April 2014 Update

Brynlee is, 90 percent of the time, a happy baby. Occasionally she gets a little fussy, but for the most part, we got lucky.

Look at this photo I got of her yesterday, while she was playing with a toy. With how often I am taking pictures of her, we know that she won't be afraid of cameras when she is older.

She gets so excited. Especially when she is pulling on your hooded sweatshirt's strings. She just loves that.

I think I am enjoying this stage of her life a little more than when she was first born. She has a personality now, and she recognizes me. She is more fun to interact with. I can play with her and she will respond with sounds, or smiles, or laughs. Kind of like a puppy, but a human version.

She eats puree'd foods now. She really likes mangos. Rice cereal works to fill her up, too. Still loves her bottles though. She knows when it's time, and she will start kicking with joy when she notices the bottle in your hand.

Her Grandma, and her Great Aunt help us babysit when we are at work. Sometimes I think that she is more excited to see them, than she is to see us. She really enjoys her time with them. It's safe to say by the look on her face when she makes eye contact with them both. We are very grateful.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is her very favorite television show. We try to limit her time in front of the TV, because studies show that it isn't great for children under 2. But, how can you keep her completely away? You never will. When the Daniel Tiger theme song comes on, she knows it. She will freeze whatever she is doing, and turn to watch. It's pretty amazing. Her memory is fantastic.

Image from PBS.org

Sick Parent. Happy Baby. FLABY.

Last Friday, I felt like crap.

The kind of crap that makes you stay in bed all day. You'd do ANYTHING to not have to do anything. DayQuil and NyQuil become your life savers, and you cling to the bottles like an alcoholic does a pint. Vomiting is not voluntary, but necessary.

I'm not positive at what the problem was. I'm leaning towards the flu, but maybe it was food poisoning? I'll never know.

One thing is for sure, I don't wish it upon anyone.

I don't get sick very often. It seems like at some point, in every February, I come down with something. It never fails, my once per year illness shows it's face. This year, near the end of the month.

I thought I made it through. I thought that I had beat out the cold this year. February was almost over and I had no signs of this monster. Im assuming that the flu checked the calendar and noticed that it had not effected me yet. Late, but not forgotten.

Thanks.

Something is different this year. This year it's not just the flu. There is a baby involved. I didn't have "the flu".

I had "the FLABY".

A new term that I just developed. The flu + a baby. I think any parent would agree that symptoms of the flu are amplified with the presence of a child. Kids/Babies don't know what sick means, especially if it doesn't involve them. I'm pretty sure my daughter thought that me being ill, was sort of funny.

She wanted to play more. I wanted to sleep more.
She needed a diaper change more often. I spent more time in the bathroom.
She spit up. I threw up.
She ate. I didn't.

It's funny how when I want to take a nap, she doesn't. These kids are smarter than we realize. I don't think she took any naps all day. Normally, she has at least three.

I tried to avoid touching her as much as I could. I don't know much about sick babies, and I don't want to if I don't have to. Luckily, she has been fine since I was sick. I'm crossing my fingers that it never spread to her, because that's just not fair. Or fun.

Maybe it was food poisoning?

Whatever it was, it's over.

...until next February. (and I will have to call it "floddler")

How To Get Rid Of Poop Stains in 3 Easy Steps

I don't know about any other baby, but Brynlee seems to get poop out of the back of her diaper. We have tried putting them tighter. We have tried different brands. Bigger sizes. Nothing helps. A few times a week, we are cleaning the stains out of her onesies.

Luckily, my wife showed me an easy technique for cleaning all of those stained onesies. As long as you do this while the stain is pretty fresh, it will take it right out.

Step 1.

Get the clothes off of the baby, and bring it over to your sink. Run some warm water over the stain for a few seconds. Just enough to wet.



Step 2.

Put some dishwashing liquid on the stain. We use Dawn dish soap just because it's what we have handy. Any of them work. Add another splash of warm water to the spot, to allow the soap to foam and spread a little better over the stained area.

Step 3.

Fold the stain over into itself like a book. Vigorously rub back and forth, so you are scrubbing cotton against cotton. Add more warm water as needed. You might have to add more dish soap, and scrub again, but eventually it will fade away. Then just add them to your regular laundry with the rest of the baby clothes, and you will never even know it was stained.

