I’m using the line “I now have to go to my other job” quite a bit these days. That “other job” is being a father … again 😉 So when I leave the office and get home, the life of a family man begins. That includes (as many of you know) tending to a tired and recovering wife, feeding/changing /burping a newborn (who sleeps a lot, but not consecutively, which is annoying), and a 3 year old who is full of energy (I swear he’s running on Duracell sometimes). Now, I’m not complaining, or at least I’m trying to not complain too much… let’s just say that nowadays I envy married folks who have raised their children or who don’t have children yet… I live vicariously through them… But then I look at these little creatures that I helped create… and when I see this new guy (baby Daniel Carabash – my 1 week old), I just want to start singing:
♫ Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up,
Gimme Your Heart, Gimme Gimme Your Heart
Gimme Gimme
Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up,
Gimme Your Heart, Gimme Gimme Your Heart
Gimme Gimme
All Your Love,
All Your Love!… ♫
I apologize if that song (or the French version) is now stuck in your head. Feel free to send me the $1.29 iTunes bill 😉
And here are some pics of the little guy… (sorry about the quality; they are iPhone pics). Also, I’m not sure why he looks so angry in the last pic (maybe it’s just gas):
Ok. Now for some observations… First and foremost, yes it is easier the second time around. You are more confident. You don’t sweat the small stuff as much. With our first one (“Michael Carabash” born January 16, 2013 and weighing in at 6.6 lbs), we probably worried a bit too much. And we definitely bought too much junk. Sufficed to say, Babies R Us and Shoppers Drug Mart loved us. We bought every type of pacifier, bottle nipple (slow flow, etc.), air vaporizer, humidifier, de-humidifier, swing, play set, stroller, crib, car seats, etc. And when he came out, who knew that you needed baby monitors in 3 separate rooms? Geeze… And don’t get me started when it came to traveling. That was a big headache. Whenever we’d go anywhere, we’d take three suitcases: 2 for him and 1 for Paris and I combined. Brutal! Heck, leaving the house was a torturous 30 minute ordeal (pack the diaper bag; change the baby; feed the baby; dress and pack the baby; warm the car, etc.). The only good part now is that with S.A.M., I can warm her using my cell phone from anywhere in the world (using the Tesla app). I seem to be a big complainer these days… these are all problems we all experience… I just think it was easier ‘back in the day’ when our parents wouldn’t need to buy all this ‘stuff’… But I digress…
This time around, it’s different. With Daniel Carabash (born January 25, 2016 and weighing in at 7.7 lbs), we are better prepared. I use some secret tricks I learned 3 years ago. Like how to listen to the baby for those different sounds (“N” sounds mean they’re hungry, “Eh” sounds mean they have gas, “Ow” sounds mean they’re tired, and general screaming means: “Change Me!” or something’s wrong. Timing and scheduling are everything. Getting help.. that’s a new one. I’m actually looking into getting someone called a ‘night nanny’ to watch Daniel at night. I never thought the concept existed 3 years ago with baby Michael. Why was I doing the 4 a.m. feedings?
Additionally, what really shocked ME is how much my 3 year old has grown up since we brought baby Daniel home. I used to think (until a week ago) that Michael was my baby. I used to tell people that he looked the same today as the day he came out. His attitude hadn’t changed a bit. But, when you look at a 40+ lb 3 year old who can walk, talk, play, think, remember, eat, sleep on their own through the night, etc. —- all of a sudden they’re no longer your baby. Yeah, they’re still your child or kid… but they’re sure not a baby! Michael is a big boy now. Daniel is the baby. Just picking up Daniel made me realize that.
Funny thing someone mentioned to me the other day (and I didn’t do this on purpose either…): Daniel + Michael Carabash = DMC. Succession plan anyone 😉 ? I’m sure David is now thinking: I need to have more kids with those letters at the beginning of their names!
