up.

So there are many uses that we have gotten out of the video monitor. Some are very practical and have been beneficial since we brought our son home in the winter. Of course, there are also the other times when it has just been a great source of laughter.  

Errands, Sales, And Gift Cards Result In A Retail Hangover

With only one day this past weekend free from commitments, my wife and I spent the entirety of Sunday running errands. Some were overdue and now on a ticking clock, others were the result of the baby shower the day before, and some were just errands of opportunity. By the time we got home in the early evening we were tired and ready for another weekend.

The first trip was to the old apartment to pick up the cable boxes that I had forgotten to put in the car numerous times. I had gotten a call from Comcast last week and I really didn’t want to see another bill from them in the coming weeks. Now that this is done, it shouldn’t take much longer before our previous residence is finally a thing of the past.

From there we drove to Staples where I spent the next hour of my life scanning, formatting, and confirming the order for new lodge dues cards and address stamps. This is why I have been putting off this trip for so long. Of course, while we were there, it took the opportunity to restock on a few essentials (i.e. ink, envelopes, etc.). Between rewards dollars and coupons we did pretty well.

After swinging by my parent’s house and picking up a few baby shower gifts that got lost in the shuffle, we drove back west. On our way to drop off the aforementioned Comcast boxes (they don’t really have many convenient locations), and because I took a slightly longer route, we drove by the local Office Max which, turns out, is closing and was in the midst of clearing out the store. So, with the drop off taken care of, we circled back and slowly walked through the store. Got to love saving nearly 70% on items that you had been looking to pick up when the price was right.

By this point we were starting to slow down but we were only 5 minutes away from Babies R Us and we had both coupons and gift cards in hand (both from the gifts we brought home the night before and some that were in envelopes in the trunk that we had just retrieved). Needless to say, we decided to check a few more items off the registry and cherry pick the clearance racks and shelves. Even with a cart load of baby items, we actually still have some funds left to round things out a little later. Of course, there is still a lot of stuff on the registry too.

After a quick dinner (Bob Evans doesn’t mix well with pregnancy) we finally headed home for the day. While tiring we did manage to get a lot done that won’t muck up a future weekend. With that said, the retail hangover this morning was something that I don’t look forward to experiencing again.

Box Bombardment

What happened UPS? 

Last week the packages began arriving at our townhouse. It started with a few small items that I pulled from out mailbox as there were a few items that we ordered for the holidays. Of course, this is in addition to the numerous things that we purchased for the house, crammed in our car, and carried up and down stairs. The latest deluge is a result from the large items from our baby registry being left outside our door.

Each time one of these large boxes arrived my wife would get that look like the father receiving his ‘major award’ in A Christmas Story. Of course, she would have that look as I was carrying or pushing the box up the stairs and into the baby’s room. Let’s just say that it really isn’t fun when the 110 pound box barely fits up the stairs and you spend the majority of the time just trying to navigate the corners while keeping it from tipping back.

Now we have all of the furniture in the townhouse without any help from UPS due to their not being allowed to bring things inside of homes. And everything has been finagled up to the second floor with the only exception being that of the dresser which it simply too big for one person to maneuver. We are going to have to unbox it first and have at least two people carry it up the stairs on its end… it is the only way that we are going to be able to make the turn.

Thankfully there should only be one more big item that will be delivered in the coming weeks as we have another couch due to arrive this week. This too will have to be taken up stairs but this time to my wife’s office to serve as the guest bed for when we have overnight out of town visitors. Hopefully it is like the other couch and I can simply take it up in pieces and assemble in the right place.

There will also be a continued package bombardment as the due date approaches and the baby continues to accumulate more and more items. But at least we are nearly done with the items that we wanted to get to complete our new home. Everything is finished in the basement (at least everything that I had planned on putting down there), my wife’s office is nearly done, and the first floor is full of all our existing furniture. The baby’s room is the only one that will continue to accumulate a heck of a lot more stuff… stuff in all different sizes of boxes.

The Non-Baby Errands

Trip to the DMV behind the old boarders. 

What a difference a weekend can make when it comes to getting some errands done. We went from the fun and overall enjoyment of working on our baby registry to the doldrums of having to get the car inspected and license renewed. I know, I would much rather be walking around Babies R Us than hanging out at the DMV.

However, with these essentials now out of the way it seems as though we are finally recovering from the upper cut and no longer stumbling around the ring. Our feet, while it may not seem like it at times, are finally under us and we are able to take care of the things that have been hanging over us for months. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we can relax in the coming weeks. We still have a long list of tasks to accomplish and projects to complete but at least now there seems to be some good progress being made.

Sometimes that is really all that you need to experience to start getting caught up… knowing that there is progress being made can push you to get things done, move to the next item, and the next, until you are actually ahead of things rather than fluttering your feet trying to keep from going under. Unfortunately, this is part of a cycle that we have found ourselves in over the past few years. We never really get ahead on anything it is more about catching up and falling back… bobbing up and down in the swells.

