Day 5 - Dec 11th, 2010

Well, been a bit busy over the last couple of days dealing with the first born. In terms of early learning for the new girl, Anneliese, we have been continuing the black and white visual stimulation. One of the books that we have is Art For Baby by Outset. They have collected a bunch of contemporary monochromatic art that is designed to reflect the real world. They also have freezes that you can hang up or, in our case, line up around the cot in the hospital.

There was an interesting comment by one of the artists featured in the Art For Baby book He said that they noticed their newborn was fascinated by a black and white painting that they had in their house. The other art work did not seem to register, but their newborn would stare at the black and white piece for long periods. So they started researching and found that this is a common trait for babies.

I also have been wearing a red shirt for the days that we have been in hospital. I think worked, as today, when my wife checked out, Anneliese seemed to identify with me more than any other males that have been in and out of her short life so far (grand parents, doctors, pediatricians, etc...). Now that we are home I don't think i need to do this any more.
 
Now that we are family at home I see my immediate job at hand is two fold: 1) Manage the expectations and reactions from Sophia (the first born) and 2) build a new routine with two daughters. I am giving myself a week to build this new routine. I think one of the first changes is getting my wife to put Sophia to bed so she can rebond with her. Kimba thinks that spending a week away from home has changed the relationship with our eldest. I can see what she means why Sophia's interaction with her mother - it's not quite what it was. We'll see how that pans out...