Posts by New York Dad:
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice…
I am a new dad – again. I get to deal with breastfeeding, poop, burps, spit up and less no sleep. The second time around, though, I realize that the first time was not so bad after all. Newborns really do just eat, poop and sleep. It’s the whining and now jealous older toddler that kills you. I was warned and I read dissertations about it, but as when you become a parent the first time you don’t really get it until you live it. I must premise all of this by saying that I am a lucky man. I have two beautiful and healthy boys and a lovely and loving wife. I had my kids at a time in my life when I was in a good place and was ready (although who am I kidding, you are never really ready for parenthood) to start a family. So for all these reasons I am a happy camper.
Reality is, though, that now it’s just one-on-one. There is no double-teaming my son anymore. He’s got help and no matter how reluctant he may be to have that baby brother around to take away a piece of his pie, he sure loves the added distraction to mom and dad’s vigilance.
It all started a few weeks ago (although my three year old new something was up months ago) when roughly twenty-four hours before we were scheduled to go in for an induction my second son decided he was going to one up his big brother (who was induced) and come out of his own volition.
After a false start we were back in the hospital after only a few hours and chance would have it in the same exact delivery room as my first son. My son also happened to get whisked away to the NICU with me in tow since they were worried he had inhaled some fluid, but it was a false alarm. Sure enough my second son decided that he too must visit the NICU, but this time he wanted yet again to crawl out form under his older sibling’s shadow and stayed there a full week since he actually did inhale fluid.
An earthquake and a hurricane later, we were finally allowed to bring him home and made sure to bring his big brother to the hospital to see him being brought out by myself and the nurse. We wanted him to understand that we hadn’t just bought a baby at the local pharmacy since mom had already come home without a belly or the much talked about baby brother. We even did the whole baby brother gift tactic to smooth things over.
So far I will say there has been no overt Cain and Able moments, but whatever tenderness big brother has shown to baby brother (we caught him reading to baby brother the other day of his own accord) his alter-ego, Big Bad Brother, has stricken down upon us with great vengeance and furious anger. But that my friends is whole other post altogether.
The Clarisonic Classic: A spa minute (literally) for this tired dad’s face.
I was recently approached with what I felt at the time was an unusual request: to test out a facial cleansing product. The request by Clarisonic, though, was use it as a pre-shave treatment to reduce razor burn and ingrown hairs. I was skeptical since I really did not see the point since I use a [...]
The Parenthood Hymn
There was a game we used to play We would hit the town on Friday night And stay in bed until Sunday We used to be so free We were living for the love we had and Living not for reality It was just my imagination (Just My Imagination, Bury The Hatchet – [...]
Clichés and growth spurts.
As clichéd as this may sound, it is really astounding how fast kids grow up. Not height wise, mind you, although that is just as incredible, but how Mini Me they become. They pick up on different tones of voice, they can ask for things, they ask about things, they give you attitude, they give [...]
Nostalgia and a bit of latent ego…
I’m not often suckered into doing things through shear sentimentality, but this time a combination of latent nostalgia and pure ego overcame me. I was asked if I would like to bring my son to see The Fantasticks. Specifically, the idea was to promote their backstage tours following matinee performances. For those of you who [...]
“He’s a regular…”
That’s what the kind lady said to me as she walked around the bakery counter and recognized my son sitting in the stroller. She handed him a mini vanilla (or banilla as my son says) cupcake and smiled as he devoured the icing. Luckily he has been less of a regular these days since he [...]
WTF are you looking at?!
So my son is having a full-blown tantrum, what exactly is your problem? I am talking to you old lady. The one shaking her head with that “Oh dear!” look on her face. This is what kids do. Do you think I am enjoying myself? Picking up boxes of cereal off the supermarket floor, or [...]
No more sand (maybe).
Everyone has his or her favorite beach towel. Whether it has your Alma Mater’s crest or your kid’s favorite cartoon character on it, what you do not like about that towel is the mounds of sand that it picks up and brings back home with it. As so many things in life, the military found [...]
Summer Sanctuaries
With the sweltering heat upon us, the weekends are spent hunting for cool spots (cool as in not hot, but not hot as in uncool rather… oh never mind). This past weekend we had settled under one of our favorite trees in the park for a picnic and some games and within minutes we had [...]
Fage: How to pronounce it and turn “plain” yogurt into a multi-course meal.
I was invited recently by Greek yogurt brand Fage (the Greek word φάγε – pronounced “fa-yeh” is a singular imperative verb meaning “eat!”) through @MCConsulting to a crash cooking class using Greek yogurt to substitute or compliment other classic ingredients. The reason I accepted is my son and his yogurt addiction. He could easily become [...]
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My More Dashing Side
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