Happy Holidays from Santa Levi

Here's a photo mom is gonna whip out in about 20 years for any future girlfriends...everyone say it with me now....ahhhhh






We're off to sunny (and warm) Florida until the New Year...lots of fun times to come.



Until then, happy happy holidays from Santa Levi.

Behold Cassanova (aka the wooing of Sophia)

...Levi's already going for the older ladies....

Mr. Smooth in action.

(Thanks Katina for the pics)

Cloth Diapers... what the heck were we thinking?!?

Yes, we have begun our experiment with cloth diapering. But ladies and gentlemen, these are not the cloth diapers of yesteryear. These are state of the art, multi-colored, fleece-lined, washable, stain-resistant pocket diapers (go to http://www.fuzzibunz.com/ if you want to check them out).

What are pocket diapers? They are reusable, waterproof diapers that have an absorbant fleece lining, with a pocket at the top. These diapers come with super absorbant inserts that you stuff into the pocket. You can customize the absorbancy by adding more "stuffing" or even adding hemp inserts that are apparently the mac trucks of diaper inserts. Once Levi does his thing, you just take the diaper off, shake the insert out and place the whole thing in a pail until laundry day.

And did I mention these diapers are super cute..and come in a variety of colors?

I really really want these to work for us. Not only because we are feeling good about the environment(not to mention our bank account,) but also because we bought 18 of the diapers, plus accessories at a whopping $350. Yes yes, I know we probably should have bought a couple of these diapers and tested them out, but let's be honest..we don't do things like that. We just jump right in. But I was still hesitant to begin. The diapers were stuffed and ready...waiting.

But Monday morning was the last straw with disposables. Levi was in our bed and left a puddle on our very expensive mattress. So the next day, we plunged right in to our experiment.These diapers claim to not leak, so, before putting Levi to bed, I stuffed his new cloth diaper and strapped him in, then went to bed and prayed for the best.

I wasn't totally disappointed. Levi barely stirred all night..only three times to eat! The night before he had been up at least every two hours...I woke up happy thinking the cloth diapers had saved the day.

BUT...there was some slight leakage (even with the heavy duty hemp insert) and this morning, after we were dressed and just about ready to leave the house..there was a blow-out. And I mean BLOW-OUT, (Levi's socks were not spared). But I comforted myself with the fact that he had blowouts with the disposables, so maybe he was just an explosive kind of guy*

So, are we doing something wrong? Will we end up loving these cloth diapers in the end? Will the leaks EVER STOP?

Stay tuned.

*sorry Levi, I know you will hate me for this when you are older.

Halloween

Levi made a truly adorable spider..and he actually didn't mind the costume and kept it on a lot longer than we thought would be possible. Thank god, because Mom nearly had a breakdown trying to find a black turtleneck and pants for him...apparently, black is not the "in" color for baby gear. But thanks to a very nice sales lady at Target, we managed to find both (well, to be honest, both the turtleneck and pants were "technically" for girls and were a size 24 months and 12 months, respectively...but no one knew the difference and the surprising thing was, the 24 months size was just a leeetle bit too big.....seriously...it almost fit.)

The hat was a bit much, so soon we had to substitute it for a warmer version--which made his costume into a spider/doggie...spidoggy!!! Big hit on the block.

Here's to Levi's first Fishtown Halloween. We think he looks darn cute.

Under the Weather!

Bubba Lou is back on top after a rough battle with bronchiolitis (the viral relative of bronchitis...therefore no antibiotics). He spent much of last week using a nebulizer and trying to cough (he couldn't get it out) while mom and dad's hearts and minds raced as they almost took him to the hospital Tuesday night. It was a rough week, but Levi is finishing up his battle with the cough and sleeping a little bit more. Mom and dad are simply adjusting to life as parents as their bodies accomplish more than they ever have with less and less rest. We are glad to have Levi smiling again and "back on his feet." FYI - he is starting to sit up by himself....very impressive.

New Post Soon!

Sorry folks, life has happened and it has put the blog on the back burner for a little bit.  We will have a new post soon.  Enjoy the pics...Bob's message lives on!

One seaweed salad and a Bubba-Roll, please!

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Mommy is So Proud...It's the little things!

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the B-O-T-T-L-E

The last time I was this afraid of 3 oz of milk, I realized my lactose intolerant brother was reaching for a Ben and Jerry's pint of ice cream, minus his lactaid pills. Needless to say, my nose paid the price that night. However, my nose was not at risk when I attempted to feed Levi with a bottle; my heart was.

