The Traveling Circus

This past weekend was our first big test in taking the girls out for extended periods of time over the course of an entire weekend.

Terri's sister Cindy got married on Saturday, so the girls were invited to every event -- lots of parties, lots of family, lots of time away from home.

At twelve weeks old, were the girls ready for this?

More importantly, after twelve weeks of parenting, were WE ready for this?

The Traveling Circus Comes to Cindy and Eric's Wedding!

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DAY ONE: WEDDING REHEARSAL & REHEARSAL DINNER

The weekend starts early Friday afternoon.

First, a bath for each girl. Then, getting ready to take them out to the wedding rehearsal and wedding rehearsal dinner.

We pack the following for the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner:

• Double stroller
• Two car seats
• Backpack containing:
  

• Ten diapers (five "newborn" Pampers for Caroline, five "onesie" Huggies for Katherine)
• Changing pad
• Wet wipes
• Change of clothing for each child
  
• Pajamas for each child
• Three burp cloths
• Two extra receiving blankets
• Three 4 oz. "Dr. Brown" bottles
• Formula to make three 3 oz. feedings
• Two bottles of Crystal Geyser water to make formula
• Camera (to record every precious moment)
• Two plastic ziplock bags to store dirty diapers in.

I feel like I'm packing for a small army!

In addition to getting the kids ready, we get ourselves ready -- this is different then our previous outings to the mall or the local family restaurant.

This was a wedding, which means dressing nice, and looking nice!

This Ain't No Trip to the Mall -- You Gotta Look Good!

Just before we leave the house, Terri breastfeeds each girl. We are trying to time the feedings to minimize having to feed in awkward places or at awkward times -- i.e., the middle of the rehearsal.

We get to the church on time, no problem.

Terri is in the wedding party, so she goes off to take part in the rehearsal. I walk the girls around and around and around the church chapel to keep them entertained. They nap for the most part throughout the rehearsal.

The girls behave wonderfully. No crying, no fussing. No need to feed them in the church. All is well.

We head to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner -- Cafe de la Paz in Berkeley.

Cafe de la Paz: A Nice Restaurant, But Definitely Not "Baby Friendly"

Our first encounter with a "fancy" restaurant with babies.

Surprise! The place is not very "baby friendly."

We end up carrying the stroller up about 12 stairs to get to the banquet room where the rehearsal dinner is being held.

No changing station in the bathrooms or anywhere else. We use a cushioned sofa couch (very trendy) to change the girls.

No place for Terri to breastfeed in public, so she holes up in the darkest corner she can find and disappears under a blanket.

The girls are great. No fussing, no crying. Katherine loves the whole affair and constantly is looking around, her eyes wide with all the new things to see and hear. Caroline is more subdued, but also stays quiet.

This dinner is a preview of the rest of the weekend. Well-meaning friends and family who all want to come up and touch the babies' hands, face, feet.

As a first-time Dad, I have to suppress the urge to bark out, "Have you washed your hands?" to each person who grabs the girls by their hand, or (gasp!) puts their finger on their face.

First-Time Dad Relaxing With Caroline -- Did you Wash Your Hands?!?

Still, we get home without the kids having contracted the plague.

At bedtime, the evening catches up with little Caroline. The whole evening of stimulation is too much for Caroline. She goes into "panic" mode just before bed time, screaming and crying and unable to feed.

Maybe she doesn't know how to process all that she's seen and done today.

Maybe it's a delayed reaction to all the new stimulus.

Or maybe she's just gassy!

Some extra walking, soothing, and singing by all parties in our household, and Caroline calms down and is off to sleep.

Day one of the weekend is complete, but we're just getting started.

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DAY TWO: MORNING & AFTERNOON: THE WEDDING

The second day starts early.

Terri is up at 6:00 a.m., and needs to be 20 miles away by 8:00 a.m. to have her makeup and hair done with the rest of the brides maids.

Terri feeds the girls at 7:00 a.m. just before she leaves. David's Dad drives her to her hair appointment at the wedding hotel.

