It’s taken a while to put together this post since I’ve been back at work, but I had some personal thoughts after having spent my final 2 weeks of paternity as a stay at home Dad. First off let’s acknowledge that many folks don’t get the opportunity to spend 2 solid weeks with their kids as part of paternity so I’m grateful for that time.
BLUF: Kudos to the parents that are able to handle the job of Stay-at-Home Parent. It’s not easy and let’s face it…it’s a job. Like most jobs while there are difficulties, it’s also rewarding.
I joke that I’ll be the stay at home parent and Carin can work, but in reality I think I’m happy to be able to work where I do. What I do wish is that driving home didn’t take so long through traffic. I also caveat that Mommies have it harder. Carin was still doing the morning milk and prepping his food while I handled all the cleaning.
Below were some of my experiences and takeaways during Daddy Daycare
- It’s hard to focus too far in the future, you’re just trying to get the next task done
- You’re the conductor of the train, but there’s a lot of other stuff that’s not exactly in your control and if something tosses the train off schedule it’s hard to keep the rest of the day on track.
- Your day is structured around these fairly immovable tentpoles of food and naps so your day is chunked really strangely (for me)
- You’d think you can read or listen to podcasts or watch Netflix…but I couldn’t
- Read: you can kind of do it, but P vies for attention and also likes to grab/eat/tear books
- Podcasts: Hard to be present with P and actually grok podcast info (especially if you listen at 1.5+ speeds)
- Netflix: No screen time for P yet and he already inherently wants to look at screens
- I felt like I was always at Defcon 3/4ish with temporary rises to higher levels. If it was quiet for too long the alarm would sound and I’d do a check to see what P was up to
- Naps: Take them when he takes them and hope he gets a long one
- Kids change super fast…Over the 2 weeks I feel like P has changed in what he can do and is still discovering new things
- It is a somewhat monotonous lifestyle if you don’t mix it up. Carin signed us up for some music class things, etc to get out of the house
- Counterpoint to the above, I was still able to find something to mention most days. Sure the sample size is small, but if you’re present you’ll more likely than not, find something special about each day
- Enjoy the time with your kid while you can. They grow up super fast…P is almost 1.