Providing nourishment to a child has to be the most incredible experience I have ever had. Surely the birth was amazing and, yes, winning a state championship was also great, but providing your own offspring with the food he needs to survive (while he is looking up into your eyes) takes the cake. However, the problem is, you must be providing the nourishment in order for the experience to live up to its potential. Otherwise, you get two tense individuals, one of whom begins to scream out of hunger.

What is the purpose of product developers in the imitation business? We are constantly made to believe that Diet Coke can taste like Coca-Cola, Splenda can taste like sugar, and Cialis will make you 50 years old in a tub on the beach (next to your lover who is in a separate tub on the same beach)...still trying to figure this one out. ANYHOW, why don't bottle nipples better resemble real nipples? Have we really not evolved far enough for people to guess that a child may prefer something close to the real thing? We have product placement in DVD's for 3 month olds so that they will begin identifying themselves with certain logos (subcounciously at this point, obviously....which makes the system that much more twisted), can't we develop a decent nipple (nature has developed many)? Avent has done just this, somewhat anyway. Enough so that by the fourth day (and 3 nipples later) of trying to feed Levi with a bottle, he only screamed for 3 minutes (not the 15 minute mark set the previous two days) before he finally figured out how this artificial nipple business works. Now we are in a groove and it truly is an amazing feat. Women have been given an unbelievable natural tool (amongst many) and I am glad I can share (somewhat) in the experience. There is nothing like the look of a two month old looking you in the face as he eats...his eyes say it all...Thanks, Dad.

Levi's First Hit

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

90th Percentile and Love

At this same doctor's visit, Levi weighed in at 11 lbs 1 oz and measured 23 in.  Both of these measurements placed him in the 90th percentile for both height and weight.  

Also, Levi wanted us to give a shout out to Great Grandpop Coschignano who is in the hospital right now.  He sends all of his love and cannot wait to meet his great granpop very soon!  Love you always.

One Month...Shots!!!!

Happy one month birthday, Levi!  What does being carried on this earth for a whole 31 days get you? That's right; a shot in the thigh! (and after he let us know he was hungry about 3 minutes prior)

Let me tell you this, never have we seen Levi's face as red or his mouth as open as when the small needle was quickly stuck into his leg.  I cannot even imagine the feeling.  I cringe at the thought of having a sharp object poked into me at the ripe old age of 27, so imagine your skin, pure, never been poked (that you know of...right after birth doesn't really count) and a sharp object is jabbed (there's no nice word for getting a shot) into your leg.  Levi's face said it all.  He seemed to stop breathing as his mouth opened wide, his face the color of a wax covered, red delicious apple.  You know, the kind you never felt comfortable eating, but did (and still do on occasion) because it is fruit after all; it must be good for you.  And then "it" came.  A sound so piercing I thought I had another earring after it was all done.  All we heard was "WHY?! Why do you have to do this? Don't you know how much this hurts?! I will sleep through the night!  I will sleep through the night! Whatever you need, just don't do this!"  Our hearts dropped as we quickly scooped little "Bubba Lou" up and calmed him down...Tash held him as he came to grips with the fact that we were not torturing him and indeed still loved him.  Luckily, the doctor's office was not busy and Tasha was able to nurse in the examination room right then and there.  

Tasha and I looked each other, we did not speak, but our faces said it all...."That was ROUGH! But, thank God it's over."  Levi ate his way into a state of bliss as I wondered if this could be the beginning of a bad habit of stress eating that has been known to run in the family. It's funny how you question yourself more than ever as a parent; hoping that a small mistake or perceived mistake won't have any lasting effect.  I imagine paranoia runs deep within the parenting community.  

We endured a bullet (in the shape of a needle) and started to relax.  We took a few deep breaths and watched as Levi chowed down, his breathing becoming more in tune with ours as well.  Then the nurse stepped back into the room, handed us a prescription for Vitamin D (apparently breast fed babies need a supplement) and stated, "This is nothing.  Next visit, he gets 5."  Get the hugs, breasts, and bottles ready; we will need everything in our arsenal.  

Until then, Happy Birthday, Bubba!  We love you and promise these shots are for good reason!  

