I am three months into Dad hood, officially tomorrow if you count by date, which is the easiest way to count I guess. There are way too many different ways to state how old the little guy is, 3 months, 12 weeks (which was a few weeks ago), 1/4 year (which I made up). 3 months in, and we have established a fairly good sleep schedule, we have both returned to work, and we are starting to get used to the idea that we have a child. He is getting more human like, smiling and laughing at us, which is awesome. It is actually pretty amazing to see him develop something new every day or two.
I would not say we have a routine yet, we are still getting used to that part, but we have some kind of rhythm going on. I think the hardest part is figuring out how to fit in the time we once had for ourselves. Time to work out, time to socialize, time to take a little nap (I really miss that one a lot).
During the week, I have started the night shift with Miles. Sarah works an evening shift, so it is my job to get home, feed the little guy, get him bathed, which is a story for another time, and get him to bed.
Over all, this process has been going pretty well. Miles has a bedtime of around 6:30-7:00, so the routine starts around 6:00 PM. This sounds really early, and when we had discussed bedtime, the idea of a 6:30 bedtime seemed ridiculous, but we did not really pick it, Miles pretty much told us that he is done with being awake and entertaining everyone at about 6:30 everyday.
Going through the bedtime routine is not all that hard for now. Miles is pretty much down for it, and though he does get a little fussy when I am getting him in his PJs because he would much rather be eating, once the eating starts we are pretty much good to go.
The hard part, is then finding something to do after Miles goes to bed, and I wait for Sarah to return from work. One might state this is my time to workout, socialize and nap, but it does not work out that well. I can't go out, since I am responsible for the life of a small baby, so I have to find a hobby or two to do at the house. I have considered running on the treadmill, but the appeal of doing that is always gone by the time Miles is down and I am ready to get started. Today, I think cooking sounds like a fun idea, since I really enjoy doing that. The only hurdel with cooking is that I only know how to cook pasta and meatballs (the Macedo Family Recipe).
Video games sounds fun, but it is not very productive, and only amuse me for about 30 minutes, and then I get bored. So as I start week two of this new routine (and really, the first full week), I am in search of a new way to pass the hours that Miles is asleep, and Sarah is at work.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Six Weeks In!
A few people have reminded me that I have not posted anything for quite a while. Funny how it is more difficult to blog about being a dad, now that I am actually a dad! Time is probably the most challenging thing to deal with. The heat is a pain, work is a drag, sleep is awful (the lack of sleep that is), but time is what becomes scarce! There was a day once where Sarah and I got up and got out with Miles, happy to be out of the house, on our way to the morning coffee. One of us sighed and commented on how nice it was to get out of the house early, and start our day...it was 4:00 PM.
We were both a bit shocked about how we lost track of time. I do successfully make it to work, but I am pretty sure I have been wearing the same 5 out fits (maybe mixing pant and shirt combos over the different weeks). Some nights I feel like I get a great night's rest (I don't think Sarah ever gets a great night's rest). Other nights, it is like an all night raging night of activity, and only coffee helps me get my work done at work, and not curl up under my desk for a nap.
With all that going against us, I have to say Miles has had a great summer. In his first six weeks of life he has been to the beach 6 times, to several pool parties, to Block Island, to Newport, out to eat a few times, some nice longs walks with the tribe (though we pretty much retired the dogs for now, they were awful on the walks), dozens of trips to different stores, yoga, play dates and he even hosted his first party! He is living quite the summer life, thanks to his adventurous mom!
It seems like he changes everyday, and I can't believe how much he has already grown (already over 10 lbs)! Sarah and I are both working hard to ensure that his first word is mum or dada, though I am sure it will be some other word, probably offensive, that we say in front of him all the time.
It has been a tough couple of days with the extreme heat, but hopefully the summer will now moderate back to normal temperatures. I think that will really help the sleeping at night!
We were both a bit shocked about how we lost track of time. I do successfully make it to work, but I am pretty sure I have been wearing the same 5 out fits (maybe mixing pant and shirt combos over the different weeks). Some nights I feel like I get a great night's rest (I don't think Sarah ever gets a great night's rest). Other nights, it is like an all night raging night of activity, and only coffee helps me get my work done at work, and not curl up under my desk for a nap.
With all that going against us, I have to say Miles has had a great summer. In his first six weeks of life he has been to the beach 6 times, to several pool parties, to Block Island, to Newport, out to eat a few times, some nice longs walks with the tribe (though we pretty much retired the dogs for now, they were awful on the walks), dozens of trips to different stores, yoga, play dates and he even hosted his first party! He is living quite the summer life, thanks to his adventurous mom!
It seems like he changes everyday, and I can't believe how much he has already grown (already over 10 lbs)! Sarah and I are both working hard to ensure that his first word is mum or dada, though I am sure it will be some other word, probably offensive, that we say in front of him all the time.
