Day 24: Food! Now

A hungry baby part 2. When Brighton was a baby she cried almost non stop for 7 months. It was awful. One day, we ran out of organic formula, and I had to feed her some of the dreaded similac. After sucking down a bottle of the inferior junk food, she fell asleep in my arms, and when I laid her down she stayed asleep for 4 hours. She got full for the first time in a long time, and we never went back to the Organic baby food. Brave is starting to show signs of having the same appetite as Brighton had. 

Day: 23

Diapers Used today: 10

Total Diapers used: 220

Diaper Value today:$1.40

Total Diaper Value: $12.78

Day 23: A clean baby is a happy baby.

 Last night was a rough night and it was all my fault. I went to the gym, got all sweaty and needed to take a shower before I went to bed. My plan was to give Brave a shower, when I got one, but by the time I got in he was sleeping, for what I thought would be the rest of the night. It was not. He woke up multiple times. At some point this mid morning he got a bath and slept for the rest of the day. He apparently does not like to be dirty. 

We got a gift, probably the best gift ever, from Kristina Stone that has changed our family dynamic greatly. We have been working out the put the kids to bed routine since strong was old enough to have an official bed time and have tried just about everything. It is real important for me to expose my children to God through the reading of his word, prayer and worship. With Strong I tried reading him the bible, but most adult versions are way over the heads of young children who are trying to learn to talk. So I gave up on reading to them until they got old enough to comprehend and just spent some time talking and affirming my children each night and then praying for them, but in praying for them I kept coming up short with the routine as the prayer is usually something like:

16 THAT He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 THAT Christ may dwell (manifest His presence) in your hearts through faith; THAT you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend (experience) with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; THAT you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:16-19)

After Praying something like that night after night weeks, months, now years, this longing and need for something more has continued to grow in my own heart and in Strong and now Brighton's as well. So back in December we started incorporating worship, or at least where I would play the guitar at night and try to sing, but I am not the "Worship Leader" type because playing and singing seems to be a bit of a challenge. Regardless of the skill level involved, we are doing it anyway and it is really a hit with the kids, they discuss day in and day out whose turn it is to have me sit on their bed to sing. We where still coming up short.

It is hard to feel the fulfillment of comprehending with all the saints the width, length and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge without connecting with God through what is written about him and what he says through his word. This is where the great gift From Kristina Stone comes in, the The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. This book has completed the night time routine, we now have prayer, worship, and the reading and meditating of Gods word in a way that the kids are getting it. But the best part has nothing to do with the act of communing together as a family home church, but it is the fruit of what reading the these stories is doing in Strong, and will be doing in Brighton and Brave.

 

Day: 23
Diapers Used today: 10
Total Diapers used: 210

Diaper Value today:$1.40

Total Diaper Value: $11.38

Day 22: I think you are one of ours.

 

 Today we tried to take a picture of a picture so we could look at the resulting picture to compare Brave and Strong as newborns. It was very confusing, but in the end, we concluded that Brave and Strong are defiantly related. Brave is a skinny version of the Cook offspring. Looking back at pictures of Strong, and Brighton made me remember how ....stocky, they were.

Day: 22
Diapers Used today: 10
Total Diapers used: 20

Diaper Value today:$1.40

Total Diaper Value: $9.98

Day 21: It is a habit

Today was another good day with Brave, I am really starting to connect with him and am really proud to have him as my son. We are in trouble as Brave is not fond of his bed....at all.... and he is too small to sleep in the swings and chairs we have for him. He sleeps all the way through the night, he just likes to sleep my bed...MY BED! It is humorous and I will have to get it on video, but if you rock him to sleep and put him in his classy new bed, he will start fussing very quickly, then take him over to our bed and he falls asleep immediately. 


They say it takes 21 days to make and break a habit. Here we are.

The older kids have been struggling to find their place in the family, but I think they are finally starting to enjoy each other and feel secure that the new kid is not taking there place.

