Fatherhood Friday - Here's What Happened...

It is Friday! I look forward to Fridays for a couple of reasons. First, it's the end of my work week and I can walk away from my desk and not have to answer the phone, check email, or do anything work related for two days. My wife and daughter are at home all week while I sit here and watch the clock at work. It makes me crazy because I'd rather be with the both of them so on Friday when I can pack up for the weekend I can't wait to get home.

Friday night is also good for something else. Once our little one goes to bed my wife and I celebrate with a pizza...It's our own little pizza night. The routine is the same every Friday. First it's bath time, then she gets fed, I call for the pizza, we tuck the baby in and I go pick it up. By the time I get home we can just relax. We are big fans of the shows on USA especially Monk, Psych, and their latest series White Collar. So we eat our pizza, catch up on the week, talk about baby girl, and just unwind with some mindless TV.

Time is very important in a marriage especially when there are children involved. We're new at the parenting game and it would be very easy to lose track of our marriage in all those dirty diapers, teething, play time, etc. We need time for us and pizza night gives is just one of the ways we get that. It seems small, but it works for us...I can almost smell the pizza already!

For more Fatherhood Friday stop by Dad-Blogs.com

Sleep in Saturdays, the greatest idea ever!

I started this blog as a place to vent. It is a place where I can come and talk about what it's like to be a parent. But somewhere along the way I didn't really account for the time it would take to actually parent, go to work, spend time with my wife, sleep, eat, occasionally shower, and any number of other things that steal my time now that I am a new parent.

That said, I haven't had the time to really put effort into this blog. I had high hopes and have fallen short of my goals...That is a little disappointing, but when I take a step back and think of every time I've seen my daughter smile at me in the last couple of months I don't even care. No matter how bad or stressful my work day is, I know that when I get home to my wife and baby girl nothing else matters. So I am going to try to resurrect this blog, but I won't do it at the expense of my family time.

I'm sure at this point you're wondering what has been going on since my last post. I know you're constantly checking the site, waiting for what I have to say next or wondering if you'll ever hear from me again. Have no fear. There is finally something new to add.

My wife recently came up with the greatest idea ever. It's called 'Sleep in Saturdays,' (or Sundays depending on our plans). The idea is this: My wife and I will take turns sleeping in on Saturday. It's that simple, when it's my turn to sleep in, my wife will get up with the baby, feed her, dress her, and take her out for a couple of hours. When it's my turn I'll get up prepare a bottle, try to dress her, and take her out for a couple of hours.

It really is a sanity booster. By the end of the week, we're both pretty beat and the opportunity to sleep in recharges all of those exhausted internal batteries. Not only that, but when it's my turn to get up with the baby I get the added benefit of daddy-daughter time that i usually miss during the week.

If you don't have a rule like this in your house I strongly suggest you give it a shot. My wife is brilliant. It's ideas like these that deserve Nobel prizes not silly advances in atomic physics or penning an obscure book no one has ever heard of.

What day is it again?

Funny thing happened to me this past Sunday. Call it exhaustion, call it being over eager, but I could have sworn it was Father's day. It didn't help matters that my wife perpetuated this grave misunderstanding, but I really thought I was celebrating my first Father's day. Depending on your level of optimism this can be seen as a plus. I get two Father's days. My wife took me and our 1-month old little girl out to breakfast which was very nice. Hopefully, if I play my cards right I can get another breakfast this Sunday, you know, the actual Father's Day.

Thinking about this made me realize that since our daughter was born (in early May) I hardly know what day it is. I know I have to go to work 5 of the 7 days of the week, but which 5 I can't remember. Take this post for example, I think it's Wednesday...but I could be wrong. All of my days sort of blend together separated by minor excursions and brief blocks of sleep.

Oddly enough, as embarrassing as it is to say that we celebrated dad's day early and that all my days are blending together I -in no way- regret anything. My little girl has taken over our house, but each day I go home and I love her a little more. Spending time with her and my wife means more to me now than making sure I'm not late for work or we celebrate some silly holiday.

It's funny how quickly your priorities shift. One day we're sitting on the couch watching some random show on the Food Network, and the next we're changing diapers, reading kids books, singing lullabies, and taking thousands of pictures. It's all very exhausting, but all very worth it. It's much harder than I expected, I think, I can't really remember what I was expecting.

There's no point to complain about the lack of sleep or the hard work. This little girl needs us to be on our game so regardless of how we feel, we just have to 'do'. It's an amazing experience and hopefully I don't take it for granted because I know it won't last long.

Just don't ask me if I want another one yet, the jury is still out on that one!

Hush, Little Baby...

The funny thing about babies is that they have an amazing ability to sleep at the most inconvenient times. These inconvenient times include, but are not limited to the following:

1. When someone else is watching her.
Thanks to a thoughtful mother-in-law my wife and I were able to escape to the movies for my birthday. We were gone 3 hours and baby girl slept for 3 hours. When we returned from the movies to feed her, mother-in-law said "Hey, she's doing well why don't you go get a bite to eat?" So out to dinner we went. We were gone 2 hours and baby girl slept for 2 hours...

2. When there is absolutely no time for us to sleep.
When she is awake we have no time to do normal house duties. She occupies all of our attention. So when she sleeps there are times that we have to make sure the house isn't caving in, the bills are paid, and the grass is cut. We can only do this when she is sleeping and during the day, as cutting the grass at 2am is probably against some town ordinance.

3. When we have visitors.
People come over and we look run down and exhausted then they look at our beautiful baby girl and see a calm and content sleeping baby. They look back at us and wonder why we're so tired. It's funny, no one believes us when we say she's a handful because whenever we have people over she's out like a light.

Two milestones this week: Dad turned 30 and baby girl 1 month old.

Welcome to the Adventure...

I've blogged before and I'll blog again. That's just one of the reasons I decided to start a 'Daddy' related blog. The other reason is that early in May my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world. Our little girl has quickly taken over the house, and as the title of the blog suggests: Daddy's Tired.

The first few weeks have been a whirlwind, but we're finally getting into a groove. Any parent can survive so long as they address the three basic facets of their baby: Eating, Sleeping, and Pooping...If all of these needs are addressed things go smoothly.

Of course there are the intangibles like gas, over-tiredness, acid reflux, and a constant running vacuum that make raising a newborn a much more difficult challenge than either of us expected. So, that's why the blog. I want to help new moms and dads navigate the uncharted waters of raising a child.

The good news? Well, I don't know what I'm doing either so you can be sure there will be some funny stories of my own misadventures on this blog. But, be sure, I'll write about anything that works and everything that doesn't. It's all in an effort to vent and help you help yourself.

Wish me luck on this new adventure...and of course, visit often!