1 month in....

Sorry for the delay in updating. I was waiting for Halloween to happen first.

 Last week was an excellent week with Oscar, all our classes went well, and then we had the lead-up to Halloween. On Saturday night, Grandma Lollie got a preview of Oscar’s costume and he was adorable. On Sunday, I realized I hadn’t bought a pumpkin for carving yet, so on the way to a family event, we stopped at JCs Orchard and picked up a nice one.

On Monday, Oscar and I went to our Musical Baby Bean class on March Road and before going in, I changed him into his alternative costume for Halloween: Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bumble bee. Once again this week, there were only 2 of us in class and the other parent had dressed her little guy up as well, so it was all good. We then headed to Lauren’s office to show Oscar off in his main Halloween costume

 and he was a hit as a little Happy Meal. We then popped by Grandma Ruth’s for a visit and fed Oscar lunch and then home for nap time. The night itself was a bust, as we only had 9 kids visit the door, so next year we aren’t going to hand out candy, but just go door to door with Oscar instead.

I am really enjoying my time so far with Oscar. It’s been almost a month now that I have been off and the time is just flying by. I love all the time I get to spend with him and how much more of a bond I am creating with him. I feel I am very lucky. I think all Dads should experience this time in their child’s life as you will never get it back again.

Week two is in the books...

Well, week two down and I love it all so far. Oscar and I had a great week last week. Monday to Wednesday we had classes in the morning and then on Thursday was our visit to Grandma Drummond day and then Friday was a relax day. The one kicker to the end of the week was snowsuit shopping for Oscar on Friday night. We went with Joe wear after pricing out the different options and seeing what was available and what would work for what we wanted. A lot of Oscar’s clothes come from the Joe line at Loblaw’s and they are a great price for clothes because your little one is going to grow right through it in next to no time. I find some stores have next to no selection and then others have huge Joe wear sections that offer the whole range of clothing.  The website http://www.joefresh.com/en/category/kids doesn’t show half of the items available in store and even the adult line of clothes is reasonably priced. 

Morning naps are a bit of a challenge for me to get Oscar to take at the moment. We really only have 2 mornings, Thursday and Friday, where we aren’t on the road or at a class at the time he is scheduled to be napping. So, unless he naps on the way home from class or to class, it’s a bit of a challenge. The one thing he seems to be doing is a bit of self-weaning. I am finding during the week he doesn’t really want his morning milk and the times I have gotten him to nap, it’s without taking the milk. Although for the afternoon nap, the milk is a definite must-have for him to go to sleep.  This is good in a way, as that means that the supply of milk I have in the freezer will last me longer.

On a final note for this week, I have to say that the one thing I truly love is when I go in to get him from his nap or first thing in the morning. I love the smile I get from him and the warmth when I pick him up and he puts his arms around my neck. It’s so worth it. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world. 

…the front door closes and then there were 2...

…the front door closes and then there were 2….Tuesday morning 8:20am…no time to think, I have to finish feeding Oscar his breakfast as we have to leave as we have a “Baby Sign and Sing” class at 9:30 in Bells Corners and we don’t want to be late. Breakfast done and upstairs we go for a quick wardrobe change and a one-handed tooth brushing for me (having not heeded Lauren’s advice earlier of making sure I get everything done before he gets up). Nice and dressed and into the van we go with an extra coffee for me and we are on the road to Bells Corners.  We had checked the day before to know where I was to go for the class, so it was a nice easy drive. Arrived a little early and saw another parent and her twin girls going into the class, so Oscar and I headed in. It is an interesting course, although looking back after having my other class on Weds (description to follow), I realized a lot of things that the teachers did different and how much I enjoyed the Wednesday class much more. So once the class was over, (and not soon enough as one of the other parents let their child partake in almost the entire class while sporting a rather full diaper and not changing her), Oscar and I headed to Toys’r’us, as we were looking for little egg shaker maracas, like the ones we had used in the class. Lauren had told me they had been used in the other classes. Oscar just loves that and takes them in hand and shakes, shakes, and shakes away... it is just so sweet.  We ended up finding some little maracas at Boomerang Kids. Back home in time for morning milk and then some play time before lunch.  Lunch, more play, then Jolly Jumper and nap time…all went smooth as silk…I must have done something wrong….nope…all is on schedule…wow. Downstairs I go, monitor in hand, and do a workout.  Oscar wakes up just around 4pm and we sit out on the front step and relax waiting for Lauren to get home….day 1 in the books…

Wednesday is our later morning for our Musical Movement class in Kanata, so we take it easy in the morning. Oscar has a short morning nap after breakfast and then we hit the road as I want to stop and pick up some Keurig pods for my coffee machine before class. We swing into Kanata and stop at Tweed and Hickory... love their selection of Keurig coffee pods, and then a stop at CD Warehouse to say Hi to Mark O and Steve B. We arrived at class a little early and meet one of the other parents and her son Walker. FANTASTIC CLASS today, what a change from yesterday’s class.  It was fun and organized and had structure and it was just so much better.  I could tell that Oscar liked it better too. Off we head home and Oscar has his morning milk just around 12:15, so that pushes his lunch back a little. No problem. We do some carpet time, play, and some reading, and then it’s lunch and more play time followed by Jolly Jumper and nap time. Today, he slept for almost 2.5 hours... it was excellent, I had a chance to work out and relax a bit. He woke up just before Lauren got home…phew….day 2 in the books…so far so good. J

