Memo from Tadpole

Dear Daddy,

As you are aware, for the past couple of days I have been standing by myself (while holding on tightly to things for stability), and sometimes have leaned and taken a few steps.  This is very exciting for me, so I know declare myself an Independent Explor-A-Baby.  In my new status, there will be some changes:

First, I do not like sitting, since I can't stand by myself from a sit yet.  So you will carry me or help me stand.  I will indicate if you are doing the wrong thing by fussing.

Second, the toys I have been playing with are suitable for small babies but not Independent Explor-A-Babies.  So we will need to find new toys to play with.  This may include things previously off limits such as your glasses.

Third, Independent Explor-A-Babies do not eat or sleep.  We are much too interested in the world.  Please disregard all previous routines and do not attempt to calm me or give me a bottle.  This will be rejected.

Finally, I reserve the right at any time to stop being an Independent Explor-A-Baby.  I suggest you pay close attention for this moment, as I will likely be very hungry and sleepy.  In fact, if you time this right, I will fall immediately asleep without fussing and you can breathe a big sigh of relief.  Don't get comfortable ;)

Love,

Tadpole

Stay-at-home-dad Review: Swim Lessons

So Tadpole and I went swimming today.  (sorry, no pictures even though she looks really happy in her new swimsuit.  Cameras not allowed on deck and I figured the other guys in the locker room wouldn't appreciate me pulling out a camera).  We got to the pool a little late - I still haven't really processed just how long it takes to get out the door with Tadpole, especially as the weather starts to turn, but still got about 20-25 minutes of our 30-minute class, plus a few extra minutes of splashing around afterwards.

The short version is that Tadpole loved it!  The instructor provided a contraption that is combination wetsuit and personal flotation device (probably wouldn't support Tadpole all by herself, but definitely makes her a bit more buoyant) - we didn't have fancy things like that when I was teaching!  (Of course, I learned to swim and did most of my instructing in pools that were oriented towards children and therefore pretty much as warm as pools get.  The West Loop Athletics Center pool is definitely not competitive, but it's a bit chillier than I was used to.

We did a few songs and practiced different activities and holds - bubble blowing, feet kicking, reaching and grabbing (Tadpole is good at reaching for a toy & then nomming it!), and floating on the back.  There were a few moments early on where Tadpole was a bit uncertain, but having daddy right there to hold her made everything OK, and she was generally great in the water.  My favorite part was floating on her back.  The former instructor part of me remembers that this is really the first skill that kids can pick up to be independent (try it sometime - trust me, it's easier to move around floating on your back with gentle kicks than anything else), so I'd love for Tadpole to actually be able to float on her back unassisted.  She's not there yet, but the aforementioned wetsuit/PFD means that she might well be able to by the end of the sessions.

Anyway - extremely good times and highly recommended.  There were 4 or 5 kids there along with two instructors.  One other dad was their with his wife and child, otherwise the other parents were all moms, but that's too be expected.  Next week we get a few extra minutes in the water as long as I can get Tadpole there early enough!

Logistics: The pool in only about a 15 minute drive away ... so total commute time of about an hour and half when you factor in getting Tadpole ready, getting out the door, finagling the carseat, etc.  Still, a pretty easy trip.  at 11:30, we should usually have about 30-40 minutes to get to class after a good nap.  So it's close (since I really need to feed / change Tadpole as well), but doable.

Feeding / Changing the baby: The locker room works just fine for changing the baby.  Just pull up the swim diaper and then tear apart the sides when done.  Obviously no feeding, but the timeslot just after her first nap and before lunch is perfect for Tadpole.

Activities: There's really only one - swimming.  But that's a pretty good one.  Bubble blowing, kicking, front and back floats, going up and down in the water, playing with toys ... the possibilities in a pool are endless! (Or at least, you'll run out of warm baby before you run out of things to do).

Bottom Line: Sooo excited!  I really loved teaching swim lessons when I was younger, and getting back in the pool with my daughter is a pretty amazing experience.

Most important fact: Temperature matters.  We're luck to have a relatively warm pool, plus the warming suit.  They also lay out warmed towels afterwards - wrap the baby in a war towel, rinse yourself & baby in a warm shower, then go get a new towel & go change.  Keep an eye out for cold babies, especially if you're bouncing in and out of the water a lot.  Oh, and don't let go!

