Father Shock

We are obsessed with my son’s diet. We follow every rule and abide every caution. But after a six month visit with our pediatrician, we drove home perplexed by her suggestion; Finger food? The idea of feeding him anything other than muted bowls of beige, brown, and green slop seemed bizarre.  A spark of excitement flicked between us as we considered our options.

My son has never been happier than the day he sat down to a small pile of cheerios. While his mother and I have meticulously investigated almost every bite of food that’s made its way past his tiny lips, the little O’s seemed beyond reproach. In fact, since we started feeding him solids, there has been a fresh box standing in the pantry just waiting to spill at his feet. Now, I’m not sure how cheerios got a free pass. As a new parent decisions are made on a tight rope, looming above a pit of sharply pointed possibilities.  But these little bits of breakfast transcend all manner of scrutiny and intention. Possessed by the spirit of General Mills himself, I passed hand full’s of O’s to my wide-eyed son.

Cheerios have become a staple in our home. Our son will sit quietly chasing the O’s around the perimeter of his small tray, buying us precious minutes to fold a little laundry or do some important bathroom reading. It’s really amazing, we have tried peas, bits of fruit, vegetables, and pasta, but nothing occupies his attention like a crowded plate of O’s.

Just like every other subject on the planet, I’m sure everyone has an opinion. So, fire up your favorite search engine and push your way through the mob of recommendations on the net. Though, making these decisions with your family pediatrician seems like a solid idea to me.  Below is a site I found helpful and also General Mills, baby bullets for Cheerios…

According to General Mills, Cheerios…

 -are the #1 choice of cereals for moms with toddlers.

       -are recommended by 4 out of 5 pediatricians as a finger food for toddlers.

        -have only 1 gram of sugar per serving.

         -have no artificial colors or flavors.

-are made with whole grain oats and is a good source of fiber. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans consume three or more servings of whole grain each day (for a total of at least 48 grams of whole grain.)

-are easily managed by little fingers and helps develop motor skills because the O’s are easy to pick up, firm and resist crumbling.

-are easy for little fingers to hold.

-provide at least 10% of the Daily Value of 14 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid.

-taste great and is fun to eat!

Try this helpful finger food link:  http://www.babycenter.com/0_finger-foods_105.bc

For the last few weeks the mothers in my family have all been clattering about my little boy getting teeth. Granted, he’s been drooling and sucking on anything that gets within inches of his face, but I just didn’t believe them. He’s always so smiley and never really seems uncomfortable.

So yesterday it became official, they know more than I do; he’s got a tooth! Just one and I really wouldn’t call it a tooth; it’s more of a nub. Not really good for eating beef jerky or smiling at the ladies, but it’s a start. Apparently he’s going to have twenty of these little “primary” teeth when he’s done. He’s got a lot of work to do.

It never ceases to amaze me how our bodies work. You might say, “How can you get excited about such a little moment?” Well, I’m eager to share life with my son. A tooth means at some point he will be able to shape sounds and speak. It means food, real food with interesting tastes and textures. It seems like each day he and I get a little closer. Interactions have grown in complexity, moving from random eye contact to intentional laughter and hand motions. I want to know him and I want him to know me and a tooth is a simple step in that direction.

So apparently the teething process takes some time. Most kids have their full set of primary teeth by the age of two or three. The teeth arrive in stages, and appear with an assortment of annoying symptoms. They can increase irritability, cause drooling, chin rashes, discomfort in the jaw and ear, coughing, and more frequent interruptions in sleep (for baby and dad).

As this tooth has arrived so has the advice. I will no doubt be sorting through the recommendations of friends and family, choosing what remedies to attempt first. Suggestions like cold teething rings and baby Tylenol seem most reasonable. Though, I’m sure if I lose enough sleep I might be willing to try more extreme methods, like rubbing some Jack Daniels on his gums. A finger for him, and two for me…straight up!

It’s been just over four and a half months since my son took his first breath. The learning curve in those first few months has been brutal. Each time I start to feel like I’ve got this thing handled, I find another hitch in my giddy up.

