Thanks guys!
For a newborn I'd definitely recommend:
http://www.happiestbaby.com/
Sometimes milk & a clean diaper just isn't enough. I've had to use all 5 S's at once (swaddle, side, shushing, sucking & swing/shake)... and it works!
As they get older, I'd say a schedule/routine really helps out. They need a lot of rest and can easily get over-stimulated. At 10 months I think we were doing daytime naps at 9am, noon and 3pm... though we might have cut back to 2 daytime naps by then, I can't remember... but every baby is different.
Best of luck.
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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Anyone ever a stay-at-home Dad?
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Uncle Bobby
- Posts: 383
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: East End Toronto
- Contact:
Congrats to all the Dads, and to the guys who stay home. These will be the most fulfilling months of parenthood. Or they were for me. The kids quickly get used to coming to you for their meals and other needs, although to some degree you will never be Mummy.
Spent two months at home with my oldest son after my wife returned to work. Thankfully it was July and August, and we live across the street from a lively park with a wading pool, so keeping him busy was never an issue. I can't recall him wailing too much at the loss of his Mummy, although my wife would occasioanlly get a panicked phone call.
I think we both settled into a routine pretty quickly. In fact I recall spending a number of mornings fixing the bikes of the neighbourhood kids -- within earshot of his window -- while he napped. Occasionally, I napped, too. It was like Walden or some equally utopian scanario. We did not have internet at home then, and I did not miss it for a moment.
That summer also marked the beginning of the decline in my drinking and my participation in these forums.
You gotta distract 'em, too. Once he was three months old I could take him out in the jogging stroller. We also did trips downtown -- I had lunch with friends. They look at everything and then they fall asleep. I call the subway the "poor man's roller coaster" -- kids love it. He loved trips on the back of my bike, or out to see his grandparents, whether by car or by transit. I'm still better at getting them out (we have two kids now) than my wife is -- she is less enthused about day-tripping unless she has the car. (We only have one of those.)
One dirty trick: go eat lunch in a restaurant staffed by more conservative women. The sight of a man walking around with a baby is jarring to them, it seems. One day I met a buddy downtown, and we ate lunch in an Indian restaurant on Baldwin St. At the first hint that my son would fuss, one of the stafff walked over and cradled him while I ate. It was a very generous and kind gesture, but it also smacked of the idea that somehow (as a man) I wasn't up to the job.
Spent two months at home with my oldest son after my wife returned to work. Thankfully it was July and August, and we live across the street from a lively park with a wading pool, so keeping him busy was never an issue. I can't recall him wailing too much at the loss of his Mummy, although my wife would occasioanlly get a panicked phone call.
I think we both settled into a routine pretty quickly. In fact I recall spending a number of mornings fixing the bikes of the neighbourhood kids -- within earshot of his window -- while he napped. Occasionally, I napped, too. It was like Walden or some equally utopian scanario. We did not have internet at home then, and I did not miss it for a moment.
That summer also marked the beginning of the decline in my drinking and my participation in these forums.
You gotta distract 'em, too. Once he was three months old I could take him out in the jogging stroller. We also did trips downtown -- I had lunch with friends. They look at everything and then they fall asleep. I call the subway the "poor man's roller coaster" -- kids love it. He loved trips on the back of my bike, or out to see his grandparents, whether by car or by transit. I'm still better at getting them out (we have two kids now) than my wife is -- she is less enthused about day-tripping unless she has the car. (We only have one of those.)
One dirty trick: go eat lunch in a restaurant staffed by more conservative women. The sight of a man walking around with a baby is jarring to them, it seems. One day I met a buddy downtown, and we ate lunch in an Indian restaurant on Baldwin St. At the first hint that my son would fuss, one of the stafff walked over and cradled him while I ate. It was a very generous and kind gesture, but it also smacked of the idea that somehow (as a man) I wasn't up to the job.
::::::::::::::::::::::
"It's ma-a-a-gic!"
"It's ma-a-a-gic!"
I was a stay-at-home Dad for 11 years. Take to heart everything the other Dads have posted.
Other suggestions: Develop a two-week rotation of simple easy-to-make dinner recipes. Eat healthy balanced lunches in front of your child. Work out a weekly schedule of housework and stick to it. Don't expect your wife to take over everything on weekends, but do work out some deal where she prepares some of the weekend meals, and you both share preparation of the other meals. Keep yourself active: Don't turn on the tv during the day. Likewise, keep the computer off. Get out of the house on your own at least one evening a week for your own sanity--fitness club, meeting friends for a beer, etc. During the day, get out of the house with your child regularly: enroll the two of you in the low-cost baby-and-parent programs that are offered by most municipalities and Ontario Early Year Centres (OEYC). Many cities also offer parent-and-tot swimming lessons. If you are close to the Toronto Zoo, buy a family membership and go there at least once a week. Talk to your child all the time. (It doesn't have to be baby talk. I was never good at that. I just talked a lot.) The more they hear, the faster the language development and the larger the vocabulary. Don't swear in front of your kid unless you want to hear it repeated at the most inopportune time. Especially don't swear in the car. (True story: When someone cut off my wife on the 401, my two-year-old son instantly responded, "Son of a bitch!" I sure had some 'splaining to do when she got home.)