Off to NaNo ... hopefully Tadpole will cooperate & take a nice long nap.

Insecurities

Tadpole has hit her requisite hour in the crib and just went back to sleep after some fussing.  I've either got plenty of time to write this post (in fact, would have time to be productive on NaNo, which I should be doing), or I'll be getting up in less than 2 minutes when she reawakens.  Honestly, you won't know the difference, since you'll get this post sooner or later anyway.

Tadpole and I start swim class tomorrow.  I'm extremely excited, since it's been a long time since I was in a pool, but swimming used to be a big part of my life (swam competitively in high school, lifeguarded & taught swim classes in high school & college, though mostly 4-9 year olds.  I watched/assisted some infant swim classes, but never taught).

Despite (because of?) how excited I am about the classes, I'm actually pretty nervous.  This is my first outing with just Tadpole and other children when I don't already know the parents/children (other than a somewhat disastrous meeting at a recent pumpkin patch where I stood and watched R mingle with other parents).  So far, this insecurity has primarily manifested itself in email questions - I'm still not sure if these were justified or not.

I dutifully picked up some swim diapers recently, but there aren't swimsuits available in October/November, so I figured Tadpole could just wear her diaper.  I'm actually proud that I checked ahead of time, since it turns out she does need to have a suit, triggering a frantic scramble (thanks for the loaner C!).  We did eventually get an email with this notification - less than 1 day before the class starts, but almost a week after we were informed of the parking arrangements.  Slightly annoyed, but I only made a nuisance of myself by emailing to ask a couple days early.  Not that bad, right?

Then today we finally did get the email with the final arrangements, including information that we would (not could, would) leave our personal belongings in a locker in the ladies changing room.  Um.  Hrm.  That doesn't really work for a dad.  Tadpole isn't quite capable of opening the locker after she crawls in to get our stuff, and honestly, I'm not sure she'd remember which locker was which.  So I sent off another email ... turns out the men's room is also open, so I can leave my stuff there.  (The original email was chock full of restrictions about where we could park, how long we could be in the changing rooms, and what facilities we weren't allowed to use - I don't think it was entirely unreasonable for me to worry that they might not have planned to open the men's changing room, but maybe so?)

Anyway - swim class starts tomorrow!  We have a swimsuit for Tadpole and a place to leave our personal belongings!  woo hoo!?  Hopefully all complications are over other than actually meeting other parents, Tadpole wanting to drink the water, a longer car ride than I've ever done with Tadpole by myself before ... so excited ...

But hey - maybe the hardest part will be the emails.
(No complications on the blog post - Tadpole's going long for nap two.  Way to go baby girl!)

All about me

OK, not all about me, but somewhat about me, since I do have a life and interests outside of Tadpole. So two brief notes about things other than being dad/parenting that are going on right now.

First, on Sunday I attended an evening with Joan Baez at the CSO, which was simply phenomenal. I'm a bit young to really be in her demographic (I'm under 30 and as the person next to me observed may have been the only person in the audience without white hair), but I grew up listening to Joan Baez recordings. Of the performers from my childhood, she's the one I most wanted to see, and the evening did not disappoint.

Ms. Baez has a repertoire of 50 years of songs and all of them were on display on Sunday, from recordings that I first heard on the album "Very Early Joan" to a new song she is still working on inspired by the OWS movement. The entire evening was full of comfortable songs from my childhood mixed with music new to me; activist songs intermingled with folk ballads. I'll highlight three moments in particular - introducing Joe Hill, Ms. Baez commented that it was "an organizing song - but with a leader!" Later, she sang an arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" that reintroduced me to a song that I have long considered a familiar standard. Finally, after a standing ovation, she came back out to sing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Imagine" and "Gracias A La Vida", inviting the audience to join on the chorus. Singing these songs with Ms. Baez and a full house at Symphony Center was an incredible experience. I'm delighted that R (not a Joan Baez fan) agreed to watch Tadpole and let me go.

Also, today marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a challenge to write a new 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November. Last year I managed to complete it, so I'm hoping Tadpole's nap schedule lets me write my great science fiction novel (with space jellyfish!) this year.

In fact, I think I'll go work on NaNo now - bye!