Thursday morning is an early day as we drop Lauren off at work (in the afternoon we go to my mum’s for dinner). So we head out around 8:20am and head into the city. Traffic isn’t too bad until we hit Hunt Club and then it comes to a crawl. We finally get Lauren to her office just before 9am and we head to my mum’s to feed Oscar his morning milk as he is getting fussy. No such luck on the milk... he didn’t want it, but he was so excited to be at Grandma’s and was looking all around for her, but she wasn’t home. We headed out from there and went to run some errands and then head back home. Oscar was good as gold the entire time. We got home and he finally had his milk. Then we relaxed and it was the usual routine of lunch, play, jolly jumper and then nap and workout for me. He woke up at around 3:30pm and off we headed to pick Lauren up at work and head to Grandma’s for dinner. A nice dinner and back home….I think I am getting the hang of this…

Friday – I decided after Lauren left that I was going to head downtown to visit my old coworkers with Oscar.  So off we went and had a great visit for almost an hour and a half during which he was an angel. Got home and he was a little fussy so I fed him his morning milk and he drank that right down. After some relaxing, it was lunch time and then jolly jumper…I could tell he was tired so it was a shortened version of Jolly Jumper today. I had warmed up his milk and we headed upstairs for milk and nap, but that wasn’t to be the case. He drank about 1 ounce of his milk and closed his lips tight, not wanting anymore. I could tell he was tired, so I took him into the nursery and rocked him and he fell asleep and slept for almost 2 and a half hours. He woke up just in time for Lauren to arrive home.

So week 1 is down and done (yes, I know it was only a 4-day week) and I think it went really well. No real complaints on my part or Oscar’s part as to the way things went, but it was only week 1. J Let’s see what next week has to offer. 

Time is fleeting, madness takes control….but listen closely, not for very much longer…..

Time is fleeting, madness takes control….but listen closely, not for very much longer…..

Wow 4 working days left and I am done and then the real work begins. I will be honest... as the time gets closer, my confidence is waffling. I see what an amazing job each and every day Lauren does and the way she balances her time, and I am thankful we did a full color schedule with the times marked out for me and Oscar to keep us on track. Each day Lauren has little tips and tricks for me that will help make my days “easier” with Oscar. She has had the last almost 9 months with him and knows the ins and outs that I now have to start learning and using to my best advantage. 

Wrapping things up this final week at work feels kind of weird, knowing that I don’t have to come back to the building for almost a year to work, but will probably be back for visits.

Wow I thought that my first day with Oscar was going to be a relaxing day, getting to know the lay of the land so to speak, but Lauren called and his Sign and Sing class has now been bumped to start on October 11th, so Tuesday morning I am hitting the ground running. Okay getting a little nervous now…

9 working days to go....

Wow oh wow the time is ticking down….9 working days left till the work really begins. It is incredible the changes that are happening with Oscar and all the things he is noticing and becoming aware of in his world. Last Monday, he was 8 months old, and it made me think back to that night that Oscar arrived, and how cold it was when Lauren and I were driving into the hospital. We were so surprised at his arrival 3 weeks early and now to look at him and see that little crying baby is growing steadily into the little guy in front of me. He's smiling, with teeth coming through, saying the cheerful “Da-da”, and doing a full body shake when he sees me come in the room because he is so excited to see me. It is a feeling that fills me with such happiness and makes me smile.

On the weekend, Oscar and I went shopping at Bayshore for a new phone for me while I am off on pat leave since I have to turn in my Blackberry. When I got the phone, the guy asked me what I would like the last 4 digits to be, and with not even a moment hesitation I said 6727 - it's Oscar without the A. 

On the weekend, we have cousins coming to stay and they have 3 small kids, with a 4th on the way, so it will be a lot of fun for Oscar as our house is usually quiet and subdued.

The time is moving faster now and with all the preparation, I think I am ready.  

What a fair weekend it was...

This past weekend was the 167th annual Richmond Fair and Oscar's first chance to attend. Saturday morning was the parade from the High School to the Fair grounds and I took Oscar to see it. We got there a little early and settled in and we had a great time. I thought for sure when the fire trucks sounded their horns right in front of us he would get upset, but all that happened was that his eyes opened even larger and he just stared. I love being able to share that with him.

After the parade we went home for lunch and nap time for Oscar so he would be nice and rested for his trip to the fair in the evening.

