Rub-a-dub-dub

Monday, Dec 22nd, I decided that just because I was having a hard time finding the time to shower didn't mean that my son had to take after me. Having my hair color is enough for me.

So I turned on the water, put the little tub inside the big tub, undressed the little dude and we started having bath time. I wouldn't go as far as to say Jason enjoyed bath time, but he didn't complain about it either. He was just chilling, as he usually does.

Kneeling over the tub, I did my best to keep a grip on the slippery little dude. We had what I consider a successful cleaning session and I was about to take him out, when I notices little scales on the top of his head.

"Aha!" I thought to myself. "I know what this is. I've read ahead in my 'What to Expect' book. This is the beginning of cradle cap." After I had mentally patted myself on the back, I reviewed in my mind what I knew about cradle cap. It's these dry flakes of the scalp that look terrible but don't hurt the baby. They are treated by shampooing and rinsing, and for severe cases, using mineral oil or petroleum jelly.

This was the first sign of the flake-age I had seen, and I was excited to have spotted it early in the bath so as to be able to nip it in the bud. With washcloth in hand, I GENTLY rubbed it over the top of Jason's head to loosen and wipe off those little scales. And sure enough, they loosened. But they didn't wipe off. The dead skin had balled up a little, but it was still on his head amongst the hair.

"OK. I just need to wipe it again to get the dead skin out," I thought. So I passed the cloth over again, gently trying to remove the little pieces of loose skin. But they still didn't come out of his hair. Not only did they not come out, but my gentle rubbing had made matters worse.

After the third time, I realized I could not keep repeating the same thing and expecting different results. I also realized that my son's head now had a huge red bald spot where his mommy had unintentionally and ever so gently rubbed his head raw. Have you ever bought something and tried to remove the price tag sticker, or taken the label off a bottle, and it leaves this gummy residue that doesn't ever come off? Well, that's how the rest of Jason's head looked with dead skin matted into what remained of his strawberry blond hair.

So I went from mentally patting myself on the back to yelling frantically for Dustin to come help me decide what to do because I did not want to be the only one responsible for the outcome of our son's noggin. We finally decided to try some petroleum jelly and another shampoo, which got out some of the dead skin, but the jelly didn't wash out, so the hair stayed pretty matted. Jason looked like a sunburned monk with his new red shiny bald spot, and I felt horrible about the whole thing.

Thankfully, Jason himself didn't seem to care and never really cried. I've forgiven myself, and Jason doesn't seem to ever have been upset, so it's over now. But I definitely will be letting Dustin give the next bath.

Birth Announcement and Christmas Card

For anyone who didn't get one in the mail, (which is most everyone since we had limited time and money to get some out before the holidays were over,) here is our 2008 Christmas card/Jason's birth announcement. Enjoy!

Don't cry over spilt milk...or any other liquid

Yesterday and today the Hemsaths have had some fun adventures in cleaning up puddles. Of course, there is the ever constant duty of wiping up spilt milk that makes its way all over Jason's face, all over the couch, all over clothes, etc every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. But the mundane spills aside, two more notable messes happened recently.

Yesterday, Jason was exhausted and hadn't woken up for his afternoon feeding. I had to go run some last minute Christmas errands, so rather than wait, I left Dustin with a bottle and went out to brave the crazy and crowded world of retail shopping.

I had just left Target and was at my car ready to head to Costco when my phone rang. Dustin was just checking up to see how I was doing, and I took the time to check and see how Jason was. The report came back that he had finally woken up, downed his bottle and . When asked what was so funny, Dustin responded with the funniest sentence I had heard all day: "Jason peed on his head."

It took me a moment to process that information and the corresponding emotions it created in me. There was curiosity as to how such a thing was possible. There was pride in having such a talented son. There was amusement as Dustin gave me the play by play of how when changing Jason's diaper, Jason had been a little cold (and all that implies for his man-bits), and when he lifted his legs to put the new diaper under him, he noticed that with his bum in the air the current path of trajectory led straight to his face, and how no sooner had he thought that, then the little guy proceeded to urinate all over himself. Apparently Dustin scrambled to cover it with his hand, so it wouldn't shoot into Jason's mouth. It was coming out between his fingers in little spurts, and just when he thought it was over and moved his hand, another spurt came and BAM! Jason peed all over his own head. On top of the curiosity, pride and amusement, I also felt sorrow that I hadn't been there to witness it for myself. But I was also grateful that I hadn't been there to clean it up!

So there was yesterday's adventure. Today's adventure came just after 8 am when Dustin went to take a shower and noticed the bathroom floor was flooded. Merry Christmas to us! Thankfully, the plumber was here within the hour, although he's been here for over an hour and a half, our bathroom is all torn up, and the leak still isn't fixed. The hammering, water pumping and pipe clanging noises make it hard for Jason to get his nap in the adjacent room, so he is sleeping in his baby carrier with his face planted into my chest as I type this and eat breakfast. Of course, with Jason on my chest, his head just below my chin, eating my bowl of cereal has proven a bit difficult. I tried to eat it from the side, but that was getting messy. I have finally resorted to putting the bowl above his head, which actually puts it almost above my mouth line, so rather than bring the spoon up to my mouth, I have to bring it down to my mouth. I'm sure it's quite the spectacle to see, but so far it's worked and I haven't spilt any milk on him. Of course, if I did, it wouldn't be so bad. He's had worse.

Jason's First Performance

We were asked by the Spanish stake to allow Jason to be the baby Jesus in their annual Christmas presentation. They also asked Whitney and Dustin to sing a duet of "Silent Night" at the end (in Spanish, mind you). So the whole family got to be on stage. There were two performances on Sunday night, December 21, and Jason was a perfect little "niño Jesús". Just like the carol says, "no crying he [made]". The part that makes his performance even better was that Dust and Whit weren't Joseph and Mary. So, another couple had to hold him on stage while he was absolutely starving, yet sleeping, luckily. We are so proud of our son! He is only 4 weeks old and already he's the star of the show. We feel this could be a good omen.

Little Quirks

Soon after bringing Jason home with us, we discovered that he hates being swaddled. He loves swinging his arms about and using his long nails to scratch is forehead and poke his eyes out. We figured those hobbies wouldn't be to his benefit if we allowed him to develop those talents. We also found out that he will not stay asleep if he is not swaddled. He will continuously startle himself and wake up multiple times during the night. So we continue to swaddle him when it's naptime or bedtime. However, he still is a bit rebellious as the photo below show. If he can't swing his arms, he is going to kick his legs. This is the result of doing so. This is a big reason why we love him.

True Entertainment

On the evening of December 5th, Whitney and I were coming home from the store one day and looked out the window while stopped at a red light. We had just rented a movie not knowing that most entertaining image we would see that night would be before the movie was even in our home. Watching an old, frail man walk across the street, I had two questions: Is he going to make it across the street in time? and Are his legs going to disintegrate right beneath him? Gratefully, neither of the two questions were answered affirmatively. But the Christmas spirit must have been present in this old man as to sacrifice his own safety and comfort for that of his pet Chihuahua (sitting in the wheel chair being pushed by this selfless geezer. What a nut!

Jason Karl Hemsath

On November 23, 2008, Jason Karl Hemsath was born unto us in the St. Joseph's Hospital in the City of Orange, California. He weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 21.5 in. long. What a boy! He surprised us with his strawberry blonde hair and his perfectly round ears. We love him dearly! Below are some pictures from the hospital.