At 10:30 a.m., David gets dressed into his suit, then proceeds to get the girls ready. Each girl is fed, burped, then changed into their "wedding" dresses -- little pink outfits picked out by Terri the night before.

The wedding is at 1:00 p.m., with a reception at 6:00 p.m. Instead of coming home after the wedding, the girls are going to hang out at the wedding hotel, closer to the reception.

Thus, the following is packed for the girls, and double checked by David just before 11:30 a.m.:

• Double stroller
• Two car seats
• Kolcraft "Travelin' Tot 4-in-1" Playpen
  
• A reloaded backpack containing:
  

• Ten diapers (five "newborn" Pampers for Caroline, five "onesie" Huggies for Katherine)
• Changing pad
• Wet wipes
• Change of clothing for each child
  
• Pajamas for each child
• Three burp cloths
• Two extra receiving blankets
• Three 4 oz. "Dr. Brown" bottles
• Formula to make three 3 oz. feedings
• Two bottles of Crystal Geyser water to make formula
• Camera (to record every precious moment)
• Two plastic ziplock bags to store dirty diapers in.

• A shopping bag filled with: ten extra diapers each for Katherine and Caroline, extra formula, extra bottles of water to make formula.
• BabyBjorn to carry babies in.
  

We head out with the girls at 11:30 a.m., and arrive at the church by 12:00 p.m.

Get the girls inside the church (which, by the way, is also not "baby friendly" -- the stroller must be lifted by hand up a set of 20 stairs), and settled in.

Katherine and Caroline are doing fine. A small crowd of family and friends come to say hello, but most are busy finding their seats or getting ready for the ceremony.

However, once the ceremony starts, and the organ music starts to play . . .

Crying.

Loud crying.

Caroline and Katherine In the Church -- BEFORE the Organ Starts to Play

First Caroline.

Then Katherine.

I pick up Caroline. My Mom takes Katherine.

I head outside with Caroline.

I try to come back in after 10 minutes. Caroline starts to cry again.

. . .

I'm told the ceremony was lovely!

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THE RECEPTION

We spend the late afternoon in the bridal suite letting the kids rest in the traveling playpen.

I learn that the Kolcraft "travelin'" playpen is poorly named. There's nothing much "travelin'" about the damn thing.

First off, it weights at least 50 pounds, and is huge. By the time I lug it from my car, up to the hotel room, and wrestle the thing together, I'm sweating all in my suit. Whoever designed this playpen could have put wheels on it!

However, the kids get some needed down time. They rest (and we rest with them) for about 2 hours.

At 6:00 pm, it's off to the reception.

The girls love it! Katherine can't stop looking around. Caroline is more subdued, but she's not crying at all.

The dinner is a traditional Chinese wedding banquet -- a nine-course meal.

I make it to about the third course.

By that time, the band has arrived, set up, and is starting to play.

LOUDLY.

As a first-time parent, I start to worry: How loud is too loud for 12 month old babies?

When we go outside to change and feed the babies after the third course, I get my answer.

My ears are ringing from the music. And if my ears are ringing, what does that mean for newborns?

Terri and I make a quick decision. Terri can't leave -- it's her sister's wedding, and she's in the bridal party.

I go. I take the girls back to the hotel room, where we hang out and wait for the reception to end.

The hotel room is not bad. I've eaten three courses, so I'm not hungry. The girls actually fall asleep after a little bit of fussiness.

By the time Terri calls me and we pack up to head home, everyone has had a pretty good time.

More importantly, we've survived our first FULL WEEKEND outing.

It felt like a traveling circus. But it was fun to experience it as a family.

In the end -- it's all about the family, isn't it?

Click on any photo for a larger view.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Katherine and Caroline's First Halloween

The girls celebrated their first Halloween this evening with visits to five houses around the block -- just old family friends who wanted to see the girls in their costumes.

Caroline (Cat) and Katherine (Peapod)

Caroline was dressed as a cat. She was a bit fussy at first, but settled down and napped in the stroller while we went around the block.

Katherine was dressed as a peapod (thanks to workmate Mechelle Corriero, and her husband Tim for lending us such a great newborn costume!). Katherine loves to go out -- she was awake and looking around the whole time.

