Dear Violet,
We just got back from our Staycation in Santa Cruz. Your mother and I usually travel quite a bit to faraway places, but given that you just arrived recently, we need to save up time and money to stabilize us before we can do that again regularly.
This break from the norm was really about just a change of scenery. Your mother is off of work to take care of you, but usually stays home with you or if you guys go out, will stay local. I happened to have close to a week off from work, so we headed to Santa Cruz for a few days.
We did a couple of hikes while we were there, one that skirted the cliffside of Wilder Ranch. The ocean waves crashed onto the cliffs, and we saw seals sunning themselves, and just took in the ocean air. I carried you on my chest and you slept the entire time.
Our second hike was at Henry Cowell Park on the Fall Trail. It was an out and back about a mile into the redwood forest. This is a hike that your mom and I usually do when we camp, and it was just as serene and peaceful, and scenic.
Things that we've noticed about you now that you're 7 weeks old. You definitely seem to take an interest in looking outside. I've caught you looking out the window while we are driving, and you were doing the same out of our hotel window this past weekend. You seem to be 'fighting' sleep when you get sleepy, and more and more we need to make the conditions right for you to fall asleep.
Your appetite is increasing! And as a result, your feeding times are not so regular anymore. It's a bit of an adjustment, but an expected one since you are growing so much now.
I see you often so your growth isn't as noticeable to me, but when compared to your earlier pictures, you can obviously tell. We don't know how much you weigh, but you last weighed in at 9lbs about a month ago. A couple of people have mentioned that you look like a 5-month old.
Despite your youth, your legs are strong, and you can hold yourself up. You're still too young to have full voluntary control of your arms, head, neck and back, but it's getting there. Your eyesight is getting better as you continue to track people that are in front of you.....and your smiles are more obvious and deliberate.
You also yell like a banshee when you are upset and crying. But still, we haven't encountered you to be inconsolable. You'll cry if you're gassy, need your diaper changed, or if you're hungry.
That's it for now. Your mother just got back from the Brian McKnight concert with your Auntie Gladys. I'm going to sit with her while she gets a bit to eat before bed.
Love,
Dad
Sunday, August 21, 2016
A Primer In Maternity Leave
Dear Violet,
We just got back from a few days in Santa Cruz, from what is referred to as a 'staycation'. Your mother is taking about 6 months off from work, while I returned to work after about 3 weeks after your birth.
The laws here in the United States only legally allow employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a calendar year, where they are protected from losing their jobs. In contrast, in most European countries, leave for the birth of a child is up to a year, and is fully paid. Sentiment is changing slowly here in the states with cities taking the lead of how their cities' residents are treated. San Francisco just recently passed a law giving residents of the City and County of San Francisco up to six weeks of fully paid maternity leave.
Your mother is allowed by her company to take up to 6 months off, but her pay is limited to what she has accrued for vacation and sick time. The rest is partially made up by state disability benefits which gives her eight weeks of pay concurrent with her sick time. After that, her company will allow her to stay off work for up to six months, but unpaid.
Which means I'll be working and supporting all of us with just my job. It'll be a bit of a challenge, but it will also be temporary.
We just got back from a few days in Santa Cruz, from what is referred to as a 'staycation'. Your mother is taking about 6 months off from work, while I returned to work after about 3 weeks after your birth.
The laws here in the United States only legally allow employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a calendar year, where they are protected from losing their jobs. In contrast, in most European countries, leave for the birth of a child is up to a year, and is fully paid. Sentiment is changing slowly here in the states with cities taking the lead of how their cities' residents are treated. San Francisco just recently passed a law giving residents of the City and County of San Francisco up to six weeks of fully paid maternity leave.
Your mother is allowed by her company to take up to 6 months off, but her pay is limited to what she has accrued for vacation and sick time. The rest is partially made up by state disability benefits which gives her eight weeks of pay concurrent with her sick time. After that, her company will allow her to stay off work for up to six months, but unpaid.
Which means I'll be working and supporting all of us with just my job. It'll be a bit of a challenge, but it will also be temporary.
Monday, August 1, 2016
1 month
Dear Violet,
Remarkable things I observed for today. Your mother was feeding you a lot, more often than the every 3-4 hours, and usually when you began to be fussy because she thought you were hungry. That may or may not be the case, but one data point does not a pattern make. We will see how it goes. When you have your next check up, I think your growth is going to be well above the curve.
The thought I have had while observing you on a day to day basis, is that every day is a first, and a last. You have definitely grown in the last month, and progressed with your development, though seeing you in person, it's not very noticeable. It is when I see the pictures and videos that we've taken of you thus far. You are definitely growing. Your hair is thicker, your newborn clothes are a little bit more snug, and your adorable cheeks are puffy and then not from day to day.
I find myself already missing this part of your life. As every day passes, you grow, change...soon, you will be walking, talking, being more cognizant of the world you now live in; and the little infant that you are now, will be gone.
Things that I'll always remember are the way you get milk-drunk after breast feeding. I mean, you really get milk-drunk and drowsy. After your long naps, you stretch by raising both of your arms straight over your head, and you arch your back, and give a prolonged "unnnnngh"; when you cry...i mean really cry...it breaks my heart. Your voice is so little, and when we calm you down, you are still trembling with angst, while holding back your cry, your face flushed with distress, your eyes black as onyx, with little tears running down your face.
That's it for tonight. I have to work tomorrow, and my mind is a bit empty for writing. My thoughts think about what I need to do for work tomorrow, and they are also with your Lolo and Lola.
Life at my station in life right now Violet is complicated....but also it's not. You being here, definitely helps focus that, and your growth and development are the priority. My efforts to see that through, with love, compassion, and laughter, make the tasks clear. It's familiar territory (I have Bayani to thank for that, I will tell you about him later) and I enter this phase of my life calmly and assured that life really is just beginning.
Love,
Dad
Remarkable things I observed for today. Your mother was feeding you a lot, more often than the every 3-4 hours, and usually when you began to be fussy because she thought you were hungry. That may or may not be the case, but one data point does not a pattern make. We will see how it goes. When you have your next check up, I think your growth is going to be well above the curve.
The thought I have had while observing you on a day to day basis, is that every day is a first, and a last. You have definitely grown in the last month, and progressed with your development, though seeing you in person, it's not very noticeable. It is when I see the pictures and videos that we've taken of you thus far. You are definitely growing. Your hair is thicker, your newborn clothes are a little bit more snug, and your adorable cheeks are puffy and then not from day to day.
I find myself already missing this part of your life. As every day passes, you grow, change...soon, you will be walking, talking, being more cognizant of the world you now live in; and the little infant that you are now, will be gone.
Things that I'll always remember are the way you get milk-drunk after breast feeding. I mean, you really get milk-drunk and drowsy. After your long naps, you stretch by raising both of your arms straight over your head, and you arch your back, and give a prolonged "unnnnngh"; when you cry...i mean really cry...it breaks my heart. Your voice is so little, and when we calm you down, you are still trembling with angst, while holding back your cry, your face flushed with distress, your eyes black as onyx, with little tears running down your face.
That's it for tonight. I have to work tomorrow, and my mind is a bit empty for writing. My thoughts think about what I need to do for work tomorrow, and they are also with your Lolo and Lola.
Life at my station in life right now Violet is complicated....but also it's not. You being here, definitely helps focus that, and your growth and development are the priority. My efforts to see that through, with love, compassion, and laughter, make the tasks clear. It's familiar territory (I have Bayani to thank for that, I will tell you about him later) and I enter this phase of my life calmly and assured that life really is just beginning.
Love,
Dad
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