Day: 21
Diapers Used today: 9

Total Diapers used: 190

Diaper Value today:$1.26

Total Diaper Value: $8.58

Day 20: Commence Growth Sequence 1

 Day 20 is here! We have come a long way so far in this Brave new journey. Today was a good day and it seems baby Brave needed the extra sleep yesterday to get ready for the growth spurt he has started today. I am not sure we could pull out a ruler and really notice a difference just yet, but he has been eating more and his muscle development as well as overall alertness is increasing. For all you newborn lovers, if you want a chance to hold this baby while his is still in the newborn stage, you better do it in the next two weeks, otherwise it will be too late!

I came up with a developement leveling system idea for a website that would make raising kids like a video game. There would be no video game, just a ranking system that you could go in and asses the child. I still have to identify the major noticeable developmental milestones from an infant up to a teenager experiences, then make a personality asset system for the minor mile stones and special abilities as well. I think this would be an excellent way to get fathers more involved in the development of their children throughout their childhood.  This may only sound for fun for me or any other video game player who likes the games that require you to level up, but I think if it was easy to read and understand, it could revolutionize the way parents interact with their children. The level system would be fun, and good in an isolated instance as a "oh look, it can be done" experiment. It could potentially be bad if other people joined in and started comparing kids development level, or creates an extra stressful situation for the kids and parents because of lower performance in comparison to the social circle of people members are in. I think I am going to throw caution to the wind however and make a fun milestone leveling system for below school age kids since the education system poorly attempts to rank the kids after that point. If you would like to help me in this project, comment to this thread. All I have to say is watch out for my level 22e toddler, who posses the special skills "kissy face", and "open the door" and also my level 35a 3 year old with the "437 questions a day" and "wipes his own bottom" skills. Who says video games are not applicable to real life?!

My wonderful wife took some candid pictures of our nighttime routine.  This one is my kids learning to play the guitar by osmosis.  Of course they would probably name this picture- hugs for daddy.  They fight over who's night it is.  That is where I sit on either Strong's or Brighton's bed to play the guitar from.  This is a before dinner event where Strong or Brighton say "My turn tonight daddy?" And we have to clarify whose night it is for me to play the guitar with.  Jeanelle usually tries to sit on the other kid's bed. Alright, off to practice my guitar skills for the baby now.

Day: 20

Diapers Used today: 9

Total Diapers used: 181

Diaper Value today:$1.52

Total Diaper Value: $7.32

Day 19: Recovery Needed

Day 19 was a good day, almost a Sabbath rest day. Brave is preparing for growth spurt # 1, I need to figure out a way to chart these . I went on very little sleep this week, so at about 8:30pm last night me and brave went to sleep as you can see. We are doing much better today.  

Day: 19

Diapers Used today: 9

Total Diapers used: 173

Diaper Value today:$1.52

Total Diaper Value: $5.70

Day 18: I do all my own stunts

 That is a real photo. I cannot believe that momma put him on the little 19" ornament shelf for a photo op. Its a dangerous life being cute. Each one of our kids has a totally different personality, and each one responds differently to the types of affirmation given to them. I am talking about the Five Love Languages
specifically, and Brave is 100% physical touch. When he is awake, he wants to be held, and he usually wont go to sleep unless someone is holding him. We have also confirmed that he has a definite dislike of his bed as he will go to sleep just about anywhere but there. It is neat to see how a child's personality develops and how the situations and inputs around him effect the process. 


I posted early today, so now I am off to do my sprints work out.

 

Day: 18

Diapers Used today: 8

Total Diapers used: 164

Diaper Value today:$1.52

Total Diaper Value: $4.18

Day 17: Sleep Deprived

Thank you to everyone who prayed today. Your prayers where felt.

Brave is now at the point where we have to buckle him in his chairs because if we don't He will end up on the floor. He some how got thrush, and we are treating it, so his mouth is very blue at the moment. 

I am not sleep deprived because of the new baby, I just keep finding things to do after the kids go to bed. Tonight looks like it will be a short night as well. Having said that, this is the end of this post. Good Night.