The difference now is that there are events on the horizon that are adding to both the urgency and the difficult of pushing through things. There is a storm of dichotomy just on the horizon and while there are moments when the sun peers through the clouds and turns the choppy waters into diamonds, it never lasts long and shortly after those respites of reflection we find ourselves in the pitch black looking for any glimmer of light we can find across the black blanket.

Such is the spectrum of life and the ebb and flow that we all must embrace. There are moments when you can fight to break free and there are other times when you just need to relax and let the current take you to solace. Right now there is a mix as we are insistent on trying to find a positive place and are constantly struggling to do so but also moments when we need to conserve all the energy we have so that when those times of joy do occur we can embrace them with all the love that we have.

In both instances, there is hope and we know that life has a way of working out and that G-d has a reason for everything happening around us. We may not know why, understand, or like what is going on but it all works out in one way or another. If we accept it, this can be a time when peace overcomes stress and joy dominates the darkness. We will always fight for hope but understand that we have our limits and there are boundaries to everything that we do. I for one chose to be hopeful and happy focusing on the joy that is just on the horizon.

Baby Errands

On Sunday my wife and I had to get out of the apartment. With everything that has been going on lately we haven’t had much time to run a few errands… they just kept getting pushed back week after week. Finally we made it to the mall and started hopping from store to store picking up the items we need. Nothing fancy just a few items of clothing, a very important pillow, and some additional footwear.

The largest part of our outing was our trip to Babies “R” Us which ate up about two hours of our afternoon. While we did find a few items that we could purchase (clearance combined with coupon was a deal we couldn’t pass up) the primary purpose of our store visit was to fill out our baby registry (which is not fun if you try and do it online). That’s right, for the first time since our wedding, we walked up and down the aisles, scanner in hand, doing our best to spend other people’s money (no, we didn’t run into Danny DeVito).

With memories of our wedding excursions resurfacing in our minds, we were not looking forward to the process. However, once we started scanning, we couldn’t help but enjoy the idea that we were picking things out not for ourselves but for our son. That was the turning point in the whole process as we kept on finding item after item that we wanted to buy for our baby.

Of course, there were a few things that weren’t as simple as point and scan and there were a couple of items that we will have to research further before adding to the list. Strollers and car seats took some time while monitors were put off for another day. And while we chose some outfits, there is still a lot of clothes that need to be added before that could even come close to being a complete list. Toys were another item (except for a couple stuffed animals) that we are holding off on.

By the end of the registry marathon, we had made a pretty big dent. All the furniture has been selected, travel items were put on the list, and every other category in the store supplied checklist had at least a few items selected (including a crap load of diapers - pun intended). Also added were the handful of items that we purchased that day… always remember to do this as you enjoy the registry benefits on things that you are purchasing namely cash back.

So my son should have a pretty good start and this should prevent us from having to bring back piles of merchandise to return and/or exchange. That is the theory. And now my wife and I no longer have the aversion to registries that we previously had as things are different now that we are no longer picking out items for ourselves (okay some of them we kind of are). While we aren’t quite ready for our son to be born we are at least making progress and feel like we have made one more preparation for his arrival.

No More Energy At the End of the Day

Lately our weekends have been full of check lists, errands, and generally trying to get caught up on all the things that have been pushed back during the week. This translates to Monday morning not being the easiest day to roll out of bed. Today that was particularly true as I was laying there a little longer than usual not looking forward to the day that was spread out before me.

This weekend was so full of activity from lodge and office work to gift registries and simply getting caught up on my email that the list of things that had to get done first thing this week kept growing from the time I walked out of the office on Friday evening. I know that the weekends aren’t always like this and lately they have been a bit crazier than usual but, right now, the beginning of the work week is something that brings a sense of dread to my tired mind as I close my eyes on Sunday night. Right now we push and soon things we even out. That has always been the case it just might take a little longer this time around.

So, right now I am sitting at my desk stealing a mere ten minutes from my chaotic day to write this brief blog. Following a morning commute that took twice as long as it should, I got to the office a little later than expected so I had no other choice than to put my head down and work until my eyes became too heavy to continue. After a quick break, usually to take a call or replenish my coffee, I continued the push to try and pull together all of the final points on projects that have been slowly developing. Now I am taking a few moments to write and relax before returning to the deluge of communications.

Of course, following my unusually full day at the office, there is a networking event which, fortunately, is located half way between the office and the apartment. These are the beginnings of the week that seem to run on for hours long past the time when I usually close up the computer and head home for the day. This week, this is the first of three such nights. That is the current schedule but, as has been the case lately, things could easily change between now and the end of the week because, right now, my energy is low, the nights are falling to fast, and the day is nothing but a brief glimmer during the waking hours.