84 days = 1 month

We're all settling into routine, including the daily grind of parenthood. Bea is doing fantastic. She's gaining exactly an ounce a day and is up to 10 lb 10 oz. Saturday was June 30th - which is exactly one month after her original expected due date or 84 days from when she was actually born. Thus her abilities should be compared to a one-month old.

She's doing a pretty good job of holding her held up for short instances. In that last two weeks her eyes are able to focus on many more things that are much farther away. We're trying to stimulate her eyes and brain with black and white print outs of shapes/objects and recently with red colored objects. She's recently had a a couple of giggles, but no cooing. She passes gas with the best of the adults.

Her acid reflux medicine is helping out a lot. She never slept before, she just moaned and squirmed. Now she actually sleeps peacefully and appears to be actually resting and rejuvenating. I'm really happy we did it for her, and I'm not going to complain about us getting a little more rest. She now can sleep for 2 to 3 hours at a time at night if we don't let her sleep too much in the evening.

We've retired a good 30 outfits and have moved from newborn to level 1 diapers. The Huggies brand kept leaking so we're proponents of Pampers. I feel very guilty about the poor land fills we're filling up. Below is one of my favorite outifts that was recently retired. We call it the "Flying Elvis" outfit.

Melissa and I certainly have our moments like any other parents. Right now Melissa's body is sore in every conceivable area partially due to the physical needs of holding, carrying, and feeding a 10 1/2 lb weight that's changing shape and form constantly and being on bedrest and in the hospital for so long. My surgically repaired back has been in better shape. Bea is currently yelling out loud for attention, but not crying. The tone is changing. All very interesting (some times).

While we're extremely happy about our new baby girl and love her so much, Melissa and I are probably in the parent category that is looking a little forward past the infant stage to where there is bigger blocks of sleeping, they can be stimulated and entertained more easily (you can figure out what's going on), and you can transport them much more readily.

It's been a really long six months since Cincinnati. Melissa and I are pretty mentally and physically wore down, but we know we've got it a lot easier than many people. The adrenaline was wore off before Bea was even born, and that was three months ago and we've got a ways to go before things starting getting much easier. I've resumed attending school for an MBA at night. I'm only taking one class at a time, and that's the current long-term plan. I don't think Melissa is able to carry all the slack if I had two classes and with my new appreciation for life, family, and baby girls; I'm trying to balance being a good father, employee, and still contribute substantially at school. Two classes would upset that balance for quite a while. I currently read my text while burping her on my nighttime feeting which usually occurs between 11 and 12:30. Let's just say the retention rate isn't phenomenal. Last week was the first week in a long time I've average more than 6 hours of sleep at night, so I feel like a million bucks compared to the rest of June, May, and April. I should mention that Melissa probably hasn't hit the 6 hour average barrier yet.

I hope this fourth of July finds everyone out there enjoying time with their friends and family and giving thanks for our freedom to vote and speak. While there appears to be more outspoken people recently, I think we should have a holiday for true listening to others and critical thinking with emotions removed. I'm included in that category.

Take care everyone.

Matt