Mr. Mom for a month. (1 Viewer)

[Vlad D]

My wife and I had a baby girl this past December. My wife's maternity leave ended yesterday, and today she is back at work. We decided that I would take four weeks leave from my job to take care of her; we just aren't ready to put her in daycare yet; she's only three months, we figured it would be better if she started daycare at four months instead.

So, as of today, I am officially Mr. Mom.

So far so good. She had her first bottle for the day and now she's taking her morning nap. Although she is starting to fuss so she may wake-up soon (I'm watching her on one of those Safety 1st monitors).

Ok, she is awake now. I guess I'll post more later.

Vlad

 

[Micheal]

And so it begins!

 

[David_Moechnig]

You will have the time of your life for the next month. I was Mr. Mom for a year while I was a full-time student and mom was working (we worked schedules out) and would do it all over again.

 

[Citizen87645]

Never had to play Mr. Mom myself, but I did take care of my infant nephew for several months after school when I was 16. That was a pretty good crash course in baby care, though I was spared the early mornings. I was actually left alone with him for a few hours when he was only a couple months old. Looking back they must have really trusted me!

 

[Jordan_E]

I've been Mr. Mom for the past year (we decided it was cheaper and safer for me to stop working and watch my daughter rather than put her in daycare) and it's been an experience unlike any I've had before! Fun, frustrating, scary, and satisfying.

 

[Jacinto]

Enough with the "Mr. Mom" stuff, guys -- I believe the proper term is "Dad". I also hate it when people ask me if I got stuck "babysitting" my kids while my wife is out somewhere. I'm their FATHER, I don't "babysit" my own kids.

Congratulations to all of you for being such involved fathers. I quit my old job two years ago and started working out of the house in order to avoid daycare on the few days a week that my wife works. We've since added another baby to the mix, so it can get pretty hectic at certain times during the day. As a nurse, my wife is out of the house for 14 hour stretches whenever she works. Those are long days, but I am so grateful to be able to watch my kids grow and change every day. This fall my wife will switch to 24 hour shifts in her new role as a neonatal nurse practitioner, so we'll really see what I'm made of then!



Absolutely! But I wouldn't plan on too much "me" time during the day. Take care of the kids first, when they're napping, etc., take care of chores, and if there's any time left over, that's for you! This will keep the kids and your wife happy. Remember: "I read my book during the baby's naps" is not an acceptable reason for the laundry and the dishes not being done.

 

[Micheal]

My wife was off on maternity leave for a year (we are Canadian). After that we found a care-giver for our daughter, she takes care of her and three other children all around the same age.

I spend every morning with my daughter getting her dressed, changed & fed. We play for a bit and then I drop her off at the care-giver for around 8:30 to 9:00am. I also pick her up (@ around 4:30pm), feed her dinner, bathe her and spend the night with her until it's time for bed (around 7:30pm). My wife's hours don't allow her to drop her off or pick her up 90% of the time. She does get home early enough that she gets to see her for a couple of hours before bed every night.

It's a lot like school hours. I don't see her during the day that much but I spend as much time as I can with her during the week and we of course have her with us all weekend.

My wife also has a day off during the week so our daughter is only with the care-giver 4 days a week.
Not too bad. It would be nice if we could afford to have one of us stay at home 100% of the time but we can't at this time.

It was nice for my wife to get the entire first year off with her. That was great!

 

[Vlad D]

My wife would have loved that. Unfortunately her job only allows 3 months.

 

[Micheal]

Vlad, great sig photo. "Candy"

 

[Vlad D]

Thanks. I love that scene.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Our son was born December 23rd. My wife is easing back into her job over the next few weeks and I'm easing out of mine to take over as stay-at-home dad.

I don't think I've ever been more excited. Or poorer.

 

[Joe Szott]

Good for you Vlad. It'll be one of the most nerve wracking experiences of your life, but you'll definitely look back on it as one of the most rewarding as well.

I didn't get to spend time home alone with our kids until around 5-6 months old, and then it was usually for a couple nights a week while wife went to karate. Even that was pretty scary for me at first, but now I really like the time alone with the kids to have fun, give baths, etc.

Enjoy it!

