Second Week- Baby Sign Language,Teething, and Naps

This is my first blog about being a stay at home dad. I will try to make daily updates, but i know this will not be possible all the time. I feel lucky to be part of the growing movement of fathers who are actively wanting stay at home with their children. It is a cultural and societal shift that I believe is positive.

( I will  refer to my daughter as P. in my blog posts)

 It's my second week as a stay at home father.  I start the day with a cup coffee, Metro Morning( I live in Toronto, Canada, love the CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/audio/) and I sit P in her Bumbo. Then we start with the flash cards of baby sign language.  There is the belief that this helps children with speech and expressing themselves at an early age.  At first I was sceptical; but I have really witnessed progress.  (http://www.babysignlanguage.com/chart). It is ultimately ASL, so I check out this site for reference and new signs(http://www.lifeprint.com). It's actually awesome, because we are both learning another language at the same time. Well actually three for her; English, ASL, and French. Although French is left up to her mother.

Right now P  is sitting supported by the semi-circular breast feeding pillow, contemplating the meaning of some strange wooden objects. She's crying to the gods for their meaning. Grabbing, throwing, chewing and at the same time partially trying to pronounce words that only make sense to her. Like every parent does, you wonder what it is their child is thinking as they make noise, stare and look around. You hope it is something profound. Yet inevitably it's probably something powerful like" when is my next poop going to be coming" Hey, you never know.

P is in her 7th month and is getting her first baby teeth. Jesus I feel bad for her. P was born with a cleft lip and has under gone surgery. She is soooo brave. She continues to amaze me while she under goes her daily upper lip massage. This is done to ensure the scaring from the surgery is minimized. Let's face it,  when she is a 16 yr. old young women, and living in a society that objectifies women, having a scar on her face is going to difficult. It's hard enough being 16 and just trying to figure out life without one more obstacle.  I realize these are worries for another time. I will touch on this subject more in later posts. Back to  teething.  My wife and I try not to use the "sacred" Tempra as some would refer to it. When P is teething we try a meshed-ringed feeding device filled with ice or frozen fruit. Somedays it works, others we have to submit.

I am finding out very quickly that day to day is the only way to approach this amazing experience of raising my daughter. It is THE MOST IMPORTANT job or responsibility I could ever have. I am shaping and or harnessing my child's mind everyday.

I have unrealistic expectations of myself and of her already. The competitive parent comes into play. You want your child to be ahead of the pack in terms development. To speak early, to crawl or walk, to say dada or mama, to count to ten or be able to carry a conversation before any other child. But you soon realize your little bundle of joy grows in their own way and in their own time. That's O.K.! My wife reminds me of this from time to time and I listen. Signing off for now.

IN PEACE