40,320 minutes

There’s no catchy show-tune to go with the number, but that’s how many minutes are in four weeks, which is how old Kai now is. Actually, as of this writing, he is 40,260 minutes old. Erin and I were just talking about how amazing it is that we have had a living, breathing, pooping baby for nearly a month now.

I am now able to distinguish between several different cries and can do a baby pit-stop (diaper change) in under one minute. More importantly, though, is that I am present to life. Throughout our lives, we as humans tend to focus not on what we have, but what we don’t have, or what we think we lack. The beauty of life comes from loving what we already have. True abundance comes from acknowledging the gifts that we already have. So, while the winds of finance, family, responsibility, and fun swirl around and pull at us, we are able to maintain an inner peace and love. That is what Kai has has allowed me to access.

It’s been a magical four weeks. And I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring. Until then, “keep it classy, San Diego.”

almost four (weeks)

Well we’re approaching the one-month mark. I’ll be posting a new photo page, complete with, well, photos from Kai’s first month. Exciting stuff folks!

Kai went with us to my hair appointment the other day. As a modern, hip dad, my hair must be fabulous. So we went to Mychael Peters 360 salon in the the Lake Ivanhoe shopping district and got my hair done, fabulously my Mychael himself. The entire salon about had a conniption over my boy, who now has his own team of personal stylists. Many thanks to the amazing, talented human beings at MP360 — see you there!

Looking back over the last month, I must say that this has been an amazing time. Until I got married, I must say that my entire life has been designed to be temporary. I’ve never had any real commitments, certainly not any lifelong commitments, other than to myself. I’m now very present to the permanency of my life now, and it’s very refreshing and different. This may be the first time I’ve ever really been committed to someone other than myself. It’s powerful, it’s real, and it’s amazing.

It was a busy weekend at work. I came home tonight to see Erin, Kai, and Abe (the cat) all sleeping on the couch. It was so cute I could have cried. I tried to photograph it, but it wasn’t the same. You had to be there...

wednesday night lights

Well the wine dinner at K Restaurant was awesome. Kudos to the staff there, who are obviously passionate about their restaurant. The national wine educator from Banfi was on hand to speak about the wines we were drinking, and Erin and I loved it.

The Miracle Blanket arrived yesterday while I was at work. We tested it out last night, and Kai thoroughly enjoyed it. That is to say, he slept for about four hours straight in it, and went right back to sleep after eating. So far, so good. Between the gripe water and the Miracle Blanket, Kai won’t have anything to fuss about.

Anyways, off to work now. I’ll write more later about our trip to the salon...

three weeks old

Kai is now three weeks old — we’re off to the birthing center today for a checkup. The gripe water has been working well, although it’s not 100% effective. It certainly has made an impact on Kai’s fussiness though, so I’ve ordered a 12-year supply of this miracle tonic.

Kai came to visit me again at Seasons 52 yesterday, during the first day of the new autumn menu. Jenny, the GM, was beside herself — she was carrying him around the restaurant and showing him off to everyone. Kai got to meet Joe Lee, the founder and chairman of Darden Restaurants. Joe is a big sweetheart and was tickled to meet baby Kai.

Erin and I are going to dinner tonight, alone, for a little date night. Grandma Marsha is watching Kai tonight, and is in fact sponsoring our dinner date. I think she just wanted some alone time with Kai, and was willing to pay us for it. He’s like a lawyer, already billing by the hour for his time. Baby-sitters may actually have to pay us. Sweet.

About the dinner, we are going to the Banfi wine dinner at K Restaurant in College Park. K is currently my favorite restaurant in Orlando, and Erin and I both love wine, so we are excited about tonight. And Kai is looking forward to seeing his grandma Marsha. We’ve equipped her with a full bottle of breast milk and every pacifier in our arsenal. Good luck Marsha. Until next time...

no gas shortage here

Kai has been quite gassy these last few days, which leads to an extraordinary amount of fuss. His face turns beet red and he screams bloody murder. My online research has led me to a product called gripe water, which is made from ginger and fennel, among other things. Being the amazing parents we are, we immediately went on a Rambo-mission to find this miracle cure. We just gave him his first dose, so check back later for the results.