Day: 17

Diapers Used today: 10

Total Diapers used: 156

Diaper Value today:$1.90

Total Diaper Value: $2.66

Day 16: Got a case of the Big Head

Brave went for his 2 week check up today. Poor guy had thrush, but that did not stop him from gaining all his weight back and then some. He weighed in today at 8.3 pounds. That is 1 pound 2 ounces more than his birth weight. Good job Big Guy. Okay, so we learned a lesson today: when an infant makes a loud rumbling sound in his diaper, it is best to wait a few minuets before rushing to change the dirty diaper. We changed a diaper a little too early and poo went everywhere. 

2 Young men named Alex & Brett Harris got a challenge from there father to spend a high school summer reading some theological writings that painted a picture of applying your self as a Christian and not letting a moment get away. They read "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman among several other thick books and during that summer became very dissatisfied with the American status quo for teenagers. They read of how teenagers in most of Asia spend there youth building a platform that will launch them into adulthood. In reading this the contrast of how American culture makes the teenage years the time to play and live without responsibility compared to the hard and diligent efforts of other cultures during the same years became overwhelming. They decided that they had played enough and it was time to apply themselves to the reading of the word and doing the Hard things one might experience as a believer in Christ at a young age. The brothers started a blog and have started a revolution. They call it the Rebeloution, it is the Rebellion against the low expectations and the party culture associated with it. The also wrote a book Called "Do hard things" I am going to pick up, though I am not a teenager any more, I am going to have at least 3 of them very soon and am sure I will be working with teenagers again in a ministry capacity at some point between now and then. So here is the Book and the Blog

Day: 16

Diapers Used today: 4 Free 4Cost

Total Diapers used: 146

Diaper Value today:$0.76

Total Diaper Value: $0.76

Day 15: Inching along

He is Yawning, not Crying.

Brave is going and growing. He already grew an inch, now he is 21 inches long.  He is getting more and more alert, as I report in every time, but today he was reaching for momma when she came to pick him up. The kids are very into bubby, and Brightday almost tried to pick him up to take him with us on our daily walk. She is a good big sister. 


Thank you Rachael for dinner, Jeanelle is happy to have eaten some stir fry.  


1 word of encouragement is worth more than a persons weight in gold. 

Day: 15
Diapers Used today: 8
Total Diapers used: 138
Diaper Value today:$0( Last of the Free gifted diapers, monetary values to come)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 14: And the lights come on!

2 weeks. Where does time go. Today we confirmed that Brave can see just fine and he knows the difference between the food provider, mommy, and the non food providers, everyone else. He is really starting to look around at objects and faces and lock and follow focal items. He has also decided that he would start letting us know that he is hungry, or has to ... other things. I am relieved and was getting worried as he was just to easy. 

I was reading in the bible today out of the book of Luke, and Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee and all these people came out to see him. I think this might be the first time Simon-Peter and Jesus met. He jumped in one of peters boats and asked him to push him out to sea a little bit and from there he talked to the people. This isn't the last time this happens. But the part of the story that really got to me was when he was done he told Simon-Peter to go out into deep waters and cast his net. Simon hesitantly entertained this notion and caught so many fish another boat had to help him get the nets up and they where both sinking because of the overload. What is interesting to me is that in those days, to Simon, those fish where money and he just cashed in on his largest single day catch, EVER! But right after that he put down his nets and became a Disciple #1. Not that I have answered any questions or taught any lessons by this pondering, but the point I am making is the more I read the bible the more little things like this stick out.

Notice the picture of Brigtday features special shoulder poofies that bubby convinced her would make her look like a princess. As you can see, she was not that impressed.



Day: 14
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 130
Diaper Value today:$0( Last of the Free gifted diapers, monetary values to come)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 13: If it smells like a dirty diaper...

Brave may not like this post when he gets older, but that is not today. This picture is of him while he is pooping. He poops for like 15 seconds strait and it is quite comical.  We will find out tomorrow, as it is his 2 week check up, if he is back to his birth weight. I am guessing he is 7lbs 9ounces, but I am usually wrong about these things.

