Daddy reflects on his first two days alone with baby

I really meant to write this post yesterday, but I don't think I've ever been more tired in my entire life. Jennie returned to work on Monday, leaving me in charge of Alyssa ... *gulp*, alone!

You see, Jennie and I decided early on in her pregnancy that we would do whatever it takes to ensure that our baby wouldn't have to go to daycare. Much to my surprise, both of us managed to work out new schedules at our existing jobs to allow for that (thanks very much, CENT and Sir Walter!)

Anyway, I'm now the official caretaker on Mondays and Tuesdays. I somewhat expected that this new responsibility was going to be challenging, but I never would've thought that it would be more exhausting than the paying job.

The strange thing is that I didn't really have any trouble with the stuff I was expecting problems with. Diaper changes were nasty but manageable. Alyssa swallowed her vitamins without the threat of a projectile counterattack. Nap times were frequent and encouragingly lengthy. I don't even remember her crying for more than a couple of minutes or so.

What did cause me some grief were the feedings. Apparently, daddy's bottle isn't quite up to par with mommy's ... er, bottles. Between the problems with flow control (... don't ask), a too-powerful-for-its-own-good bottle warmer, an exploding bottle liner, and Alyssa's passion for eating, I'm afraid I'll never equal mommy's feeding time prowess.

The other major issue was that, in spite of Alyssa's overall good behavior, I just couldn't relax myself long enough to enjoy what little spare time I had. Everyone says to nap when the baby naps, but I'm too much of a deep sleeper to take advantage of that luxury.

So, instead of chilling out while she slept, I spent the entire time doing household chores that I've been putting off for weeks. Oh, and I also started up my new exercise routine of jogging, aerobics, and weight-lifting (as if I really needed another thing to tire myself out with). And throughout all of this activity, I constantly paused whatever I was doing to make sure Alyssa was still there, still dry, and still breathing.

So, having put in my two days of daddy-baby time, I've got nothing but extreme respect for all stay-at-home moms and dads. How Jennie managed to make it through 6 weeks of this, I'm not exactly sure. But then I remember the smile that Alyssa flashed at me while performing the diaper-changing ritual yesterday, and I think I understand.