Babies do not sleep all the time. And even when they do, you’re not going to be able to get much done. That is one of the lessons I’ve learned so far as a new dad.
Before Kim and I decided to have a baby, we did an exercise where at various times throughout the day we would ask ourselves “What would we be doing right now if we had a baby?” To a lot of these questions, we’d answer “The same thing. The baby would just be sleeping in the corner/on the couch/in his crib while we worked/ate/watched tv.” Not really.
I’ve read that newborns can sleep as much as 16-18 hours a day. Isaac is almost 3 months old. I’d say he sleeps 12-14 hours a day.
If we are lucky, Isaac will sleep 4-6 hours straight at night… and he’ll have a 3-4 hour nap in the middle of the day. The other x hours of sleep comes in 30min or 1-2 hour chunks. Worst of all, you can never tell how long one of these naps is going to be. So you’ll find you can do some dishes or a little bit of house work, but don’t think about getting into that long, involved work project while you’re “on shift”.
I don’t mean to paint a bleak picture of things or focus on the negative. After a couple months, Kim and I have figured out how to take care of Isaac and still get work done and take care of the house and have a bit of time alone or together. Family helps. However, I did underestimate how much attention a sleeping baby takes.
[edit: I’ll have to make sure to post some more upbeat stories.]
I’m told “it gets better” as he gets older. I think that instead of Isaac becoming better at “entertaining himself”, we’ll become better at getting things done in less time. I’ve already trimmed a bunch of wasted activity out of my daily routine.(Kim will tell you there is more to trim and she might be right.)
Babies require your attention even when they are sleeping. Get “things” done when you can.
So that’s lesson #1 I suppose. Before I learn any more lessons, I’ll be posting how I think things are going to go over the next 10-12 months. And then we’ll see how I fare.
On the fatblogging side of things: 237 pounds. 2775 calories. I tried to go out for a run to burn the extra 275 calories, but couldn’t make it. I’ll have to make it up tomorrow. I’ve been doing okay, but do get hungry between dinner and bedtime. When I’m hungry, I’m losing weight.