So, house dad it is...
I am sitting here in my living room alternately watching my three month old daughter discover that she can grab things and get them to her mouth and watching Lance Armstrong take the podium with his kids in Paris after his seventh win of the Tour de France. I guess now that he and I have something in common, we are both leaving our careers to focus on being dad. (As they are raising the American flag and Playing the National Anthem, E's Pacifier has fallen out and she is not too happy about that.)
A little more than twelve weeks ago my wife, K, and I went into the hospital. Fifteen hours of labor,an epidural , two and a half hours of pushing, forcepts, a nine pound nine ounce daughter and a two nights in the hospital later our little family came home. There is a weird feeling for you. Walking through the door into our home with this tiny little stranger who is totally reliant on you. It almost seemed odd that there was no one there telling us what to do. Although, I guess that that is not entirely the case. E, started training us right out of the gate.
I suppose that If I am going to be writing, in large part, about my experience as a house dad I should give a little back ground about myself. I am a thirty one years old early childhood educator who has been married for seven years and live in one of the two two flats in a suburb of Chicago.
(E got fussy, went down for a nap in her crib without any tears. Oh, and the Tour is over, now Survivor is on.)
Today is a Sunday, two days ago E and I dropped K off at O hare Airport and she flew off for a (much deserved) break. She was off to a wedding in RI, one of her friends from grade school. We tried to figure out a way that made sense for all three of us to go but it was not to be. That means that it has been the daddy and E show for the last forty eight hours.
K is breast feeding so I have been burning through our accumulated milk supply with bottle feedings for these two days. There are a lot more tears when E is eating with daddy than when mom is around. She is not too understanding of the need to heat up the milk and fill up the bottle when she is hungry, making it pretty hard to aim your pour while you are are holding a baby who is wiggling in protest.
As for the house dad part. K is getting back from the wedding tonight and will go back to work for the first time since E was born. She works at one of the big hospitals in the city and I, as I mentioned, am an early childhood educator. She makes way more money than I do and if one of us is going to stay home it could only be me. We just couldn't make it on my paycheck.
This is something that K is coming to terms with. She is not looking forward to leaving E and the fact that there is really no way for her to be the one to stay home with her in the long term is a bit of a bitter pill. (All my words and observations.)
That all being said, K is looking forward to some parts of her return to work. She likes her job and coworkers. Another "who should stay home" consideration is temperament. If you asked either of us who we though had the temperament that was best suited to staying home we would say that it is me. I love my wife and am more grateful than I know how to express for her support.
I have to say that I feel a little nervous about this idea myself. Not being a money earner, not having the structure of the expectations of work, and being a man in a role that is pretty clearly thought of as being that of the woman are all things that I realize I am going to have to feel my way around.
Here is the ultimate truth of my new situation. I love my little girl with all my heart and there is not a single thing I would rather do or place I would rather be than home taking care of her.
A little more than twelve weeks ago my wife, K, and I went into the hospital. Fifteen hours of labor,an epidural , two and a half hours of pushing, forcepts, a nine pound nine ounce daughter and a two nights in the hospital later our little family came home. There is a weird feeling for you. Walking through the door into our home with this tiny little stranger who is totally reliant on you. It almost seemed odd that there was no one there telling us what to do. Although, I guess that that is not entirely the case. E, started training us right out of the gate.
I suppose that If I am going to be writing, in large part, about my experience as a house dad I should give a little back ground about myself. I am a thirty one years old early childhood educator who has been married for seven years and live in one of the two two flats in a suburb of Chicago.
(E got fussy, went down for a nap in her crib without any tears. Oh, and the Tour is over, now Survivor is on.)
Today is a Sunday, two days ago E and I dropped K off at O hare Airport and she flew off for a (much deserved) break. She was off to a wedding in RI, one of her friends from grade school. We tried to figure out a way that made sense for all three of us to go but it was not to be. That means that it has been the daddy and E show for the last forty eight hours.
K is breast feeding so I have been burning through our accumulated milk supply with bottle feedings for these two days. There are a lot more tears when E is eating with daddy than when mom is around. She is not too understanding of the need to heat up the milk and fill up the bottle when she is hungry, making it pretty hard to aim your pour while you are are holding a baby who is wiggling in protest.
As for the house dad part. K is getting back from the wedding tonight and will go back to work for the first time since E was born. She works at one of the big hospitals in the city and I, as I mentioned, am an early childhood educator. She makes way more money than I do and if one of us is going to stay home it could only be me. We just couldn't make it on my paycheck.
This is something that K is coming to terms with. She is not looking forward to leaving E and the fact that there is really no way for her to be the one to stay home with her in the long term is a bit of a bitter pill. (All my words and observations.)
That all being said, K is looking forward to some parts of her return to work. She likes her job and coworkers. Another "who should stay home" consideration is temperament. If you asked either of us who we though had the temperament that was best suited to staying home we would say that it is me. I love my wife and am more grateful than I know how to express for her support.
I have to say that I feel a little nervous about this idea myself. Not being a money earner, not having the structure of the expectations of work, and being a man in a role that is pretty clearly thought of as being that of the woman are all things that I realize I am going to have to feel my way around.
Here is the ultimate truth of my new situation. I love my little girl with all my heart and there is not a single thing I would rather do or place I would rather be than home taking care of her.
posted by Rob at
11:45 AM
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