Now does anyone remember their first trip to Ottawa Exhibition or anything of the like? It was a total assault on the senses of sight, sound and smell. Oscar was no different; we headed over to the carousel so I could take Oscar for a ride and I could tell he wasn’t his usual smiling self. We stopped at a kids game and the object was simple; the child just had to pick a rubber duck out of the little pool. Usually Oscar would love this, but it took a bit for him to grab one. He did win a cute little teddy bear that we added to his collection in his room. After the ride we went to the bouncy castles so that our friends’ kids could play in those; it didn’t go well for Oscar. He was on the verge of tears and the music and the lights and noise was just too much. I took him out of the stroller and put him in the carrier so I could keep him closer. He and I walked away and headed for a quieter part of the fair.  Once we were in the crafts building, he was smiling again and was almost back to himself. It had never occurred to me how overwhelming it all would be for the little guy. I felt bad and just wanted to hold him tight.

We grabbed some dinner and Lauren tried feeding him but we were still too near the loud rides and he just wouldn’t eat. Lauren suggested I take him away and feed him where it was quieter (we had brought some bottled milk with us). That worked and he ate and relaxed and then it was time to head home.

Hopefully next year he will enjoy it more; he will be around 18 months old and mobile.

All around, a Fair weekend.

Did I ever tell you about the time I grew a giant beard...

Did I ever tell you about the time I grew a giant beard? Only twice so far in my life have I grown a full beard. The first time was in protest to the House of Commons perroging and the second time was a labor of love for my unborn child and a way of measuring the time and effort my wife put into being pregnant.  In May 2010, when we found out Lauren was pregnant, we came up with a way for me to be part of the process, I was to grow my beard and not touch or trim it for the entire 9 months until the baby was born. This was for a few reasons, the main one being that it would help for me to track the timeline of Lauren’s pregnancy and give me something measurable. (To note, I also gave up for the duration of the pregnancy: coffee, alcohol, and sushi).
The beginning stages of the beard in my opinion were the worst. It was so itchy and scratchy and I just wanted to shave, but that would defeat the whole purpose.  As it grew, it got a life of its own. Some people understood the point; others just didn’t get it. I was diligent about combing it and keeping it neat looking, although it was harder as it grew bigger and I must say it did keep me warm in the winter.  
By the time Oscar was born, it was rather impressive. I think that I learned that, as a timeline for such an event, it was perfect because by the time Lauren was ready to finally have Oscar, I was ready to get rid of my beard! We took a couple of pictures with Oscar, showing the beard. 

The same night at the hospital I shaved it off into a garbage can; it felt so good!

I would say to any father to-be to try this and see how it feels. The process is one that takes patience and a willingness to be part of the whole pregnancy with your wife. 
I think next time I will grow my hair. 

Rembering the day that changed how I looked at the world

This posting is a reflection on my Dad and how we lost him 8 years ago.

September 4, 2003, it was a Thursday, I am at work in Edmonton and Lauren is in Ottawa visiting family. Her vacation is winding down before she heads back to Edmonton. She is meeting my parents for lunch today, a nice visit before heading back West. I am looking forward to her return and not looking forward to my dentist appointment I have scheduled for the Saturday morning before she returns.  
The phone on my desk rings…it’s my personal line…no one has this number but Lauren…I look at the time and it’s just around lunch time in Ottawa with the time difference. The call display says Bell payphone. I pick up the line…it’s my oldest brother…a sense of panic grips me…why is he calling…he would never call me…he speaks and the words run through me like ice:
Tom -”Dad's in the hospital you need to come home…”
Me- “What’s going on, where’s Lauren? What’s happened?”
Tom – “Dad is in the hospital and it doesn’t look good you need to come now.”
Me – I start shaking and can’t even think straight “Okay…”
Tom – Hangs up
I go to my boss’ office and say to her “I have to go, something has happened to my Dad in Ottawa. I don’t know when I am going to be back”. She says to me “No problem, Robin; take as much time as you need and go be with your family and let me know what’s happening.”
I gather my things from my desk and head out and once in the car I start calling people. I am very upset. I get a hold of my brother Shane and he fills me in a little on what’s happened.  Lauren was having lunch with Mum and Dad at Kelsey’s at South Keys and he choked on his lunch and is currently in intensive care and the General Hospital. I tell him I am heading home and to have Lauren call me when I get home.
I get home and start trying to find a flight out to Ottawa. The first one I can get is first thing the next morning. I book the flight and arrange for a pick up at the airport by one of my brothers.  
I talk with Lauren and she tells me everything that happened. My parents picked her up and they decided to go somewhere close by for lunch so they went to South Keys. Once there, it was a choice between Denny’s or Kelsey’s. When they were entering the restaurant, Joy to the World by Three Dog night was playing and my mum turned to my Dad and said “It’s our song” (Apparently back in the day when this song would come on at the mess they would dance to it). They ordered lunch and while they were waiting Dad asked Lauren “How’s Robin’s garbage business going?” (At the time I was working for Waste Management in Edmonton). Their lunches arrived and they started eating and mum and Lauren were talking; suddenly they realize my Dad wasn’t saying anything and they realized he was choking. They call over a waiter who tried the Heimlich maneuver (Please note that when attempting the Heimlich maneuver you have basically one opportunity to dislodge whatever is stuck with the air that is in the lungs at the time, so it’s really a one shot deal) to open my Dad’s airway but it wasn’t working. Meanwhile someone had called 911, but Dad was turning blue. Lauren and my Mum couldn’t do anything but wait for the ambulance. By the time the ambulance got there and got in and they partially opened his airway, he had been without oxygen for almost 20 minutes.

