Month: September 2015

Change of plans.

Plans hella change everyday for me. Parents that say ,”oh no my kid will go off my schedule, I’m not going to have them rule my life.” Um yeah fucking right !! that doesn’t really happen. Regardless of what schedule you might think you might have for the day it could change from one moment to the next. And sometimes it won’t even be because of the kid.

Take this morning for instance.  I go to the gym at 6am 3 to 4 times a week. Somewhere during the night my wife gave me the baby to ease him to sleep and he just happened to stay in my arms the whole night. I wake up with him cuddled in my arms and I just couldn’t move him. Not because I didn’t want to go to the gym but because I wanted to spend just one more hour with him before I had to start my day. During the week I see him maybe 5 hours a day so taking advantage of some extra time here and there to me is worth it. Plus I go running everyday after work so it’s not like I won’t get in some physical activity in.

The point is you have to be comfortable and okay with things changing day to day. Yes a schedule is nice it provides stability for the family but those moments where it’s out of your hands or you just want an extra hour of bonding time in the morning don’t beat yourself up over it.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

First day back to work

Definitely missed the kid. All I could think about all day was what he would be doing at those times I looked at the clock. Couldn’t get out of work fast enough. Really want to work on being a stay at home dad but the wife needs to get a job first that makes at least 25 an hour to cover both our incomes. Also I really want to own my own ice cream truck and have legit 50s uniforms. Tons of wants but not enough funds.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Product review: Our Changing Table from IKEA

THE SNIGLAR from IKEA sniglar-changing-table-white__08177_PE084938_S4sniglar-changing-table-white__0255227_PE399559_S4

Yeah its nothing fancy but seriously if you are on a budget and you need a good sturdy table in a room with not much space this was one of the best ones that we found. Its made of solid beech and has a fiberboard as the shelves. The cost was a whole $34.99 and it didn’t even take that much time to assemble, was really easy too actually a little too easy but it has held up so far. We didn’t want to go for a big clunky dresser with a changing top attached it would of taken up too much room in his room. People aren’t going to go and say , “OMG did you see that changing table they got , I can’t believe they would change a baby on it!” Fuck those type of people anyways if they are judging you on a fucking changing table. There are plenty of other things people should be focused on other than where you’re changing shit diapers every two hours.

It has a big under shelf for putting diapers and wipes on and anything else you want to put on the ass of your baby. We even got a really great changing pad that fits into from IKEA as well.

SKÖTSAM Changing pad IKEA

The SKOTSAM from IKEA.

It blows up on the sides and has a thin soft pad to lay the baby on. It makes wiping pee and poop off pretty easy. Not much of a comfy pad but seriously the baby is not going to be sleeping on the fucking thing so no need to go out and buy those 40 dollar plus changing pads. The price for this… $6.99!  There is also and cover that you can buy for 5 bucks! (see below) But I wouldn’t just buy one that baby will poop and pee all over this bitch and you’ll be taking it off every other day and laying another one down in no time. So all in all we spent a total of $47 dollars on a full on changing area FUCK YEAH ! SKÖTSAM Cover IKEA

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Going back to work.

For the people out there wondering how much time is enough time off from work to be with your newborn there isn’t enough time out there. I took a week of Paid Time Off when my son was born and because he was in the hospital I went back to work after. I then took an additional three weeks of FMLA (unpaid) to help my wife adjust to life with a newborn at home. It was definitely worth it and I really wish I could spend more time at home with both of them. I really want to be a stay at home dad but right now since the wife hasn’t been working for a while because being on bedrest I have to be the bread winner.

There are some dads out there that I asked on how much time off work they have taken off and the rough amount of time I get is usually a week or so. I think some dads just get bored and want to go to work and not be at home watching mom breastfeed the kid and feel hopeless and not being able to help for those late night feeds. My wife on the other hand tried breastfeeding but she never produced more that an ounce of milk every pump and then the baby would be even hungrier than before. So she just said “fuck this shit I’m tired , he’s hungry. Fuck this” and we went to formula and bottles. He had a hard time latching on because while in NICU she was only able to breastfeed him about two times the whole month and a half he was in there. So most likely he preferred the bottle nipple opposed to the real one. So I was able to feed him late at night and we are able to take shifts throughout the night. Most dads also said that the babies are boring at that stage, I think that’s completely false. It’s the best time for the baby to get use to your smell, your voice, your overall presence and having both parents in the moment with him puts him at ease. I loved spending the afternoons watching a movie with him asleep on my chest and being there when he wakes up from one of his naps and just opens his eyes and stares at me for minutes on end.

Now some people are different, some want to wait for when the baby shows more of a reaction when talked to, to take time off. I’m not here to say you dads out there taking a week off because a baby is boring during the first few months are wrong. Some people may not be able to afford to take a really long periods of time off work because they need a paycheck to come through and have bills to pay and not live with family like me and the wife do. If you can though I do suggest you take the full amount of time off if possible. Yeah your boss might give you a hard time but seriously being for the early stages I believe are just as important. You learn a lot of what the stay at home parent will be going through day to day. You’ll have a bigger appreciation for the little things. You learn not everything will be perfect and messes pile up around the house and you just have to get them done when you can.

Going to back to work for me will be the hardest but I got to keep reminding myself that it’s all for my little family!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Leave

So far I’ve been on Family Bonding Leave. Unfortunately it’s unpaid, but the paycheck that I’ll be missing I only have 200 to 300 dollars in bills. My parents are going to help me cover those bit seriously bonding leave should be paid. FMLA gives you 12 weeks of leave without losing your job but it’s all unpaid. The case can be made that it’s  unfair for people that have kids shouldn’t get preferential treatment over the people that chose not to. Still me only being able to take 3 weeks off the 12 weeks doesn’t help at all. It’s taken us a while to get adjusted with having the baby home and I feel we won’t get fully adjusted for another month or two. I don’t know how single parents do it major props to them for sure.

0 CommentsLeave a comment