Daddy at Home Week: Day 1
It’s Daddy at Home Week. Today Baby Dog had her first ride on a bus, which we took to get to Habitot. Lately, Bus Stops had become a favourite book of hers, and once I got it through to her that the thing we were riding in was a bus, just like in the book, she wouldn’t stop repeating “Bus! Bus! Bus! Bus!” It being the 40 line, this was probably useful for other passengers in grounding them and helping them get a handle on their whereabouts.
The main thing I’ve got to work on in the Stay-At-Home-Daddy business is my timing. When we left, it seemed too early for snack time, but by the time we got home it was rather late. That in turn meant that I had to try feeding her lunch only an hour or so after her snack, which is just no good. She wasn’t interested in the food and, worse, she seemed to be falling asleep in the chair. The daycare says their regular nap time starts around 1 or 1:30 in the afternoon, so we’ve been trying to keep her to that schedule when she’s at home. Only problem is, she always seems sleepy by 12:30, right when I want to feed her so she can nap right after lunch. I asked her if she wanted to go night-night. She nodded sleepily, and repeated “night-night.” I set her in her crib, pulled the cord in the butterfly’s ass to play “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and kissed her goodnight. I went to check my e mail. For a few minutes I heard her chattering to her stuffed animals, then all was quiet. I still can’t believe how quickly and easily she went to sleep.
She had a good big lunch when she woke, and we played in the living room for a while, watching Coast Guard S&R daredevils in New Orleans, dangling from helicopters, picking people up off their roofs. It was really pretty dramatic, even with the sound off.
Later, we took a walk with no set destination. We ended up at Diesel, where I thought we could browse the baby books. When I went to the children’s book section, though, it was gone; it took me a few minutes to figure out that they’d swapped spots with the magazine rack. The kid’s books were now at the front of the store, which turns out to be an inspired move on the store’s part. The front spot is a nice little alcove, which always seemed a little confining for magazine rack use, but which is perfect for the children’s books; toddlers are now out from underfoot and out of harm’s way. Baby Dog was the only little one in the store, so she had the run of the bottom shelf, pulling things down faster than I could pick them back up. She was particularly fascinated with a kid’s anatomy book with a plastic visible-organs guy inside. She has lately started learning names of various body parts – nose and teeth she has down pat, but she gets eyes and ears confused. She’s always grabbing my ear and saying “eye!” I got her two books to help her learn all these complicated anatomical terms: Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?, which is essentially a game of peek-a-boo on paper, sure to be a big hit; and Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes, which is possibly a little too text-heavy for her to bother with right now, but which I think she’ll be old enough to like soon.
Mama Dog surprised me by phoning as Baby Dog and I were returning from the store. She had planned to go to a post-work yoga class, but found that she had to enrol for a whole series to get into that class, and came home instead. I suggested she meet us, so we met up with her and Doggy Dog halfway home. I had been worried that Baby Dog might fall asleep in the stroller, but Mama Dog’s arrival perked her right up.
We decided on an impromptu dinner out and managed to get the Pirates to join us at the Chaat Café. They’re off to Bumbershoot tomorrow, so it was our last chance for a week. Baby Pirate is at the age where she’s not content to sit in a high chair and is much more interested in running around all parts of the restaurant and perhaps exploring outside and down the block a bit. Mama and Papa Pirate switched off; one sat at the table conversing and eating while the other pursued the child hither and yon. As always, something to look forward to.
The main thing I’ve got to work on in the Stay-At-Home-Daddy business is my timing. When we left, it seemed too early for snack time, but by the time we got home it was rather late. That in turn meant that I had to try feeding her lunch only an hour or so after her snack, which is just no good. She wasn’t interested in the food and, worse, she seemed to be falling asleep in the chair. The daycare says their regular nap time starts around 1 or 1:30 in the afternoon, so we’ve been trying to keep her to that schedule when she’s at home. Only problem is, she always seems sleepy by 12:30, right when I want to feed her so she can nap right after lunch. I asked her if she wanted to go night-night. She nodded sleepily, and repeated “night-night.” I set her in her crib, pulled the cord in the butterfly’s ass to play “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and kissed her goodnight. I went to check my e mail. For a few minutes I heard her chattering to her stuffed animals, then all was quiet. I still can’t believe how quickly and easily she went to sleep.
She had a good big lunch when she woke, and we played in the living room for a while, watching Coast Guard S&R daredevils in New Orleans, dangling from helicopters, picking people up off their roofs. It was really pretty dramatic, even with the sound off.
Later, we took a walk with no set destination. We ended up at Diesel, where I thought we could browse the baby books. When I went to the children’s book section, though, it was gone; it took me a few minutes to figure out that they’d swapped spots with the magazine rack. The kid’s books were now at the front of the store, which turns out to be an inspired move on the store’s part. The front spot is a nice little alcove, which always seemed a little confining for magazine rack use, but which is perfect for the children’s books; toddlers are now out from underfoot and out of harm’s way. Baby Dog was the only little one in the store, so she had the run of the bottom shelf, pulling things down faster than I could pick them back up. She was particularly fascinated with a kid’s anatomy book with a plastic visible-organs guy inside. She has lately started learning names of various body parts – nose and teeth she has down pat, but she gets eyes and ears confused. She’s always grabbing my ear and saying “eye!” I got her two books to help her learn all these complicated anatomical terms: Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?, which is essentially a game of peek-a-boo on paper, sure to be a big hit; and Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes, which is possibly a little too text-heavy for her to bother with right now, but which I think she’ll be old enough to like soon.
Mama Dog surprised me by phoning as Baby Dog and I were returning from the store. She had planned to go to a post-work yoga class, but found that she had to enrol for a whole series to get into that class, and came home instead. I suggested she meet us, so we met up with her and Doggy Dog halfway home. I had been worried that Baby Dog might fall asleep in the stroller, but Mama Dog’s arrival perked her right up.
We decided on an impromptu dinner out and managed to get the Pirates to join us at the Chaat Café. They’re off to Bumbershoot tomorrow, so it was our last chance for a week. Baby Pirate is at the age where she’s not content to sit in a high chair and is much more interested in running around all parts of the restaurant and perhaps exploring outside and down the block a bit. Mama and Papa Pirate switched off; one sat at the table conversing and eating while the other pursued the child hither and yon. As always, something to look forward to.
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 10:08 PM
1 Comments:
Eyes, Nose, Fingers and Toes - a great book! I have it! My older son loves that book...and I'm sure your little munchkin will, too!
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