September 5, 2003 - I barely sleep all night; I am at the airport by 5:30am (flight leaves at 8am). Throughout the whole flight I can't think of anything but what is going to happen. I did take the time to watch the in-flight movie to try and get my brain relaxed; it was Bruce Almighty. Once I land, Shane picks me up at the airport and we head to the hospital. He takes me straight to the IC unit to see Dad. He is just lying there on the bed all hooked up to IV units, heart monitor, and breathing unit. I remember his hands were so warm and I expected him to react when I took his hand, but nothing. You know when you have some hope, based unfortunately on movies and TV, that when a family member from afar arrives, that the person in the hospital is going to have some miraculous recovery and wake up to their touch - it doesn’t work that way. We find out from the doctors that there isn’t any brain activity and it appears due to the lack of oxygen, but we should wait and see. Wait and see, maybe Saturday will bring some changes. Julie arrives from Sault Saint Marie. Now the whole family is in town.

September 6, 2003 - Saturday morning dawns bright, sunny, and a little cool. We head up to the cottage to collect things for Mum and Dad and to get Dad's truck and bring it back to the city.  Just two days before at work in Edmonton, I had been showing people pictures from the cottage that my mum had emailed me and saying how much I missed it and here I was standing at the cottage thinking “This is not the way I wanted to be here.” We collect Dad’s truck and close down the cottage and head back to the city. Everyone is at the hospital and the family meets with the doctor again and he gives us our choices, as another MRI and CT scan has shown that there is no brain activity and that Dad is in a vegetative state. Either we leave him on life support for an indefinite period of time or we take him off life support and let him pass away. Mum calls a family meeting at her house for dinner time to make a decision. We all know though what the best decision is, but she wants everyone to have a say in the matter. Everyone is there, all the children and their spouses, as this decision affects everyone. Mum lays out what the doctor said and everyone agrees that the best course of action knowing that Dad would never want to live his life as a vegetable, was to take him off life support. We decide to do it on Sunday afternoon. Everyone heads home.

September 7, 2003 – We spend the majority of the day at the hospital knowing what is coming. They unhook the breather and they monitor him. They tell us that it doesn’t generally happen right away but it can take awhile. Each time they come in to adjust him or as they call it "roll him", to prevent fluid building up, it takes its toll on the body and the vitals will drop. For over 5 hours we stay and we wait and we watch. Finally around 11:00pm the nurse says that she believes the next time she rolls him that it will be the end and if anyone who isn’t here needs to get here, we should call them now. A couple of people had gone home to refresh and we call and get them to come back as soon as they can. Just around 11:30pm the nurse rolls Dad and his vitals start to drop faster and she leaves the room; at approximately 11:47 he passes away and the only sound in the room is the heart monitor flat lining and the emotions coming from all of us as we cry and hold each other. The nurse comes in and turns off the heart monitor and asks if we want she can remove all the tubing so that we can say goodbye. We all step out of the room while she takes care of that and I remember my brother turning to Lauren and I and saying “He was supposed to see you get married." The nurse says we can go back in, and everyone that wants to goes in one last time to say goodbye. I am one of the last ones to leave and I lean over and give him a goodbye kiss on the forehead and let him know that I will always love him and miss him. It was a solemn procession that left the General Hospital that night just after midnight; I drove home alone as Lauren was driving mum home and it’s a night I will never forget.

It was 8 years ago today that my Father passed away and there is so much I wish I could tell him and show him. I wanted him to be at my wedding, I wanted him to meet his grandson, and I just wanted him around. I know, though, at the time of his passing he was going to be starting on Aricept, which is a drug given for the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and he had gone through a couple of strokes but was doing okay. I am just not sure what his quality of life would be like now if it hadn’t happened.  

I learned a lot from him growing up and looking back, I appreciate those lessons in life. Sometimes they were hard and I didn’t understand why, but it helped me learn and become the person I am today. I appreciate the fact that, because of him, I know how to tie a fisherman’s knot, change a starter motor in a truck, how to make Yorkshire pudding, and so many other things that I wouldn’t know if it weren’t for him. While we didn’t always see eye to eye, I knew he loved me and I loved him. 

Rest In Peace Dad

5 Days a week...

5 Days a week….

Wow. I totally love long weekends with Oscar and Lauren. It was a great 5 days that I wish didn’t have to end.

On Thursday we headed up to Wal-Mart in Carleton Place to pick up a few things. I really like that store; it’s nice and quiet and clean. I had to pick up some comfy pants for when Oscar and I start his programs. Actually this Saturday is our first start of the programs, we are doing the Joyful Beginnings at http://theloftschoolofartanddance.ca/ It’s owned and run by friends of ours that live in Richmond. For the first couple of weeks I will be taking him and then when my leave kicks in, Saturdays will be my relax day, so Lauren will take Oscar to the classes instead.

