Paternal ProsePaternal ProseThis blog chronicles my fatherhood experiences from the months prior to the birth, the birth, and beyond. Articles
Cooper Virus
2007-08-19 22:03:00 Cooper brought home his first cold from daycare earlier this week. Now, mommy and daddy are sick, Cooper is better, and happy as a clam. Before Cooper, if we were both sick, we would have been laying around feeling sorry for ourselves. Now, pitying ourselves is not an option, and I actually realize that being ... More About: Virus , Family , Insight , Cooper , Observations
Aging
2007-08-14 05:29:00 This week has seen me reflecting on my age a bit, all triggered by a doctor’s visit last week. When Cooper is getting ready to head off to college, I’ll be fifty. It’s hard to imagine myself at that age, and if I start thinking about it, I feel pretty depressed. Heck, when Cooper is ... More About: Family , Insight , Experiences , Aging , Fatherhood
Last Night
2007-08-11 19:22:00 Last night, I slept like a baby. So did Cooper. Everyone kept telling us that once we had a kid, we could forget about sleep for eighteen years. Cooper has been sleeping through the night for a little over a month, and I’ve been sleeping better than I was before he was born. I can’t ... More About: Night , Experiences
Need Sleep, Must Cry
2007-08-04 17:08:00 As I sit here writing this, Cooper is fussing because he hasn’t had his morning nap yet. It’s funny how children and babies cry when they’re tired, but don’t realize how easily the problem could be remedied. We’ll probably have to deal with this for a few more years. When Cooper is a teenager, however, ... More About: Humor , Observations , Experiences , Sleep , Must
Go Cooper!
2007-08-03 05:23:00 Daddy cheers Cooper on. Originally uploaded by Queen Kandis Cooper is getting very good at holding his head up, and he’s enjoying tummy time much more these days. Right before this picture was snapped by my lovely wife, he was inching forward while on his stomach. He’s ... More About: Observations , Experiences
Eye on the Bottle
2007-07-30 04:20:00 Eye on the Bottle Originally uploaded by rbseaver I had to get off my ass and run upstairs for the camera so I could get this shot. He was either extremely proud of having consumed 8 ounces of formula, or wondering why the bottle was still empty. More About: Observations , Experiences
The Therapeutic Benefit of a Baby
2007-07-26 05:37:00 When I’m having a shitty day at work, or what seems like a shitty day, all I need to do is look at a picture on my desk of my smiling son. It’s instant therapy that immediately brings a smile to my face. That’s another one of those great things about babies that you don’t know ... More About: Baby , Insight , Experiences , Fatherhood , Benefit
Dirty Diapers? Not So Bad.
2007-07-25 05:42:00 Before Cooper was born, one of my fears about caring for an infant was changing dirty diapers. I’ve discovered over the past few months that it’s just not that bad. After tonight’s food catastrophe, however, I might actually start enjoying the dirty diaper changes. And, yes, I’m referencing my other blog in this post. Tacky? I ... More About: Humor , Family , Dirty , Experiences , Diapers
Label-Conscious
2007-07-25 02:54:00 As much as I enjoy fatherhood, I still have trouble coming to terms with the “Dad” label. I often think to myself “I’m not a dad, I’m too young,” or “I’m not serious enough to be a dad!” I still feel like a child in a lot of ways, so how can I possibly be ... More About: Experiences , Label , Fatherhood , Cons , Abel
The Awesomeness That Is Cooper
2007-07-25 02:49:00 I’m amazed at how much more I seem to love Cooper every day. Every time I look at him, I feel like my jaw drops, as I’m in complete awe of what Kandis and I have created. It’s hard to imagine life before Cooper. He’s also the best-looking baby I’ve ever seen, so that makes ... More About: Experiences , Fatherhood , The A , Some
Day Care Thoughts and Beyond
2007-07-17 04:26:00 Cooper started day care last week. The staff at the facility tells us how much they like Cooper, and that he’s a good baby. I wonder if they say that to all the parents. I got to pick him up after work today, which is great after a long day’s work. After staring at a computer ... More About: Thoughts , Care , Experiences , Day Care
Three?s Company
2007-07-14 17:17:00 This morning, Kandis brought Cooper into bed with us. We weren’t quite ready to get out of bed yet (it’s been a rough week), and the grunts and groans we were starting to hear on the baby monitor were increasing in frequency and volume. Normally, that indicates that Cooper is waking up and getting ready ... More About: Family , Company , Experiences , Fatherhood , Three
Revival
2007-07-07 05:41:00 I’ve revived my previous blog which was entitled “The Ordinary American”. I’ve found I just can’t stay away from current events, politics, and daily life as writing topics. You can take a gander here. I’m not sure how I’ve deluded myself into thinking I can maintain two blogs, when I didn’t seem up to the ... More About: Viva , Revival
The Amazing Super-Duper Cooper
2007-07-07 05:35:00 I’m amazed by Cooper ’s development over the past few months. He’s now able to hold his head up almost perfectly - the bobble head days are quickly fading. He’s started making sounds that are most certainly the very early beginnings of language, and there is a clear distinction between his happy, annoyed, and upset sounds. ... More About: Super , Observations , Experiences , Amazing
Fun Times
2007-07-06 05:42:00 Nothing beats bouncing your infant son on your knee while playing Chug-a-Lug, by Roger Miller. More About: Humor , Experiences , Times
Travelin?, Man!