 

Chowdaheadz

The Chowdaheadz (Uncle Vinnie and Mrs. Sullivan in this case) have struck! (As if he ever had a choice....Uncle Shaun has also supplied some great Sox gear)  So it took a full three weeks, but being a Sox fan who is still terrified to let go of every miniscule superstition, and three being a lucky number of mine, I feel quite okay that it took three weeks to take his first sox pics.  This will help to keep the balance of the universe for now.  

Wow!  A child born into a universe where the Red Sox (and Cetlics!) are champions.  A sports fan could not ask for much more.  "The Sports Guy" compared this to being Hugh Grant; all we can do now is mess up the great karma just as Hugh did when he solicited short-term friendship from a lady of the night, ending his relationship with publicly acclaimed Elizabeth Hurley.  Personally, I would take Big Papi over Elizabeth Hurley. However, the point is this, here we are in 2008 and the world around us (for Boston fans and rich people) is filled with optimism.  Levi Dougherty will never know how it feels to be locked in an 86 year drought (I really hope this year doesn't begin anything new) or what it feels like to only see your team's championship photos in black and white.   Thanks to a great front office we will enjoy man years of unbelievable baseball and hopefully another championship very soon.  Levi will be able to look people in the face when he is  7 years old, claiming to be a Red Sox fan.  Prior to 2004, when a child would wear a Red Sox shirt, he or she (Boston has the most knowledgeable female baseball fans of any major team) was often met with sly smiles and pats on the head, only to have the adult whisper to your father, "Poor kid."  We now have a taste of what New York has been bragging about all these years.  Two titles in four years while our biggest rival struggles to keep its head above water with a stellar ensemble of talent.   

Levi will never live through Dent, Buckner, Little, or even Boone for that matter.   He has a baseball world filled with belief in front of him, one in which his team CAN win and Babe Ruth will simply be the player who hit many a home run and drank way too much (which somehow makes his accomplishments that much more incredible).  Sure, we will inform him when the time is right, but how does one breech such a sensitive topic with his own child?  Surely he will have to be grown, or maybe tidbits of info on each trip to Fenway (there will be many, as there were with me and my parents).  However it may occur, it will simply be a bleep on the radar for a young gun looking to take on the world.  I can hear the Wiffle Ball reinactment in the park or the backyard now, "Papi at the plate, sox knotted at 4 in the bottom of the 12th.  The pitch from Quantrill, and there's a long drive deep to right field, back, back, back, gone!"  The world is alright.  Love ya, Levi, and welcome to the greatest (at least the most romantic) tradition sports has ever seen. 

Your Papi

We are outraged!

The man-child of hollywood, the drunk surfer, bong-smoking, bongo-playing Matthew McConaughey has named his child LEVI.  ARGH.  Seriously, of all the names...and of all the celebrities...considering his brother Rooster (yes, Rooster) named his child Miller Lyte because "man, that's all I drink" I wasn't expecting this.  Bud Light McConaughey maybe or Corona Lime , but Levi?!!??   The world just likes to mess with us.

Oh well.  Levi Brennan Dougherty might not be the son of a brazilian super model and a ridiculously rich (but talentless) actor...but I can tell you this, LBD will definitely be smarter, sweeter, have a much better vocabulary and will beat anyone at Jeopardy hands down--this is my solemn promise.  

--Mom

Legalize Breast Milk!

Man, this stuff must be good!  While feeding, Levi starts with great vigor, eager to gulp as much milk as possible.  About fifteen minutes into the feeding, he slows, sometimes nods off, and slowly continues to gain nourishment.  Most often this leads to a baby, drunk (legally in baby terms), being removed from the breast and fumbling his way to lay on one of our chests, where he can simply pass out.  I cannot help but be reminded of my college years and my roommate stumbling into our bedroom where he would collapse on the bed, breath heavily for 3 minutes, and ten fall into a deep, snore-laden slumber.  The are some weird urination comparisons as well, but I will leave that alone.  Many public venues have banned the use of breast milk, but clearly it must be legalized.  It makes the little ones feel good, real good.  You can see the result in the photo provided.  

Question of the day:  If the baby poops while falling asleep, do you wake him to change him or allow him to sleep until he becomes uncomfortable and starts to whine?    

We think we know the answer, however, it is not an easy conclusion to reach without much guilt.  Lets just say, I hope I am as oblivious as a newborn if I ever reach the adult diapers stage (or that Levi reaches a different conclusion than Tasha and I).    

