Daddy Boot Camp

Well for the past five weeks I have been out of my element. I have been getting yelled at and told what to do and that no matter what I did it was not right. I have had to make sure that everything I did was to the exact specifications as outlined by her. I have ran back and forth, been spit on, crawled on my knees, gotten dirty, hardly had any sleep.

“Feed me!” “Get my clothes ready!” “Feed me!” “Change me!” “Nap time!” “Feed me, change me!” That was just the first day! Boot camp? Well close enough…for the past five weeks I have been taking care of Rosaleen, yep daddy day care!

It has been one heck of an experience! The first day was crazy for sure. I was exhausted by the time Sunny came home at 2:30, yes 2:30 that left Rosaleen and I home alone for a whopping 5.5 hours. Not even a full day! Sunny said I looked like I had been up all night, had a hangover, and been beat up. My hair was a mess and I had spit up all over my shirt. I hadn’t brushed my teeth. Rosaleen looked exhausted as well; at least she had a dry shirt on, though it may have been on backwards. I think I may have put a diaper on backwards to. Luckily the next day was easier and each day after got easier as well. Maybe the first day was her way of letting me know she was in charge, a hazing of sorts.

Daddy, the diaper goes on the other end!

I have a newfound appreciation for moms that stay at home and take care of the kids. I can only imagine another little one or two thrown in. I told Sunny that when I was home with Rosaleen I would finish redoing a table, workout, clean the garage, look for a better jobs, clean, etc. All she did was tell me, “No way, you won’t have time…you’ll see.” Whatever, I thought. She was right, at times I would have a sandwich in various phases of completion on the counter for hours, before finally getting to gobble it down as Rosaleen was asleep, that is if she was not sleeping on my chest. How she knew when I was going to put her in her crib after enduing my “checks” to see if she was asleep I will never know. I would do the hand drop, the jiggle, and the wiggle. If she did not respond then I was sure she was asleep. But somehow she knew and my futile attempt to put her down and get some water to drink or regroup was met with a giant scream, which was promptly interrupted when I gave in an picked her back up…as she snuggled into my chest once again making grunting noses. How could I resist that! She is so cute! Now what do I do? I would sometimes just sit on the couch and soak in the fact that I had my daughter that God gave to us, in my arms, on my chest, sleeping. Other times I would doze off with her and get some rest.

Finally we settled into a routine of sorts. Daddy feeds her at about 8:30; she took a nap at about 9 until about 10:30 or 11 if I was lucky, sometimes it was only until 9:30! Then we would take Casha for a walk, after that play time, and then lunch. I have been letting her play a bit in the food (see pics). She really likes the green beans, but not the pears so much. Then hopefully another nap and then mommy is home! Thank the Lord.

MMMM greenbeans.

If it sounds like I am complaining, I am not. Rather, I am bragging. Being a proud dad and getting to stay home is a blessing. Staying home with her has been one of the greatest things I have ever done. She is so precious, gentle, pure, innocent, happy, and wonderful! I don’t want her to grow up to fast, but I can’t wait until she can communicate with us more. She giggles so much now and coos and screeches, I can’t wait to understand what she is saying. She LOVES when Casha comes into the room or comes to see her. Her giant smile obscures her face when mommy comes home.

I have decided to go to work part time and my employer has agreed. I will work as much as needed in the office and be able to take some work home. I won’t get paid as much, but sometimes you have to see what is more important and right now she is the most important thing in the world. This way I can pick up Rosaleen from daycare. She will only be there a few hours (hopefully), depending on the day and my workload. I am going to be sad on Monday that is when I return to work. It will be weird. I will miss her so much and I am sure I will look at the clock often, reminiscing about our time together.