/ Saturday, January 21, 2006
Okay, it's been a while hasn't it? Well I've been busy. A lot has happened since I last wrote. I'm a year older for starters... Happy Birthday to me! It appears that I've also forgotten how to type as well. I've had about five typos already. Make that seven.
It seems that if Toby does have colic we cured it. I think we just mistaken it and he just felt like crying for a while. After an hour of crying (or trying to stop him from crying) any excuse will do. So that's a relief!
Everything else in the world of Toby is much the same, if I write about him too much I'll start to gush again like always (I know I'm such a girl!) He smiles at me now, which is the most amazing thing ever. As you can imagine. Oh, actually you can't if you haven't had a precious little bundle of joy of your own. I'll stop on that now, we know I'm a proud daddy and elated with the little chappie so I'll leave it at that.
Ahem... Okay composure... Onwards with blog, I can hear Toby snoring through the monitor... No must... Not... Talk... About ... The... Little.. Guy...
Okay, I've got it now.
Mother and Linda had a whole bunch of fun over here, but I guess I can't really talk about that much. Doh! He knew I wasn't talking about him, now he's getting ready to cry!
Okay, so you may have to suffer through reading this epistle, but I'm now typing one handed (other hand full of baby), so it's definatly going to take me longer to write it than it is for you to read it.
Yeah so what did the Spencer do while we were expanded to five instead of three? Obviously a lot of time was spent looking/looking after the littlest one (it really is hard to exclude him. Maybe I'll just try to keep my emotions under control) we went downtown and walked around some nice parks, so I could work out where Toby, Mummy and Daddy (that's me) could go and play, we went shopping, and that really is about it. Oh, Linda. Ash and I played a bit of pool. Toby took up most of the time, but I think that was basically the idea of the trip.
Ashley got a tooth pulled, so she was on drugs some of the time, which was nice, and we went to see her shrink and she said that the post-partum depression was looking pretty bad still, and she's not going to be able to work. Also because of the PPD she can't look after Toby. This made me panic a bit, because we're kind of fiscally challenged right now. So one of us two has to work, and the other one of us has to look after Toby, and neither of them can be Ash. You do the math. It was a little of a conundrum. So I'm basically going to get an evening job which has benefits at Blockbuster. The pay is rubbish but it means we're not going to have to pay $700 a month for health care for Ash and Toby, so I've immediately got $8400 a year, anything else I make is a bonus, right?
Ok, so that isn't really very interesting, but it is pretty important. So to balance things our here's something that is interesting, but not really very important. Well... I say interesting... It warrants a warning...
Don't read this next bit. Especially if you're eating.
Okay, so you know how Ash went to the dentist to get her tooth pulled right? Ash, Toby, and I had to go back to get the stitches taken out. We went to Wendys before hand for some lunch. As we got to the dentist and I was finishing off my meal in the truck something happened to me that hasn't happened in years. In fact I can't even remember the last time it did happen. You'll have to ask my mother when it happened to be honest. It's not really something I'm proud of (who would be?) but it happened. I mean, I'm not one to hide anything from you guys am I? My life is an open book. I did warn you but it's best I do it again. There's your second warning, Okay? Here goes....
I pooed my pants.
Like I said not the greatest achievement of my life. My son can do it, in fact I think he just has done it. Easy! Anyhow, there's me sitting in the truck outside the dentist. It was just a little fart, but there was follow through."Hello," I thought, "that's a bit unusual. I guess I'll have to make an appointment with the doctors and get that checked out. I bet he's going to put his finger up my butt" and then it was just as well I was thinking and not saying, otherwise my sons first word might have been a naughty one.
So I'm there at the dentist, with poo in my pants. I go to the bathroom to clean myself off of course, but that only half solves the problem. Oh well, Ash isn't going to be that long, I mean it's just a couple of stitches right? In any case I think I can redirect the poo smelling thing onto the other member of our party, after all look at me, and look at Toby. Who is more likely to have poo in there pants? Don't get me wrong, I wasn't actively blaming Toby, if anyone came up and asked me which one of us had pooed our pants then I would've said it was me, but that's not very likely, is it?
So it was a quick thing for Ash, only took her half an hour to get the tooth taken out, it's only going to be half an hour, three quarters of an hour tops to get the stitches out.
An hour later, I was still sitting there, getting pretty hot, and my tummy wasn't feeling great. I felt another fart coming on. I would usually let it rip and look accusingly at someone else in the room (as you do) but after the last one I wasn't taking that chance so I went to the toilet. The fart came out, no poo. Great! I thought maybe I won't have to go to the doctors! I pulled up my trousers, stood up started to wash my hands... "Hello," I thought, "that's unusual..."
It was around this time that Toby started crying. So I was sitting in a dentists waiting room, with a screaming baby, a fever, a stomach ache, and smelling of poo. It was turning out to be a pretty bad day for me.