Hopefully that helps. No need for expensive stain removers, or to brush it with special tools. I wanted a better photo of the process of rubbing the stain against itself, but I couldn't get a picture and do it at the same time! So if you have any questions, please ask.



A clean baby, is a happy baby!

PregoForMen Top Halloween Movies 2013

It's that time of the year again. One of my favorites, actually. 

Spooky costumes, scary movies, and LOTS of candy!

I'm already in trouble for eating half of the trick-or-treat candy that we bought last week. It's so delicious. And available. It's my wife's fault for putting it out in a bowl already. What do you expect?

(Not so much the scary movie part, I'm a wuss when it comes to scary movies, and haunted houses. I once watched "The Ring" on mute.)

This reminds me that I need to start skimming through the movie channels for some of my favorite Halloween movies. Here's my top 5, not necessarily in order. 

1. Hocus Pocus

-After 300 years, three sister witches are resurrected in Salem Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it us up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches reign of terror once and for all.

2. Scary Movie 2

-Four teens are tricked by their professor into visiting a haunted house for a school project.

3. Friday the 13th

-Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

4. Halloween

-A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets.

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas

-Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept.

All images and descriptions via IMDB.com

Day 28 - Krokodil Hits Close To Home In Chicago

11:02pm



Brynlee went to her first pumpkin patch today. My wife and her sister took her to a local place while I had to work. So, thanks to my job, I missed out. But I think we are going to go to a different one, as a family, on Tuesday. Not like she even understands where she is, or what Halloween is, but it's more of an excuse for us to go. I haven't been to a pumpkin patch in a very long time. I'm sure it will bring back lots of childhood memories. I remember going as a child, and I loved it.


Something else that really shocked me tonight, was about the new "Krokodil" drug that is hitting America. It's been popular in Russia for quite some time, and is made from codeine. It provides a similar effect as herion, but 3x stronger, and 1/10th the price. The scarier part about it is that because amateur "chemists" make it on the street, it is impure, and often still contains gasoline, and hydrochloric acid, which is used in the making. These compounds, when injected, cause the flesh to die, and rot. So these users are noticing there skin basically rotting from the inside out. Also it appears green and scaly, hence the name "Krokodil", which is Russian for crocodile.

Why do I care? I don't really. But it has only been a few weeks since the first reported cases of this drug in America, with two of them being local in the Chicago area. It was on the news tonight, and the two girls are sisters, and I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THEM. How scary huh? I pray for their families, since, according to the news, they are all addicts. Heroin addicts, which is already bad enough. Apparently, dealers have passed this Krokodil off as heroin, and that's how they "accidentally" used it.


Moral of the story -

Don't use ANY drugs. What is this world coming to when people are doing drugs that literally take off pieces of their bodies?

Also, drug use is not a disease. Addiction is not a disease. It is a CHOICE. And a very stupid one at that.

Day 24 - Why Am I Enjoying This Fried Pig Skin?

8:41pm



 YUM!

Have you ever eaten pork rinds? Fried deliciousness in a bag. You can find them at any grocery store in America. Otherwise known as "Cracklings" or "Chicharrones" if your hispanic tongue overpowers your english tongue. But if it does... You already know what they are. They are a very common snack amongst Mexican/Spanish foods.

Pork rinds are actually fried pig skin. I know it sounds weird/gross/nasty/awesome, but they are very tasty. I am not one to shy away from a new food, because I am not really afraid of anything. Pork rinds are really good. They make a great game day snack.

Why am I talking about pork rinds? Who cares? Well, I do, because I am eating them right now while I watch the Blackhawks game. Rudolph's was kind enough to send me a few bags to enjoy and make me even fatter. Thanks, Rudolph's!

This year, they are having a Pork Rind Appreciation Day where fans can vote for which team they want to be on. One lucky player will have the chance to win $1500 and pork rinds for a year! So make sure you don't miss out on that! While you are doing that, I will be sitting here enjoying my favorite flavor, Hot & Spicy!

I would give away a few bags of these things to a lucky reader, but they are too good. So, sorry. Maybe next time.

