Category Archives: Parenting

What Happened to Nap Time?!

04/05/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Are you someone who counts on having things planned at least for the day ahead? With food, I drive my wife crazy by constantly trying to plan ahead, and this goes for most other areas in a day. As a stay-at-home dad, for instance, I think and strategize my day according to Avery’s nap time.

Since I’ve transitioned from the office to a stay-at-home dad, I have learned to count on her long morning naps to get most of the things I can complete. Working out, cooking for myself and Kelley, cleaning myself (most days), and internet time if I can.

Lately, Avery stays up longer before her morning nap, so now I bring her with me to work out and maybe get some food prep out of the way if she allows. Well, today, after working out and taking cues from her rubbing her face with heavy eyes, I figured nap time was imminent.

Bottle in hand, lights off in the nursery, and white noise on, I proceeded to help Avery fall asleep. She wasn’t having the bottle, so I gave up and tried singing (keyword: tried) to soothe her, but she just started smiling. Crap, what happened to that sleep, face rubbing girl five minutes ago?

Eventually, she dozed and I laid her in the crib. But, instead of three hours later, it was twenty freakin’ minutes later and she was already screaming! She’s done this before, and on most days, she gets herself back to sleep. Not today! Nope, she started kicking the side rails of the crib with the vigor of a UFC fighter!

I watched the monitor in hopes of things calming down, but eventually had to go in and try to console her. Still, she just cried louder when I offered the bottle, and even louder if I set her down. I felt the top of her head for tiny horns because I was convinced she was replaced by a demon child. No horns were found; phew!

Over the span of two hours of trying to get her to sleep, I just brought to the kitchen with me while I finished my daily food tasks. Avery seemed content in her jumper for a while, and even flashed me smiles when I’d look over at her. For the most part, she was keeping busy.

I kept trying to offer the bottle to her, but I think this look says it all….

So I carried on slicing a jicama to put in the dehydrator to make chips.

I was concentrating pretty hard on making sure the slices were thin enough, when I noticed it seemed quiet……a little too quiet. I looked up at Avery in her jumper and, well……

Oh sure! She won’t sleep in a perfectly nice crib, but being suspended in a jumper is no problem! I went over to see how out she really was, and I’d say like a college freshman on rush week!

My hear sunk when I saw this, and I picked her up in hopes of laying her down somewhere better. Wrong move. She never went back to sleep, just cried instead. We fought with the bottle a while, and then it was time for a walk. When all else fails, I can count on our trusty Onya Baby Outback to help Avery take a nap.

Ten minutes into the walk and she was out. The weather was cool and comfortable, but I covered her with the integrated hood just to keep the sun off her head. Plus, it’s becoming a universal sign that I’m walking with a sleeping baby and most of my neighbors know just wave; no talking! Thank you, neighbors!!

An hour later and Avery started squirming from under the hood so I took it off to say hi.

We were in a new phase of the neighborhood where a lot of construction is going on and I’m sure the noise woke her. The previous night, we had very high winds with rain and hail, and the port-a-potties around the sites had blown over. Being one who likes to turn random things into fun, educational games, I decided we’d count the port-a-potties that were tipped.

Hmm, seemed like more than that. Oh well, counting is counting, and who doesn’t love turned over port-a-potties? Oh, that many, huh?

Avery continued to be stubborn on taking the bottle back home, and finally Going Mom came home from work. Yay, another non-demon to join forces! Kelley happily held her dear ~~demon~~ daughter for a while and then fit in a work out for the day.

All in all, Avery’s longest nap was in the Onya (I seriously love and depend on this thing!) for around 45 minutes. It’s nighttime as I’m writing this and Avery finally conked right out after her bath. Fingers crossed for a good night!

I figure it’s the first signs of teething and feel like we’re in for a long, painful, and sleepless ride. Oh wait, that’s parenting in general, huh?

Have you ever had a really “off” day with your baby?

What’s the longest your child has gone without sleep?

Baby Wearing, Parenting

10 Things Baby Wearing Dads Should Never Say in a Public Restroom

04/04/2014 R.C. Liley 73 Comments

Yesterday, Avery and I made our usual two store grocery trip to Sprouts and Costco in hopes that we won’t have to go this weekend. We live only a few miles from the Texas Motor Speedway, and since it’s race weekend, driving anywhere is worse than most days.

Since we don’t head out until after her morning nap, I some work in the kitchen to tend to. I try to make Kelley’s meals in bulk so I am prepared for a few days out, so I readied four ready-to-be-grilled bean and goat cheese sandwiches. Sometimes, I wonder why I don’t make one for myself…..

Oh yeah, because I’m more of a roasted beet, Brussels sprouts, and garlic kind of guy.

I could find something to do/cook in the kitchen all day, but Avery makes sure that never happens. She woke up from her morning nap with loud moans permeating the baby monitor. She was in an area the monitor couldn’t capture, so I went in her room to see what all the fuss was about.

How a sleeping baby is able to roll around and get their leg stuck in the slot of their crib, I haven’t a clue. Luckily, she didn’t hurt herself and seemed fine once Daddy was there with a camera in her face.

I liberated our daughter from her self-induced leg restraint and gathered everything to head out. Our first stop was Sprouts, as usual, and the urge to use the restroom suddenly hit me while perusing the aisles. Damn multiple cups of green tea and coffee!!