It has been a tough couple of days with the extreme heat, but hopefully the summer will now moderate back to normal temperatures. I think that will really help the sleeping at night!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The first few days.
It is officially official, I am a Dad! Our little baby boy, Miles Joseph Macedo was born at 3:59 PM on Sunday June 12th weighing 7 lbs and 14oz and 20.5 inches long. He is a beautiful little boy, and these last few days have been simply amazing. Sarah has done such an amazing job, from labor and delivery to being an awesome Mom!
The delivery was a long and hectic ordeal. Sarah started to have some contractions at around 4:00 PM Saturday. On Saturday night I was out to DJ an event, and had just gotten all the DJ equipment setup when I got the call from Sarah that she thought it was go time. We did have a bit of a back up plan for the gig, but the hecticness started once Sarah said it was time. I left everything setup, and sped home to get us packed up and out the door. I was a little crazy back at the house throwing things in the bag, running back and forth in the house, getting things put into the car. Sarah was pretty calm except when a contraction would hit, and she was bent over in pain. We headed to the hospital, they sent us home, we watched hours of Netflix(Sarah made us pause the movies during the contractions) and finally I had to get a few minutes of shut eye.
I was woken up by the yelling of Sarah at 3:00 AM that we were finally going to head back to the hospital. We finally got the green light for admission and headed to labor and delivery for 5:00 AM.
Sarah continued labor, and between contractions enjoyed a Red Sox victory over the Blue Jays. Miles was born right at the end of the game, to a Red Sox Victory! At 3:59 PM Miles was born.
The following days have been filled with adventure! My first attempt at daiper changing was a fiasco, including the new born black tar poo getting over the babies feet, and the changing station! I have learned a lot since then and Miles can be proud to have quite the expert of a diaper changer for a Dad! Sleep has been pretty hard to come by. Everything everyone said about sleep has been completely true. The only reason I even know what day of the week it is, is because the computer told me! We sleep in short bursts of only a few hours, and of course Miles likes to be awake at night. He is like a little vampire, once the sun goes down, his eyes pop open and he starts to make his cute little noises because he wants attention.
We have been home now for just over a day, and the pack has welcomed him home. Each animal has tried to get in their smell and a look at the new member, and Stanley even got in a successful lick of his feet. All in all the pack is happy to be a bit larger.
I am not really sure I am successfully describing how amazing this experience has been, but all I can say is it is like nothing else I have ever experienced, and I do look forward to our little addition to the tribe.
The delivery was a long and hectic ordeal. Sarah started to have some contractions at around 4:00 PM Saturday. On Saturday night I was out to DJ an event, and had just gotten all the DJ equipment setup when I got the call from Sarah that she thought it was go time. We did have a bit of a back up plan for the gig, but the hecticness started once Sarah said it was time. I left everything setup, and sped home to get us packed up and out the door. I was a little crazy back at the house throwing things in the bag, running back and forth in the house, getting things put into the car. Sarah was pretty calm except when a contraction would hit, and she was bent over in pain. We headed to the hospital, they sent us home, we watched hours of Netflix(Sarah made us pause the movies during the contractions) and finally I had to get a few minutes of shut eye.
I was woken up by the yelling of Sarah at 3:00 AM that we were finally going to head back to the hospital. We finally got the green light for admission and headed to labor and delivery for 5:00 AM.
Sarah continued labor, and between contractions enjoyed a Red Sox victory over the Blue Jays. Miles was born right at the end of the game, to a Red Sox Victory! At 3:59 PM Miles was born.
The following days have been filled with adventure! My first attempt at daiper changing was a fiasco, including the new born black tar poo getting over the babies feet, and the changing station! I have learned a lot since then and Miles can be proud to have quite the expert of a diaper changer for a Dad! Sleep has been pretty hard to come by. Everything everyone said about sleep has been completely true. The only reason I even know what day of the week it is, is because the computer told me! We sleep in short bursts of only a few hours, and of course Miles likes to be awake at night. He is like a little vampire, once the sun goes down, his eyes pop open and he starts to make his cute little noises because he wants attention.
We have been home now for just over a day, and the pack has welcomed him home. Each animal has tried to get in their smell and a look at the new member, and Stanley even got in a successful lick of his feet. All in all the pack is happy to be a bit larger.
I am not really sure I am successfully describing how amazing this experience has been, but all I can say is it is like nothing else I have ever experienced, and I do look forward to our little addition to the tribe.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Now it is really almost go time
It's now really almost go time. As far as I am concerened, with Memorial Day Weekend here, the baby could come anytime now. Today it is official, the bun is "full term". Junior is full cooked, and as my father and law says, now is just a matter of medium or well done. By the way, I uaully order my steak meduim, so that could mean little junior is ready for the world sooner rather then later.
