Tuesday is proven to be the most difficult day of the week. Why? It's because it’s the second day of the week and the weekend seems so far away. I bet if I google the Internet there are plenty of people who would think the same.
Last night was rough. I didn't get much sleep. My wife was on call at the hospital so I had baby duty. My wife was off all of last week and my daughter has been gotten used to her breasts on demand. So any time she needed to be fed, she wanted it right away and her mother (my wife) fully obliged. Any advice from working husbands to encourage wives from not doing this too often?
Thea is my second child. I guess by this time I’ve gotten the science of taking care of a baby down to an art (or so I believe). When I’m responsible for her: to keep her fed and well slept through the night, there's a set of routines that I follow. I make sure that all of the milk-making apparatus are set and prepared for the night so that I don't go searching for them at 2AM in the morning while I have a screaming infant. I've got the water in the kettle and I measured the exact amount of milk that I need so that I don't waste time calculating the amount. I know my methodology is working when that child doesn't go from a cute, cuddly bundle of joy to a screaming maniac!
In general, I believe it's a lot harder for fathers to take care of a baby than it is for mothers for one primary reason. Men are not in endowed with breasts. They come really handy late at night. Here are the general steps that mothers and father (or other caretakers) feed milk to babies:
Steps for Mother to feed baby
- Baby wakes up
- Baby fuses
- Breast into mouth, baby sucks away, Mother goes back to sleep.
- Repeat the other side.
- Burps baby if necessary
Steps for Father to feed baby
- Baby wakes up
- Baby fuses
- Father goes to fridge to take out milk
- Puts water in kettle to warm up on stove or in microwave
- Puts milk to warm while baby starts to scream
- Waits for milk to warm up - baby screams louder
- Puts milk in right container with the nipple and whatever to prevent overfeeding, fumbling at each step of the way because the contraption is so complicated for a simple task
- Gives milk to screaming baby who's now pissed.
- Holds up the bottle while baby feeds
- Burps baby if necessary...the sun is up now so it's time to get up!
Since I've been restless, I ordered myself a triple espresso mixed with white mocha from Starbucks from my mobile app. This combination is a lot like Vietnamese cafe sua da. I haven’t been drinking coffee for most of my life; It's a pleasure that I have picked up recently.
Thea is a delightful and funny baby. When she wakes up she makes these grunting sounds. She’ll roll around, starts to fake crying sounds, but beware! If one comes in to acknowledge her presence, she will bawling for real.
This morning wasn't any different. As I was putting on my suit and tie, I heard the usual grunting. I walked by the crib and we made eye contact. She was on her belly and her head was propped up. I saw her facial expression changing from a grin to a big smile and then she started laughing. She dropped her self onto the crib with a big thud. I don't think she was hurt doing that but with my 40-year old body, I couldn't the same thing...even if it's the softest bed ever. I think that if you have children of your own or are close to children, you know the feeling you get when you see it.
All that I want to do at that time was hug and kiss her. Whatever sadness, tiredness, grumpiness, and other negative feelings dissipated and I was filled with joy. As I sat there watching Thea takes her milk, I truly believe that God gave us beautiful children.
After the baby has taken her milk, full and contented, she was ready to go back to sleep. Maybe she had milk coma because she didn't really move. I snapped a few pictures of her on my camera phone. I left her with grandma (who's been a blessing for living with us and helping us out) and went to work. I made my drive into work and picked up my espresso from Starbucks on the way in. I sat down and typed this #TuesdayOrange post and thought to myself, "I can make it through Tuesday!"
Photos taken with iPhone X.