Newly Parents | Newlyweds To First Time Parents…and Everything in Between

Six Weeks with Daddy – Day #8 – Getting Out of the House

// April 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // Baby

::6am:: Rise and shine and good morning! It’s time to eat but first we need to change a peepee diaper. A 6am feeding is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because that means that I got to sleep through the night without having to get up. A curse because that means that he won’t be going back to sleep like he would if it were a 4am feeding.

::8am:: As I expected, he did not go back to sleep but he did managed to quietly amuse himself in bed for about 40 minutes after he ate. Then I just got him out of bed and laid him next to me in my bed and we just talked and played for about 30 minutes. He had a good time. Since he likes the colors and noises we played a game on my iPhone and he ooh’ed and aww’ed at it and we listened to some music and I sang to him. He just stares and smiles at me when I sing to him. I’m thinking I will try out for American Idol next year. I couldn’t possibly make it any worse than this year.

::9am:: Ah yes, it’s time for the morning poopy. No leaks this time which was nice. Grandpa came to visit while he was in the middle of pooping. (the baby not Grandpa. I could have formed that sentence a little better.) So after a quick diaper change Grandpa got to feed him a bottle and play with him for about 20 minutes. I’m thinking of getting out of the house today but I don’t have anywhere to go or anything to do. Baby and I are just ready to go do something.

::10am:: After a few failed attempts at a nap I think we’ve finally nailed it.

::1030am:: Nevermind, nap is over. I think it’s time to suck out some boogies. He hates it but always feels better afterwards.

::1141am:: I think the bib that you put on your baby determines what kind of day he will have. I think today I will try to find a “I love to sleep!” bib or a “I’m happy and content just watching you do the housework and I don’t need constant attention” bib. Do they make those? It appears he loves his Daddy so much that he only wants to hang out with him today and wants nothing to do with anything unless Daddy is close by. The bib that I put on him this morning….Who Needs  Sleep? You do child!!

We’re going to Lowe’s shortly so the car ride should do him some good. I hope!

::1221pm:: There has got to be a way to make a bottle without formula dumping all over the place! No matter how careful I am it still goes everywhere. My stove looks like a coke addict!

::4pm:: Well with his refusal to nap this morning our schedule got a bit off today. By the time he finally fell asleep it was time to eat but I just let him sleep through it. He slept through the trip to Lowes as well as the mall but made up for it when he woke up by drinking two bottles. Then we listened to a little music and played in the tummy time gym. His hand eye coordination is coming is quite nicely. It was amazing to watch him look at something and then focus in on getting his hand up to where he wanted it. You could tell he was really thinking it through.

With all that said, it looks like the day is winding down to an end. He’s down for his afternoon nap and Mommy will be home shortly.  After that I’ve got a lawn that needs mowed and a brand new weed eater and leaf blower to try out!

See you tomorrow!

Things That Go Bump In The Night

// March 22nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Baby

It never fails. You spend an hour rocking and consoling a crying baby. You anxiously wait with each passing rock as his eyes grow heavier and heavier.

He closes his eyes. You hold your breath.

“Is this it? Is he finally asleep?” you ask yourself.

His eyes open back up. He’s not asleep. If sleeping were the kiddy pool, then he’s just dipping his toe in to check the water.

You keep on rocking. Not in the “Woo! Parrrrrty!” way you did back in your younger years when the only thing you were cradling in your arms at 2 am was a case of beer. This time you’re half asleep, in your pajamas and sitting in a rocking chair with a 6 week old baby. You’re staring at the clock and doing the math in your head over what the maximum amount of sleep you can still get before you’re alarm clock goes off.

“If it’s 2am now and I can get him to go to sleep by 2:30 then I can still get 4 hours of sleep.” It’s the sleeping equivalent of the “if a train leaves Los Angeles travelling at 60mph” riddle.

Except now it’s 3am so you’ve had to adjust your calculations a bit. Eventually the baby closes is eyes and you watch him for about five minutes. You’re convinced he’s asleep so you ever so gently get up from the rocking chair and place the baby in his bed. His eyes are still closed and you breathe a sigh of relief. Now you can get some sleep too.

It’s at this point that it doesn’t matter how hard you try, as you head back towards the bed you will inadvertently make as much noise as humanly possible. You’ll bang your knee into the night stand and knock the lamp over. You’ll step on the loudest toy in the house. You’ll roll your ankle as your trip over your own house shoes. Whatever it is that happens, something will happen. After spending so much time and effort into getting the baby back to sleep in the middle of the night, you will quickly undo all of your hard work as you clumsily stumble back to bed and end up waking the baby back up. Now it’s 3:30am and you have a newly energized crying baby again.

It’s at this point you calmly climb back into your bed, roll over next to your wonderful spouse and whisper into their ear, “Honey, it’s your turn.”

Someone needs to sleep like a baby. It might as well be you.

Working At The Car Wash…

// February 27th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Baby

This week baby had his two week check up with his doctor. We are happy to report that he’s a happy healthy baby and has gained almost a pound since his 4 day visit so he is up to 7lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. Coincidently, the exact same as his daddy was when he was born. We thought we had it timed perfectly for the visit. He just finished eating about 30 minutes before we left the house so we had a easy 2-3 hour window before he got fussy again. We also changed his diaper right before leaving to ensure a clean baby for the doctor.

One of the first things they do at the pediatricians office is have you strip your baby down so they can weigh him. As I was taking off his clothes I got a faint whiff of something foul. It seems during our 15 minute wait in the waiting room he decided that was a good time to fill his diaper up with poo. So we not only had the pleasure of changing his poopy diaper in the doctors office, but as we were wiping his butt he decided he wasn’t done pooping. So we had to sit and wait for another 3-4 minutes while he continued to poop. I’m sure the nurses there have seen everything. It just goes to show that when you have a baby, no matter how much you plan things out, things will never go according to your plan. He’s a very good baby though and rarely fusses unless he is hungry or wants to be change. Other than that he either stares around the room or sleeps quietly.

After the doctor visit we stopped by the car wash to wash the last two weeks of snow and grime off the car. He was particularly content inside the automatic car wash. After a moment, Mommy came to a realization.

“No wonder he likes this. The car wash sounds a lot like the womb.” she said.

As I listened I realized she was right. Curled up tight in his car seat with his cozy cover over him and the heat blasting it reminded him of his old home where he stayed for nine months. I’ve been to the car wash a thousand times and I never thought about the sound. It’s funny the connections you make as a parent.

Take a listen to the below video to see if you can hear some of the womb sounds.

Next time he gets fussy I’m putting him in the car seat and heading to the car wash. Sleeping baby and a clean car. Double win!