Hanging with Drew
The past week, I had a chance to fly solo with my 18-month-old son, Drew, for the first time. Brenda headed out for a relaxing two-day spa weekend with her friend Michelle (last Saturday and Sunday). Cameron was at his Grandparents' house in the Tri-Cities.
You learn a lot about your kids when you're "flying solo" with them. Most babies or toddlers usually prefer their mothers to their fathers, which makes sense. So it's only when the mother leaves that you get to really bond with them. (This is also one of the reasons fathers should take paternity leave with their children, if possible.)
The first night with Drew was amazing. We ate dinner together, I gave him a bath, read him stories, and rocked him to sleep at 9:00 p.m. He woke up at 5:30 a.m., but after I gave him a bottle he went back to sleep until 9:00. I think because he slept so long, he decided he didn't need a nap. As any parent will tell you, naps allow you to recharge. So I was pretty fried when I started putting him to bed at 8:00. During storytime, we had a next door neighbor's 5-year-old granddaughter who was visiting, come over and join us. All seemed good.
But then Drew started crying. And crying. And crying. Nothing would soothe him. I realized he had gas pain in his stomach. This usually happens when we give him cow's milk, as he seems to be lactose intollerant, but I didn't remember giving him any milk. The neighbor girl suggested I bring Drew over to her grandparents, because she knew her grandma could calm him down. I actually took her up on the idea.
But after about 10 minutes of relative calm at the grandparents' house, Drew was writhing around again. After 20 minutes, we left. I figured out that Drew hadn't eaten much for dinner, so he was probably so hungry his stomach was hurting. I gave him some Wheat Thins crackers, along with some cheese, and I put on Star Wars: Episode 1, which was in the DVD player. After Drew was done with his snack, he lay down on my chest and watched the movie. We both fell asleep around 11:00 p.m., the sounds of Star Wars in our heads.
I was just glad Brenda was coming home the next day.
You learn a lot about your kids when you're "flying solo" with them. Most babies or toddlers usually prefer their mothers to their fathers, which makes sense. So it's only when the mother leaves that you get to really bond with them. (This is also one of the reasons fathers should take paternity leave with their children, if possible.)
The first night with Drew was amazing. We ate dinner together, I gave him a bath, read him stories, and rocked him to sleep at 9:00 p.m. He woke up at 5:30 a.m., but after I gave him a bottle he went back to sleep until 9:00. I think because he slept so long, he decided he didn't need a nap. As any parent will tell you, naps allow you to recharge. So I was pretty fried when I started putting him to bed at 8:00. During storytime, we had a next door neighbor's 5-year-old granddaughter who was visiting, come over and join us. All seemed good.
But then Drew started crying. And crying. And crying. Nothing would soothe him. I realized he had gas pain in his stomach. This usually happens when we give him cow's milk, as he seems to be lactose intollerant, but I didn't remember giving him any milk. The neighbor girl suggested I bring Drew over to her grandparents, because she knew her grandma could calm him down. I actually took her up on the idea.
But after about 10 minutes of relative calm at the grandparents' house, Drew was writhing around again. After 20 minutes, we left. I figured out that Drew hadn't eaten much for dinner, so he was probably so hungry his stomach was hurting. I gave him some Wheat Thins crackers, along with some cheese, and I put on Star Wars: Episode 1, which was in the DVD player. After Drew was done with his snack, he lay down on my chest and watched the movie. We both fell asleep around 11:00 p.m., the sounds of Star Wars in our heads.
I was just glad Brenda was coming home the next day.