Day 22 - Toddler Held Hostage At Oklahoma Walmart

8:51pm



I came across a disturbing video earlier today. Apparently a man (obviously not in the right state of mind), picks a small girl out of a shopping cart, while her mother is turned away, puts a knife to her stomach, and walks over the mother, demanding that she uses his cell phone to call a Dallas, TX police officer that he grew up with. Frantic, the mother tries to dial and cooperate with the demanding man. Meanwhile, bystanders call police and they show up rather quickly. While trying to negotiate with the man, they take the mother away, to the front of the store. After a few minutes, and opportuinty arises for an office to take action. His only option is to shoot the man at point blank range, freeing the child safely.




Take a look for yourself....

I'm not too sure when this happened, I believe a couple of months ago. It shows how important it is to keep an eye on your children! How quickly this happened is unreal. No reason whatsoever for him to single out that certain child, other than the wrong place at the wrong time. And that is something that nobody can predict. This isn't a race thing either. It can happen to anyone, by anyone, and anywhere. So just please, keep your children close, and tell them you love them every day. This woman is lucky to have her daughter still, and lucky for such well responding law enforcement.

Just something to remember!

5-Star Knife Set for FREE! $200 Value!

 

*FTC Disclosure - This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own.

Day 19 - Have A Newborn? Get To Work!

9:54pm

Worked at a different store today. It was my day off but a newborn needs lots of $$$$. So I decided to go help out and get the overtime. 

I'm exhausted right now. Just got back from Walgreens and Walmart. Little B did great. 

Did I mention yesterday that she has gained one pound and three inches in length? What a little chunker! She's always hungry so I'm not suprised. 

The nice new cake display that was at the new store today. I might have drooled on the glass a bit... Sorry!

Day 8 - Visiting Daddy

4:54pm

My wife ventured out on her own today for the first time since Brynlee was born. Where did they go? To see Daddy at work!  

My coworkers were able to meet Brynlee and she was excited to meet them too. Or maybe not, since she was sleeping... Oh well. 

They went to lunch with me, but it wasn't really a "lunch". More of a "feed Brynlee, then oops she puked it up and now we need a booger sucker but we don't have one in the diaper bag so we have to run to Walgreens, and they are all out of the basic ones so we have to buy the one in the kit that costs 15 dollars".  Did you get all of that? I had about 4 minutes to eat McDonalds. Good thing I wasn't even hungry.  

In other news, the Chicago Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. Making them 3-0 so far. Awesome. 

Chicago Blackhawks are getting ready to start a new season next week, too. So there goes all of my extra free-time, if I even have any free-time. Brynlee is a lot of work! Luckily for me, her mom takes on a lot of the work. 

Remember to SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! And any questions feel free to email pregoformen@mail.com!

Week 38 Day 6 - Finishing Touches

11:29pm

This baby sure is kicking a lot. Now when she moves, the belly really stretches. I'm waiting for a foot to show through the skin or something. Pretty wild. 

We finally got baby's bedding and it all set up in her crib. Tell me what you think, my wife picked it out. 

And of course, my favorite part...

Her sign that says "I have found my Prince, I call him daddy".

The bedding is handmade and took ten weeks to receive. Seemed like forever, but her room is finally ready. We also got a changing table, too!

It was my mom's birthday yesterday so we surprised her tonight with a cake!

*This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own.

Week 37 Day 3 - Penguin Waddle

4:15pm



Now that we are in the 37th week, which I believe is considered Full Term, we are at the point where we are ready for her to come. Maybe not ready in the sense of everything being in place, but ready in the way that we have had enough of pregnancy. My poor wife is getting pretty uncomfortable. It bothers her to lay on her back, she has to walk like a penguin (kind of funny, actually) and the baby seems to like to move around a lot and cause her some awkward feelings (like sharp pain/rubbing feelings). She described her moving in there, like the feeling of hands pushing and swiping across a filled balloon. I am thankful that I was born a man, and don't have to have any children growing inside of me. Props to you ladies out there. I cannot imagine.

Her job is starting to interview temps to fill her position for while she is off of work. If you ask me, they are a little late considering she could go early, but they wanted to wait. Hopefully baby will wait a little longer so that she has a chance to train the temp, on how to do her job, otherwise her work might be in trouble! My wife is good at what she does, and they have told her that numerous times. I know they will miss her there, and will be waiting for her to hurry back!

I was able to go out for a couple rounds of golf today with my grandpa and uncle. Anyday now, my free days off, will be spent caring for the baby. No more golfing for me. Unless someone else is around to take care of her.