Spain Dad, a baby blog

“Your daughter has an interesting theory about breastmilk,” Warren said as we sat in a friend’s living room and ate Chinese food out of plastic containers. A few days earlier Warren had volunteered to watch Alleke and a few of her friends, which had entertainment value in itself because Warren doesn’t have kids, and if [...]

Today I gave Teo a bottle for the first time. Watch How to Give a Bottle to a Breastfed Baby for the First Time on Vimeo. If I’ve missed anything, or you have any questions or advice to share, feel free to leave a comment…

I listen to the footsteps as they cross the hardwood floor, crackling like a bonfire. They stop at the edge of the bed, and I open my eyes and blink into the darkness. A shadowy figure sinks a knee into the bed, climbs over me, and burrows under the covers. I lie there, thinking. I [...]

Alleke scratched at my neck until she found my shirt collar. Using it as a handle, she yanked down and pulled herself up just high enough to sling her arm over my shoulder and point into the darkness. I turned around and squinted into the dim corner of the room. I didn’t see anything unusual, [...]

DSC_2506, originally uploaded by kellyandapril. Sleep UpdateWe’ve been putting Alleke to sleep in her own bed now, but usually around two o’clock in the morning she wakes up, and we move her into bed with us so she can eat. An Annoying HabitThis past week Alleke has been waking up at odd hours in the [...]

she looks like she’d prefer a nap Photo by mary_gaston22. Alleke screams again. She arches her back and tries to get away from me. I hold on to her tightly, but she’s as slippery as a bar of soap. Her face is glowing red. Tears make puddles in her ears. She refuses to open her [...]

Pursuit of Happyness in the 22nd Century Photo by krobbie. “Two tickets for the Pursuit of Happyness,” I said. The high school kid behind the counter took my card and swiped it. While the machine printed our tickets, I took April’s hand in mine. She smiled. The kid handed me the tickets with my card. [...]

Christmas Present Drive Photo by billerickson. “So how was shopping?” I asked April. Her mom and sister had taken off work for the day to go Christmas shopping. April thought for a second. “Put it this way: for every two hours during the day, I’m breastfeeding Alleke for one of them. We left at eleven [...]

April even let me sit in her special breastfeeding chair, the green one. I cradled Alleke in my arms, and she licked breast milk out of a little plastic cup that I took from the top of a cough medicine bottle. April and I decided I should feed her from the little cup because Alleke’s [...]

I walked into the living room today carrying a box full of old bank statements, bills and residency paperwork. I set the box on the floor next to the couch where all the other paperwork from my office was spread out in piles. April, Alleke and I will be flying back to the U.S. for [...]