New Bathrobe

It's bath time once again for little Sydney. She doesn't seem to mind the body wash and getting all the attention of both mommy and daddy. While Tracie fills the little plastic tub with the mesh incline support, I get busy undressing the precious one. Bathing her is never the problem; it's the shampooing that is a killer. In the past, we bathed her without getting her hair wet, then we moved her to the sink where we would shampoo her hair separately. Sydney hates the feel of water running on her scalp. She freaks out when I lift her from the foam pad she's lying on, knowing that the water was coming.

This time, we decided to leave her lying in the tub and shampooing. It worked out well. She didn't cry once. She was being distracted with warm water being poured on her torso. She liked that. Afterward, we put her in a new bath robe that Aunt Willistine had sent months ago. It was too big for her, until now. Check this out:

This is Sydney's new bath robe. It goes with the theme "Sydney's Sun", doesn't it? Can Sydney say "Thank You, Aunt Willistine?"


"Thank you, Aunt Willistine!!"

"Did I say that right, Daddy? Gosh, I feel a little vulnerable and exposed right now, if you know what I mean. Can I get dressed now, purty pleeze??"

"Ahhh, much better."
**********************************************

That was on July 15, eight days ago. The poor thing has been traumatized since then. She went through a serious bout of constipation last weekend that was just heart-wrenching. It was on a Saturday afternoon. The sun was out, so I decided that the lawn needed some attention. While I was out mowing, Tracie came running out in a panic. She told me Sydney was having a bowel movement but she wasn't passing stool. She was screaming in pain. I dropped everything and went inside with Tracie. Sydney was lying on the changing table crying her eyes out. Tears were streaming down her face as her legs were completely stretched trying to pass stool. I quickly donned some gloves and examined her. Her stool was packed solid. My poor baby!! As the pitch of Sydney's cry was getting higher and higher with the pain, Tracie started balling herself. I tried to remain calm but my heart was aching for them. To save the gorry details for another place and time, I won't try to write about the next minutes of this event, but let's just say it involved some Vaseline and creative manipulation. A few minutes later, it was over. Sydney was smiling and grateful. Tracie was recovering and gently stroking Sydney's hair. I disposed of everything and went back to mowing the lawn as if nothing unusual happened, but inside, I was pretty shaken up. I felt tired and frustrated that she kept having this issue. The prune juice was helping but Sydney was unpredictable. We needed something that worked faster. Karo syrup was next up on the list. But at least that particular episode was over. Time to move on.

She's exactly 4 months old today. All is well. She's downstairs lying on the swing while mommy is vacuuming. It's around 8:00 am. Sydney woke up around 6:00 and made sure everyone else would wake up with her. She cried, wanting to be fed. During feeding, she had a bowel movement and started to cry. But it was a good cry. It was not in pain, just discomfort. Her stool was soft, a little too runny almost. I guess I should cut back on the dosage of Karo syrup. I had given her 1 tablespoon of syrup in 2 ounces of water around 1:00 p.m. yesterday.

Anyway, we placed her back on the bed between us to let her play while we tried to catch a few more z's. Nothing doing. She coo'd and talked and was reaching for us. I decided that it was useless trying to sleep so I made a large space for her to play in the bed. She hasn't rolled yet. At 4 months, I was hoping she had already reached that milestone. So, I encouraged her to roll. I even rolled her myself to show her what it felt like. I guess that didn't help. She just giggled and went back to sucking her thumb. Well, I tried. Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Some new pics

Just to appease the masses, here are some new pics until I can get the blog updated.

Sydney: [Yawn! Stretch!] "Dad, how about putting down that camera and bring some breakfast instead?"

Here we are at the start of July 4th vacation. Being cute is hard work but someone has to do it. Might as well be Sydney. It's Sunday morning and 3 days 'til we head to Panama City Beach.

Sydney: "I don't see what's the big deal about the beach! But .. ummm ... take it easy with being so close to the railing, k?"

We're on the 7th floor overlooking the beach and the pool. The view was great. It was a little hot and hazy but otherwise manageable. It's Sydney's first time near the sea.

Sydney: "Enough with posing on the balcony. I'd rather be drooling."

Sydney is ready for a bottle before going anywhere. She's being a real sport posing for the camera for a few more minutes while we warm up the formula.

Sydney: "Someone get me off this balcony ... or at least turn me around so I can see sand, surf and beach hunks!"

We've been hanging out on the balcony for about 30 minutes now. Sydney is getting hot and frustrated. She is tired from the long trip and is ready for some beach action. We're about to head down to the pool first to cool off.

Sydney: [humming the Right Said Fred tune]"I'm too sexy for my shirt; too sexy for my shirt; so sexy it huuuurts!"

Groovy, baby. Sydney is in her new pink bathing suit and ready to work her mojo with the crowd. Yeah, baby, yeah. She is digging the shade and comfort of the portable "Pea Pod" with the netting down at this point.

Sydney: "This beach thing is not so bad!"

Sydney is playing with her little toy crab and enjoying the light breezes by the pool.

Here we are at Applebee's with the gang. This is a picture of some of Sydney's cousins. The cutie to the left is Katie, a shy 4-yr old from Toronto. The one is the middle is Sabrina, a 5-yr old from Houston. She is a pill. The sweetie on the right is Savannah, the 11-yr old sister of Sabrina. She is the gentle one of the bunch.

Sydney: "This must be heaven! A warm bottle in my mouth and cool breezes through my hair. It just doesn't get any better than this."

Sydney is getting one more feeding on the beach Friday morning before we head home. The vacation was too short. None of us got a tan, but at least it didn't rain except for a few minutes on Thursday while the ladies were at the outlet mall shopping and the men were babysitting at the hotel. Sydney's skin is still ivory white. We didn't need to smother her in sunblock lotion everyday (although we did it anyway). It all worked out.