On Friday we went downtown in the morning and had breakfast at Zak’s diner in the market and Oscar had his breakfast there as well. It was so good. The server actually remembered us from the last time we were there about 3 weeks before. We are looking forward to them opening the Zak’s diner in Kanata soon. They serve up an awesome breakfast and good food all around.

Saturday was Daddy and Oscar day and we headed out a little late as Oscar decided he wanted to sleep in till 8:45am. After getting him some breakfast, we were out the door by 9:10am. Our first stop of the morning was to see Erik and Meagan as it had been awhile. It was a nice visit, but Oscar was a little unsure of Gunnar (world loving dog) and Mabel (social issues cat). Then it was off to Miss Tiggy Winkles in Westboro to see if they had a toy in that I was looking for; it’s a set of keys with a remote attached. They didn’t have it in currently. Then it was off to Grandma’s house for some milk and a diaper change.  After some relaxing, it was off to visit his cousin Calvin at Rona and then home for lunch.  After nap and dinner. we headed out to do groceries for the week in Stittsville.

Sunday morning I spent from 6:30am till about 10am making baby food for Oscar for the week. Steaming beets and broccoli and frying up extra lean ground meat and then one by one pureeing them into a nice paste for Oscar. It’s all worth it as then I know what’s going into the food. Then it was getting Oscar ready for Church and off we go. I swear he attracts followers and fans anywhere we go. The couple sitting behind us in church just loved him and he was all smiles for them and they loved it. We ran some errands after Church and back home for his lunch and then nap time routine. He just loves his Jolly Jumper and fast music; it’s a great way to tucker him out before nap time. Early Sunday evening was an unscheduled bath as there was a little accident. But, it was at that time we realized that he is starting to finally enjoy bath time and it will become a regular night-time event prior to bed. Once he was down for the night, I got a chance to do some chores and get things cleaned up around his chair and in the kitchen.

Monday we headed into Nepean in the morning and stopped and grabbed a Geocache near Algonquin College; it was one that was hidden by his cousin Zac. I had Oscar in the Baby Bjorn carrier and he got to sign off on the log as well. Heading back to the house, we made some lunch and then it was nap time, but he went down a little earlier and cried for a bit and finally soothed himself to sleep.  He was out till just about 4pm. Then around 5pm, even before dinner, it was another quick trip upstairs for another emergency bath. Then it was dinner for him and for us followed by some down time in the family room. We tried for an earlier bedtime on Monday night to try and get him into the routine that he and I will be doing come fall.  He was out like a light, asleep by 8pm.

This morning (Tuesday) he woke up just around 5:20am for a feed and the best part of that was walking in to get him for Lauren and he gives me a great big smile...for me that is the best way to start my day.

Off to work I went and those 5 days were a great time and I look forward to my time this fall when it is 5 days every week and more….

Back in time...Tuesday night or was it Weds morning???

Holy Carp! I thought this had ended…why am I up at 2:30am? Oscar is crying and I am not sure why. He was having a grumbly night as it was. I went into his nursery and sat with him and rocked him back to sleep. The moment I put him down, he grumbles, rolls over, and starts crying again. My first thought is “Holy Carp, we've gone back in time 3 months and I lost the keys to the Delorean. “ So by 3am, Lauren decided that a feeding might work and sure enough, down he went. Needless to say, the whole day at work I am exhausted and hoping that Lauren and Oscar are doing okay.

Keep the countdown rolling…

Sunday Sunday...I know its Weds but its my Friday.

Tick tock tick tock...The countdown marches on...
26 working days left till I am off. I feel pretty good about it now. After I had the day long experience on Saturday with Oscar, I think it’s going to go okay.

Yesterday we went to the Stone Cellar in Perth for lunch (http://www.thestonecellar.com/ ), ours and Oscar's, and the food is fantastic. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Perth and want some place nice for lunch. We will be going back for dinner at some point. It was all delicious and Oscar was a hit with the staff.
We headed home and after a failed attempt at nap time and two feedings, Oscar finally went down for a nap. Once Oscar got up, it was time for his dinner and then off to church. It was the last Sunday 7pm service for the summer; back to 11am Sunday mass starting next week. It’s always good if Oscar can last in his car seat until after the homily without fussing. Sunday night was one of those times; he was really good.
Back home, and then it was time to relax with Oscar before bed; he went down with no extra rocking needed.
Overall, a good day and a nice end to the weekend. I am really looking forward to my time off with Oscar.

Trial By Fire...