Half an hour later Ash comes out. I think it was half an hour, that's what the clock said, my brain was telling me it was more like ten hours. Time doesn't pass so well when you're smelling of poo in public. I had to drive home. I drove fast, but safe. I definitely didn't want to be in an accident. Remember what you mother always said? "Make sure you've got clean pants on, you could be hit by a bus!" I wasn't taking any chances.
So we got home and I went straight to bed, via the toilet of course. I wasn't feeling too hot. In fact I was feeling very cold. My temperature was minus forty seven thousand... Alright I don't remember what it was but it wasn't very high. So I was in bed shivering and feeling pretty sorry for myself.
Ash came in a while later and said "You'd better drink some Gatorade, and get some electrolytes in you." Whatever, anything that makes me feel better. "We've only got Strawberry flavour though." (Oh been as Ash said it I mean "We've only got Strawberry flavor tho." I keep forgetting the American accent.) I can only just stand Gatorade in one flavour usually, Lemon and Lime, but, whatever, anything that makes me feel better. I take a sip. It tastes Awful. Worse than Awful in fact. "Ash take this!" I mumble as I spring out of bed. Then, halfway to the bathroom....
Kerchunder!
Why is it that whenever I have the need to throw up I always have to head for the bathroom? Is it just me? I mean there could be a bucket right next to me with a neon sign saying "Puke Here" and a bathroom half a mile away, but still I'll run for the bathroom. I mean there was a perfectly good bin right next to me, and I actually thought earlier on, that if I was going to throw up that would be a good place to do it, but no, I'm heading on the impossible journey to the bathroom.
Well I paid for my mistake, and after chundering I felt well enough to help clean it up. Ash asked if I wanted anything for my nausea. I told her that if I was natious then I would be scrubbing a Big Bacon Classic, Biggie Fries and a Large drink with a hint of Strawberry Gatorade minced and pureed out of the carpet right now would I? Fair point I thought.
Anyhow, to cut a long story short (I heard that sigh of relief) I was ill (duh!) The general consensus was that it was food poisoning. I was still lying in bed in pain, all alone, which really is the worse state to be lying in bed in, so I called out to Ash to join me. We sat around, talked for a bit and then we both went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning feeling much better. The bad thing was that I awoke to the sound of Ash talking into the big white telephone, so it turns out it was contagious after all. Doh! There's me to blame for getting my wife sick. Not really what I'd planned. Boy! Did I feel guilty! I've been trying to look after her (from a bit of a distance) and cleaning up the bathroom, changing the sheets on the beds, going out and getting her Jello (jelly) and chicken noodle soup, but still I feel terrible.
Anyhow, that brings you pretty much up to date. By the way, this is the second time I have written this whole post. The computer crashed just as I was writing in the last sentance and I lost it all. The first one was much better, but history can't repeat itself.
The main reason I felt compelled to write tonight is because as I was cleaning the bathroom (see there was a point to the story after all!) I was listening to an album by Sufjan Stevens http://www.sufjan.com/ called Illinois http://www.asthmatickitty.com/music.php?releaseID=16 which is one of the best albums I have ever heard. It's kind of like if Badly Drawn Boy made Pet Sounds. It's so good. I should come with a warning on it "Warning: This Album is highly addictive and will cause excessive grinning" At least it make me grin, not because it's funny, just because it so good. If you're an MP3 person then try and find "Come On Feel The Illinoise!" but really you should just want the whole album. At least that's what I think. Ash just thinks it's alright, but then she likes country.
If you do like country but you want to get out of the country a bit the you should listen to Richmond Fontaine http://www.richmondfontaine.com/ I've only heard Post To Wire, which Linda got me for Christmas, and it's very good. It's got steel guitar, heartbreak and storytelling songs in it. All the good bits of country music without actually being... you know... Country.
/Hopped!
10:47 PM
In Which Mother and Linda Arrive, And Things Get A Bit More Hairy With Toby (No Connection Between TheTwo In Case You Were Wondering / Sunday, January 08, 2006
Ok, so Mother and Linda are here. I mean Grandma and Aunty Linda, but if Toby can read this then I'm sure he's intelligent enough to work out who I'm talking about! They're doing fine, they had a good flight apart from missing a connecting flight. We haven't really done anything yet, but then they're not here to do anything really. They both seem super-chuffed with little Toby (as well they should, I mean how could you not?) Mother has been spending alot of time talking to the little guy, Linda has spent alot of time looking and smiling. She told me today that I look cute with him. Good Grief! I though I outgrew the cute thing at 12! Well I think I deflect most of that cuteness onto Toby.
The other thing is Toby seems to have developed a bit of Colic. For those of you who don't know what that is here's a definition from http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/infant_colic.html:
"Colic is uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy and well-fed. Every baby cries, but babies who cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, may have colic."
