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Sam has begun vocalizations that aren’t cries. For the most part, they are simply cry-parts vocalized outside of a period of fussyness. So instead of saying “waaannnh”, she’ll bust out with just the occasional “aannh”. She’s made a few others though. Being careful not to project interpretations of French professor mommy and gamer daddy, we’re pretty sure she wants to go to Arles(pronounced “aahrl” — it’s in France) where she will play GURPS(pronounced a lot like a hiccup — presumably 4th edition).

As we’re approaching the 6-week-old threshold, it’s becoming time to introduce the bottle to Sam so that I can feed her while Ca’s back at work. In so doing, we’re trying to figure out what nipple to use for the bottles. We want one that’s least likely to cause “nipple confusion” wherein the baby decides that food comes from bottle nipples and starts rejecting the mom-based kind. Therefore, Carolyn is doing nipple research on the Internet.

Newborns get all kinds of screens. One of the ones I had been insisting on was the one for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) — I had an aunt die of CF, and so statistically, I had a pretty good chance to be a CF carrier. When the pediatrician said that we’d get the CF screen at the one month checkup, I thought that she meant that they’d take the blood for the screen then.

Somebody should do a thesis on Sleep patterns in vulcan children. This morning, more than ever, as I was trying to get Samantha back to sleep after her feeding session, did I wish I knew the Vulcan nerve pinch.

Dear Samantha, As I write you this first of monthly newsletters, you are asleep in my lap. One of your arms is raised straight up in the air, fingers spread wide, with your index finger slightly forward of the rest of the arc of your fingers. If I could reach the camera without disturbing your rest, I’d definitely be preserving this for posterity. I enjoy how you still don’t quite understand that the various parts of your body belong to you, and while there are ways in which I’m very much looking forward to your maturation, I will miss this phase.

We took Sam to the pediatrician today for her weekly weight check. We were hoping that she’d have followed the instructions and gained 7 ounces in the past 7 days. Doing so would have brought her up to 6 pounds, 3 ounces. Instead, she was 6 pounds, 4.4 oz! So, we’re going to keep doing whatever it is we’ve been doing at least until we go back to the doctor’s for her one-month check up next Monday.

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Sam is 4 weeks old today, but other than that, I don’t have a lot to say about her. She continues to eat, sleep, poop and pee. Sometimes she’s relaxed and engaged. Sometimes, she’s inconsolably cranky. In the tradition of Heather Armstrong, I will start a monthly journal — a newsletter to Sam, but that won’t come out for another couple of days — on her one month birthday. Mom and dad are starting to get into a little more of a routine, but there’s still not enough sleep to go around.

If I get paid for some recent work, I think I’ll have enough dough for a new computer. This is good because while I have a fleet of computers, they’re all old and getting older. My newest one is about 3 years old — about the usable lifespan of a computer. I’m trying to decide what computer to get next and am soliciting your input. So far in my life, I’ve never purchased a laptop for myself.

Up here in central PA, I get my natural gas supply from Dominion. This confuses me just a little bit, because back in Charlottesville, I got my electricity supply from Dominion (gas came from the City of Charlottesville). They recently sent me their furnace repair plan promotional material. Basically, they offer furnace insurance. Pay a little bit every month, then if your furnace fails, they fix it and you aren’t stuck with a huge repair bill.