Hey Mr. Sandman is My Kiddo Asleep?

This is the holy grail of any exasperated father, mother, or babysitter.  There is also nothing cuter than a baby conked out on your chest, bed, or anywhere for that matter.  When Amber and I had Simeon we we having a difficult time gauging his sleep and there were numerous times where we laid him down thinking he was off in la-la land only to have him wake up five minutes later.  So we came up with a system when we are trying to get our little guy down and out for a few hours or the evening.  It is pretty simple and will work wonders for your own psyche as well as help your little tyke greet the sandman.

A Father’s First Father’s Day

I woke up feeling the same.

The usual Sunday morning of Amber waking me up in a hurried manner and an almost drunk-like scramble to make sure my clothes are not inside out and my shoes are on the right feet.

And then…

I walked into the living room and there was my wife nursing my son.

I have a son and today I no longer remember my father but one day when he is older my son will remember me.  I’ll be honest, there have been times where I was so into what I was doing I forgot to call or give my father a present.  I don’t think I will have that problem any more.  As I have thought about my first Father’s Day, I have thought much about my own father.

Poetry as Teacher: Rudyard Kipling’s “If”

Poetry has the ability to give words to situations where they may be easily lost or forgotten.  Poetry can be beautiful or wretched, laborious or poignant, and even in the most fanciful of verses, where lofty dragons and angry gods fly, lessons can be learned.  Different choices can be made from a line remembered in the heat of perilous circumstances.

A Father’s Record Player: 100 songs my son needs to hear: Part One

It was a list [Johnny Cash] made for me, so ulimately it was my list, but it was a list of 100 essential songs that he made for me when I was 18 years old and he gave it to me and said, ‘This is your education’ and it was.

-Roseanne Cash

Music is everywhere and found in every culture past and present. Music, like poetry, can help you cope through life’s struggles, relish in the joys, and inspire you above the highest mountains. Some of the songs listed, directly correlate to fatherhood, some are lyrically as deep as the oceans, some are epic anthems that can rouse even the most apathetic to action, some are composition masterpieces, and some..well…they just rock. There will be songs that didn’t make the list because they don’t exist yet or I haven’t heard them. Perhaps my son and I will discover them together. I hope so.

Songs 1-50 (They ain’t in order, so don’t get your panties in a bundle)

Meal Trains: Lifesavers for the First Week

Right after Simeon was born, Amber was sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed, and I was trying relax from the stress of the night before. To check off things mentally, I do what I normally do, check my account balance, check this blog, and check my email. I had quite a bit of mail from 24 hours off line.  (I then realized, I had signed up for far too many daily deal sites.  They seem to suck you in with their ads for half off concealed hand gun classes and stripper lessons. Darn them.)  Along with my normal, you have student loans waiting to be paid emails, there were a few more I didn’t recognize. 

The Father’s Workshop: DIY Bassinet Sheets

The word “bassinet” is derived from a french term meaning cradle.  Technically, it is a small baby bed designed for an infants first few months of life, which Merriam-Webster further defines as, “often having a hood over one end.”  Bassinets are not a new concept and have been used since ancient times.  Cradles were the more common baby bed, being made from hollowed out logs constructed to rock gently while the baby slept.  Bassinets on the other hand were more flashy and ornate, being made out of wicker, brass, or lace.

Buying the Bassinet

When Amber and I were deciding on what Simeon would sleep in, we ended up going with a bassinet that was mobile for when we travel  and could also be easy for Amber to breast feed in the middle of the night.  We ended up buying the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper Bassinet.  It breaks down into a 3’x9″x9″ rectangle that is easy to transport.  Also, it attaches directly to the bed so when Simeon wants a little 2am feeding, Amber simply has to reach over and pick him up, thereby reducing her chances of stubbing toes or tripping over something in the middle of the night.

Dilemma

So we bought it, set it up, and realized there weren’t any sheets that came with it.  Since he was going to be sleeping there every night, and his *ahem* bowel movements couldn’t be controlled, a set of sheets would be handy.

