Happy 1 Month, Benjamin

Last night was garbage night. I don’t mean it was a bad night, I mean it was the night I bring the garbage out. After work I ate, took Benjamin for a walk with Allison, went for a run, showered, gave Benjamin a bath, then held him on the couch until his last feed before bed at 10:30. I gathered up the garbage, emptied the Diaper Genie and took it down to the street, then I took Molly out for her last potty of the night. I was heading up to bed, when I saw one last bag of garbage that needed to go into the pail. Quickly I grab it and head to the front door.

I unlocked it then paused. “Did I arm the alarm on?” Upstairs there is a fed, changed and sleeping 1 month old and a tired, cranky and close to sleeping wife. Do I risk opening the door, setting off the alarm and waking them up? That would, no doubt, wake up the beast. Well, I’ve got one question for myself. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? Short answer, NO. I punked out and check the alarm. It was not armed yet, but like I always say, safety first.

I’m sure that’s not what you were expecting to read on the day Benjamin turns one month old, but I’m not finished yet, chill. He made out very well at his doctor appointment today. He got his second Hepatitis shot, he cried hard for a few minutes, then he was good. He weighs 10 Lbs 5 oz and is 22 inches long. Good news: he was given approval to take a full bath. Up until now we have been giving him sponge baths. He loved his first real bath. We didn't bust out the bath toys, maybe next time. Gotta start out slow.

The bad news: the doctor didn't yell, but said we aren't giving him enough tummy time. We give him tummy time everyday, but the doctor recommends tummy time 3 times a day. Whoops, noted. He'll be doing push-ups by 2 months. She also said he should be going to bed earlier. We are trying that out tonight. He's in bed right now. Let's see if he stays there.

How do I like being a dad? I love it. I don't feel like I've done very many "dad" things. No playing catch, no slot car races, but we have watch a Jets game together and they actually won! At this point, I'm just helping him survive. The parenting and "dad" feelings will come later on once he's older. But I still love it. He's a good boy and he's so cute when he's asleep. He lays on my chest and he's just the cutest kid you've ever seen. I know I'm not exactly an impartial 3rd party here, but seriously, he's a beautiful boy.

Next month he should start smiling and take more notice of his surroundings. I can't wait for that. I'm also looking forward to getting back into a schedule and spending time with Allison again. There have been days where we see each other, but don't talk at all. It's weird.

Anyway, I'll wrap it up by saying it's been a great month and also mention that today, was so much less stressful than day 1.