New Frontier(s)

SO...fatherhood.   For the last 9+ months (I wish i could make an upper-case + because those last 2 weeks were brutal, and Tash had it much worse than I...when I say brutal I am mostly speaking with great empathy, not self-pity) it seemed as though we were planning for a large storm.  As the "date" (obviously, not an exact science) approached we began stocking up on goodies, new furniture, clothes, food supply storage, lots of cloths able to soak up all forms of moisture, blankets to keep warm, and arranging our home to become as self-sustainable as possible for at least 2 weeks.  It was a "storm" much anticipated and welcomed.  It was if this was the storm the gods had created to help the Dougherty and Panza clan reach a new plateau.  From what I hear from the midwife, with the news of mom and baby being healthy came a family celebration that I am sure looked like a celebratory ritual dance.  However, this may be more simply compared to the dance performed by Red Sox fans around the country in October of 2004, when Dave Roberts stole second base.  It was the beginning of the greatest moment in Red Sox history, and so Levi's birth begins the greatest moment in Dougherty-Panza history.  

 

Levi is the coolest kid on earth.  Sorry folks, he just is.  I am biased, but I feel being only 8 days removed from his birth, I am given the right to make such arrogant claims.  When this right wears off, I am not sure.  If not before, it will certainly have to diminish to make way for our next child (which, given a 64 hour labor, will be a ways down the road).  Yes, I said it; 64 hours!  More than saying it, Tasha endured it...like a champion.  She will never admit it or claim such things, but she was fantastic through everything and although claims were made that "I cannot do this any longer," she continued with a unparalleled will and steadfastness, dealing with a huge jerk of a doctor at the end, knowing that we would finally meet our son.  At 8:33 pm on June 25th, we did just that. (It must also be noted that the midwife, midwife asst., and nurse were all phenomenal throughout the entire process....the natural birth plan had to be modified due to a few developments and the doctor had to be called in at the end for assistance.)

 

People always say you cannot put the experience of birth into words.  This is one point I would have to agree with the majority of the people on.  Leading up to the birth and during labor, you have no idea what to expect or how things will happen.  You are stricken with the unfortunate task of waiting.  Down the stretch everything is put on hold so you can focus on the new life about to enter the world.  The funny part is you then devise ways to keep you busy so you don't focus on the baby.  These tasks do nothing to relieve your mind, they are simply ways to make time pass a little bit quicker.  As we all know, this is an impossible task, but it tricks the mind into thinking you sped things up.  Then, in the matter of a split-second, he is HERE.  No longer is there anticipation and guessing of what he will look like, whose hair he will have (surely it will be curly!), whose toes will he have, or will he cry when he is born...all of this is answered in a matter of seconds.  This is when it happens.  All of the pain, all of the waiting, all of the organizing, all of the guessing is pushed aside as an instant bond is formed.  It is as if you are transported back into the woods, living amongst wolves, bears, and deer.  In that moment, the mammal inside conquers your soul and declares to the rest of your body and mind that this baby will be protected and nourished by all means necessary.  If one couldn't find a cause to live or die for before, one is instantly presented.  If this is not enough, then I am perplexed. The study of psychology has been developed to tackle such issues.  

 

So, where are we now?  Well I think I just changed my 50th diaper or so and our lives have simply become a routine of feedings (Tasha has this one covered for now with breast feeding), changing diapers, figuring out that Tasha shouldn't eat brownies before bed or drink too much seltzer, otherwise we all suffer, and figuring out ways to take enough cat naps throughout the day so we end up getting at least 5-6 hours of sleep a day.  I am working summer school (half days until July 25th) and Tasha is home until late September so we will have plenty of time to bond.  We still curse the lack of socialized health care and the lack of paid time off for mothers and fathers in this country, but we don't get too hung up on it.  I just will never understand or believe the claim of politicians who say they care about the American family when they provide nothing in the form of compensation.  The other 3 nations in the world (yes, there are only 3 others) who do not provide paid maternity leave have an average per capita income around $1,300.  But, we now have Levi and that is where our focus turns for the rest of our lives (that is still a foreign concept on many occasions.)  We will do our best to share our love and let him experience as much as possible from his home base wherever we end up.  He certainly will share his love with all our friends and family.  Thank you to all who have given their love and support and I hope you enjoy the "Chronicles of Levi" as interpreted by moi.  

Love and Peace to all.