Kai laid around on his new blanket from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Laurie yesterday. He thoroughly enjoyed laying in the sun on his new blanket. And then he pooped on his new blanket... we can’t have anything nice, I guess. No worries though, Erin got it all cleaned up for future use.

We’re going to a barbecue this afternoon for Isaac, although Kai will probably be the hit of the party. Barbecue and gripe water will hopefully be a winning combination today.

two weeks and counting

Kai just turned 2 weeks old — he’s progressing so quickly. He is so much more aware now, and he’s learning new behaviors and noises. One of his new cries is enough to stop my heart. It sounds like he’s being stabbed repeatedly with a dull serrated knife. Another thing he’s been doing is making loud straining noises as his digestive tract does its work. It’s kind of cute for the first 10 minutes, but after that it begins to wear on me.

Kai came to visit me at work yesterday at Seasons 52. Within 10 seconds of his grand entrance, all work in the building stopped as the masses came to praise and worship him. It was so cute. Erin had a nice lunch with her friend Nancy, and picked up some more baby gifts from her former workplace. All in all a great day.

One thing I’ve noticed is how present I am to the joy of fatherhood. Like everything in life, fatherhood is what you make of it. So I choose to make everything about this great and perfect. Kai is another perfect being through which I can see beauty and truth as one and the same. He is simply amazing to me.

tiny dancer

Kai loves his Baby Einstein CDs — we played them for him while he was still in utero. He was in his crib listening to his music while we cleaned the house yesterday. He has a cute reaction to the music — a real calmness with an urge to shake his booty and wave his hands like he just don’t care.

Last night was tough — I think the pajamas he was dressed in were too warm, so he was fussy all night long. In our delirious state though we didn’t think of trying that until this morning. Erin took the worst of his fuss like a champ since I am working a double today and definitely needed some sleep to make it through my 14-hour shift. Which is not to say that her job is any easier.

For those misguided souls who think that stay-at-home moms have it made, I recommend you rent the classic flick Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton.

kai needs weight watchers

We visited Dr. Franz again this morning for Kai’s final checkup. My boy has gained 10 ounces in the last 7 days - he’s gaining weight at an above-average rate. At this pace, he should outweigh me in 2 years.

The doc says Kai looks great. And he’s going to probably have hazel or blue eyes. And oh man does he enjoy the sound of a vacuum. Just like the Happiest Baby on the Block book said. We swaddled him up, rocked him, and turned on the vacuum and he was out like a light. He definitely does not have a future in housekeeping - he’d fall asleep on the job every day.

Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric threw a little family get-together bbq yesterday at their house. Kai was the guest of honor, although he slept through most of the festivities. Oh well, there’s always next year.

my boy can swim

Kai took his first dip in the pool today. Let’s just say that waking him up by dipping him in the pool startled him. He did eventually warm up to the idea, though. We didn’t submerge him totally today, that would have been too much. We don’t want to totally overwhelm him.

Erin and I are committed to Kai being comfortable in the water. In Florida, where every house has approximately 1.5 pools, a young child must be able to swim. Soon we’ll sign him up for baby swimming lessons.

back to work

Today marks one week since I went back to work after Kai was born. I definitely don’t like being away from him, and it definitely makes every moment I’m home with him much more special. This morning he was quite awake for a long time so we hung out for a while. We listened to some music (he likes Christopher Cross!) and worked on some quantum physics problems.

This afternoon we’re taking Kai swimming in our pool. This should be quite an interesting experience. Stay tuned for photos.

one week old!

Kai is now one week old. To celebrate this momentous occassion, he took his first bath. His review was mixed, ranging from sobbing uncontrollably to complete relaxation. There was a little bit of fussing but things turned out great. Letting his hair dry underneath a hat was a fun idea - his hair is totally crazy now. It’s so cute.

We tried out Kai’s Snugli carrier today for a bit. He loves it. Rather, he slept right through it, but we know what he meant.

BTW, thanks Todd for the sweet gift. Also, Kai now has his own domain name, kai-turner.com. It sends you to this site, and it’s really easy to remember.