Stay-at-home-dad Review: Shedd Aquarium

Tadpole and I walked over to the Shedd Aquarium and got a membership today. This was her first trip, and my second, but we got a membership so we'll be back at least a few more times.

I want to like the Shedd.  I really do.  There are jellyfish, meaning that I can actually do research for my NaNoWriMo novel when I take Tadpole.  (because while I know not-nearly-enough about this book-to-be, it WILL have space jellyfish!)  Plus, there are a lot of other really cool aquatic creatures (heceforth referred to as fish).

Tadpole likes the Shedd, which is a plus.  She likes looking around at all of the people a lot.  When we're close to the glass & she notices the fish swimming, she likes them too.  I have a feeling that if we go, we're going to spend a lot of time in front of the aquarium at the entrance, which is full of fish, including at least one shark & a turtle.  I'm guessing she'll also be entranced by the otters going back and forth, back and forth.  She wasn't a huge fan of the couple of smaller fish displays, but there are enough big displays (and people!) to keep her occupied, which is good.  Meanwhile I can watch her smile & not worry so much about the animals penned up in a relatively small space endlessly testing the barriers of their confinement.  (The first of two reasons I have trouble with the Shedd).

So, Review:

Logistics (the second of two reasons I have trouble with the Shedd): For us, the Shedd is about a 20 minute walk.  For others, the #146 bus, which can be accessed from at least the Red, Orange, Green, and Blue line trains is the public transit option.  Parking is close by, and it's right on LSD, so there's a beautiful bik path available.  Once you get to the Shedd, you will stand in line.  The first time R and I went, we went through general admission on a summer weekend and probably spent over an hour in line.  Today, it looked more like about 20 minutes or so, but was difficult to judge, since I got to jump the line by getting a membership!  Our wait was about 10 minutes, and even once I get the member card, we'll still have to get in line to pick up a bracelet, so you will stand in line.

Feeding/Changing the baby: There's a pretty depressing lunchroom that I visited today.  I'm pretty sure this was the wrong decision, and should really only be used by families with exhausted children who need some privacy or school groups.  In fact, it's probably only for school groups.  There are lots of overpriced vending machines, but no way to acquire actual food.  My memory is that R and I had lunch at a cafeteria farther in the Shedd the last time we were there -probably what I should have done with Tadpole.  Also didn't change her, since our round trip was only about 90 minutes & she didn't seem uncomfortable.  I have to imagine that there are changing tables readily available in family-friendly bathrooms.  Note to self - now that I'm a stay at home dad, those maps that places hand out are a lot more relevant for exactly this reason.  Check that in the future!  (So basically, I failed at these, I'll have to revisit the Shedd to properly review them for next time)

Activities: There are people.  And interesting fish.  Tadpole cares about the people more, at least for now. There are movies & lots of other activities as well - if you can't stay entertained at the Shedd with children, you're probably doing it wrong.

Bottom line: I need to work out how to handle an hour of commute time when Tadpole's space between naps is 2 hours, and there's about 20-30 minutes of transition time in there as well.  We spent about 10 minutes in the Shedd this time - must do better next time.

Most important fact: DO NOT place the wristbands on you incorrectly such that the adhesive will touch your skin.  It hurts to remove & takes your arm hair with it.

Gotta run - Tadpole just woke up!

Tadpole goes exploring

It's been a big couple of days for Tadpole.  She's working on exploring her world in new ways, socially and physically.

On the social front, Tadpole had two playdates scheduled Wednesday (we attended one, with friends C and c, and slept through the other one - trying to follow a one-year old who's walking around can be exhausting and require extra sleeping time on dad's shoulder!), and another today.  It's been fascinating for me to watch babies interact with each other.  They're really intrigued by the other baby, what the other baby can do, and what the other baby finds interesting.  (Although at times yesterday, Tadpole gave up on trying to keep up with c & just settled into some serious nomming of whatever toy c didn't try to take from her).  I'm going to be curious to see how today's visit with a younger baby in our apartment complex goes.  This one's on neutral ground in the lounge - dad needs to make sure to pack some blankets and toys as well as the diaper bag!
(And yes, play dates are also great for me - listening to NPR and babbling with Tadpole are insufficient reminders of my adulthood, so these help).

The really exciting news around here, though, is that Tadpole is crawling!  (And by "exciting", I mean that R and I turned to each other and almost in unison referred to it as "the beginning of the end" ... much babyproofing is needed in a short time!)