As others have said, you will look back on this as the best time of your life, it just might not seem so at the moment. (Like when your two-year-old pours molasses on the kitchen floor, then pours all the breakfast cereals on top of that. Or strips off his clothes at his birthday party and runs off down the sidewalk yelling "I'm freeee!" Or walks away from Children's Time at church yelling, "This is so boring!")
Believe it or not, you currently have the best job in the world.
Other suggestions: Develop a two-week rotation of simple easy-to-make dinner recipes. Eat healthy balanced lunches in front of your child. Work out a weekly schedule of housework and stick to it. Don't expect your wife to take over everything on weekends, but do work out some deal where she prepares some of the weekend meals, and you both share preparation of the other meals. Keep yourself active: Don't turn on the tv during the day. Likewise, keep the computer off. Get out of the house on your own at least one evening a week for your own sanity--fitness club, meeting friends for a beer, etc. During the day, get out of the house with your child regularly: enroll the two of you in the low-cost baby-and-parent programs that are offered by most municipalities and Ontario Early Year Centres (OEYC). Many cities also offer parent-and-tot swimming lessons. If you are close to the Toronto Zoo, buy a family membership and go there at least once a week. Talk to your child all the time. (It doesn't have to be baby talk. I was never good at that. I just talked a lot.) The more they hear, the faster the language development and the larger the vocabulary. Don't swear in front of your kid unless you want to hear it repeated at the most inopportune time. Especially don't swear in the car. (True story: When someone cut off my wife on the 401, my two-year-old son instantly responded, "Son of a bitch!" I sure had some 'splaining to do when she got home.)
As others have said, you will look back on this as the best time of your life, it just might not seem so at the moment. (Like when your two-year-old pours molasses on the kitchen floor, then pours all the breakfast cereals on top of that. Or strips off his clothes at his birthday party and runs off down the sidewalk yelling "I'm freeee!" Or walks away from Children's Time at church yelling, "This is so boring!")
Believe it or not, you currently have the best job in the world.
Too many beers, too little time...
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JeffPorter
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2552
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:39 am
- Location: Brampton, ON
Alan, this is some great advice. And some great stories. It really is fun and it really is the best time and the best (and most important) job. I realized that two weeks in, my leave is already 10% over. 5 months at home with her seemed like an eternity over the summer, now I realize how short it's going to be.AlanB wrote:I was a stay-at-home Dad for 11 years. Take to heart everything the other Dads have posted.
Other suggestions: Develop a two-week rotation of simple easy-to-make dinner recipes. Eat healthy balanced lunches in front of your child. Work out a weekly schedule of housework and stick to it. Don't expect your wife to take over everything on weekends, but do work out some deal where she prepares some of the weekend meals, and you both share preparation of the other meals. Keep yourself active: Don't turn on the tv during the day. Likewise, keep the computer off. Get out of the house on your own at least one evening a week for your own sanity--fitness club, meeting friends for a beer, etc. During the day, get out of the house with your child regularly: enroll the two of you in the low-cost baby-and-parent programs that are offered by most municipalities and Ontario Early Year Centres (OEYC). Many cities also offer parent-and-tot swimming lessons. If you are close to the Toronto Zoo, buy a family membership and go there at least once a week. Talk to your child all the time. (It doesn't have to be baby talk. I was never good at that. I just talked a lot.) The more they hear, the faster the language development and the larger the vocabulary. Don't swear in front of your kid unless you want to hear it repeated at the most inopportune time. Especially don't swear in the car. (True story: When someone cut off my wife on the 401, my two-year-old son instantly responded, "Son of a bitch!" I sure had some 'splaining to do when she got home.)
As others have said, you will look back on this as the best time of your life, it just might not seem so at the moment. (Like when your two-year-old pours molasses on the kitchen floor, then pours all the breakfast cereals on top of that. Or strips off his clothes at his birthday party and runs off down the sidewalk yelling "I'm freeee!" Or walks away from Children's Time at church yelling, "This is so boring!")
Believe it or not, you currently have the best job in the world.
Today we went to baby time, and she loved it. We even dropped in on my wife at work (also my work!) and I was anxious that she would freak out when we left, she was fine.
Cheers, and oh what the hell...
here's a shot of her (and a pint - my pint) at the Ceili!
"What can you say about Pabst Blue Ribbon that Dennis Hopper hasn’t screamed in the middle of an ether binge?" - Jordan St. John