Caroline (Cat) and Katherine (Peapod)

We spent about 30 minutes touring the neighborhood. It was perfect weather, not too cold. Next year should be even more fun, when the girls will actually be able to (maybe) walk a little bit.

Happy Halloween!!

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The Girls with Mom

The Girls with Dad

LOTS OF LAUGHS

Katherine's First Laugh

On Tuesday, we had one of those "firsts" that we'd heard about from other parents, but it was still a lot of fun when it happened.

Katherine showed us her first laugh!

It started innocently enough.

I was changing Katherine's diaper. She stuck her tongue out at me -- which is not uncommon.

I stuck my tongue out back at her -- which is also not uncommon.

I then blew a raspberry at Katherine.

She smiled.

But then - Lo! and behold! Then she laughed.

Her first laugh.

I blew lots more raspberries at Katherine.

She laughed lots more.

As any good father would do, I took these photos.

Katherine Laughing for Daddy

Dandruff & Olive Oil

Ready for bath time

One of the interesting things about being a new parent is the number of unique and creative remedies people have suggested to us for every real -- and imagined -- issue facing our little girls.

We are learning that, like most things in life, common sense (and your doctor's blessing) is often the best rule when it comes to following this advice.

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For instance, our babies have "cradle cap". Cradle cap is described by WebMD.com as: "an oily, yellow scaling or crusting on a baby's scalp. It is common in babies and is easily treated."

When I first saw all the dry, flaky skin on Katherine, and then Caroline, I remarked, "Hey! Our babies have dandruff!"

Terri replied, "That's cradle cap."

"Cradle cap? It doesn't look like a cap. They have dandruff," was my reply.

"No," said Terri. "It's cradle cap. We need to ask the doctor next time we see her how we should treat it."

Not being a baby expert, Terri's remarks made a lot of sense. Who was I to know dandruff from cradle cap?

So the next time we saw our doctor, we mentioned the cradle cap.

"It's very common," said our doctor.

But still I braced myself for the worst. Would my kids need a shot? Some expensive, prescription medication?

"You can treat this at home," said our doctor. "Rub a little Olive Oil into the scalp five minutes before bath time. Then gently massage the scalp, and the cradle cap will rub right off. Then shampoo with "'Head & Shoulders'" shampoo. The cradle cap should be gone in a few weeks.

"Head & Shoulders?" I thought. "Excuse me doctor, but isn't that used to treat dandruff?" I asked.

"Yes," said our doctor. "It wonderfully mild for babies."

Now, I'm not saying I'm as smart as a medical doctor. But I do get some satisfaction in calling cradle cap for what it was from day one -- DANDRUFF!

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Caroline's "Fonzie" Look

I have to admit I get a lot of joy out of the olive oil treatments.

For one, the babies look like little greaser kids from the 1950's. If they had a leather jacket and some blue jeans, they could date "Fonzie"!

Second, there is something theraputic about scraping flaky, dry skin off your babies heads! You can see the results right away, and so I guess I like the instant gratification of knowing I am helping my babies in some small way.

Katherine does not enjoy the olive oil as much.

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Early Morning Wake Up Calls

If you don't have kids, and can't fathom what a late-night wake up call from a newborn sounds like, Katherine and Caroline are pleased to share their "hungry" wake-up calls. Click on the links below:

Katherine's Wake Up Call!

Caroline's Wake Up Call!

Farts

You know you're a parent when one of your babies lays a HUGE fart in the middle of the store, and you don't even bother to try and tell the people who whip their heads around that it wasn't you, it was the BABY.

Who cut the cheese?
(Caroline in her favorite chair at eight weeks)

Shots!

Shots? No problem!
(Katherine at 9 weeks)

The girls had their two month doctor's appointment today -- and they are looking good!

Katherine is up to 10 pounds, 3 ounces.

Caroline is now 9 pounds exactly.

The girls also had their first round of immunizations shots. Four shots each -- two in each thigh.

Katherine and Caroline took the shots very well. The parents cried more than the kids!

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