Mondays, Tuesdays Sleepy Days, Wednesday, Thursdays Sleepy Days….
Despite battling constant exhaustion on the part of Matt and myself, Little Jude is developing into quite a character! After a night of restlessness and intermittent shrieks, all Jude has to do is flash one of his smiles that even Julia Roberts would have trouble competing with and it’s all worth it. Honestly, when you’re about to throw the towel in, shave one’s head and call it quits (oh, wait, already been done by Britney Spears), they begin smiling and melt your heart all over again. In my humble opinion, I believe nature /God intentionally designed babies that way or else none of us would make it to adulthood.
Have I mentioned that Jude likes motion? Two weekends ago, we stayed for the weekend in NYC just as I was about to scale the walls of our tiny Norwalk apartment in sheer restlessness. During the day, Matt strapped on the Baby Bijorn (reminds me of the Ghostbusters’ apparel) and Jude slept his way through Little Italy and Chinatown, only to turn nocturnal once the sun went down. Sleepless in Seattle? Try Up-All-Night-In-New-York version without chipper Meg Ryan to talk on the phone with.
I truly felt like a reluctant participant in the NYC version of “The Shining” into the wee hours in the morning as I treaded Zombie-like around the interior perimeter of the mustard-yellow wallpapered, parquet floored apartment. Many a time, I scared myself to pieces entering a room only to face a frazzled brunette holding a wailing baby. Damn those wall-to-wall mirrors!
By Saturday morning, my arms were on the brink of falling off from rocking Jude in an attempt to emulate the motions of his beloved swing. From that experience, I learned that desperate times call for desperate measures even if it means using a treadmill, suitcase and pillow to create soothing rocking sensations (see below instructions).
Matt and I received some suspicious stares the next day on the subway as we discussed the merits of placing the baby in the suitcase, however, it saved us from another sleep-deprived night.
We’ve also been back to visit our favorite Dr. Seuse character, Dr. Glassman, for Jude’s 6 week check-up. Whatever that man eats for breakfast must be laced with crack, for he was really on a roll, giving demonstrations of inquisitive children by rapidly switching off and on the facets and swinging medical equipment about. After dropping a few non-sequitors such as, “Don’t worry when parents say, ‘When are ya going to feed the baby a sausage?’” we were amused by a 25 minute reenactment of three-year-old Dr. Glassman playing in the gutter. He then removed his belt, but luckily halted the demonstration of what his father did upon learning of his son’s gutter antics.
Quite a peculiar man and I’m sad to write that we’re going to be finding a new pediatrician closer by now that we’ve switched insurance companies. However, before leaving Dr. Glassman wrote another “Keep up the good work” inscription on his prescription pad after Jude weighed in at 10.5 lbs with his height in the 90th percentile, weight in the 85th and head circumference in the 80th. I’m not quite sure if this means Jude’s head is slightly smaller than the rest of his body, but I’m still pleased that overall he earned a B+ at his six-week mark.
When it comes to your own kid, it’s always better safe than sorry, even when your prior philosophy was that anything goes whether it be zipping around in Thailand on a motorbike, helmet nowhere in sight or considering alcohol a serving of “grain” on the food pyramid. On Friday, at my new mom’s group some of the women were discussing the dangers of using plastic baby bottles. Jude had been especially cranky that morning, so I was engrossed in holding off on an eruption and not focusing on the conversation. Back home hours later, Matt calls, insisting we buy glass bottles.
Known for my frugality, I questioned him as to why we need to invest in glass bottles when we have a set of 30 brand-new plastic ones. Long story short, after researching online I learned that the brand we’ve been using contains high levels of BPA, a compound found to cause brain-damage in mice after the plastic was heated. Frantically, I combed through as many articles as I could find online, all of them confirming the dangers of using plastic bottles, particularly Dr. Brown’s Evenflow. With my heart in my throat, I recalled boiling and sterilizing the bottles upon receiving them, then re-heating them each time after Jude uses one to kill bacteria.
Needless to say, we’ve switched to glass and I’ve subscribed to a “medical alerts” email that warns me on a daily basis of the evils we’re unintentionally subjecting our children to. OK, I’m being a bit factious and yet in all seriousness as a parent I’ve become more cautious, be it to my own wearing a seatbelt religiously to paying a bit extra to eat organic.
Next Monday, Matt, Jude and I leave for Florida-can’t wait. Godmother Ryan got him the cutest pair of sunglasses to rock for the occasion, plus we have cute swim shorts from Emily and her mom.

Worst Case Scenario: How to Create Motion When You Don’t Have Your Swing
Materials:
Treadmill, pillows, suitcase with wheels
Directions:
Place the suitcase on the treadmill with the handlebar extended so that the wheels connect with the runner. Rest the extended handlebar on a pillow that should be at the base of the treadmill or on the metal covering where one’s foot would face if walking on the treadmill. Next, remove clothing from one’s suitcase and place another pillow in the cavity of the suitcase. Turn on the treadmill and place it on a low setting. Place baby in the suitcase, preferably with pacifier in mouth, swaddled and relatively calm. Observe as rotating motion soothes cranky baby. Do not attempt to run on apparatus. Rest.