3 Quick Tips from a Rookie Dad
My first son – Isaac Andrew Krzmarzick – was born last week on St. Patrick’s Day and he is definitely daddy’s lucky charm.
Of course, being a rookie dad, I was destined to make some early blunders – bleary-eyed or not!
So I wanted to share some of my early lessons learned:
1. Practice putting a (big!) doll in the car’s baby carrier. My wife and I made the requisite trip to our local fire station, asking the ERs to double check our amateur installation of the car seat. We passed inspection and received some helpful safety tips. However, in focusing exclusively on that important facet of baby transport, I forgot to figure out exactly how to put the baby in it! You’d think it’s as simple as plopping him in there, putting the straps around his shoulders and clipping him in. Not so, my friend. There’s a metal release for the straps beneath the seat cushion that’s not so obvious. I learned that lesson only after we excitedly brought our newborn son to the car at the hospital and spent 10 minutes struggling to adjust it. Big thanks to the security guard who’s likely taught several thousand freshman fathers how to fit their babies safely in the car seat.
2. Get up immediately when your wife asks. On our first night in the hospital , I expected that we’d put him down for bed, then wake up 2-3 hours later for a feeding. I also figured that would happen twice in the night. He had been sleeping a lot anyway, so it seemed that he would follow a consistent pattern. That’s why I was unprepared for the wailing that awoke us about 45 minutes after we fell asleep. Knowing that I am not equipped to naturally meet his nutritional needs, I stayed in bed. That’s when my wife inquired (in a tone of voice that betrayed any attempt at subtlety) if I was going to join her for the festivities. My response, “But we just went to bed” was, in fact, a quintessentially wrong answer. From that point forward, I’ve not failed to shake off sleepiness with all due haste.
3. Charge the baby monitor before you get home. Joana had asked me to test the monitors before the baby was born, but I’ve been pretty busy with GovLoop activities. No need for her to say, “I told you so.” We got home from the hospital and wanted to put baby to bed in his new crib (that daddy so proudly put together). So I quickly pulled the monitors from their packaging and plugged them in…then read the instructions, which indicated a need for the batteries to get charged for 16 hours prior to use. Fortunately, we had a bassinet where Isaac slept soundly the first night right under our watchful eyes and ears.
I am sure that these ‘Tips from a Rookie Dad’ will become a series, so stay tuned for more misadventures.
Thank you for visiting the Generation Shift blog! I look forward to interacting with you as we work together to promote the power of four generations, social media and flexible work environments to transform the public and social sectors.
Bill Cummings | March 26th, 2010 at 8:45 am #
Great post, my friend. Thanks for the laughs! Congratulations on being a freshman father!!!
Andrew Krzmarzick | March 26th, 2010 at 9:21 am #
Thanks, Bill! Would love to get your insight on fatherhood sometime. I’ve been pinging some dads and seeing if they’d like to contribute to a series. Got thoughts? Especially as someone who is “dad” to literally scores/hundreds of kids!
Roberta | March 26th, 2010 at 12:35 pm #
YES! IMMEDIATELY as soon as your wife asks! I totally have to agree with that one! Good luck getting some sleep Andy!!
Dianne Bonanno | March 26th, 2010 at 2:40 pm #
Word of advise…don’t remove the diaper until you have the next one ready to put on. Boys have a way of ‘expressing’ themselves as soon as the slightest breeze hits. You will stay a lot dryer if you keep it covered and quickly put on the new diaper. Or, you can use the Pee Pee teepees.
Andrew Krzmarzick | March 26th, 2010 at 2:45 pm #
@Roberta – Yeah, yeah, yeah
Joana loves your response, btw.
@Dianne – That was going to be my next blog, actually! Hilarious. Just happened to me this morning, in fact. Caught me, the pack and play and himself. Those are the precious moments…
Doug Mashkuri | March 26th, 2010 at 4:43 pm #
Hey Andy-
Great post. Another thing to be on the look out for is when your wife says, “Is the gate at the top of the stairs closed?” – Actually check before saying yes. I made this mistake and was lucky enough to have my wife find our daughter safely crawling down the stairs. Keep in mind prior to this episode my daughter would always try headfirst and that I made the same mistake 6 years ago with my son.
I tried to take credit for teaching her how to get down the stairs correctly but did not win that debate either!
Enjoy the journey.
Doug
Brad Eichelberger | March 26th, 2010 at 11:23 pm #
Andy – When putting on a new diaper, always make sure the little guy’s little guy is pointed downward. Luckily, I didn’t have to learn this the hard way, as I was clued in beforehand. Some friends of mine said their baby boy kept soaking his clothes and the crib until they figured this out. Not sure if every boy would have this problem, but hey, that is some cheap insurance!
Shana Wilson | March 26th, 2010 at 11:41 pm #
Ah boys…too good. I cannot stop laughing.
…The Tone, the “Did You…” I’m having visions. I look forward to more Freshman Posts.
Kaya | March 27th, 2010 at 10:54 am #
Congratulations, Andy! One of the best things my husband and I did as rookie newborn parents were leveraging our awake-time tendencies. My husband was a night owl, so he would take the early evening/late night shift while I slept, and since I was a morning person, I took over at the 3am feeding so he can sleep until he has to go to work. It kept our sanity until baby slept through most of the night at 6 weeks. Good luck, and looking forward to reading more of this series!
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Emily | May 30th, 2010 at 7:33 pm #
YES! IMMEDIATELY as soon as your wife asks! I totally have to agree with that one! Good luck getting some sleep Andy!!