Tadpole's been army crawling for a little while now, dragging herself forward on her forearms, but especially on the carpeting in her room, the coefficient of friction is high enough that this is a pretty tedious process. (And yes, I do enjoy explaining the difficulty to her in physics terms).  Tuesday afternoon, I set my glasses down well out of reach, and was shocked to find Tadpole smoothly pivot (a skill she's had for a while), then bring her knees up in order to push herself forward.  By the time I go over my surprise, she was happily clutching and nomming on the glasses.

For the rest of the afternoon, I tried to induce her to crawl again.  The glasses & phone were great inducements.  All other toys were insufficient - she returned to her former method of reaching them, banging the ground in frustration and yelling at the toy to "Come Here Now!" in Tadpolese.

After a nap, however, things changed significantly.  I was worried about showing off Tadpole's new skill to R, and wanted to make sure that I had the proper inducements ready.  None were needed.  I set Tadpole down on the ground and reached for my phone to put it just out of reach, only to find that my daughter was halfway across the room moving steadily towards her shelf of toys.  Crawling skill: Mastered!

On the one hand, this means I have to be a bit more vigilant with Tadpole, but she's not really very fast yet.  Most importantly, though, she doesn't have to interact with the world through me, which is really great for both of us.  Tadpole's figured out that if there's a toy she wants, she can crawl over & get it ... there are times now when I try to interact with her & she ignores me in favor of the cool-toy-that-she-got-all-by-herself-because-she's-a-big-crawling-girl.  Ah well, I still get the naptime snuggles since someone wakes herself up after 40 minutes and can't get back to sleep by herself.  Maybe next we'll practice that skill ... I'm just not sure how to work in bribing her with the phone!

If be a Stay at Home Dad would ye, then you must learn these Lessons Three

Apologies for the mangling of Monty Python above.

Nevertheless after week 2 / day 1 with Tadpole, I did indeed come away with three important lessons for any stay at home dad.*
(* - may also apply to parents generally)

1 - The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley (Or - babies' schedules aren't exactly predictable)
I had a great plan for the day.  Tadpole and I were going to check out the Shedd Aquarium after the first nap.  A nice walk, lunch out (a big deal!), then we check out the creatures (including Jellyfish - about which more anon), before coming home.  This plan was predicated on Tadpole's general sleep schedule - go down between 9:30 - 10:00 for somewhere between 40 minutes and and hour and a half.  Of course, today she woke up after about 50 minutes with a scream.  I managed to calm her down, but in the process she fell asleep ... on my shoulder ... for another 2 hours.
The sleep was charming, of course, but when Tadpole woke up at 12:45, a few plans had to change.  No trip to the Shedd, but we did take a walk out to the local park and swing on the swings.

And so I learned lesson 2 - A baby's interest in a thing is inversely proportional to what you want it to be
I haven't spent as much time playing with Tadpole as I'd like - there's been a distinct lack of tummy-time, push-ups and other exercise.  So I figured that today, in addition to a walk and some swings, Tadpole and I would enjoy the beautiful warm autumn day by playing outside.  I brought along Tadpole's play blanket along with some of her favorite toys.
I'm sure you can guess how this went.  Tadpole had no interest in the Sophie giraffe, or in practicing her sitting.  Or really, anything other than grabbing for dirt, grass and dry leaves.  We'll be practicing our activity time inside from now on!

Finally lesson 3 - Pics or it didn't happen!
Tadpole and I went for a walk today.  We stopped and played on the swings for a while.  Tadpole got to watch another baby out with her mommy and look at the dogs.  And I didn't get pictures of any of it, which also means none for the blog.  I have an iPhone ... time to take pictures in these situations!

p.s. - Did I mention that later we came back from the doctor's office on the Red Line during rush hour?  Because we did.  And I'm feeling pretty good about that.  Way to be dad!

In which the first week is examined, and I am tired

Tadpole is down for her second nap.  The cat is curled up next to me on the bed.  This is seriously hampering any attempts to finish up the last few tasks for work.  They'll get done, though.

A few notes from the first week of stay-at-home-dadness:

Having my daughter grab onto my arm & grin up at me while I was changing her was pretty special today.  Just laid there quite happy in her new diaper and smiled up at daddy.