I heard a great quote a yesterday and I thought it should be my witty comment for the day:

For the believer this life is the closest thing to hell they will ever experience,
For the unbeliever this life is the closest thing to heaven they will ever experience.

Day: 13
Diapers Used today:10
Total Diapers used: 121
Diaper Value today:$0( Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preeti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day: 12 And we go.

 Grow baby Grow. Brave is looking quiet large in the outfit we traditionally bring our kids home from the hospital in.  

Little boys are an interesting challenge when it comes to changing a diaper. It seems that Brave likes to hold it until I have the diaper off and then take a wiz once the cold air from not having a diaper on hits him. My keyboard now has urine in it thank you Brave. Someone invented the Pee-Pee Tee-Pee and I am here to tell you that that is just a gimmick. The problem with the PPTP is that our kids totally saturate that think then it falls off any way. So you end up with the original mess, plus a pee soaked PPTP that gets urine on everything.  

If you have a baby boy, do your best to learn the prep-switch method of changing a diaper. The way this works is as follows:

1. Get the new diaper before you put the baby on the changing surface.
2. Open the diaper and undo the strap mechanisms.
3. Place the new diaper under the current diaper.
4. Clean the kid.
5. Remove old diaper and quickly recover with new diaper.
6. Roll and toss. 
7. Continue with your day.

Be happy to be alive!

Day: 12
Diapers Used today:11
Total Diapers used: 111
Diaper Value today:$0( Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preeti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 11: Movement Milestone #1 accomplished, The roll.

Okay, so maybe he hasn't mastered the roll yet or even done it intentionally, but today we laid him on a play blanket and he rolled from side to side several times. It is sad that my baby boy is already growing up. Eight diapers today brings us to an even 100 diaper changes so far, Woo Hoo! We should have a diaper party! 


The first picture is the hearing screening they gave Brave on his second day. I wonder how some guy came up with the idea to stick electrodes on a babies neck and forehead to see if it could hear. I usually just make some big sudden noise, and if the baby cries, It can hear.


I am extremely jealous of Braves beard. He currently has more facial hair that I am able to grow. I am pretty certain that I will not have a beard until it is white because I will be like 90.

Day: 11
Diapers Used today:8
Total Diapers used: 100
Diaper Value today:$0( Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preeti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 10: If they were free, we would all have one.

 

 Have you ever seen one of those green pacifiers like the one in the photo above in action. Its almost as mesmerizing as watching a campfire burn down. We went on another walk/treasure hunt today and used the little backpack swing thing. Brave was awake and looking around out of the side pocket. I can really tell that he is growing fast and wish the newborn stage lasted a little longer than it does. It is probably for the best that it is short lived though. He lost his belly button attachment yesterday and he is starting to get neck control and voluntarily stretch out his legs and pull them back in. Next thing you know he will be getting his drivers license. 

Thank you Crisha for your generosity, the kids will love you forever. Strong was singing today " This food is from Crisha!! I love you Crisha"


Writing this blog has really been a challenge. I have tens of ideas everyday of what to say and then when I sit down, its like my  brain is in the other room.  I am more of a math,  analytical, Black/White personality as it is, so writing a daily blog  is a pretty unnatural activity for me. You can look at my facebook account and see evidence of this by my seriously infrequent status updates and total disregard for memos, pokes (which I am convinced is for the passive aggressive type who don't really want to send a message) messages, cause invites and friend requests.  I think there should be a group for Right Brained, socially defunct math people who don't find posting a status on facebook challenging enough to want to do it every day. For me to be interested, posting a status would have to have some kind of problem to solve or perhaps a security challenge where I would have to find a new way to "Hack" into my profile because of some random scenario happened. Thanks for reading and remember, protect your friends and loved one's: don't divide by 0.

Day: 10
Diapers Used today:8
Total Diapers used: 92
Diaper Value today:$0( Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preeti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 9: Went on my first walk with Daddy

 Thanks to everyone who pointed out my Dianosaur spelling fumble from the last post. Brave is very different from Strong and Bright. He is very laid back and is most comfortable being held. His favorite things in order are sleep, sleep, and food. Our other kids where both very high strung and had a different set of priorities at this stage, food, play, sleep. I took Brave out for a walk this afternoon to get some sun and I think he enjoyed it. 


