It’s been quite the first two weeks of life for Erica… and her parents!

We’ve had a few visits with our Doctor, the public health nurses, and everything’s fine. She’s eating, sleeping, and gaining weight like a little piglet.

From the photos, she’s changed quite a bit over those two weeks. Her facial features are starting to become more developed and defined, and there’s no more “conehead” We’re still not sure where she got some of her features, but time will tell.

As for her parents, we’re definitely learning on the job. Our resume currently reads something like this:

Baby skills

- able to sterilize baby feeding equipment
- able to correctly assemble and test aforementioned equipment for leakage
- able to mix formula at 4am using one bleary eye.
- inproving burping technique
- able to change diapers (even extremely messy ones) and control own gagging reflex
- able to give baby a bath without needing to shower off afterwards
- able to burrito wrap baby ’straight-jacket’ style.
- insert and extricate baby from carseat
- ability to detect pee and/or poopy diapers at 10 paces

Walking into a place like baby’s world or babies r us, there’s an insane amount of “baby stuff” for consumers. Thinking back to my own childhood and asking my mum, we didn’t have all this stuff growing up. This leads me to wonder if my generation (and generations past) just didn’t need it, or is all this stuff really advancing child-rearing?

Take strollers for example. Back in the day, I don’t recall my baby stroller having knobby inflatable tires, quick release wheels, caliper brakes, independant rear suspension, or a drink holder. Mind you. I also don’t recall ever wearing a seatbelt or using a carseat in my Dads Oldsmobile Cutlass either…

I can say that we have a few items that have made a difference. Erica’s Aunt Vennie went baby crazy and got her all this great stuff, but that’s another topic. So here’s what we found very useful so far:

- Ergo baby carrier. This thing can carry the baby in the front or back. If the baby is in the front, she can face out or in; and for infants, can be carried in an insert so that she is sitting down with her legs out one side. It’s like riding a 10 speed bike and having your passenger sit on the top tube sideways. I carried Aston around in it for awhile, and didn’t really feel the weight. That’s all the endorsement it needs.
- My BrestFriend nursing pillow. Imagine a world where you have an instant table strapped around your midsection. It’s adjustable so you can have baby at the proper height, and if your waist is 24″ or 42″, it doesn’t matter. I think this is only scratching the surface of its potential. After Erica is done breastfeeding, I intend to see what other uses it may hold. Just think of the possibilities! If you want to eat a TV dinner- who needs a TV dinner tray? How many times have you wanted to open up your laptop, but couldn’t find space on the dinner table? How about the times when you play Halo, and you just need somewhere to rest your elbows?
- Electric breast pump. E just told me to put this on the list.
- LOST- Season 1. We took our time to get on the bandwagon, but I’ve been very impressed with the stories and production quality of the show. Kinda like Twin Peaks meets Gilligan’s Island. Anyways, it’s a great way to pass the time when you’re waiting for baby to finish feeding and fall asleep. On a side note, if I had watched the show sooner, Erica may well have been named Evangeline.