Daddy Hood

Ahead of the Game.

Our boy is ahead of the game on everything.  Lifting his head, rolling, finding his feet, focusing on people that are talking, you name it, if its a marker, hes about a month ahead on it.  My mother has taken this to mean hes the smartest boy ever (true) and will be the next Doogie Howser (we’ll see).  She’s become WAY too excited, getting him some educational toys, and basically planning out his academic career.  Me, I toss it off as mom being mom.  Lynn is… not so happy about it.   Basically, she’s worried about mom pushing the kid, and expecting too much, and being disappointed when he doesn’t manage to walk on water, or cure cancer.

Anyone else have issue with your parents expecting WAY too much from your kid?

PS, my own plans for the boy are rather modest.  I just expect him to take over the world, and rule with a benevolent, but iron, fist.

Final update on the Kawaii Baby Diapers

So, the Kawaii baby diapers, now that little man is 12 pounds, fit like a glove.  No leaks whatsoever, and even when he’s soaked, the inside of the diaper is bone dry. This is actually a slight problem in its own right, he doesn’t realize with these that he’s wet and cry for a change.  Heh. They’ve gone through 4-5 washes each so far, no wear at all.  I highly recommend them for babys that don’t have stick legs like my son, and older (2-3 month) babies.

More on the death of helicopter parenting.

All great rebellions are born of private acts of civil disobedience that inspire rebel bands to plot together. And so there is now a new revolution under way, one aimed at rolling back the almost comical overprotectiveness and overinvestment of moms and dads. The insurgency goes by many names — slow parenting, simplicity parenting, free-range parenting — but the message is the same: Less is more; hovering is dangerous; failure is fruitful. You really want your children to succeed? Learn when to leave them alone. When you lighten up, they’ll fly higher. We’re often the ones who hold them down.

Sleeeeeeep.

So, apparently, I’ve gotten so back on my sleep that I have slept through not just the baby crying, but my wife trying to wake me up.  (This of course, because I TOLD her too, that I would take over all night so SHE could get some sleep.  She’s even more sleep deprived than I. )

And I used to be such a light sleeper too.  Le Sigh.  Still, weekend.  YAY NAPS!

Bad Thoughts.

Based on a conversation with coworkers (and a post on the dreaded Bump), I thought it important to talk about thoughts.  Thinking about shaking the baby, thinking about covering the little guys mouth so he’ll JUST SHUT UP, thinking about different ways to get your kid to relax and stop crying.

IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BAD PERSON.  All three of my coworkers involved in the conversation admitted to such evil thoughts, and felt bad about having them.  They were all shocked to learn that we all had the same thoughts now and then. So, again, I thought it important to share. YOU ARE HUMAN!  You will occasionally think bad thoughts about your baby, sorry to say.  Baby’s can be infuriating creatures, and, as I’ve heard one lady state before, the sound of your child crying is like daggers in your ears!  As long as you don’t ACT on your thoughts, you’re fine. Yes really.

Constipation nation.

So, at about 5 weeks, my little man suddenly developed a bit of a …  problem.  Lots of input, no output.  Per the doc, we tried him on apple juice.  Note, when changing a poopy diaper after your baby hasn’t pooped in 36 hours….  use another diaper as a shield.  Its amazing what kind of distance is possible, and the stuff is like napalm, sticks to EVERYTHING.   That is all.

Whats worse than crying?

Well, I’ll tell you.  Picture the scene.  It’s 3 am.  You just finally got to sleep 2 hours ago, and you are awoken by your crying baby.  Your lovely wife kicks you in the shin, growls, “Your Turn!”, her eyes shining yellow in the moonlight, and falls back to a heavy sleep.  A diaper change, bottle of milk, a room clearing belch, and another diaper change later, and your lovely son is finally back asleep, head heavy across your shoulder, a final burp echoing in your ear.

Now comes the time for stealth, as you slowly slide him down your arm, into position, and lower him, gently, GENTLY, to the  crib mattress.  Like a crate marked TNT in an old western, you know that any wrong move could be your last.  Resting him now on the mattress, moving a blanket slowly over him, he startles suddenly, hands and feet flailing for a moment.  His face gets “THE LOOK”, his eyes bunched together, his mouth tight and wrigley.  You know he is about to unleash a scream of blood curdling horror, when… he does something worse.  His eyes fly open, and look straight at you, and his beaming face splits wide, and he smiles at you.

THAT smile.  The one that says, “Silly daddy!  Did you think you were getting sleep tonight?  Its time to PLAY!”  And the giggles and coos begin, sounds more horrible than any squishing subterranean horror ever uttered, as you pick him up and head back out, gazing longingly at your pillow, growing cold in the fading distance, and the snoring  body of your wonderful spouse, knowing that sleep will be hours away….

(Note for clarity, yes, his crib is in our room.  Don’t want to hear it, we don’t have much choice. )

The miracle of the bottle

Lack of sex, and what to do about it.

So, over at my favorite drama llama farm, (home of the bumpy ones, and nesters)  several women have been having drama with their husbands wanting to get back in the saddle again before their wives are being cleared by the doctor for such vigorous activity.  To them I have a simple message.  Get some lotion and take care of yourself! Seriously, you would put your loved one’s health and well being in jeopardy because you can’t wait a couple months?

That said, while sex can take a back seat, you still need to be romantic!  Trust me, she wants it just as much you do, and may feel guilty, like its her fault, that you can’t.  So a bit of romance helps.  And for those of you who make your lady moan and scream with orgasms (and, as you knocked her up, that’s more likely to be you than other guys), remember that those breathtaking moments do a LOT to help build up trust and connection in a woman’s psyche.  Without that reinforcement, you have a LOT of work to do.

Touch your lady.  Constantly.  Pet her hair, stroke her cheek, massage her neck.  Whatever she likes. Whatever touch reinforces that you are here for HER.  That you are still the couple you always were, plus one. That she is still your darling, before she is, mother of your child.

And watch out for the nipples.  If she’s breastfeeding, she does NOT want you touching her there.  Trust me.  I learned that the hard way.  Wanna see the scars?

Update on Kawaii Baby Diapers.

So, it seems that the number one search that has been leading people to my site has been Kawaii Baby.  Well, if I’m going to be drawing people in with that, it seems kinda a dick move to leave you all hanging.  So here is my review of the Kawaii Baby diapers.  We bought the newborn velcro diapers, as seen in this link.   Ebay Link. Note that since this is an ebay link, it will be invalid eventually, but they are white pocket diapers with NO snaps.  If you are looking at Kawaii baby with snaps, different diapers than what I am reviewing.  They seemed to work great, the glass of water test had them soaking up water quickly right off the bat, the fleece did its job leaving the pad soaked and the inside of the diaper dry as a bone.  BUT, the leg elastic seems a bit sloppy, and since my son has chicken legs, there was a bit of a gap.  so, out of 12 test diaperings, he leaked all over mommy and daddy 9 times.  most of the fluid still went into the pad, but enough leaked out.  If your kid has larger legs, or is up around 11-12 pounds when you start using them, you should be fine.  As for us?  I’m buying some prefolds, and using the Kawaii baby as spill pads and diaper covers.