So we have a baby's room, clean sheets, clean baby cloths, clean diapers and a bunch of other stuff ready for junior! Thanks to some help from Aunt Emily, we have a car seat installed. We have packed the go bag. In fact pretty much everything on our todo list has been checked off! It is getting really exciting, and I don't really have to wait that much longer. I mean I know technically it could still be 3 additional weeks of waiting, but the excitement remains there.
We still don't know if the baby is a boy or girl, which is definately adding to the excitement of the due date. We will get to find out whose take home outfit gets to go on the baby, which by the way, even if I am wrong, I may put it on the baby anyway.
I am not sure the whole Dad thing has really hit me yet. I yelled at my dog yesterday (for throwing up on the rug). The poor dog probally could not help it, though I wished he had thrown up on the floor which is easier to clean. I think I got so mad because he through up because he drank the water too fast. I mean slow down, that water is always there, and if it runs out, we will get more for you. My cat literally did the same thing this morning, she ate her food too fast and through it up. Anyway, after I yelled at the dog, I felt a little bad, and then I thought about how one day, a child is going to say something back to me when I am trying the discipline it. When I say, don't wear your dirty shows on the rug, they will at some point know to say, but you have your shoes on. (even though my shoes will likely be clean).
I guess I have a bit of time to wait for the back talking, and battles of logic with a child about why certain things make sense, and others don't. Now that the car seat is installed, I realize that driving around with the child is going to be very distracting. How to you concentrate on the road when all you want to do is look at the little baby sleeping in the back seat, or the little one screaming at the top of their lungs in the back seat, either way a precious moment you won't want to miss!
So we have a baby's room, clean sheets, clean baby cloths, clean diapers and a bunch of other stuff ready for junior! Thanks to some help from Aunt Emily, we have a car seat installed. We have packed the go bag. In fact pretty much everything on our todo list has been checked off! It is getting really exciting, and I don't really have to wait that much longer. I mean I know technically it could still be 3 additional weeks of waiting, but the excitement remains there.
We still don't know if the baby is a boy or girl, which is definately adding to the excitement of the due date. We will get to find out whose take home outfit gets to go on the baby, which by the way, even if I am wrong, I may put it on the baby anyway.
I am not sure the whole Dad thing has really hit me yet. I yelled at my dog yesterday (for throwing up on the rug). The poor dog probally could not help it, though I wished he had thrown up on the floor which is easier to clean. I think I got so mad because he through up because he drank the water too fast. I mean slow down, that water is always there, and if it runs out, we will get more for you. My cat literally did the same thing this morning, she ate her food too fast and through it up. Anyway, after I yelled at the dog, I felt a little bad, and then I thought about how one day, a child is going to say something back to me when I am trying the discipline it. When I say, don't wear your dirty shows on the rug, they will at some point know to say, but you have your shoes on. (even though my shoes will likely be clean).
I guess I have a bit of time to wait for the back talking, and battles of logic with a child about why certain things make sense, and others don't. Now that the car seat is installed, I realize that driving around with the child is going to be very distracting. How to you concentrate on the road when all you want to do is look at the little baby sleeping in the back seat, or the little one screaming at the top of their lungs in the back seat, either way a precious moment you won't want to miss!
Friday, April 22, 2011
It is getting close now..but not really
At the beginning of this process, I honestly thought the 9 months was a super long time. It seemed like plenty of time to get everything done, relax and enjoy the preparation phase (and the designated driver). I even thought the arrival of the little one seemed pretty far away.
I don't really feel that way at all now. Sarah reminded me there is only about 58 days left until the due date (which could mean less then 58 days or more). That seems awful close! That is less then a season! I have said to a few people, well as the weather gets nicer, the baby gets closer! Temperatures are forecasted for 68 next week, and the flowers are in bloom in the front yard.
I wouldn't say that I am freaking out or anything. I pretty much think everything is ready, or as ready as it is going to be. The baby's room is all set up, walls painted, crib built, changing table built, and all diapers are being prepared today. The only outstanding item is the closet (which I am a pro at, so no sweat there). I don't think I even know how to prepare my self, but that doesn't really bother me, because I know it will be 18 plus years of not really knowing what I am doing (as many parents have told me).
I guess the realization is starting to really set in though, that we will have a tenant soon! I got to kind of see him/ her the other day, on one of those fancy 3D ultra sounds. It was a really neat thing to see. The baby seemed a bit shy though (that is from Sarah not me). He/She was hiding behind some of Sarah's body parts. I tried to get her to move them, but it wasn't working out. Any way, it was really amazing to see the babies face. As I sit here and preseverate about time ticking away, I also can't wait to meet the little one!
