A Post Written by Super Daddy

It has become apparent to me that I’ve inherited super powers, only bestowed upon those that become parents. Sort of like joining a secret club. I could not have imagined having these powers before my son was born. Now that I have a daughter as well it only increases my status as a super hero. What makes this so, you say? Below is a partial list of my abilities (I cannot reveal all; that might get me kicked out of the Super club)

1) I can fart in public and get away with it. That’s right, while holding either or better yet, both of my kids, I can tear it up and NO ONE is going to say anything to me (except maybe my wife, but she’s part of the club too).

2) I can make a pbj… while holding a kid in each arm, one that acts like an octopus climbing to the top of my head and the other kicking her legs watching that octopus-boy! I can even spread the peanut butter evenly, as my mastery of this skill allows me to take my time.

A note from the editor.... check out the photos below to see this skill in various stages of development. :)

3) I can eat square pretzels into the letters L, C, U, and P. Sort of like food sculpting with your teeth. Not impressed? You try it, and try it under pressure after you hear “Eat this one into a C and then an L, daddy!”. I laugh at you mere mortals just crunching away uncontrollably as I attempt to interpret the entire alphabet in baked salty snack form.

At some point in the future I may reveal more, but I think that’s enough for now.

Auntie Laila's Blankets

Lucas and Sophie each have a special extra-soft blanket made by their Auntie Laila. We use these blankets more than any other that we have because they're the perfect size and perfect warmth for this time of year plus they're so soft the kids love to wrap up in them!

In the Thick of It

So my last blog entry was prematurely positive about us all getting healthier. Thank goodness Lucas is better- I had forgotten what a sweet and cute and fun and happy kid he is when he isn't sick! Sophie has been sick for 2 weeks now. Vomiting mucus and coughing so intensely she can barely take a breath between hacks. She can't sleep unless she's completely upright and in the Moby wrap. I took her to the Dr. today and he said he heard bronchial sounds, whatever that means. He's an osteopath (which I think is cool) so he gave her a homeopathic thing to take every two hours and if she isnt' better in 48 hours we'll start antibiotics.

So here's the part I wanted to write down in the blog to remember the tough infant time and remind myself I don't want to do this again when the itch for a 3rd baby gets a hold of me! A snapshot of the last 24 hours:

Last night, Sophie is coughing like crazy while she tosses and turns (we bring her into our room when she's sick). She can't find that sweet spot and after a minute starts crying and hacking and crying. I get up and suction the mucus out of her nose and then do a fast bouncing walk around our bedroom for the next 30 minutes to get her to settle. She falls asleep, I transfer her to the bed, we sleep 90 minutes. She wakes up snorting and coughing again. I attempt to nurse her to sleep in a sitting position, but she sounds like a panting bulldog with a cold. Then she vomits the feed exorcist style over my shoulder while I pat her back. She doesnt' feel any better. I throw a prefold diaper cloth over the vomit but don't feel like cleaning it up in the middle of the night. It can wait til morning. We repeat this pattern (only one more vomit though) all night. At one point her crying wakes Lucas so Laith goes in there to sleep with him but he's so tired that he's wired and doesn't fall back asleep for 3 hours!

The next morning Laith comes downstairs looking pale and pastey and exhausted and heads to work. I just wear Sophie in the Moby most of the day, letting her sleep when she's tired. My back and shoulders are killing me. Lucas is a little frustrated I can't play with him on the floor or hold him too. At the end of the day, Laith is at a meeting for parents of preschoolers because they're shutting down Lucas' school and we need to find a new place for him to go next fall. I'm attempting to put Sophie down for the night and she has just nursed to sleep. I'm about to transfer her to the bed. Lucas is feeling very non-independent and decides to wet his pants while he stands in place in his room. Then he starts yelling for me to help clean him up. Sophie wakes and starts crying. I go into Lucas' room and see two wet footprints on the floor. I tell him to take off his own wet pants and put on new underwear and wash his hands. I throw another cloth prefold diaper over the pee spot and notice that I haven't yet cleaned up the puke spots in our room from last night. Now we've got white cloth landmines all over our house. Awesome. I'm so tired I don't care. I'll clean those spots tomorrow. :)