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Weekend as single dad
Filed under: Babies, Toddlers Preschoolers
My husband was flying solo on parenting duty over the weekend while I was out of town for a few days, and I could tell he was experiencing the extreme up-and-down nature of staying home with two small children. During one phone call he'd exult about their morning trip to the blueberry farm and the cute things our toddler had done, an hour later I'd receive a text message from him reading "SOLD 1 CHILD. OTHER HAS NOT MET $5 RESERVE PRICE YET. RUNNING AWAY AND NEVER COMING BACK, GOODBYE."
In my absence JB decided to stop swaddling the baby at night and upon my return he smugly informed me that Dylan had not only gone to sleep just fine without his Miracle Blanket, but he slept all the way until 5 AM. I thought, well doesn't that just figure that the baby starts sleeping through the night while I'm gone, but after my first night home when Dylan sounded off at 1:30 AM -- having turned his unswaddled body sideways in the crib and smashed the top of his head against the bars -- I couldn't help but notice that my husband snored peacefully while I came stumbling out of bed, only half-awake, my brain tuned to the sound of crying. In other words, I suspect there may have been the normal amount of night fussing, it's just that it fell upon DEAF, SLUMBERING EARS.
All in all he did just fine, of course, because my husband is a fantastic and capable dad, despite his ability to snore through wails of HALP MY FONTANEL IS PAINFULLY WEDGED AGAINST MY SLEEP-JAIL. I did however enjoy his confession that you know what, it really is better if you put a dish in the dishwasher right away instead of allowing its remnants to harden into cement over a 48 hour period. Will wonders ever cease? Next thing you know he'll realize that just because it's "only" a pee diaper, it doesn't mean it should be left on the floor; or wow, putting laundry in the basket is really pretty easy once you try it once or twice.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-23-2008 @ 10:36AM
kim said...I had a very parallel experience this weekend! I am a mother of 2 children under 2, and we have my husband's 15 year old daughter every chance we get (this weekend was one of those occasions). We ALL went to a conference that was about a 5 hour drive away in sunny LA. I would go learn and mingle while they spent the day doing stuff like hitting up the beach or pool while still trying to maintain some sort of schedule for the 2 really little ones. By the time we would all meet up again at the end of the day my hubby was frazzled, grumpy and not able to make a single decision, even with the AMAZING help of a very responsible teenager. I don't ever get that luxury...and I still manage to decide what to have for dinner!!!! THPBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB! (that is me sticking my tongue out and making that fantastic farty spitty noise by blowing some air) :oP
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7-23-2008 @ 12:47PM
aprilkelm said...You were only gone for two days and he did the dishes? I would have come home to a sink full of dishes and six new sippy cups.
And our pee diapers go on the bed, not the floor.
I'm not complaining really, since he plays with the child. I don't like to play. It's a good balance. Remember, honey, mommy doesn't know how to play, daddy will be home soon.
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7-23-2008 @ 2:33PM
Allstarme79 said...I was waiting for a follow-up on JB's weekend alone. Sounds an awful lot like my husband re: dishes and laundry. My son always slept better with.on my husband but in terms of the nighttime wakings, I am positive he does the same thing. they're not wired to perk up at the slightest sound of crying.
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7-23-2008 @ 10:21PM
hollytriedit said...When my daughter was little (and using the Miracle Blanket), I was the one who always woke up while my husband slumbered deafly on. Of course, I had to feed her at that point.
Now that my daughter's two, my husband hears her and gets up while I sleep through it all.
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