The parenting impulse is stronger than I had expected.  We visited a daycare yesterday, which I was generally very impressed with, but there's part of me screaming "no, don't give up this time with your daughter, they won't love her like you will!".  Which, of course, is true.  There are two good responses to this - first, I can't really be the father I want to be for her, that guy is on a pretty huge pedestal, since he needs to be worth of my daughter.  Second, they'll love & challenge Tadpole in a lot of new ways that I can't.  There will be other babies there (which Tadpole generally finds fascinating) and most seem a little farther ahead developmentally, which will probably push her to develop new skills and abilities.
Sometimes I can acknowledge that rationally.  But it's tough.  Mostly I just want to be with my daughter & make her smile.

Parenting is a lot more exhausting than I'd expected.  There is not enough cleaning getting done, not enough work getting finished (as mentioned above), and not enough directed me time.  Pretty much, when Tadpole naps, I collapse, track some social media, and do other relatively mindless things (including this blog).  If I do plan to stay with her long term, I need to find a way to change that.

In other ways, though, being Stay at Home Dad is a lot easier than I expected, though, mostly because Tadpole is such an easy baby.  It's important to keep her fed & changed, but in general, she's happy to amuse herself for a while while I prep a bottle or do some dishes.  Plus, she lets me listen to NPR (which R is finally starting to tolerate) and Joan Baez (who is otherwise verboten in our household).

I am more than just a father to my daughter.  November 1 starts NaNoWriMo, which I successfully completed last year.  I'm hoping to finish again this year, probably with a sci-fi novel that is way to long in the outline right now.  I am trying to get more organized (a task which seemed like it would be more pressing when working, but which I think counterintuitively took on an added urgency without the structure of work).  I read David Allen's "Getting Things Done" a while ago (and highly recommend it to anyone who feels that life's a little out of control), and just started using ZenDone, a web app that works well with Evernote (another amazing note taking application that I guarantee works on your electronic device of choice) - I'd also really like to expand my own technical skills while working on getting more organized and providing feedback to a stellar product still in its infancy.  Plus, I need friends (about that more later - it's a project for next year).  The bottom line is that there have been a few moments when I was able to be Suddenly Stay at Home Dad AND Young Motivated Urban Professional (YMUP?), but there was also a lot of losing myself in Tadpole's gorgeous blue eyes.  Not necessarily bad this week, but not something I can do very often.

So - Parenting is wonderful.  I'm more uptight about it than I expected.  I'm also more tired than I expected.  It's not quite as hard as I'd thought, but then again, I haven't tried to parent & be me, which is necessary for maintaining a healthy situation.  Those are enough lessons for week 1.  Plus, I need to see if my phone has managed to get to iOS 5 yet.

Gotta go - Tadpole's about to wake up!

Firsts

Yesterday and today have included a lot of firsts for Tadpole and me:

First playdate - yesterday our friend C brought over her 12-month old daughter c for a playdate, and to make sure that the sudden stay-at-home-ness wasn't too overwhelming for me.  c is walking, so I also got a preview of just how un-baby-proofed our apartment is (on the plus side, c did help us find the scissors we'd been looking for for a couple of days!)  All in all, good times, and I've come to the conclusion that we're just going to build some sort of large corral in the front room for Tadpole.  She can move between that & her room, or sit with mom & dad on the bed.  Otherwise, no access to the rest of the apartment.  That's feasible, right?

First dinner - I prepped onion & garlic while Tadpole watched, then she announced that I was done.  Still, we had Red Lentil Soup yesterday, and I made it.  I'm calling that a big win!

First trip in inclement weather - it was rainy, but that didn't stop us from heading off to Target (literally just around the corner).  Baby steps, but at least I know I can take her out.

First video chat with grandma - only kind of.  Tadpole has video chatted with grandparents many times, but today was the first time since I found myself at home. It was good to talk to my mom, and a good break for Tadpole and I.  Had been scheduled for yesterday, but I wasn't quite that organized, so we did it this morning.

First car trip - that came today.  Tadpole and I drove to look at a daycare we're interested in.  She was wonderful - didn't cry either there or back (~10 minute trip each way), although she did try to pull off her sock.  Really, the biggest issue is that when she's quiet, I start worrying that here's something wrong.  I'm looking forward to road trips not ending with "good, you're still alive."

