video baby monitor...a postscript

more than a couple months ago, i blogged about our video baby monitor. At the time, I found that we were getting interference from everything (900 mHz phone, wi-fi, neighbors, etc) which made the video aspect of it almost irrelavant.

However, after moving, the monitor has been an outstanding asset. It is a bit spooky looking at the ghost like images taken with the night camera, but helps in knowing how quickly you need to run up the stairs to get to the baby!

Thing of no use

It is a bit of an understatement to say that we don't have time to do a lot of the things that we used to...To that end, here is a list of expenses for things of little value:

• Health Club Membership...who are we kidding? Yes, i would really really like to go, but i would also like some time to relax with both Rohan and L before / after work. Trying to squeeze an hour or two shouldn't be such a challenge...but it is
• Cable TV...Hah... the "on demand" aspect of Comcast is nice, but how interesting is watching TV after Rohan has crashed out?
  
• Broadband access....Can't see how we could live without it, but when one is only accessing the 'net for a few minutes here and there -- the cost seems excessive
• Telephone...land line or even the cell...I have messages going back to July that I still haven't returned...
• Newspaper subscription....rarely does the paper get read...and when it does, its usually a day or two later
• Magazines...luckily the only magazine we actually pay for is national geographic -- and Rohan digs the pictures. All the others are free (freebizmag.com or via excess airplane miles) so i don't feel as bad about tossing them out after only reading a few articles in the bathroom.
  

Given how quickly costs rise with the baby, stripping out the $200 / month from the above expenses should free up some of the disappearing cash flow...

tiny little daggers

Rohan's nails grow faster than weeds and have developed an unusual ability to simultaneously sharpen themselves. The telltale signs that it's been too long since his last manicurist visit are the tiny little scabs on his face, his ears, legs, arms, etc. Normally, we try to file them every few days, yet he still manages to scratch his face, his legs, and even us. If only he weren't so fussy during the process. Thus far, we've been completely unsuccessful with the clippers and are relying on a nail file.

The only time we've been really successful at trimming them is when he's asleep. Of course nowadays, when he's sleeping we are too or we simply forget to trim them till he wakes up and leaves a big scratch mark across an arm.

camera shy

I was able to get Rohan to giggle on demand! By pinching his cheeks and tickling his belly -- rohan squeeked out a giggle. Of course as soon as i pulled out the video camera, he stopped...

if a tree falls...and no one is around

or in terms of babies...If your baby turns himself over and neither the dad nor the mom see it, did it really happen?

Late last week, L's mom informed us that she had witnessed Rohan roll from his back to his stomach unaided! Of course in the 5 days since, he has yet to repeat the feat...At least not with his actual parents around. So...did it really happen?

At least a couple of times he has managed to roll his body onto his side and his face into the floor, but other than that, we haven't seen him get all the way over. Of course then he's confused as to why everything is dark and he can't breathe very well. Just a little present from Rohan to keep his parents awake at night worried...

Nonetheless, we're hoping we'll be able to witness the full roll over soon and we'll actually have a camera around when it happens.

hot and cold

The temperature out here has been all over the place....Cool morning, blistering afternoons and hot evenings. For a baby who can't change his clothes, or even tell us how the weather is affecting him, it is proving problematic.

Well not all that problematic. We have been trying to monitor his condition and keep him dressed appropriately. The biggest problem comes at night since the house is not air conditioned. In our old house, we would keep all the windows shut and let the heater or A/C keep the temperature constant.

Now...we have to keep the windows open in the early evening to cool the house down, only to end up shutting them in the middle of the night before it gets too cold. Rohan has been sleeping in much shorter increments than he did at the 2.5 month mark -- which happened to coincide with our time in Colorado.

Which then begs the question...Is he waking up more often now because he's getting cold? Or is it a growth spurt? Or maybe the high mountain air in Colorado encouraged a deeper sleep. Nevertheless, i need to find a room thermometer with some sort of an alarm tied to various temperatures settings...

I'm probably the only person in Oregon looking forward to cooler temps that necessiate us to keep the windows closed at night.

tech idiot

this stupid blog...i really liked the format i had before, but it looked like junk in IE. Looked fine w/ firefox...please bear with me as i find a format that is both appealing and agreeable to all the browsers out there (including you Mac OS folks :-)

a changed world

Not surprisingly, Rohan is growing up in a very different world than we did. Never mind the usual political / environmental / cultural / etc. changes hoisted upon our world, here are the more relevant (to me) ones:

• Airbags -- Most of us grew up rarely wearing seat belts at first, but now cars all have front and side impact airbags. The force from the bags means the kid cannot sit in the front seat till he's nearly middle aged. It also -- and this i just learned -- means he can't stick his hands out the window while driving down the highway due to the potential force from side curtain airbags in our new car. So, will i set a good example when driving the car that doesn't have side impact airbags? Will I even remember not to stick my arms out the window?
  
• Watermelon seeds -- where did they go? genetic manipulation has robbed future children of the chance to spit the little black seeds across the room. What's next? will cherry seeds go the same way? Will some new super fruit be introduced that combines the taste and nutrients of all fruits?
  