Well, yesterday was a trial run of what it would be like on a daily basis, Monday to Friday, come October.  It was go time. Yesterday morning I got up at 6:30am and went and got my Aunt's groceries for delivery later in the morning. I got back home by 7:45am and got things arranged for Oscar’s breakfast at 8am. I fed him breakfast at 8am and then relaxed for a bit and then Lauren fed him again and let him doze a little. Then, it was all me and Oscar. Lauren was going out with her friend Jen today shopping and for lunch and wouldn’t be back to the house until at least after Oscar was down for his nap. The pressure was on. Oscar and I headed out and we made a stop at Boomerang Kids on the way to Aunt Vida’s to return a set of 1 oz. Baby Cubes (great for storing pre-made food in the fridge, sucks for transportation and also you want the 2 oz. size, the 1 oz. is too small). We then went to Aunt Vida’s and brought her the groceries I had picked up earlier that morning at Loblaw’s. We had a nice visit and tea with her. We left there and headed for Wal-Mart, looking for a second highchair for Oscar, similar to the one he has at Grandma Ruth’s house. We went to two different Wal-Marts and neither of them had it in stock, although the nice customer service girl at the second one checked the store stock across the city for me and found that the Barrhaven store had 8 in stock. This whole time Oscar is being as good as gold, but I knew my time was ticking down -  should I try for the 3rd Wal-Mart or just head for home? We got in the van and he started to fuss, so I started heading in the direction of home and the Wal-Mart, which in theory lay in the same general way. He started to really fuss, so I called off the expedition and headed for home. On the way home, we had one more stop at the Value Mart for milk for Lauren. In and out, and on our way again, and home by about 12:15. I brought Oscar in and changed his diaper; before doing that, I had placed his milk, thawed out (back stock from Lauren) in warm water to warm up. Diaper changed and onto the milk in the bottle; he took it like a champ and then it was play time on the carpet with some reading. Around 12:45 or so, I fed him his lunch of pureed squash and pureed peas. Once that was done, more play time on the carpet (he is loving playing with the empty peanut butter pretzel container, banging on it to make some noise). Never once during this entire day so far had I hesitated and thought I should call and ask Lauren something. I figured if I am going to do it, I just have to DO IT. I waited half an hour to make sure that his lunch was digested and changed him into a fresh diaper and then it was Jolly Jumper time. He just loves playing in that and spent a good 30 minutes bouncing to the beat of the music.
Now comes the hard part - NAP TIME. I have helped in prepping him for nap time before (Jolly Jumper, diaper change, and sleep sacking), but never have I done the whole production myself including the musical piece (he gets some lullabies while getting him ready). So 10 minutes prior to him being done in the Jolly Jumper, I got his milk warming up so that when he was done it was GO TIME.  I turned off the radio, grabbed the bottle, and carried Oscar upstairs while singing to him. I changed his diaper, got him into his sleep sack, and we settled in for his pre-nap feeding. He fussed a bit at first and I realized I was feeding him the same way I had earlier, so I turned him around, (like when Lauren switches sides between feeds) and we were off and eating. IT WAS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE FEELING! I had him cradled in my arms and he was drinking from the bottle and as he was nearing just over the half way mark, his little eyes started to slowly close and he was falling asleep. He would wake up just a little and keep drinking right up until he was done.  The bottle ran dry and his little mouth released it and he was sound asleep. I carried him to his nursery and laid him down and he gave a little grunt and rolled over onto his side and he was asleep. SUCCESS!!! I felt like high fiving myself that I had done it. I had kept to the schedule, kept to the routine, and it had worked beautifully.
I have to at this point pause, get down on my knees, and thank my loving wife Lauren who took the brunt of the routine training with Oscar for nap time, sitting for the full 1.5 hours sometimes in the beginning, and Oscar doing nothing but crying, and Lauren getting frazzled nerves. But like she said to me when she got home, just after I put him down, “I knew I had to get him into that routine for you for the fall; otherwise it would be so hard.” Well Thank you thank you thank you thank you Lauren 1000 times thank you. If not for your persistence and all the hard work you put in each and every day with Oscar, my time coming up in the fall would be so much harder. For everything you do each and every day and all that will come, I thank you Lauren.
It is now 4:40pm and Oscar has been asleep just over 2 hours. I feel I have passed a big milestone today and some of the fear and uncertainty I had about this fall has melted away. Don’t get me wrong - I only say SOME, not all; God, there is still so much more to come.

Fridays Rock in the summer

I love summertime Fridays. Today was a perfect example of a great day. In the morning I got up and took the van in to have the oil changed at 7:30am. Oscar and Lauren were still sleeping. I got home and fed Oscar his breakfast. It was such a nice day; we took a drive up to Carleton Place to do some shopping. On the way home, we stopped in Kanata and had some lunch. Once we got home, Oscar had his lunch and then relaxed for a bit before it was time for the Jolly Jumper. He had a great time in the JJ and then it was time for a nap. While he was napping, I got a chance to cut both lawns. When he woke up, Oscar and I went for a nice walk to the post office to get the mail and then back home the long way. Once home, Oscar had his dinner and relaxed a little before we went for a drive to pick up our car at the dealership. Back home, it was almost bedtime and we had to sort out some of his clothes that were getting too small for him. That done, Lauren fed him and put him down, 5 minutes later he is awake and crying. I went upstairs to rock him, but he would have none of that. and so we decided to try what we did for his naps when he first started those - I rocked him for another 5 or so minutes till he was calm and I laid him in his crib and left, let him cry it out, and give him 30 minutes. If he is still crying, at that point Lauren will feed him again. It's been 10 minutes so far and he is still crying. I know he has to learn to self-sooth but at the same time I just want to run upstairs, wrap him in my arms and tell him it's okay, Daddy is here and it's going to be alright. Well, at the 10 minute mark he won and Lauren has gone up to feed him and hopefully that will settle him. FINGERS CROSSED.