Officially, Brave is Strong's baby. Strong is very possessive of Brave and is quick to let people know that it is not your baby, but his. I love the way kids think and change. When we had Bright, Strong tried to give her away countless times. I am glad to see that he has come around.


Day: 9
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 84
Diaper Value today:$0( Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preeti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 8: Dinosaur Monkey Sleeper Suit

I noticed that I could add a video and tried to find the perfect moment all day long of him doing something, but all he does all day is sleep and who wants to watch a video of someone sleeping? We had a surge in diaper usage today and set a new personal record of 11. He got a bath this evening and is all ready for bed. Last night was a great night for us and him. He woke up at 1am and I changed his diaper, he ate then went back to bed until 8am. I hope this pattern keeps up. Our other kids adjusted to sleeping through the night withing the first few weeks and I am hoping to add a third to the list.

Speaking of other kids; I love how giving our older kids "helper tasks" fills them with a sense of meaning and purpose. Brighton has been charged with "daily doo doo diaper duty" and on the first day on the job one of the diapers somehow missed the diaper pail. She had to pick the diaper up to throw it away. After that incident, she takes the diaper from us, sets it on the ground near the diaper pail, stands up, bends back down to pick up the diaper, then throws it in the can. I guess that is why it is important to learn how to do things the right way the first time, like when learning a new instrument. Not that I think tossing a diaper in the pail is anything like playing an instrument, but the metaphor is the best I could do at 11:27pm.

Day: 8
Diapers Used today:11
Total Diapers used: 75
Diaper Value today:$0(Free gifted diapers! Thank you Preti)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 7: Happy 1 week Birthday!

I cannot believe it has already been one whole week since Brave came into our lives. He is getting very accustomed to being held, he could sleep all day if someone was willing to hold him. We have a new position opened up at the Cook house, Night time nanny. The job includes holding the baby through the night so we can get some sleep, then watching the other two kids so we can spend some daylight hours with the new guy. The pay may stink, but the benefits are good and include, homemade meals, encouragement, and a rocking chair in the living room which you can sleep on.

Being a parent is something that you can really enjoy or really dislike. There is a lengthy reason as to why or parents might dislike there status as parent. But I think that the more kids you have the more you begin to realize how stinkin awesome these little things are. When we had Strong we where too busy trying to be the perfect parents to actually slow down and enjoy the point of being a parent, the kid. We had concise schedules to force the baby into a convenient sleep pattern, and we structured our lives to live like we did before kids plus the diaper bag and car seat. Strong is turning out great and we are very proud of him, but all the things we did with him don't work for Brighton.

When Brighton came along, it was during a rather stressful time in our lives due to situations outside of our control and she exemplified that for the first 7 months of her life. We where stressed, and she was too. I don't remember much about her early infant period except that she cried all the time. It was not until the 7th month that we found out the "healthy" organic formula we where feeding her was giving her horrible gas and stomach cramps. It was by accident that the health food store ran out and we did too so we had to try the similac in the mean time. After the first feeding, she fell right asleep, for the first time in 7 months I must add, and we never went back to the organic type. After that point we started enjoying each other a lot more.

Brave is a whole different ball game. This time I was ready, and I am actually enjoying this baby. The last two I was waiting for them to meet milestones and this one I am enjoying the journey. I feel more relaxed and for the first time can just enjoy the kid for who he is right now.

There are many things that have changed me as a person. But I think the most notable 3 would be salvation, marriage and kids. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of and head up the Cook team.

In conclusion, it is my recommendation to have as many kids as you can, because there is no house, no car, no man made thing that will awe you, challenge you, or love you as much as a large family.

Day: 7
Diapers Used today:8
Total Diapers used: 64
Diaper Value today:$0(running out of free hospital diapers!)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 06: ZZzzzZZ....ZZzzz.