• Chicken pox -- with the advent of the vaccine - its unlikely that Rohan will ever endure the moderate pain associated with the ailment. Yes, its probably a good thing, but still....
• As if on cue...Newsweek has an blurb about them
  
• Harry Potter -- the series will be done long before Rohan starts reading novels....That's too bad and I hope something similar fills the void such that we can bond while anxiously awaiting the newest installment.
  
• And cry in disbelief upon finishing book 6 -- holy crap, i can't believe what happened. The book is no where near as good as previous ones, but the ending was a unimaginable surprise....

any others?

bobblehead

It is probably pretty mean to say it, but right now Rohan reminds me of a bobble head. He has a disproportionately large head and an unsure spine / neck. He can hold his head stationary for a few minutes before it starts to waver around and...bobble.

Of course i jest, but it is remakable how much more neck strength he has now than in the first few weeks of his life. The sheer pace of his growth is astounding. Although if he were virtually any species of animal, he would have been walking around on day one.

I knew it

Last week's issue of Newsweek confirmed that there is a heck of a lot more going on in Rohan's head than any of us could have imagined.

Reading Your Baby's Mind

New research on infants finally begins to answer the question: what's going on in there?

The question isn't how can we facilitate his learning, its "would i have made rohan wear that goofy get-up if he were invited into the study?"

gift lists

Visiting the mother ship (Babies R Us) over the weekend, we found the baby registries for a few of our friends with babies on the way. WOW...sooo many things to buy for baby.

We never actually registered, so seeing all the things that people need to get for the baby on one exhaustive list is a bit of a shock. Sure there are the things you need -- some clothes, diapers, crib, car seat, cleaning supplies. The things you should have -- changing table / pad, more clothes, bottles, etc. And of course the things you want to have but probably don't need, but if someone else is buying -- bottle warmers, wipe warmers, etc.

Traditionally, Indians don't buy anything for the baby until after the baby is born. Yes this could cause a lot of problems when it comes to things like a crib or even diapers -- but for a culture with a traditionally high infant mortality rate, the superstitious defensive mechanism makes a lot of sense.

Anyways -- we did buy some things, but not lots of things (east / west blend of practicality). Good or bad, it probably means we'll be venturing to the store more often to stock up on emerging "things we really need" as Rohan gets older. And quite possibly, it might limit our inventory of things we don't need, but are nice to have.

Of course we seem to be acquiring a fair number of toys each time we go and Rohan is demonstrating a significantly diminished level of interest in his mobile already. So it goes.

super disguise

I for one, never understood how Clark Kent / Superman was able to keep his identity so secret given that all he ever did was take off his glasses. Until now, I've always thought that I looked recognizable when the glasses came off. Well, at least to everyone over the age of 3 months.

A wave of confusion overtook Rohan as he struggled to comprehend what happened to me (guy with glasses) and who this new guy was (guy without glasses) when I took them off over the weekend. He then started crying a fair deal until the glasses came back on and I convinced him the other guy was wrong.

Of course, I then repeated the experiment. I wanted to be sure that it was the glasses on not something else. Also, the whole thing came as a surprise since he's seen me many a time without the specs -- those many of those instances came earlier on in his life.

Nevertheless, around the fourth or fifth time -- he got it. He realized I was in fact the same guy...Wonder how long he'll remember this bit of trivia....

sleeping arrangements

Based on any number of books there are any number of philosophies when it comes to where the baby should sleep. In the US, it is usually in his own room as soon as possible. Throughout the rest of the world though, its usually in the same room as his parents or even the same bed.

With Rohan, we have tried to do a little of both. When he was born, he slept in a cradle in our room. As he got a bit bigger, we had to fix the cradle in place to keep it from rocking as he rolled around. Luckily he "outgrew" the cradle just as we moved. He had been rolling around so much that we had to stick the bumpers on -- but then he went and got his legs stuck on the bumpers a couple of times

Anyways...For our stay in Colorado -- Rohan again slept in our room, but he graduated up to the Graco Pack & Play. Its a great portable crib and not too expensive. Came with a little changing platform that i never used as well as a little mobile. We're even using it now to keep an extra crib in the house.

Now, at are latest home - and we've set up Rohan with his own room. So far its going okay -- we've got a monitor right next to our bed so we know when to get up and take care of him. Honestly, i don't even think Rohan notices a difference....

3 months!

Rohan is three months old today!!!

they grow up sooo fast....

baby care.........

L hit the three month mark of her leave from work and started back up again today as a part timer. For this to actually work, we need a nanny / day care or something that will look after Rohan and keep him happy. As L is working from home, the nanny seemed the best option.

Admitedly, we got a late start -- and realized that using the placement organizations can be pricey. Between the application fee (about $100) there is a placement fee of roughly $1k....yeap....1 big fat G.....Of course right now, said agencies want us to pay the fee twice - once for the first three months (while L works part time) and again when they place a full time nanny (when L goes back full time). Lots of moolah.

Better yet is the fees required to actually calc all the taxes for said nanny. Breedlove is a recommended agency (roughly $500) -- but i don't know if their fee is a one time charge, or a per employee charge....Regardless, paying taxes allows you to capitalize on Uncle Sam's Dependant Care Spending Account.

btw...we tried using eNannySource to no avail...that's $99 down the toilet...Of the six people listed on their site as matching our requirements...only one bothered to write / call back and she was 30 miles away. (if anyone else out there wants to access their site for the next 29 days, let me know and i'll give you my account access info).