SUCCESS He went to sleep.

Thursday is my new Friday.

For most of the summer so far Thursdays have been my Friday. I have been taking the Fridays off so that my weekends are longer and I can spend more time with Oscar and Lauren. It is all of course in lead up to October 7th which will be my last actual Friday at work until September 2012.

Last night was one of those nights where Oscar decided that come bedtime, even after having a nice relaxing bath and a feed, he was not ready for sleep, and thought it better that he had some more to eat before going to sleep. Needless to say, this realization didn’t occur to me until after I had already been rocking him and cooing him and trying to get him to sleep.
This morning I came to another realization; that for nighttime, Oscar is going to need the next size up in diaper as twice now he has peed while sleeping, pretty much filling his diaper to overflowing, and wetting his onesie and Gro-bag. He woke up at 5am, and that is early for him, and when I went to get him for Lauren to feed him, he was wet. I think that’s the reason he woke up rather than being hungry.
The closer it gets, the more I am looking forward to my time off work, but the more scared I am getting. It’s going to be an interesting year.

At the moment I dislike Mondays,Tuesday and Weds...

When Monday morning comes, that means my time with Oscar has become limited, and I will only see him again when I get home from work. I wonder all day how he is doing and hoping that he is having a good day and that Lauren is having a good day as well. The days of the week seem to drag on and, at least for the summer, I am only working 4 day weeks so that means at least I get extra time. There is so much I don’t want to miss. I know though, come the Fall, I will get to experience lots of new and exciting things with Oscar. I look forward to a lot of “firsts” with him.

I find myself lying awake at night, worrying about him, and I know it’s just new parent paranoia and that he is fine and I don’t need to creep down the hall and check on him; although I have found myself at times doing that before bed and in the morning when I get up.

I did an online search the other day for other Blogs being done by stay at home Dads and there are some out there but most haven’t been updated since 2010 or earlier. So my question is: how is it that Mommy Blogs are so popular but Daddy Blogs don’t seem to last or get as much attention? A friend of mine's sister does a Blog http://loulousviews.blogspot.com/ and she gets advertising and goes to conventions and it is fairly known and popular, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for any Blogs by Dads.

My time is coming… :)

Sunday Sunday....

Sunday is the day that I get up at 6:30am and start making the food for the week. This morning started out with steaming peas, squash, and chicken and then pureeing it all into a fine paste for Oscar to consume. Yesterday, in our travels, we stopped at Boomerang Kids and picked up two sets of baby cubes. They kind of look like an ice cube tray but are 8 little containers for storing food. They come in 3 sizes: 1oz, 2oz, and 4oz. I wasn't sure what size to get so I got 1 one and 1 two. Well, it seems I needed 2 two ounce and not a one ounce, so I will have to go back and exchange it. I tell you though, they are handy, once your food is pureed, you pour it in and you are good to go for the week.

We went and did groceries this morning and a quick trip to Kanata for a couple of things and then back to the house. We realized when we were at Loblaws that for some odd reason they don't carry mango pickle, and we are having rice and curry tonight for dinner, and you need mango pickle to go with it. So back out, Oscar and I headed to Bells Corners to the little Indian store in the mall with the Scottish and Irish shop. Once we got there we bought not only mango pickle, but also my favorite which is garlic pickle, as well as some yummy samosas, tamarind sauce, and some poppers. I can't wait till Oscar is old enough to try Indian food. I am sure he will love it.

Back to the house and had our lunch and fed Oscar his lunch and then some play time while he digested before his Jolly Jumper time. He is really doing well sitting up on his own now and I am sure shortly he will be a lot more steady. In between all this, I did two loads of laundry and then Lauren took Oscar and put him down for his nap. Once he gets up around 4pm or so, it will be some more play and singing time and then dinner for him and then for us and then off to church at 7pm.

Wow, it's been a busy weekend; who said Sundays are for relaxing? :)

Saturdays are my day...for now

Well, until I go on leave, Saturday morning is my time with Oscar when Lauren can do her own thing and just relax or get things done that she wants to do. Oscar and I generally leave the house and head out and do "boy" things. We tend to go to stores and pop into Rona to see Calvin or just putter around or do some cache maintenance on Geocaches. The thing is, pretty soon my Monday to Friday will be my Saturday. The only thing is that Lauren won't be here when we get home as a safety net and I will be on my own. Well here's to 11 months of Saturdays.

32.5 Working days to go....Holy Cow

Oscar is 7 months old today!

