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!

Do You Clip Your Baby’s Nails?

We have been avoiding trimming Avery’s pterodactyl claws nails for quite a while now and I thought I’d give it a shot this morning. Bad choice.

It's there, but luckily not very noticeable!
It’s there, but luckily not very noticeable!

The baby clippers I used has a nice light to help see the nails, but attempting while Avery was awake and squirmy is not the best time. I knew this, it’s obvious, but I tried anyway after being scratched so much. Plus, she scratches herself!

Trying to trim her nails in her sleep is pretty useless too since she’s swaddled every time she’s sleeping. So, I figured this was my only shot while she wasn’t too fussy.

I was doing just fine and finished within minutes with a sense of accomplishment. I picked her up and we went back to the kitchen to talk and do whatever else she wanted to avoid crying. Mostly I just stared out the window with her and cursed the cold weather we’re having.

As I looked down on her clothes, there were blood spots across her leg. At first I thought is was from my dry, cracked hands, which is pretty common, but after a quick assessment, there were no open wounds on me. I checked Avery’s hands and sure enough, there was a little spot on her right index finger; right where daddy trimmed her nail!

It didn’t seem to stop since she kept moving her hands everywhere like a baby does, so I put a mitten on there to hopefully let the bleeding stop.

Seems to be acceptable.....for now
Seems to be acceptable…..for now

Do they even have Band-Aids for babies? I figure she’d just put it in her mouth which could be a choking hazard. All of here other scratches clot pretty fast and I’m hoping, given the chance, her finger will too. Avery, when you’re reading this someday, daddy’s sorry. Please don’t take it out on me if you have to care for me in my old age. : )

I think she forgives me! Phew!
I think she forgives me! Phew!

Yesterday we made our rounds to two stores and a vacuum shop to get ours repaired. Avery was pretty good the whole time but really missed out on her naps. I try to plan as much as possible so the entire trip will allow me to avoid feeding in a cold car and just do it when we get home. This worked, for the most part, but getting a good nap was futile and we just waited for her bedtime.

I still have some figuring out to do regarding store trips, but I guess I have time for this being a stay-at-home parent!

Have you ever trimmed more than your baby’s nail? Any advice?

How do you plan store trips with your baby?

What Pigs and Pterodactyls Have in Common With Our Daughter

Do you have one or two (or more) children and multiple “animals” like Kelley and I? Whether domestic, farmland, or extinct, I’m willing to bet we all associate our offspring with one or more different species.

A pig is pretty common and is probably used to describe most breastfeeding babies when they are feeding or ready to feed. Avery makes a very distinguishable snorting while she is trying to latch and even during feeding; she even does it to let us know she’s hungry.

Of course she's a cute pig!
Of course she’s a cute pig!

If I had a choice of how she lets us know when she’s hungry, it probably wouldn’t be a pig, but it sure is cute and makes for a good laugh. I really don’t see her snorts getting old, and we will miss them when the phase is over.

We discovered her pterodactyl mimicking abilities when I was trying to help relieve any gas in her stomach a while back. I read about folding a baby’s legs up to her stomach to help push any trapped air out, so I proceeded to do so. Once her knees were up to her stomach she let out a long, “ugghhhhhh” sound and I automatically called it a pterodactyl sound. Why? No freakin’ clue, it could be any other living thing, but I chose pterodactyl and now it’s stuck.

Pretty cute for a pterodactyl too.
Pretty cute for a pterodactyl too.

Our friends, Sean and Erin, weren’t able to make it down to visit last weekend, so they came this weekend. They have a 20 month old daughter, Brooklyn, who is full of life and very adorable. It was great to see them since it’s almost been a year, and Brooklyn helped to foreshadow what we’re in for when Avery is a walking, talking, terror little angel.

I proudly showed Sean and Erin how Avery can be a pterodactyl and at one point thought, “Wow, this is my entertainment now.” Put ashamed I am not, in fact, I’m way more proud to be doing this than plugging away at a computer. This just fits me better and I can’t wait to run around after Avery as she tears through the house turning my hair gray. Sure, ask me if I still feel this way when that time comes…

The day they arrived, Avery was not accepting her normal nap times and only got a few, short 30 minute naps in. She just wouldn’t stay in the crib like was doing; probably because there was too much going on. Can’t blame her I guess. Anyway, she spent most of the night in bed with us. But, Kelley and I didn’t care because as I said about my view on Sleep Training, we are enjoying this time while we can.

Avery also started becoming more vocal while Sean and Erin were here. She has been cooing and “talking” to us some already, but she really ramped up the conversation that day and continues to a couple days later. As new parents, every single thing she does just puts us in awe and we have to tell everyone via text or on Facebook. Who doesn’t, right?

I used to be annoyed seeing all of those baby posts by my peers, but now I totally get it. Our babies become our lives and they are the most wonderful yet stressful beings!

It was a short visit, but we enjoyed seeing our old friends and hope to go visit them soon. Maybe when Avery can run around make a nice mess!

Do you associate your kid’s sounds with any animals? Please share, I’m interested what other parents are raising in their household.

Looking Back to Avery’s First Day

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We’ve only just begun riding the choppy waves of parenthood, and can already feel the frustration getting to us some days. Right now, it’s centered mostly around sleep…..or the lack thereof.

Something that helps me look past the difficult times when Avery is being fussy, is thinking back to the day she was born. The journey to just getting pregnant was very long and emotional, and I’m so happy we are parents to a healthy, beautiful baby now.

So, when Avery has the floodgates wide open with the windpipes blaring and doesn’t show signs of stopping, it helps to ease frustration by thinking back to the day we first met. Kelley started going into labor at the Baylor Regional Medical Center of Grapevine the morning of November 15, 2013. We just spent our first night there and were ready to see our dear Avery!

Kelley was in a major pain and I kept on trying to make jokes throughout the day that were only met with evil glares. After what seemed like ages with Kelley not progressing, she finally made a huge jump basically skipping any of the stages in between. By early afternoon, she was ready to deliver our baby!

Kelley, not happy with anything I did. This didn't help.
Kelley, not happy with anything I did. This didn’t help.

We all know labor and its lack of joyful, fun moments, so I’ll spare the details. Once Kelly started pushing, it wasn’t long until our little Avery was born and in her arms.

Thumbs up for a job well done by my wonderful wife!
Thumbs up for a job well done by my wonderful wife!

The feeling that overcame my whole body is one I can’t describe, but it felt wonderful, like nothing I’ve felt before (besides when I first saw Kelley walking down the aisle). I was a dad!

I remember being very adamant that both Kelley and I not have any visitors until we had our skin to skin with Avery. We had learned so much on the benefits of skin to skin and wanted to make sure we started things off right. We did, and it was another wonderful experience to add to the already awesome day.

Skin to skin with dad!
Skin to skin with dad!

Avery was born at 4:13 p.m. that Friday afternoon, 12 days earlier than her due date of November 27th. Although she was early, she was still perfectly healthy and weighed 7lbs 9.3ozs.

Kelley did have some blood pressure issues so we had to stay a couple of extra days at the hospital, but all turned out well and we were able to bring our daughter home on a nice, sunny day.

Thinking back to that day and how far we’ve already come lets me relive that overwhelming feeling and helps me to not be as frustrated during Avery’s fits. Yes, they will always be frustrating, but I’m not going to go crazy and pull my hair out…….yet.

Do you have certain memories you use to help ease any current difficult situations you’re facing?

Any other methods to help qualm frustrations that you care to share?