Wednesday, September 24, 2014

100 Days Into My Son's Life - Here's What I've Learned and Loved

100 or so days ago my son came into my life. I've learned and loved a lot in these days. In fact, I'd say I've learned and loved 100 things...

1. I've learned each day just how impressive my wife was during the two-month stretch she was feeding him overnight and during the day every two hours.

2. I love it when I'm a zombie leaning over my son's crib to pick him up for a 1 am diaper change and feeding, he cracks a smile that briefly reminds me it's not really 1 am or 2 am or 3 am...

3. I've learned that raising a baby is a spectacular challenge whose rewards match its difficulty.

4. I love that my wife has given me the chance to provide full-time daycare to our son.

5. I've learned just how fortunate I am to have this opportunity as a SAHD.

6. I love how he's learned to grab objects when he wants to grab them.

7. I've learned that all parents should immediately add "logistics management" to their resumes.

8. I weirdly love that he produces so many bubbling gallons of drool that I think he's in the spectrum for rabies instead of early teething.

9. I've learned that having the energy to blog, play PS3, research fantasy football, and teach myself piano is hard to find between my son and I getting sleep, giving him playtime, both of us getting fed, me washing bottles, and getting my own exercise.

10. I love the huge sigh he shares when he feels it's okay to rest his head on my shoulder.

11. I've learned that baby clothes for boys are boring compared the numerous combinations for girls especially when you talk about hair accessories.

12. I love the pterodactyl-like sounds he makes when I'm not playing with him.

13. I've learned that changing a diaper after a blowout isn't as bad as Mr. Mom would have you believe.


It isn't THAT bad if you move fast enough.

14. I love that my son now holds his head up with very little trouble, allowing me to pick him up and carry him around that much easier.

15. I've learned that putting a diaper on correctly to avoid a blowout is as important as making sure you're wearing pants during a late-night infant Tylenol run.

16. I love how he gives all of his attention to my wife when she sings him a song with her great voice.

17. I've learned it's a good thing he looks away when I sing him a song because I can't sing.

18. I love hearing people tell me he looks just like me.

19. I've learned that having your mind taken over by a baby is a real thing, causing me to forget important dates like wishing my parents a happy anniversary. Happy anniversary!

20. I love the smell of my son after bathing him and putting some baby lotion on his skin.

21. I've learned that to "sleep when the baby sleeps" is a sweet thought, but that just means he'll wake up 15 minutes after I finally doze off.

22. I love seeing that he has been in the 99th percentile for height from day one.

23. I've learned that being in the 99th percentile for height from day one means outgrowing clothes and diapers quicker than we can put them on him.


He's growing like this oak tree!

24. I love seeing my son reach for his foot on purpose and hold on for dear life.

25. I've learned that the best way to accidentally wake up any baby is to brew a cup of coffee, pour milk into a bowl of cereal, or really make any food for yourself.

26. I love making silly faces at my son while in public and entering a world that only he and I live in and understand.

27. I've learned that washing a cloth diaper after a poop isn't the end of the world.

28. I love hearing a deep, guttural burp from my son during feeding.

29. I've learned that with some of those deep, guttural burps I get to see a few ounces of his meal again.

30. I love that we keep an emergency bottle nipple in the diaper bag.

31. I've learned that saying my son had a poop sounds better when I say he just gave me a big hug in his diaper.

32. I love how my son knows where the baby monitor camera is and stares into it and my soul in search of a diaper, food, and love.

33. I've learned that if your son flails his legs for fun, it's not good to lay his head on your knees and his feet at your groin.

34. I love how my son recently learned to bring his hands together like a James Bond villain.

35. I've learned that placing your son on your newly-shaved chest will leave red marks on him that look like rashes.

36. I love being able to tell the nurse who last week asked, "Is today daddy's day?", that "every day is daddy's day."

37. I've learned that my son has learned the art of stoically "hugging" me and revels in the time it takes for me to smell another one of his signs of affection.

38. I love knowing that if I can handle cleaning my son after a blowout by changing him in my car without getting any of it on any thing, then I can clean him anywhere.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/08/93/05/99/0008930599335_500X500.jpg
That's not a diaper bag, it's a poo(h) bag!  Hahahaha!

39. I've learned that making sure the diaper bag is ready is always worth doing, even if you think you didn't use any supplies yesterday.

40. I love the tuft of hair in the back of my son's head giving him the only mullet he'll ever have (if I can help it).

41. I've learned to love that my son stays where I put him on the floor....for now.

42. I love that I can defeat my son in a thumb war whenever I want.

43. I've learned that if rocking climbing walls used male nipples for grips, my son would already be a world champion climber.

