All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, for 7 years as of 8/17/14. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the upmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

Parenting

How To Tell Your Baby They Are Getting Shots

03/08/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Me: Hi Avery! Can we have a little chat?

Avery: Hi Dad. I was trying to figure out this jumper thing, but I can make time for you. What’s up?

Me: Well, remember the conversation we had about a week ago?

Avery: Yes……….Are we going to G-ma’s again?

Me: We will again soon, but that’s not what I want to talk about today. I am referring to the part about the doctor’s visit.

Avery: Doctor’s visit? Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell.

Me: Oh, c’mon, I know you remember. I told you it will be coming up later this month, the 17^th to be exact. It will be your 4 month check up.

Avery: Crap! You got me, I remember. I was really hoping you forgot though.

Me: Nope, sorry. And, well, you see, this check up will also include giving you several….ummmm….shots.

Avery: What!? Why would you do that to me?

Me: Well, these shots will help protect you against things waaayyyy worse than just a tiny needle. So, just a quick little pinch from the shot isn’t so bad considering you could be in severe pain and agony for days from some of these infectious diseases.

Avery: Hmm, never thought of it like that. I’m sure I’ll still cry, I am a baby after all, but maybe not as long as I would’ve before.

Me: Very true, you are a baby and babies do cry, but I appreciate your understanding. Hey, and just think about the good things, we’re getting a new baby carrier soon!

Avery: Really? Yay! I’ve been getting really tired of my legs dangling in the Baby Bjorn while going on long walks. I mean, just look at me in that picture.

Me: Yep, we’re getting an Onya Outback provided by Onya themselves! Daddy is very excited and happy about this and can’t wait to take you on adventures while wearing you in it. Plus, you will be in a more natural, wide-legged position that will be more comfortable for you. Another benefit is that the weight won’t be all on my shoulders and your legs won’t be dangling in front of me which makes it really hard to pee straight. You know, it’s the little things.

Avery: Yeah, I do like to kick a lot. Sorry about that. The Onya Outback sounds like it will be much better for the both of us and I can’t wait until we have it too!

Me: It won’t be long dear, and I’ll even be able to buy teething pads made just for the carrier. No more eating the fabric on the Bjorn! We’ll be getting a really cool color scheme of burnt orange and grey which looks good on both mom and dad too. Another cool thing is that Onya supports cloth diapering, which we do with you. I could go on and on, but we’ll discuss this in more detail once we have it.

Avery: Okay dad, sounds good to me. Can I get back to my jumper now?

Me: Sure thing dear, jump away!

Disclaimer: This conversation really never occurred and would be kinda weird if our almost 4 month old could talk so well. But, it’s always fun to pretend, right? As for most of us with babies this age, you can’t really tell them they are getting shots, it just happens.

How are your kids about getting shots?

Did they ever feel a little ill afterward? Avery was just really tired after her 2 month shots, so we’ll see how these go.

Parenting

Our Visit to Mommy’s Work and What to do Without a Swaddle

03/07/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Avery is 16 weeks old today! Where did those other weeks go? I know I am impatient wanting her to grow so we can play and interact more, but geez, time flies! All of those experienced parents telling us how fast time goes with your baby weren’t kidding!

Today we made a trip to Kelley’s work, my old employer, just to see her and old co-workers. After her long morning nap and finishing a bottle, we were off to work….I mean Kelley’s work. That’s so fun to say; being a stay-at-home parent is world’s better in my opinion!

Mommy greeted us at the entrance and I wore Avery in the Baby Bjorn until we were inside. Kelley couldn’t wait to hold her baby and she immediately took her from me once we were in the main area. So, I was looking pretty cool with an empty Baby Bjorn dangling across my body. Not that I really cared, it was casual Friday!

Going Mom and Avery happy to be together!

Avery got to meet a lot of new people that mom works with and used to work with me too. They all took turns “ohhhing” and “aaahhhing” while passing her around. Avery did much better than I expected with all of the new people and she was hardly fussy at all. Go Avery!

We spent about an hour making our rounds and visiting friends/co-workers until it was time for us let mommy get back to work. It was an overall good trip and I was happy to be able to bring her to Kelley since I know how much she misses our darling little girl.

It felt weird wearing this, but a good weird.... — It felt weird wearing this, but a good weird….

Before leaving the campus (it’s a rather large area), I took Avery for a mile long walk around the dirt trails that surround the building. This loop is a walk Kelley and I would take together every day before having lunch, and it was nice to take Avery around.

