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!