A Father’s First Day: The Hospital Stay

Jumpstarting Nature

5:30am on Thursday morning rolls around and you find my wife and I waking up, taking showers, and generally dreaming about what the rest of the day looks like.  We are inducing, contrary to what my wife and I originally planned simply because if we waited any longer, the chances of her being able to walk at her graduation and travel the next day to our new home in Mission, TX would be greatly reduced.  So, after speaking with the doctor and comparing the risks of being overdue and waiting or be induced we went with the latter option. But all in all it is a normal morning, with us speaking in the excited tones of going on a journey and we couldn’t sleep the night before because of the anticipation.

6am finds us in the hospital chatting away normally except every few minutes while Amber had contractions.  They didn’t seem too painful because she could still talk through them though her concentration was albeit less than seconds before.  The doctors said that the pitocin, a derivative name of oxytocin, should dilate 1 cm/hr.  This would put Amber ready for delivery and pushing around 5pm.  So everyone settles in for something a little longer than a nine to fiver.

The Waiting Game: An Expectant Father’s Thoughts

Anxious Already.

Full term. Such a strange way of saying that Simeon is ready to come out. As of this past Wednesday, that is what he is. Full term. And yet his official due date is 2 weeks from now. I am struggling to bridge the connection that he is ready, but not yet.

Thursday Night Review: the PeePee Teepee

Allright,

I read an article about procrastination and how if you want to do something just do it.  So I felt inspiration to continue what I started here.  I have been working on “stuff” for the website mind you, but have felt that it wasn’t “perfect.”  So I haven’t posted anything in a little over a week.  It is getting crazy with school finishing out, work finishing up, and of course getting ready to have Simeon.  My wife’s ever expanding stomach is a good constant reminder of that.

I am reviewing a product that gave me a good chuckle while we were registering for our baby shower.  It’s called:

THE PEEPEE TEEPEE

Fair enough that it has a great tag line, “For the Sprinkling Wee Wee”  and it has a very practical use.  (How many times has a mischievious little boy ‘surprised’ an unsuspecting father with a face full of …well, you know.)  My wife and I saw this product in a little local shop called, My Cup of Tea. 

Product Description

The product itself is made of machine washable cotton fashioned into the image of an indian teepee.  Since it is pretty gender specific, the coths usually come with images of planes, monkeys, or after a quick google search, camoflage.  They suggest the age range for using the teepees are from 0-24 months of age.  I suppose after that the little one may not be as little anymore.  (Or it could be that  they begin to wear diapers and generally have more control of their bladder.) 

So being the soon-to-be father I am, I beeped the little tag and presto, we are registered for some peepee teepees.  (When my wife and I got engaged, I “accidentally” registered for Scooby Doo snacks.  To my surprise, at our shower one of my aunts bought them for us.  I enjoyed every last one.)

I also began talking to some of the other young fathers that I knew around town and asked their opinions.  Most thought they were pretty nifty and definitely helped out as a quick barrier against the spray.  The teepees are relatively cheap, being roughly around 10 dollars + shipping.  (Amazon had the best selection of cloth options, from what I could tell.) The ones we saw in the local store were by themselves, but the ones online came with 5 teepees and a laundry bag.  I highly recommend this option if you end up buying them.

Right now, my wife and I are getting ready to move, both are in school, and because of the new budget cuts in Texas, the probability of my finding a high school teaching job without much experience is relatively low.  So, needless to emphasize, money can be considered tight in our growing family.  Ten dollars, to some can be considered a good amount of money to spend on sprinkling wee wee control.   That being said, I spoke with a father who said that when he removes his son’s diaper, he immediately drops a dark washcloth over his son as spray control.  This would be a little cheaper option as you can find washcloths for a dollar or so new.  (Not to mention the thought that you might have one that you could use from home already.)

Final Thoughts

So for a first review, the PeePee Teepee is funny, a conversational starter, and has practical uses.  The cost is relatively small if you value not having a surprise thrown at you every now and then from your son.  It is easily transportable and can be thrown into a diaper bag and still be found because of the bright colors and patterns.  So I would say that if you are registering for a baby shower and your wife isn’t looking, tag one of these and see if anyone buys them.  If someone does, you have some nifty accessories for your son to wear when he isn’t wearing anything at all.  If not, use a washcloth.