2007-07-04 16:56:00 On July 2nd, Cooper’s very first trip came to an end at 10:30 PM, when we landed at Austin-Bergstrom Airport. He did very well, and slept through most of the flights. There was very little fussing while he was awake, as he often seemed transfixed by all the sights and sounds of the airports. It was ... More About: Travels , Infancy , Experiences
Freaky Cooper
2007-06-25 04:06:00 Sometimes while Cooper is feeding and starts to fall asleep, I can see his eyeballs start to roll back in his head. I know this is a natural occurrence with the onset of sleep, but to watch it is quite jarring. I have issues with anything eye-related as it is, and to watch my infant ... More About: Infancy , Observations , Year 1 , Experiences
More Diaper Tales
2007-06-24 01:37:00 Today, Cooper decided to urinate as I was changing his diaper. Since the last diaper story, I learned my lesson, and now cover the little urine factory with a cloth to keep myself from being squirted. Unfortunately, the cloth doesn’t protect the surface of the changing table, so midway through the change, Cooper was laying ... More About: Humor , Experiences , Tales , Fatherhood , Tale
Happy Father?s Day
2007-06-17 18:45:00 Happy Father ’s Day to me! Today was my first Father’s Day, and I thought it might be fun to do a little self-assessment — a progress report of how I’ve done as a dad so far. During the very first few days after his birth, it was great. We were both living on strictly adrenaline and ... More About: Insight , Happy , Experiences , Fatherhood
Feeling Needed
2007-06-10 21:21:00 Last night after Cooper’s feeding, he decided he wasn’t happy a half hour or so after I put him down. He started to cry and I picked him up to see what was wrong. With an expression that seemed to say “Please help me, Dad. I can’t tell you what’s wrong, but something isn’t right,” ... More About: Experiences , Feeling , Feel
Behaving Like Two Adults
2007-06-07 07:20:00 Cooper went down to sleep at about 10:30 tonight, and Kandis and I were able to go to bed and talk to each other for about an hour about adult topics. It was just like back in the old days, and I was reminded that a “normal” adult life is still possible (albeit not as ... More About: Marriage , Insight , Experiences , Like , Ving
Pukin? (Got My Chips Cashed In)
2007-06-06 05:55:00 Don’t read this if you have a weak stomach. Cooper puked his guts out tonight — literally. I think I saw some intestinal lining fly across my line of sight as he projectile vomited. He’d been fussy all night, and we weren’t quite sure what was wrong. I found out at about 9:50 PM as I ... More About: Experiences , Chips , Chip
Sleep When The Baby Sleeps
2007-06-06 05:47:00 The title of this post may be the worst piece of advice ever peddled by the parenting establishment. How, in the name of all that’s good and decent, is one supposed to get anything accomplished if one sleeps when the baby sleeps? As an example, here are the things Kandis and I would be unable ... More About: Humor , Baby , Observations , Experiences , Sleep
What They Don?t Tell You (But Should Have)
2007-06-02 12:23:00 An hour or so ago, after finishing up a night feeding with Cooper, I thought of what I might say to someone who asked how parenthood has been for me thus far. Here’s what I’ve come up with (I’ll ask you to pardon the grammar, as it’s 5 AM, and I’m going for a stream-of-consciousness, ... More About: Observations , Experiences , Tell
The Many Sounds of Cooper
2007-06-01 13:37:00 Cooper has an impressive range of noises. He has an ability to make sounds with his mouth closed that I can only duplicate with my mouth open, and he can even coo while simultaneously feeding, which I’m certain is beyond the capability of the rest of us mortals. Is it any wonder that a baby ... More About: Sounds , Infancy , Cooper , Observations , Experiences
Payback?s a Bitch
2007-05-27 16:44:00 Last night was payback for the string of relatively easy nights we’ve had with Cooper over the past week. It’s as if he’d regressed about three weeks. He was awake multiple times, and would hardly drink any of the formula we prepared for him. It looks like constipation again. Let’s hope tonight goes a little ... More About: Infancy , Year 1 , Experiences , Bitch , Payback
The Soothing Sounds of Johnny Cash
2007-05-26 21:03:00 Cooper was fussy this morning, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I flipped the iPod on and started playing some Johnny Cash songs. He was either bored or soothed, because he was asleep within five minutes. I don’t think of relaxation when I think of Johnny Cash, but the 4/4 time and ... More About: Sounds , Infancy , Year 1 , Experiences
3 O?Clock Feed
2007-05-26 17:12:00 I had a nice feeding with Cooper from 3-4 AM today. Absent was my usual impatience and frustration. Maybe it was the Vicodin and Soma that I had taken at night for back pain, or maybe I’m growing up a bit. I was able to enjoy the time, watching his eyes look around in the ... More About: Clock , Infancy , Year 1 , Experiences , Feed
Nice Camera, Dad!
More articles from this author:2007-05-19 05:19:00 Originally uploaded by rbseaver. I know I’m biased, but how could you not love this face? I snapped this picture of Cooper tonight after some fussiness. As you can see, he had calmed down quite a bit here, and appeared very intrigued by my presence. More About: Camera , Infancy , Year 1 , Experiences , Nice 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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