First stab at finding new childcare.  More about this tomorrow.  I did like the daycare - it looks like a great place & appears that they've put a lot of thought into how to have a good system for taking care of infants and above.
(I'm actually a little surprised that this was the first - the nanny placement agency we went through had said they'd be sending information on some additional candidates.  I think I need to follow up tomorrow).

First day not blogging (yesterday). Not that I think I disappointed my legion of adoring fans, and I don't think I'm going to try blogging every day, but still, a first, and I'm cataloging firsts.

Definitely a lot going on, and it's only Thursday.  I'm supposed to do this for some extended period of time? These tasks are supposed to become routine?

Day 2 - So much to do ... so little time

So Tadpole's sleeping for the second nap, and the work emails that need to get fired off have been sent.  This is just a quick check in, since the day has been surprisingly busy, and I probably don't have more than about 15 minutes left.  So far today has been a lot busier and more complicated than yesterday, but also felt a lot better.  Tadpole and I had a bit more of a routine, went on a couple of shopping expeditions, and may even have a surprise or two waiting for R when she gets home.

Contacted a daycare about a tour, and I'll be taking Tadpole to check them out on Thursday.  Tomorrow, a friend is coming over with her one-year-old, so Tadpole and I both get some extra socialization.  I don't think we're going to go on the big shopping expedition we had planned, but that's because we've got a lot to do around the apartment!  Cleaning, laundry, and maybe even dinner are all on the agenda for this afternoon.  I'm thinking Tadpole in the Bjorn or doing tummy time in order to help daddy fold laundry and wash some dishes.

The bottom line for today, though, is that there were a few times that Tadpole was awake and we interacted while she did her thing on the playmat or in the jumpy chair, and I got a few minutes to check email, respond to friends, and otherwise stay involved in the world.  Those brief intervals made a world of difference in today.  Maybe I can do this after all!

Gotta run - Tadpole is restless and the cat litter needs more serious cleaning ... hopefully I can sneak that in before she wakes up!

Day 1 - or "Who Am I?"

And so I entered day one of the sudden stay-at-home-dad-ness.  (or, as one soon-to-be SAHD I saw today called it: funployed.)

I certainly enjoyed the day.  Tadpole and I walked R partway to her new job before turning around - turns out it's cold outside & Tadpole doesn't really enjoy the stroller when she's bundled a lot and can't look forward ... which we do when it's cold outside.  Later, there was a trip to the post office with Tadpole in the Bjorn and a blanket wrapped around her.  Lunch, feedings, and various games.  All in all ... I'm not feeling funployed.

On the one hand, I love my daughter, and she's absolutely delightful.  Her smile lights up the room, and she smiles a lot.  In particular, she smiles when we work out.  Let me repeat that - working out is one of the highlights of my day!  This is a good thing.

On the other hand, Tadpole is a 7 month old whose second tooth just broke through today.  Our walk to the Post Office and back took about 45 minutes.  45 minutes of her looking away from me & out at the world and basically not making a sound.  "Playing" with Tadpole involves things like tummy time on the floor watching her manipulate toys designed for infants.  Extremely entertaining in small quantities, somewhat mind-numbing for longer intervals.  My refuge of choice, the iPhone with its access to Social Media, Kindle, and other entertainment is mostly verboten, partly because the whole point of parenting Tadpole is to interact with Tadpole, but mostly because IT IS HER FAVORITE TOY!  Seriously.  It's charming that my daughter loves the little baby touch app on the iPhone, but it also means I can't get it out to send a quick text or email, take a moment to survey Twitter, or even look at the time or pull up a song from iTunes without her deciding that whatever other toy she is playing with is inferior & I NEED THE IPHONE NOW DADDY!!!!!


I love my daughter.  I love parenting her.  I am not currently at the "funployed" state.  I'm in the "I'm supposed to spend all of my days with a 7 month old who can't speak, feels that the appropriate response to frustration is agonized crying, and thinks that the height of entertainment is either watching Daddy shake his head back and forth or batting a rattle ball back and forth?!?!" state.

I think this means that I need to network and find things to do.  Rumor has it that there are things to do in Chicago.  Like visit the Shedd Aquarium (walking distance!), Gymboree (also walking distance), and lots of other things.  Plus, we have friends.  With babies and without.  I've also heard that play dates aren't really for the kids at this age.