Wow. 32.5 working days to go and then the real work starts. I find myself laying awake at night, pondering the upcoming time off and running it over in my head, making sure I am doing the right thing. I luck into the fact that my days with Oscar will be a lot more structured than it was with my wife. I have activities planned with him for 3 days of the week, visiting Grandma another day and then 1 day where we can do our own thing (museums or what not). I remember a time when museums in Ottawa were free on Thursday...well they still are but most start at 4pm till close. What good is that?


The past couple of days Oscar has started to discover his hands and he will sit there and look at his hand turning it back and forth, looking at the fingers, and opening and closing it. It so cute to see.

I was cleaning out the photos in my Blackberry and came across a photo I took the day we were leaving the hospital 2 days after he was born. How things have changed.

A few more things...

I had the discussion last night with my wife if I should make this a public Blog or just keep it to myself and make it like a personal journal. I am of two minds on this; one is the opportunity to express myself, how I feel, and just use it as a dumping ground for my emotions and thoughts; or two, the same as one, but insure that the whole experience is shared with everyone and that they get the "backstage" view of what it's like to be a Dad who wants to stay home and take care of his son and grow with him. I think I will make it number 2; I want to share this experience with people (family and friends) and let them know what it's like and what I am experiencing.

I joked with Lauren that it would be nice to win the lottery but not that much is needed really. Just enough to pay off the house and a little left over, and that way I could take the full 5 years of care and nurturing leave and be with Oscar for the full experience until he goes to school. Ah pipe dreams how sweet that would be, but how statistically impossible as well.

This afternoon we have to take Oscar to the doctor's as he is having some problems with pooping. There we go, third posting and already talking about baby poop. I thought it would take longer. Anyhow he is pooping, but they are fairly large for such a small guy and pretty hard, so we are going to see the doctor to find out what she recommends. We have started giving him water after every meal to try and help "move" things along and in the mornings he is getting pureed prunes (funny, I thought of this: you start out as a baby eating prunes to get things moving and at the end of your life you need them again to get things moving - vicious cycle).

On a side note for anyone reading this, that has kids or is having kids, I really love and recommend Gro Bag sleep sacks for your baby. It saves you putting a blanket in the crib and allows for ease of movement on their part and peace of mind for you that they are not going to suffocate. Check them out at http://www.gro.co.uk/ Boomerang kids here in Ottawa carries them and they are a little pricey but I think worth it.

Ticking Down...can I do it

I watch my wife, how she handles her days, and makes it through feeding, reading, and playing with Oscar. She is a super star...like, come on, she carried him for almost 9 months, gave birth to him, and now can produce milk and feed him. Hard act to follow here...I feel like the guy that followed the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.


I know I can do it. I've learned the lessons, the good and the bad, what to do and what not to do watching my Dad and my brothers with their kids. I feel that I can do the right thing, but it is rather intimidating and I just hope it all works out for the best. I love him with all my heart and want to make sure he grows up to be a happy well adjusted man.


The days are ticking down.....

The time is coming up fast

So I am going on paternity leave from my work. I will be off for almost a full year with my son. I am really looking forward to the time I will have with him bonding and growing together. I will be off from Oct. 11, 2011 until September 4, 2012. I am actually getting more time off work than my wife did. I am really fortunate that I work somewhere that allows me the freedom to have the chance to spend this time with my son.

Let me back up a stitch and explain life a little. My son Oscar was born on January 19th, 2011 at a healthy 7lb 5oz (3 weeks early). He is a happy little man that is growing nicely and only tends to grumble when there is an issue (poopy diaper, hungry, or tired). He isn't one to just complain to complain and for that I am thankful. I am the youngest of 7 (I am the tender age of 39) and the next closest "child" in the family is almost 10 years older than Oscar, so there is a stretch in the age gap for cousins. My siblings are all in their mid to late forties and some have children that are already in their late teens. My mother is in her early 70s and my mother-in-law is in her late 60s. So needless to say all the people in Oscar's life are older so to speak. My wife is also the youngest in her family of 4 and has been off work since the day Oscar arrived.


Back to now. We have had a number of transitions the last week or so and it has been rather dramatic at the house; Oscar started on real food and it seems to be going well; Oscar has now started sleeping in his crib at night (tonight is night 3 and fingers crossed it seems to be going really good).


Last week I signed us up for activities this fall and winter that Oscar and I can do together on weekday mornings (3 days a week) and we will see how that goes. Some of the things my wife will start and I will finish as they are starting before I go on leave.


My role model for fathering was learned at the knee of a man whose own childhood was not the easiest and with a military background was not always the nicest at times. Don't get me wrong; I loved my father and I wish he was still with us to meet Oscar as I know he would love him very much. I talk to Oscar about my Dad and let him know he is watching him from heaven. As tough at times as my Dad was, I did learn a lot of things from him and I learned how to do a lot of things that come in handy in the real world. Mind you, at the time I was learning them I was sometimes cursing his name in my head, wondering why I needed to be helping some stranger he had just met move wood, but I learned that helping others is a good thing and that someday karma will come back to you.


I am hoping that this time together with Oscar makes me a better father, a better husband, and a better man.