My Top Two Purchases from Amazon.com

I did not think much of white noise as a sleep aid. But since I am a sleep deprived parent willing to try anything. I figured I would just buy some white noise MP3s with the cutest album cover - Yes, that was how I decided. I was that skeptical about the effectiveness of white noise that I figured I would get more utility out of deciding which album art was cuter.

Combined with a cheap MP3 player, and spare computer speakers. Bam. My own white noise machine that also plays classical/jazz music on the side for the cheap.

It's not a panacea for cranky baby, but it sure helps me go to sleep. That's why this is my top two purchases. I now get solid 6 hours of sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A few thoughts here and there

I think that:
1. After seeing the disintegration of Wall Street, I am less inclined to consider pursuing a MBA.

2. After being disabused about how flawed financial modeling and short-term trading can be, I believe that a logical person can read the macro-economic signs and deduce a trend that can result in a successful long-term investment plan. You too can be Warren Buffett.

3. The latest bull run is a technical rally, and we will see a bearish market soon. Perhaps even matching the March lows.

4. In light of the presumed bearish market, I am waiting (and evaluating if it's worthwhile) to contributing more to my Roth IRA before April 15, the last day to contribute for tax year 2008.

5. A 529 plan seems like a good plan, except that we might not be staying in US until DJ enters university.

one arm blogging

Baby is sick. Wife is sick. I am sick. Maybe i should switch to twitter.

Baby events!

Dominic John Lim's Baby Registry - A man can hope. Can't he?

Next promotion: If I can this, are you willing to donate $10 for every mile I ran in the event I .. ahem .. don't make it? I shall call it the "Give-my-son-an-education-coz-I-am-crazy Fund"

I am a new father, and I miss sleeping

The purpose of this study was to describe the sleep patterns and fatigue of both mothers and fathers before and after childbirth. The authors used wrist actigraphy and questionnaires to estimate sleep and fatigue in 72 couples during their last month of pregnancy and 1st month postpartum. Both parents experienced more sleep disruption at night during the postpartum period as compared to the last month of pregnancy. Compared to fathers, with their stable 24-h sleep patterns over time, mothers had less sleep at night and more sleep during the day after the baby was born. Sleep patterns were also related to parents’work status and type of infant feeding. Both parents self-reported more sleep disturbance and fatigue during the 1st month postpartum than during pregnancy. Mothers reported more sleep disturbance than fathers, but there was no gender difference in ratings of fatigue. At both time points, fathers obtained less total sleep than mothers when sleep was objectively measured throughout the entire 24-h day. Further research is needed to determine the duration of sleep loss for both mothers and fathers, to evaluate the effect of disrupted sleep and sleep loss on psychosocial functioning and job performance, and to develop interventions for improving sleep patterns of new parents.

Sleep Patterns and Fatigue in New Mothers and Fathers