So basically, baby cries for no apparent reason, and won't stop crying unless asleep or eating. It's not fun. We get half an hour of quiet fidgety baby in the morning, but after that and epsecially after about 9 o'clock in the evening he'll Cry. And Cry. And Cry. until he falls asleep sometime between 12 and 3. It's not fun. It's alright when he cries and there's something wrong, but there's nothing wrong and he still dries and there's not really very much I can do about it. Aw nuts! I thought it would last a month tops, but it apparently it can go on for three months. I'm not really one for emoticons but this calls for one: D-:
Well at least he sleeps through the night, so we're not sleep deprived (much) and he sleeps quite a bit in the day as well so we get some peace, but I think I'm going to start dreading 9 o'clock in the evening.
The other big news is that we've decided that Ash is going to go to work and I'm going to stay at home and look after Toby. It makes sense because Ash has the degree and I and a little more domesticated than her (she still tries to poo on the rug! boom boom!) in that I'll actually make sure there are clean clothes for us to wear before the morning when I actually run out. Also Ash still isn't too happy being around Toby, and I enjoy spending time with the little tyke.
That'll do right? I'd better try and put Toby down to sleep. he's sleeping in a chair right next to me, but babies tend to have this habit of waking up as soon as you put them into their cribs. So wish me luck! (If you actually read this in time to wish me luck, you spend too much time on the internet, but you can wish me luck for tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, etc!)
Take care dudes and dudettes. Remember: If you're not smiling, start smiling. It ain't that bad! Woohoo!
/Hopped!
1:03 AM
Month old Toby / Monday, January 02, 2006
First to compare, here he is at 5 days old with Clifford Bear, whom Pete and I made for him at the Adopt a Bear Factory the night before he was born.
Here he is at a month old. He's beginning to focus on objects and look at himself in the mirror, look at us and focus on our faces, and today he was reaching out to touch some of the objects and his reflection in the mirror and squealed a happy squeal.
Tummy time on his Boppy.
"Hey guess what I just did!"
He's wearing a 3-6 month outfit, which seems to fit pretty well except for larger leg openings, but he is tall enough for it. He has outgrown some of the 0-3 month clothes in length, and sadly one of those is "The Boss" one that you saw in an earlier post.
This one is actually at about 3 weeks old.
/Hopped!
11:15 PM
In which I should Actually write something / Sunday, January 01, 2006
Okay, so this is the beginning of the new year, and I am exactly how you would imagine me (drunk) so this would be a little more inteligble and less typos etc. You should be proud (or embarrased) that I'm even trying.
Anyhow enough with the apoligies (that was an apoligy for what is about to come by the way) and on with the bloggy bit.
Right, well here's the excuse for me not writing in so long: I got too many good pressies, and I have a baby. I've been playing Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time on the PS2 which is jolly good fun. I've managed to limit the amount of tie playing on that, it the other one I bought with a gift voucher for the PC that's killing me. The Sims 2. Terribly addictive. The only reason I'm wiriting this and not playing right now is becaue I've been dealing it onto Ash and now she's addcted too, so she's playing it right now! Not really a good excuse, but at least that way you know it's true!
So, Christmas was fun, andNew yeas was fun, but really the funnest thing and the thing that has really taken everything over in my lif is my baby Toby. That's really what I'm going to talk about, because after all Christmas comes once a year, but Toby Peter Spencers come once in a lifetime! (by the way Toby does fine in later life, I've played the Spencers in The Sims, so I know...)
So there's a couple of things to cover here. First the differences between being a Daddy and not:
1. I used to read Uncut and Mojo, now I read American Baby and Parents magazines
2. I used to check out women in supermarkets, now it's their children (not in the same way, obviously)
3. The colour of poo interests me now.
4. I'm no longer thinking of time seperated into days. Now it's four hour long segments between feedings.
5. I know the love that God has for me, it's the same love that I have for Toby.
6. I have an enormous respect for the female race. The respect I had before was just so I could get laid. This respect is real. How anyone could live through that and want to do it again is beyond me!
7. Resposability man! It's a bummer! I mean real responsablity, like really for another human being who doesn't know anymore than "Sleep, Eat, Poo" I have to be able to protect that little man! More than that, I have to bring him up right. I could't even bring myself up right, how am I going to be able to do it for anyone else? Pray. Amen!
8. The walk on the wild side has now officially ended. I got drunk on Xmas day and New Years Eve. I think that about does it for another year.
The other thing I want to touch on I might have mentioned before, but this is underlining and highlighting it. Toby is great. He does nothing but looks at me and I have no other feelings apart from love. Occasionally there's he feeling of "Aren't you sleepy yet?" but the real feeling is love. Last night, or should I say this morning (it was about four o'clock) I was looking at him looking t me and I saw me. It was like looking into a small, squirmy, Ashy mirror. It made me tear up. No other face has done that to me. It definatly take more than a look. I am more blessed than any of you. Sorry!
Anyhow, belated merry Christmas, and Happy New Year (and many mooore!) Sorry for thet Typos, but it's the best you're gonna get! No complaining!
/Hopped!
2:36 AM