 

[Brandon_T]

Wow, I was wondering if I was the only one around that was a full time stay at home dad. My son turns 1 this month and it has been a blast, trying, and more rewarding that I could have imagined. I have a job where I dropped back to part time, and am on the road one day a week where my in-laws watch him. The hardest part for me personally has been our financial strain, and for my wife, being away during the day has been very difficult on her. She is a teacher so at least she gets lots of holiday and summer time.

Maybe we should start a ongoing stay at home Dad thread!

Brandon

 

[LanieParker]

Yay for stay at home dads! It's rare to see you guys , but oh so nice. I have a been a stay at home mom for 7 years and LOVE it!

As for the "Are you babysitting while the wife is out?" comment, that irks me too when people say that to dads. My girls look nothing like me (they look so much like dad) and I am always asked if I am the nanny! LOL! It cracks me up to no end.

Enjoy being home with the kids. It's awesome!

 

[Vlad D]

Question for you experienced stay-at-home dads and moms (Lanie ).

How do you find time to get anything done around the house? To me the day just flies by in an endless cycle of feedings, diaper changes, clothes changes, playtimes and naptimes. I find a few minutes to eat something, check emails, check this board and before I know it, she's awake and the whole cycle repeats. (She's waking up as I write this. )

Now I have her on my lap as I finish this post. She loves to sit on my lap when I'm on the computer and listen to Israel Kamakawiwo`ole's version of Over The Rainbow. She loves that song. If she's crying and I play it she stops crying immediately. She's too cool. As you can tell I am completely in love. Fatherhood is great.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Theo smiles when I put on David Bowie, except for any version of Ziggy Stardust -- they all make him cry. Album version, live version on Stage, live version on Bowie At The Beeb, live version on that '00 BBC Radio Theatre concert...

I'll get back to you in a couple of months if I figure out how to get things done, but your complaints are very similar to those of my wife, who's at home with Theo still for a bit longer.

 

[LanieParker]

Well, as most parents her can probably tell ya, getting things done will always be hard when there are little ones around.

When my kids were babies, I carried them in one of those baby slings while I did housework or ran errands. That thing saved my life. I also just made a list of things that I NEEDED to get done and did them while they napped (even if it was only for a short nap).

Honestly, don't worry so much about chores and little things, because to me it was much more important to hang out and play with the kids then get those things done. If anything I did those chores at night after I put them to sleep.

Just make sure you don't overload yourself and try to be SUPERDAD, as nice as it would be to actually be SUPER, it aint never gonna happen. lol.

Enjoy you little one and keep us updated on the life and times of daddy and child!

 

[Micheal]

I find that the best time to do things around the house is while the baby is awake. Loading the laundry into the washer takes very little time and it can be done with the baby in your arms or in one of those cool baby carriers.

The clothes can go in the dryer when she goes down for a nap. Same sort of routine can be done with the dishwasher.

Also, try not to keep things too quiet during nap time. Let the baby get use to sleeping with some background noise. I've even done loud housework (vacuuming) during nap time.

It is really tough on certain days but just wait until she is running around and really getting into everything. They call this the "honeymoon" period for a reason.

PS- I leave my laptop on and connected in the kitchen. That way whenever I make a trip for food, snack, drink, etc, I can jump on for a minute.

 

[Ross Williams]

My son Ash is 10 months old. I've really just started staying home with him for full days for the first time. My wife and I both didn't want to put him in daycare. One, because we thought he'd be better off with us the first year of his life. And two, because it seemed pointless for one of us to be at work just for most of that money to go towards daycare. So through most of it my wife's been home with him 24/7.

But recently we moved and the only decent job I could find was part time, so my wife needed to get a job as well. Between us we're working 6 days a week. It's been a very big adjustment for me, because the longest I spent with him alone before that was 4-5 hrs and that was only a couple of days. Now I'm spending 9 hrs a day with him, 3 days a week. It was tough at first. I really couldn't get any chores done during the day. I only wanted to sit down when he was napping. It is the toughest job I've ever had. But also the most rewarding. I'm really loving it now. Ash and I have gotten even closer because of it. Before, he'd always want mom, but now he'll cling to me
as well, and that feels good.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Ross, that was exactly the line of thinking my wife and I went with. And since she makes way more than me, I will get to be home-Dad.

I can't wait.