Until next time, au revoir.

kai talk thai

We took Kai to visit my parents today at their restaurant, Thai Delight. My mom made us an awesome lunch, and got to play with baby Kai. To return the favor, Kai took the largest dump I’ve ever known him to take. Two diapers full. According to my mom, it looked like hummus. I’ll never look at hummus the same way.

At least we know his plumbing is working. And while Kai loves his car seat, he apparently does not like it in the car. I’m glad the ride home was short.

swaddling produces miracles

I’ve been reading a book called “The Happiest Baby on the Block” — it is about how to activate a baby’s calming reflex. It advocates tight swaddling (wrapping the baby up in a blanket) and shows you how to do it effectively. We’ve been trying it and this stuff works. Kai now sleeps longer between feedings and doesn’t fuss at all. If it keeps working this well, we plan on keeping him swaddled until he is 18.

Now, you can’t just go wrapping a baby in a blanket and expect it to settle down, there are specific techniques. If you want to learn them, buy the book or ask me.

soak up the sun

Erin took the cutest photo of Kai today, as evidenced to the left. His pediatrician told us to let him sunbathe for a while today to help him get over his jaundice. He was happy to oblige.

Kai went to his first fast-casual counter-service restaurant today — Chipotle. He slept through the entire thing, thankfully. It’s funny how complete strangers will stop and give you parenting advice in the middle of a public place. The gesture comes from love and compassion, and I enjoy the anecdotes, and it’s still quite interesting to me.

feeding time at the zoo

As you can see, fatherhood has made me forget how to groom myself. No matter though, I got to feed Kai for the first time yesterday. Erin pumped for approximately 36 hours straight to produce exactly one-half of a tablespoon of mother’s milk, which Kai consumed in 3.2 seconds. Seriously though, it was an awesome thing to feed my son. That boy can put some milk away. And fart. Man, can he fart. And when he does it, it’s cute. Unlike when I do it...

mother's milk = colon blow

Kai took two huge dumps today. I’ve never been so excited about someone else’s bowel movements before. In our epic battle against jaundice, feeding, sunlight and stools are our main weapons. We’re fighting the good fight here.

Kai is looking less puffy every day. His eyes are starting to normalize and he’s looking around a lot. His Great-Aunt Sandra came over today, what a sweetheart. It’s such a blessing to have a close-knit family for love and support. I don’t know you need a village to raise a child, but it sure is nice to have one.

fatherhood = enlightenment?

Everyone says that the joy of fatherhood could not be explained. It’s absolutely true. I’ve never cried so much in my life. Just thinking about this moment makes me well up. All I know is that I chose to be a great father to Kai, and I’m doing it.

Inside Kai’s silent eyes is nirvana. Pure stillness and enlightenment. For me, the world stops when he stares at me. It is an awesome stillness, and in this busy, hectic world of ours it is easy to forget that what we’re all seeking is always right with us. We just have to stop for a moment and find it.

We’re all looking for happiness. The thing is, happiness, or supreme peacefulness, cannot be found outside of us, it is only inside. It’s inside every one of us.

Sometimes a child’s eyes can help us remember that.

battling jaundice

Jaundice is believed to affect all newborn babies. It is a condition where the extra red blood cells they had in their bodies in utero are broken down. It’s when their livers cannot keep up and process out all of the extra dead blood that babies can get into trouble.

Kai has a slight case of jaundice. One of the best ways to fight it is to put him in sunlight, which helps him process out those old blood cells. So yesterday and today Kai got to lay out by the pool... he really took to it. We signed him up for an indoor tanning salon package, too. Gotta work on that base tan now. Kidding, of course. Wish us luck as we battle jaundice with baby Kai.

let the napping begin

We went back to Special Beginnings birthing center today for a checkup for Erin and Kai. According to the midwife, Kathy, Kai looks aware and healthy.

Kai has a different blood type than mom, so Erin has to go get a shot to prevent any complications with any future pregnancies that we might have.

He’s opening his eyes a bit more today, and still feeds approximately every 15 seconds. But he’s sleeping well and things are looking good.

meeting grandma

My mother has been over two nights in a row, and has been really excited and great about Kai. One of the best things is that she brings food for Erin and me. In this whole whirlwind of newborn activity, it’s nice to have a good meal prepared for you.

Plus, she’s a much better chef than I am. And I’m damn good.