As I stood at the urinal, I looked down at Avery in the Onya Baby Outback carrier and tried to keep her from letting out any random cries as she generally does. Why she has to fuss as I hopelessly stand at a urinal, no clue. But, as I tried my best to offer soothing words, I paused and realized what I was saying might be taken the wrong way considering my location.

Then I thought back to the countless times before when I was wearing Avery and had to use a public restroom. “Crap” (not literally), I thought to myself, “Anyone in the restroom at the same time must really be questioning what they heard from me!” I know if I were in a stall and heard some guy talking in a soothing, coo-like voice, I wouldn’t come out until I knew he was gone.

So, I listed the top ten things a dad should never say while wearing their baby and using a public restroom. And if you’re wondering, yes, I have said all of these to Avery. It’s a surprise I’m still allowed in these stores!

To help you see things from my perspective.

Don’t worry, you’ll get bigger. (I said this to Avery when her head couldn’t see over the carrier.)
Well, hello there.
Uh oh, I need to get you a burp cloth.
Daddy won’t take long.
I’m so proud of you!
What do you see up there? (This is when Avery is looking up at the ceiling.)
Mommy is going to be so happy to see you!
Please stay still so I can finish.
Are you hungry?
If you’re good, we can play with that new toy at home.

Yeah, needless to say, I’m going to be more conscientious about how I word things when talking to Avery in a restroom.

Baby wearing dads, have you ever said anything to your baby while wearing them in a public restroom?

I don’t know how the baby wearing moms deal with this issue, but if you have any good stories, please share!

Parenting

White Noise for my Wife

04/02/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Its official, Avery is growing up. Duh, that’s what babies do, right? Sure, but as a first time parent, every single change is new. With her latest feat of rolling over both ways, she’s now sleeping on her stomach (like her mom) and no longer requires being swaddled.

Ahhh, the freedom to sleep however I want!!

We are proud of our girl, but as most parents know, it’s bittersweet. But still, I really want to play and do more with her, so I’m okay with a little more growing up!

Monday was nothing out of the ordinary, Going Mom went (to work) and Avery and I did the usual as of late. “The usual” is now her staying up longer and hanging out with me as I get my workout of the day in and then taking her morning nap. She used to be ready to go back to sleep after an hour and a half of being awake in the morning, but now it’s more like 3 hours.

Fine with me, she seems to enjoy watching Daddy work out, and really loves it when I have to get on the ground for pushups or bear crawl. She’ll just crack a big grin and let out a semi-laugh. Her laughs are still a work in progress.

The Manhattan Toy Company sent us one of their new toys, Skwish Stix, to review and we got right to it before bath time. Right out of the box and Avery was ready to grab at it and apparently eat it.

I’d say she’s going to enjoy this toy better when she can sit up on her own. In the meantime, Mom and Dad can give her a hand. I’ll be posting a review on the Skwish Stix after Avery logs some good play time, so be on the look out. They are currently out of stock, so that must say something.

After our usual nightly routine, Kelley and I will sit in the living room where Kelley eventually falls asleep and I eat for almost 2 hours. It’s the only time where I actually sit down for a meal, so not like I’m going over my daily energy intake; if you cared.

Since it has been warmer lately, Avery has some heat rash around her body, so we decided to move the fan in our living room to her room. The problem is, that fan provided noise to help drown out the noise from me constantly getting up and down for more food while Kelley slept.

Solution? I used a white noise app on my iPad to help Kelley go and stay asleep as I frequented the kitchen. As a side note, we have the most expensive white noise machine in Avery’s nursery; Kelley’s iPad. Yep, that’s all it’s used for, but if it helps a baby sleep, isn’t it worth it?

Speaking of sleep, Avery is doing better in her own crib than when she’s in our bed. Usually, around 3 to 5 in the morning, I’ll bring her to our bed to feed and then she falls back asleep. Not so on Tuesday morning!

That girl was just kicking and rolling around between us. She found a good position with her feet kicking my stomach and hands slapping Kelley and kept attacking us both. Being one to make the best of situations, I simply turned around for a nice semi-massage on my back compliments of her kicking feet. Kelley, on the other hand, continued to get slapped.

Avery eventually started to get fussy and refused to fall back asleep, so I brought her to her room thinking I’d just have to sit up with her and roll around or maybe play peek-a-boo pushups.

First, I went to change her diaper and Oops!, she was a little dirty. Well crap (pun intended, I like those), I thought, I’d kick my parents too! After changing her, I set her in her crib to wash my hands and start a load of laundry as she rolled around and cooed to herself.

With the washer started, it seemed a little quiet in the nursery, and when I walked in, I found this…

And I just laid her down to start some laundry!

Well okay then! And she slept for over an hour with no white noise or swaddle of any kind. What’s with this girl?! She even greeted us with smiles when we woke her up.

All day Tuesday, Avery was rather pleasant and didn’t fuss as much as usual. It helps that she wasn’t actually bitten by a snake! She did, however, turn into a grump as the day was coming to an end. Teething, heat rash, tired? Maybe all of the above, but one thing’s for sure, baby.

Our girl is getting older, as we all are, and we are proud of every new thing she accomplishes. Next up, crawling!

How did you find out your baby is able to sleep easier on their own?

Babies growing up; exciting, sad, or in between?