Somewhere between daily flights leaving before Tadpole wakes up and returning after she falls asleep and hours upon hours of rolling a rattling ball lies the next chapter of my life.  I'm not surprised that I don't know where it is yet, but I'm still scared of getting there.  And excited.  At least, when I get that big toothy grin!

Baby Workout

Tadpole is down for her second nap, the remnants of lunch are cleaned off of counters, floors, clothes, highchair, dishes, etc.  Now I have somewhere between 20 minutes and an hour of writing time!  Up today - the baby workout.

I swam in high school (10 years ago), but haven't seriously worked out since then.  At the beginning of the year, I actually started working out in the fitness center in our building.  At least a half hour every day, generally on the elliptical machine.  That lasted right up until Tadpole was born.  I don't think I've been back to the fitness center since then.  Babies tend to interfere with other routines.

I have done a fair amount of walking with tadpole, often carrying her on my chest in a Baby Bjorn, but I've been thinking for a while that it would be good to get back into shape, without really any hope for finding a Tadpole-free time to get back to the various devices downstairs.

Today it occurred to me that I've got an 18 lb. weight with enough trunk and head control to enjoy being tossed in the air.  Who needs a workout machine when you've got a baby!
(Disclaimer - Tadpole enjoys being tossed in the air.  She also doesn't spit up when this happens.  I understand this makes her at least somewhat unusual as a baby, but I'll take it!)  So without further ado, the baby workout routine:

Tadpole tosses (straight up in the air, watch her giggle!)  - 2 sets of 10, 1/day.
Sit ups (Tadpole sitting on stomach / chest) - 2 sets of 10, 1/day
Push ups (Tadpole watching and giggling, because daddy's head going rapidly up and down is funny) - 2 sets of 10, 1/day

Steady walk of at least 30 minutes every day.  Ideally at least 3 of these each week will involve carrying Tadpole in the carrier, rather than just pushing a stroller.  (This will get more difficult in the winter, but hopefully will still be doable).

I haven't done 10 tosses in a row before today.  It's a bit of work.  And it'll get harder.  So will the sit ups. But hey - my biggest challenge with working out has always been finding some way to enjoy the time.  A giggling baby is pretty much the best way to spend my day, so that much is solved!

In which the players are introduced ...

For the last seven and a half months, my wife (R) has been home taking care of our beautiful baby daughter (Tadpole) while I worked as an implementation consultant for a software company in the Chicago area.  Next Monday, R starts as an attorney at a big firm downtown.  In preparation for this, we hired a nanny who started last Monday.

On Tuesday, I got an urgent request to fly out to Florida to help put out a fire with a client.

By Wednesday, we had a few indications that the nanny was having some difficulty adjusting to Tadpole's schedule (and our expectations), but we assumed that we would be able to have a conversation with her to encourage these adjustments (and get her to change a few things that needed to change right away).

On Thursday, I flew to Florida, getting home late that night to talk with R about how the conversation had gone.  Unfortunately, the answer was "not well".  To the point that neither R nor I felt comfortable with the nanny caring for our daughter.

So on Friday morning, we fired our nanny and I got to tell my boss that I was taking some time off.

Next Monday, the last 7 1/2 months will be reversed.  R goes off to work, and I stay home to take care of Tadpole.  One week in email while Tadpole sleeps in order to transition my accounts, then I'm (suddenly) a stay-at-home-dad.

For how long?  I don't know.  While R was pregnant, I first thought that I'd want to stay home to take care of Tadpole.  After she was born, though, I started to fear losing myself.  Right now, the plan is still to find childcare and go back to work.

When?  I have no idea.  After our last experience with a nanny, R & I are starting to wonder whether a nanny is the right solution for our family.  At the least, we're going to be a bit more careful before hiring our next nanny.  We're also looking into daycare centers, but those take a while to get into (at least that we feel comfortable with).  Either way, an alternate solution will take time.  Maybe I'll find myself anxiously counting down to the day when I can return to work.  Maybe after a few weeks with Tadpole I'll find myself never wanting to leave her again.

Either way, the transition has been sudden.  Thursday I flew to Florida to assist with a client.  Monday I'll be staying home to care for my daughter - a suddenly stay-at-home-dad.