4 oz To Freedom

After nearly 3 months of training dad got the opportunity he was waiting for - to take on solo parenting responsibilities so that Sheri could attend a jewelry making class with her girlfriends. I'll admit that there was a part of me that was nervous about sailing all morning without our captain, who would be 20 minutes away... which is a long time if young Aiden decides dad isn't doing it for him anymore.

So with a kiss goodbye daddy took the reigns and our morning together started off great with a 30 minute nap in his swing (mom had done her part to start us off well with a full feed). He awoke suddenly, as he usually does, threw a short tantrum that led to a diaper change - WOAH, I think he's eating/processing more these days. We then proceeded to spend 20 minutes on our playmat and new vibrating chair downstairs (lesson for all those new/soon to be parents - the vibrating feature is very nice on ANY product, especially a bouncy chair). After wearing out our welcome, dad and Aiden proceeded to take a cradle walk outside (where I hold him like a football and sway back and forth), apparently our son loves when he sweats, cause he instantly cheered up in the 110 heat (that's in the shade mind you)... we headed back inside and it was time to eat.

The most critical point of the whole morning was upon us - time to get the bottle out and see if both of us are up for the challenge. Breast feeding is great for so many reasons, but one thing it doesn't do is train daddy and baby on how to feed when mom's not around. We had a 25% success rate on bottle feeding going into this morning, so the nerves were high - if I couldn't successfully master the bottle latch mom might have to make it a short jewelry class! I now know what Sheri must have felt like during those first few days of masting the latch... my son's happiness was entirely in my hands.

We typically target 4oz a feed...

The first 1.5oz went down smoothly... in one of dining table chairs with a number of classic iTunes jams playing in the background Aiden was settling into his bottle and dad was loosening up a bit (Modest Mouse, Boyz II Men, Interpol, and Montell Jordan all cheered us on)

The next 1oz required intervention - shifted from dining room chair to the couch, back to the chair, burped... 2.5oz down, 1.5 to go

With all my usual tricks exhausted (I don't have many to begin with), and a significant amount of milk to go I resorted to the ultimate back up plan for EVERYTHING Aiden related, the walk around the house method... after about 6 trips from living room to kitchen (with detours to maid's quarters, dining room, and backyard) we were down to our last 0.5oz



At this point baby and daddy were tired, having spent nearly 45 mins on the first 3.5oz... we sat down for the final push home in dad's TV chair, that's when Aiden gave in, could go no further... not in a "grumpy/cranky I want more food" way... but in a "thanks for all that delicious milk, I'm going to nap now" way... that has to be the cutest face I've ever seen - as his eyes rolled back, his lip hung open, and his body gave in to sleep. I've seen that face before, but always after Sheri did the heavy lifting and handed him over - this time I earned it!

Mom called 15 mins after Aiden fell asleep and I was still beaming when she returned home to a calm household (she was probably as nervous as I was about being 20 mins away). It was only a 3 hour adventure, but success is measured in small steps as a parent.



Two observations after the morning alone with my son:
1. Sheri is an incredible mother. She keeps our son fed, clean, and happy 24 hours a day... with only the occasional help from dad (bath, burp, etc)... I'm so proud of what she is doing with our son. Any success I have as a father is from mirroring her behavior and attitude.
2. Being a father is the most incredible experience of my life. It has changed how I prioritize my days, how I provide for my family, and how I define success in my life.