44. I love that pictures from three months ago are now considered old.

45. I've learned that it isn't very easy to break into stay-at-home-mom groups when you're a SAHD.

46. I love that my son takes his longest daytime naps on my chest.

47. I've learned that my son has an extra pitch and volume for crying when he gets his regular shots from the doctor.

48. I love that this mega-cry is short-lived and the event is entirely forgotten by the next hour.

49. I've learned that the hardest thing to do to a baby is cut their fingernails; so I let my wife bite them herself to avoid repeated painful cuts.

50. I love that I'm still able to rock my son against me while I'm sitting down. An inch more and he's too long for my torso.

51. I've learned that starting one load of laundry each day is enough to celebrate like I've climbed a mountain.

http://www.thecoersfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/funny-laundry-meme-3.jpg
Exactly my point!

52. I love having a trashcan in the nursery that actually keeps odors inside.

53. I've learned that despite having multiple pacifiers/binkees around the house, I'll never find one when my son is crying and needs it most.

54. I love it when my son sneezes.

55. I've learned that the likelihood and quantity of spit up increases with the quality of the clothes I'm wearing.

56. I love that when my son has the hiccups, he doesn't cry.

57. I've learned that it's okay to start drinking coffee each morning in order to function before crashing for an afternoon nap.

58. I love that morning cup of coffee.

59. I've learned that house projects just don't get done with a newborn and that's okay.

60. I love my son's toothless smile.

http://dentureprofessionals.org.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Mike-Ricci.jpg
Sorry Mike Ricci, but a toothless smile is only cute when you're young.

61. I've learned that my son has no shame letting gas come out of either end, no matter how close my face is to either of those ends.

62. I love that he can move each toe individually.

63. I've learned that unsolicited advice comes with having a child and that it's a good idea to roll your eyes in your mind and not in reality to the person's face.

64. I love how small socks are for babies.

65. I've learned that socks for babies only exist for them to be kicked off and lost on a walk around town.

66. I love that his foot is now just as long as my thumb.

67. I've learned that when pulling back diaper lining to check for a hug, you shouldn't and don't need to go more than 1/2 centimeter in to see what's lurking.

68. I love that a bowl of oatmeal retains its heat long enough for me to change my son's diaper and feed him.

69. I've learned that it's great having podcasts to listen to during early morning feedings while rocking my son to sleep.

70. I love how my son's eyes turn marble blue when he looks up at the sky and trees.

71. I've learned how powerful guilt can be when another parent suggests adding a blanket to my son "so he doesn't get cold."

72. I love how deep he sleeps when he's riding in a baby carrier against my chest.

73. I've learned that shaving my chest hair is key to stopping my son from providing me with instant pain when he's doing pull-ups.

74. I love that my son frustrates himself by pulling out his binkee without knowing it's his fault.

75. I've learned that cleaning bottles and pumping parts ensures there will always be another chore I could do.

Looks like my setup, it's just missing the bag used to steam the parts.

76. I love how hard he tries to learn new things and the grunt he shares when it doesn't work.

77. I've learned that air conditioning in the car is for the baby's comfort and only the baby's comfort.

78. I love the dimples on his pudgy elbows.

79. I've learned that my son doesn't mind sleeping on his ear when it's folded over for at least an hour.

80. I love how he gets stuck halfway when trying to rollover and he's content with that.

81. I've learned that we are never more flexible than we are as babies.

http://jessicachivers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/flexible.png
My son had better enjoy his flexibility while he can.

82. I love when he tries to grip things with his toes.

83. I've learned that combing dandruff out of my son's hair only creates more dandruff.

84. I love that I can stay still for longer than I thought possible just to keep my son sleeping on me; lower back pain be dammed!

85. I've learned that in the last week how sleep regression is a very real thing and I should've appreciated sleeping through the night a whole lot more.

86. I love that my son finds the webbing between my thumb and forefinger the world's most comfortable pillow.

87. I've learned that getting out the door to go anywhere takes at least twice as long as you think, even if you think you prepared the night before.

88. I love that prayers about parents and their children now apply to me.

89. I've learned that gaining as much weight as my son has so he doesn't have a body image issue is not healthy for me.

90. I love learning about being a parent with on-the-job training.

91. I've learned that it's impossible to reach the bottom of folds in my son's neck during a bath.

Once you place a wash cloth in my son's neck folds, it will never be seen again.

92. I love that eating a box of Cheez-Its is always an option for lunch; albeit not a good one.

93. I've learned that a distracted baby does not feed well.

94. I love knowing we are well stocked with infant Tylenol.

95. I've learned that getting in touch with all of my son's bodily fluids (spit, snot, pee, hugs, and spit up) in one day is not something to brag about.

96. I love storytime at the library because it gets me to shave, shower, and change into (temporarily) stain free clothes.

97. I've learned not to expect any of my comfy, around the house t-shirts to survive my son's first two years.

98. I love it when I change a diaper before that feeling of fresh air causes my son to take aim and fire upon me.

99. I've learned to be thankful for so much to love.

100. I love that my wife gave me a wonderful son to add to our family.