She seemed pretty alert and interested in the new surroundings, but then fell asleep half-way through. I always hate waking her up to put her back in the car, but since I was in a Fire Lane, figured I shouldn’t press my luck any longer. Oops!

Taking my time before putting her the car seat.

Up to this point, Avery was oddly calm and she just felt like a ticking time bomb for when her major fussy time would blow! Once home, Avery ate a little and showed signs of tiredness setting in. At this time of day, I am usually laying her in her crib for an afternoon nap, but CRAP, her Woombie was wet in the wash and there is no way she can sleep alone without it. We’ll work on that, but not yet.

I put Avery in the carrier and went for another walk with our dog, Abby, since Abby usually gets a walk anyway. I usually have luck getting Avery to sleep while walking, but she squirmed forever while trying to what seemed like climb my chest to get out of the carrier. Finally, she fell asleep as I was half-way through again. I sense a pattern here…. I tried to extend the walk while she slept, but she ended up waking anyway. Is 20 minutes a good nap?

Short answer, no. That time bomb went off not long after coming inside. I offered her more bottle and she finished it fairly easily, but continued to wail and fling her arms about. Still without a swaddle, I just held her close and tried swaying with her. 30 minutes later and her eyes were heavy but still open and she was still crying. Ugh.

At this point I was just desperate to get her to have a little nap before night time, so I brought her to the recliner. With my arms wrapped around her and my hands holding her arms from moving to her mouth (a human swaddle!), I rocked the screaming beauty to sleep. And this is what Kelley came home to….

Kelley washed up and came back to get Avery for a feeding. The nap was successful and held Avery over until laying her down to sleep tonight. Phew, what a day! Poor girl was exhausted!

Aside from the tiring day, I do have great news! I spoke with a nice person from Onya which makes great baby carriers and they agreed to send one to us to review and write about! I can’t explain how happy I am and can’t wait to wear Avery all around with it. Stay tuned for constant updates on where we travel in the Onya Outback!

Have you ever had to make yourself a human swaddle to get your baby to sleep?
Do you or have you used a baby carrier? If so, what kind?

Parenting

Are You a Paranoid Parent?

03/06/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

I am, at least when Avery is sleeping. Not super paranoid where I’m putting a foil hat on Avery to block the microwaves beaming down from space, but just mildly paranoid where I still won’t flush when she’s sleeping.

Just yesterday, while I was walking in the neighborhood with Avery sleeping in the carrier, our neighbor asked how I was doing and I didn’t provide a response. I felt bad and tried to make a sleeping signal with my hand to my face, but not sure if I did it right. If you’re reading this, sorry, Charlie!

Asleep in carrier and scared to make noise. But I'll take a selfie! — Asleep in carrier and scared to make noise. But I’ll take a selfie!

I mentioned how I take extra caution when Avery is sleeping to make as little noise as possible in a past post. Although, after that post, my mom told me she flushed the toilet anyway and Avery never woke up. Then Kelley told me she flushes too, so basically I’m the only one not flushing!

Have I since changed my ways? Nope! I still refuse to flush, but I’m a little less uptight about it. My mom (G-ma) spent the night last night since our home is closer to her work and because it’s always great to see her. When she asked if she could take a shower at 5am when getting ready, I was hesitant at first, but finally agreed. But, I said, “No flushing!!”

In my defense, her guest bathroom is right against Avery’s nursery wall and it seems like soundproofing is simply nonexistent. Or maybe that’s my paranoia….hmmmm.

Avery usually ends up in our room in the middle of the night to feed anyway, so I didn’t expect the shower to be a problem. Well, Avery slept all through the freakin’ night in her crib! G-ma took her shower and Avery slept right through the whole thing. Geez, maybe I am really paranoid!

So, sorry, mom, for restricting you from using our facilities, I will allow full use from now on. As for me, I think I’ll still be paranoid for a while. Once Avery is eating solid foods, my paranoia will increase substantially! Any time she goes somewhere else where food will be offered, I will try my best to not let the wrong things get in her mouth. To give you an idea of my retentiveness on food, I avoid eating out as much as possible because I can’t stand anyone else preparing my food. So I make all of my own meals when I can.

You said I can't eat what?! — You said I can’t eat what?!

Now, excuse me while I pee on the white next to the water so as to not make a loud splashy noise.

Are you a paranoid parent? If so, what is it that you are paranoid about?