It seems the quickest way to stabilize the chaotic day to day is through routine. It’s a dirty word, I know. Routines are vicious taskmasters that strip the pleasure from most situations. In the past if anyone were to approach me about bringing structure to my life, I’d probably cry out, singing praises for the spontaneous. I’d sit back and make some clever remark about appreciating the regularity of a bowel movement, but to hell with the rest.

The truth is my propensity towards a spontaneous life, probably has more to do with laziness than a fervent belief in the unplanned. It’s difficult to admit, but being accountable is hard work. I’ve sloppily juggled responsibilities like work, family, health, and my bills. This is a reasonable feat for the novice juggler and I’ve been pretty successful. Now I’m supposed to hurl sixteen flaming chainsaws into the air like some crazy sideshow carnie. It’s a good bet I’m going to lose an arm and suffer several third degree burns if I can’t pull things together.

While I’m sure there is research that confirms the value of stability to the happiness of a child, at this point I’m mostly concerned about getting to work with my pants on and making sure the electric bill gets paid. So, with a white flag in my hand, I surrender to the weight of chaos. No longer will I live oblivious to the clock and immune to plans. I will rely on routine to organize the important so I can consider the rest, choosing wisely instead of purely by whim. It’s the only way I can survive… because my beautiful assistant is at the edge of the stage firing up the seventeenth chainsaw as we speak.

Robert Grunberg pictured above. See www.westland.net/VENICE/performers.htm to learn more.

This year there are an estimated 74.9 million kids living in the United States. That’s over 25 million asking to barrow the keys to their parent’s car for the first time, 25 million signing along with Dora the Explorer, and another 25 million packing their shorts and cooing at the air.

There are a lot of us parents, with children of all design. I’m not sure about you, but I don’t spend my time knee deep in pamphlets, books, and articles trying to find the keys to parenthood. I’m spending it stumbling through each day just fumbling with the basics; eat, poop, sleep, & play. (My little one is still packs his shorts)

With what seems like an endless amount of detail and opinion converging from every angle, it makes finding clear and helpful information tricky at times. Here are a few online resources that I’ve found useful:

• United States Government – Parenting Resource This site provides official information and services from the U.S. government. It offers links to online resources like the U.S. Department of Human Health and Services.  It covers important topics like adoption, education, parental health concerns, crime prevention and nutrition.
• Family Education.com This is a comprehensive tool. While it does cover an overwhelming amount of information, it organizes it in a really convenient manner. You can search by age and find any thing from a toddler toy recall to tips on high school graduation.
• Parenthood.com The most helpful piece of this online resource is its catalogue of articles. They have efficiently organized hundreds of articles on popular parenting topics. Most of the article are brief and to the point.
• Mayoclinic.com There are so many medical resources online. While these resources can never take the place of a trained professional, it is helpful to have well-organized, accurate information at your fingertips. There are many to choose from, but I have found this site to be the easiest to use and also very credible.

As a new parent, I am finding that time is absolutely the scarcest of resources. I will probably never consider much of the information presented by these sites. However it is comforting to know,  information about many of my specific questions rests on the pages of these collections and it’s only a click away.

Picture barrowed form: www.thedailygreen.com please support this interesting site.

According to the National Sleep Research Project, “A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.”  That’s up to a month of lost sleep… in just the first year!

Now sleep deprivation is not all bad, there is an upside. “After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you’ve slept enough.” So, when your wallet starts to hurt from the strain of diapers and formula, this little factoid can be a lifesaver for the self medicating.

It could be much worse.  Scientists calculate that, “Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for ten hours.” I can think of nothing worse than an irritable squirrel monkey. Trust me; be glad you’re not married to a sleep deprived chimpanzee that has to get up every three hours to breastfeed. You think mornings are rough now! Chimps have the strength of four men and can wield sticks and clubs!

“The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.” It’s ironic that the record was set in a rocking chair. That’s where I spend the majority of my sleepless hours. Guess I should give Guinness a call.  First, I better shake this big pink dinosaur of my tail… I think he’s following me.

Finally, “Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.” So really, this blog isn’t helping you or I. Click it off man and get some sleep!

Find other facts about sleep deprivation at the National Sleep Research Project. Quoted material was obtained from their site.