Baby Brave is getting some rest after his big day yesterday. I have forgotten how much these little guys sleep in the first few weeks. He is starting to follow the binky and my face when I move around in front of him. Not much new to report today, we all took it easy.


Day: 6
Hours Awake: All Night Long
Hours Asleep: All Day long
Diapers Used today: 7
Total Diapers used: 56
Diaper Value today:$0(running out of free hospital diapers!)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 5: Its my party and I am asleep.

Today was a great day. We had lots of visitors that made sure Brave did not have to go into the swing, crib or bouncer seat even for a moment. The usual suspects, Jen, Steamy, Stephanie plus uncle Doug and Cousin Aaron, Krista Mckenney and Bill and Ray came out even though Bill just had a heart cath last weekend. Bill must be a tough guy, because he did not seem sluggish or in pain. They say you cannot spoil a new born, but if you could, Brave would be spoiled rotten. Thank you Maggie and Brett for the AMAZING salad! I did not know you could stick so many different things in one bowl, and the "I ate it all at once" Amish friendship bread. You know, those Amish know how to make a friend. 


Did you know that if you go to the hospital and have to stay over night, you should close your blinds, because people can see in the windows from the parking lot. I am not going to give any examples of what people might see, but lets just say that those windows do not block any visuals.

Day: 5
Hours Awake: All Night Long
Hours Asleep: All Day long
Diapers Used today: 10
Total Diapers used: 49
Diaper Value today:$0(free hospital diapers!)
Total Diaper Value:0

What are cousins kids? Second cousins?

Day 4:All systems go.

We took Brave for his 2 day after the hospital check up. He weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce, which is great given his birth weight. His bilirubin or jaundice test came back okay as well. I think they will let us keep him at this point. Yay! They say it takes about 2 weeks for the baby's schedule to change, and that day cannot come quick enough.

I love shopping at my "hip" local Market Street, I feel my coolness level rising every time I step into the place. It was kind of a humorous side effect of the hipness when the store radio played "I still haven't found what I am looking for" by U2. I was trying to get the attention of one of the associates at the store so I could sing the question about some random product, but I never got the chance.


Day: 4
Hours Awake: All Night Long
Hours Asleep: All Day long
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 39
Diaper Value today:$0(free hospital diapers!)
Total Diaper Value:0

Day 3: Give me some food

I am not sure how people measure a great day but for me today was a great day... Baby Brave is very happy at home. He is still adjusting to life on the outside and getting used to the time schedule we are all accustomed to... you know the one with the whole spinning earth sun up sun down thing. He got up at 1:00am and 3:30am, I got up with him.I have evidence that he woke up several other times, but mommy let me sleep through those, Thanks Babe! The thing about the middle of the night, is that no matter how cute the thing that woke me up, I am still grumpy. But we got the diaper changed, he got fed and everyone got to resume sleeping.... momentarily.


This is the Thank you edition by the way- I wanted to thank the key people who supported us during the birth of Brave. Thank you Nana for watching the kids the weekend before so we could have time to ourselves before the due date, we really needed the time to reconnect as a married couple.  A BIG THANK YOU to Mimi Cook for coming down from Amarillo and watching Strong and Bright during our stay in the hospital, we could not have done it without you!! Thank you Christine Smith for helping Mimi with the kids and being on call during the hospital visit. Thank you Sharon, Kristina Stone's Mom, Sharon and Robin, Halcy, Barb, Jana our nurse who ended up being our next door neighbor, Brittany, Mindie and Maggie, Jennifer  (BH#1!), Uncle Steamy, Crisha, Dusty, Stephanie and Micheal, Andrew and Christine and Strong and Brighton for coming to visit us in the hospital. 


Thank you also to Brittany and Scott for the wonderful dinner tonight, we enjoyed your company!

Day: 3
Hours Awake: 5
Hours Asleep: 19
Diapers Used today: 9 (oh man)
Total Diapers used: 30
Diaper Value today:$0(free hospital diapers!)
Total Diaper Value:0