- 12:51 PM, Tuesday,
January 28th, 2014:
-
- Strange how life
hands you little glimpses of chapters you'll never
have...
-
- So during this
first month of what both Talya and I assumed
would be complete chaos? We've found, peace, routine
and a general ease into 2 kids 15 months apart by
inadvertently becoming "Single Parents". It didn't
seem that would be the outcome when we started, but we
are certainly here and it's kinda cool. It's temporary
(until Cameron sleeps through the night or is at least
down to one feeding) but there's a beauty in that:
it's like living a different life. Why so
seperate?
-
- I mentioned before
that I moved into the den area so I can try and
get some uninterrupted sleep before Vienna BOUNDS back
onto the scene at 7am. Talya stays in the bedroom with
Cameron until 11am which is certainly a luxury for new
parents. It's how we got through Vienna. We still got
8 hours of sleep, it just took us 12 hours to get 'em.
;-) So I spend the entire morning until Vienna's
noon nap as a single father. And even once Talya &
Cam are up and about? I'm still the lead caretaker
(bath, bedtime ritual, etc) as Cameron is still a bit
"needy" being 1 month old and all. It's a great system
with some obvious drawbacks:
-
- 1) Talya misses
Vienna and vice-versa. Vienna is quickly becoming a
"maybe she's advanced for her age" baby... to a
"holy shit, how is she to this stage 6 months
early" baby. It's some wonderful shit to witness.
She's now mixing together words with signs putting
together 2 and 3 word sentences and completely
fucking with my head. Her ability to unlock, then
find her favorite learning apps on an iPad is
stunning (though not necessarily advanced) and in
general her incessant need to flip through every,
freaking, book, she has for well over an hour with
the focus of... christ... a 3 or 4 year old? It's
actually unsettling.
-
- 2) I know
Cameron about as well as I know newborns on my
Facebook newsfeed. Since Talya is breastfeeding and
he's hardly awake (and even when he is I'm chasing
Vienna down)? There's literally no connection. Not
that I'm upset at all, this system is saving our
collective butts for the next couple months, but
wow - I feel as distant from that little dude as I
would someone else's baby. It's creepy. Whereas the
first 6 weeks with Vienna I was hands-on completely
50-50 (Talya was pumping since Vienna wouldn't
breastfeed, so I could help) there's simply none of
that with Cam. Talya and I are talking about having
some swap days where I take Cam for 2 days in
a row while she pumps and hangs with Vienna. It's
incredible how disconnected you can
feel.
-
- 3) Uhm,
I don't sleep in the same room as my wife. :-(
At first I figured, it's no big deal - we
still hang out in bed, watch the iPad and, uhm,
<insert euphamism like 'watch the iPad'>, at
which point I just go through a door and sleep
THERE instead of rolling over, but it certainly
feels isolated.
-
- Then of course?
You throw in my time with Vienna which is
intense. Like, I finally feel I have a grasp on
what single parents go through with their children.
There's a connection that can become your entire world
if you're not careful. This coming from a guy who was
already a "stay-at-home" dad her first 15
months... but something about that much uninterrupted
one-on-one time and you become best friends. And since
her ability to communicate is progressing so fast,
it's more emotional than ever. I'm amazed (and this is
true with all kids at this age) at how much she
actually understands although she can't say the words
yet. "Go get your putter!" "Put the ball in the hole!"
She does it. "Where are your shoes?" She gets 'em. So
to spend this month with her one-on-one has been
absolutely priceless. I look forward to all 4 of
us being together again in a couple months but like
nearly everything on my "Journey", I'm appreciating
the present chapters, no matter how temporary they
are. In fact that's why I can enjoy them.
;-)
-
- Can I also
say that the blossoming relationship between Vienna
and LeeLoo is about the greatest thing ever. Dogs are
toddlers at heart and with LeeLoo's size, they're just
made for each other.
-
-
- HAAAAAAAA.
-
- Alright, my dad
will be here in 3 days to meet Cam, hang with the
family and of course...
COMPETE IN THE FIRST GOLFKON MAJOR OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!
-
- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Expect a video of us playing and a teaser video for
the new 2014 season. Super-pumped.
-
- ;-)
-
- Adam
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