With my eagerness to meet the new member of the tribe, comes the fact that their is still like two more months to go. I mean we are close, but no that close. It is kind of like when some one is baking a delicous meal, like Thanksgiving Dinner, and the turkey is cooking great, and everything smells awesome, your mouth begins to water, but you still have an hour or so before you can put any thing in your mouth! Yeah, I think that is how I kind of feel.
On that note, I am off to go eat lunch.
I don't really feel that way at all now. Sarah reminded me there is only about 58 days left until the due date (which could mean less then 58 days or more). That seems awful close! That is less then a season! I have said to a few people, well as the weather gets nicer, the baby gets closer! Temperatures are forecasted for 68 next week, and the flowers are in bloom in the front yard.
I wouldn't say that I am freaking out or anything. I pretty much think everything is ready, or as ready as it is going to be. The baby's room is all set up, walls painted, crib built, changing table built, and all diapers are being prepared today. The only outstanding item is the closet (which I am a pro at, so no sweat there). I don't think I even know how to prepare my self, but that doesn't really bother me, because I know it will be 18 plus years of not really knowing what I am doing (as many parents have told me).
I guess the realization is starting to really set in though, that we will have a tenant soon! I got to kind of see him/ her the other day, on one of those fancy 3D ultra sounds. It was a really neat thing to see. The baby seemed a bit shy though (that is from Sarah not me). He/She was hiding behind some of Sarah's body parts. I tried to get her to move them, but it wasn't working out. Any way, it was really amazing to see the babies face. As I sit here and preseverate about time ticking away, I also can't wait to meet the little one!
With my eagerness to meet the new member of the tribe, comes the fact that their is still like two more months to go. I mean we are close, but no that close. It is kind of like when some one is baking a delicous meal, like Thanksgiving Dinner, and the turkey is cooking great, and everything smells awesome, your mouth begins to water, but you still have an hour or so before you can put any thing in your mouth! Yeah, I think that is how I kind of feel.
On that note, I am off to go eat lunch.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cooking for Children
I will not try and take credit for much of the cooking in our house. Sarah does most of the food planning, and cooking at home. If I cook one meal a week on average, then it has been a good week. This is mostly due to the fact that Sarah gets out of work before I do, and by default has the time to get what we need for dinner. However, when I do cook, the food can be put into four major categories. 1) Tomato Sauce and something else. This includes pasta and meatballs, a lovely dish called orange spigets, tonight's new addition to the rotation, which was ravioli in sauce, or a pizza. 2) Protein, vegetable, starch. The most common version of this is steak tips, orzo and a can of peas. Easy, tastes good, not so bad for you. 3) Microwave night. Common dishes are Evol burritos and a "Mexican Dip" which has replaced an old favorite, nachos. Finally 4) Grilling in the back yard, which can be as frequent as 3 nights a week during the more pleasant months of the year.
What I am starting to realize with the kid on the way, is how this may change a bit. I don't think the four major groups will change much. These are my strengths, and I should not mess with a good thing. In my time spent with the little ones that we currently know, I find kids like (in by kids this ranges in children with new teeth to like 3 year olds): Cheerios, gold fish, little tiny cut up pieces of a mystery meat. Chicken Tenders and French Fries (shout out to Brody). French Fries and Broccoli (shout out to Reese), spaghetti, hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream.
I think most of that food fits into my four groups, so I am good. I can cook for a kid no problem! I remember my parents challenges in cooking for us kids. I was a picky eater, and would claim to not like things I liked probably two weeks prior. I remember telling my dad that I felt the recipe had been altered by some brand of canned beef stew, and therefore no longer would eat it. I hope our kid is not quite as picky. Sarah can attest to how bad it can still get sometimes. I have to remember to lead by example, and be sure and have my no thank you serving without making any faces or unnecessary sound effects while eating it!
What I am starting to realize with the kid on the way, is how this may change a bit. I don't think the four major groups will change much. These are my strengths, and I should not mess with a good thing. In my time spent with the little ones that we currently know, I find kids like (in by kids this ranges in children with new teeth to like 3 year olds): Cheerios, gold fish, little tiny cut up pieces of a mystery meat. Chicken Tenders and French Fries (shout out to Brody). French Fries and Broccoli (shout out to Reese), spaghetti, hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream.
I think most of that food fits into my four groups, so I am good. I can cook for a kid no problem! I remember my parents challenges in cooking for us kids. I was a picky eater, and would claim to not like things I liked probably two weeks prior. I remember telling my dad that I felt the recipe had been altered by some brand of canned beef stew, and therefore no longer would eat it. I hope our kid is not quite as picky. Sarah can attest to how bad it can still get sometimes. I have to remember to lead by example, and be sure and have my no thank you serving without making any faces or unnecessary sound effects while eating it!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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