Arrgh! - First day as the primary carer!!

I look after my son 4 days per 8. Tbh if it was hard you wouldn't get so many women happy to stay at home or bang out another when the first is due to go to school.

What a complete piece of **** it is, if you see it as fun rather than a chore.

I aint gonna lie up until he was almost 2 he would easily sleep for 12 hours and still has an hour or 3 during the day.

I get up we have breakfast together, get dressed. Spend 2 hours in his play room, generally reading books where I cross my legs and he sits on my lap. I love that. If it's a nice day we go to the park or for a walk etc.

Then he has some tea and a sleep.

After his nap we muck about it the garden, we have grown loads together this year. We play hide and seek, drawing, jigsaws.

It's great fun and I actually don't like it when the grandparents ring up asking if they can have him for the day. I don't stop them because it's important he spends time with them but I like our time just me and him.

If my mrs had more earning potential than me I could easily do this for 10 years.

My only struggle is teeth cleaning, my boy hates it. He runs to the corner of the room and sticks a waste bin over his head because he thinks if he can't see you, you can't see him.
 
Don't worry about the baby(ies), worry more about the quantity and quality of housework your wife is expecting you to do while she's out. My wife works Saturdays so I end up being the house husband that day and some of the things my wife seems to expect me to do defy reason, whatever you do though when she asks why you haven't done them, don't reply with "'cos I was lying on the sofa watching Mythbusters"
 
My only struggle is teeth cleaning, my boy hates it. He runs to the corner of the room and sticks a waste bin over his head because he thinks if he can't see you, you can't see him.

LOL! I can just imagine that. Fortunately for me my wife is a dentist, and she'll be in charge of all that jazz! ;)

Be interesting to see what some other peeps think about it, but everyone has their own experience at the end of the day and some children are a lot easier than others. Maybe you've been extremely lucky :D
 
My only struggle is teeth cleaning, my boy hates it. He runs to the corner of the room and sticks a waste bin over his head because he thinks if he can't see you, you can't see him.

That's great! I usually say to my daughter: "Because you've been a very good girl this morning, I'll let you clean your teeth all by yourself." and she thinks it's some kind of treat.
 
Don't worry about the baby(ies), worry more about the quantity and quality of housework your wife is expecting you to do while she's out. My wife works Saturdays so I end up being the house husband that day and some of the things my wife seems to expect me to do defy reason, whatever you do though when she asks why you haven't done them, don't reply with "'cos I was lying on the sofa watching Mythbusters"

I have that covered. I bought my son a small cleaning kit from the early learning center. He follows me round while I give the house a quick blitz, I've made it fun for him and he has a dance :D

He then gets pennies for his piggy bank and he thinks it's a game. I still do a shoddy job but we do the job together and I get all the benefits from the mrs while using child labour :D

 
Do not leave your child in the middle of a large double bed and turn you back for a moment, they will roll off...
 
I have that covered. I bought my son a small cleaning kit from the early learning center. He follows me round while I give the house a quick blitz, I've made it fun for him and he has a dance :D

He then gets pennies for his piggy bank and he thinks it's a game. I still do a shoddy job but we do the job together and I get all the benefits from the mrs while using child labour :D


Awesome little man :D
 
Good luck with it - I can honestly say it is the hardest thing I have done but also the most rewarding. To put it into context I got more sleep at Sandhurst, was less tired and got screamed at less :D Just remember it's all a phase - if everything is going wrong and you are at your wits end it won't last it just a phase they are going through likewise if you think you've got their routine sorted and everything is going fine then you are wrong it's just a phase and someone is about to stick a spanner in the works. And don't forget to use the reward mechanic to give them stuff you want them to have eg if you are really good then you can have a kiwi/banana/mango etc that way they think they are winning and you are getting what you want.
 
I took a 6 month break from work when our little one was 6 months old and the wife went back to work. It's tough, really tough but also tremendously rewarding. The biggest problem I had was missing the adult interaction that a work environment provides.

I was glad to go back to work but also very glad I had the opportunity to look after her and spend so much time with her as she developed. It's pretty magical really.
 
[FnG]magnolia;19476217 said:
The biggest problem I had was missing the adult interaction that a work environment provides.

This is a big problem - when you find yourself walking down the road humming the tune to Thomas and Friends or Zingzillas then you know it's time to enter the real world again.
 
Hey good luck with that phil.. and hats off to you. Not sure I'd have the will power.. I'm more likely to forward the them to a child minder and take the credit in return :)
 
Do not leave your child in the middle of a large double bed and turn you back for a moment, they will roll off...

Haha that's nailed on.

I made a rookie error last week. I got Joe all ready to go out. Sat him by the front door and said put your shoes on. I remembered I'd forgotten the tape measure from the garage (off to B&Q). I nipped to the garage, which is intergral in the house through the utility room. I'd been in there for 10 seconds when I heard the door behind me click.

He had followed me and tried to get in to see me. Doing so he turned the key and locked me in. I was stuck inside the garage, no key, no phone and even if I get outside the house through the garage no way to get back inside to my son.

It was at that point I had a swearing fit. I'd been lecturing my mrs on leaving keys in doors and fallen foul of something I'd been moaning about. I got out the garage and knocked on neighbours door to use the phone. It was at that point I realised I no longer know anyones number off the top off my head anymore except my own. It's all on my phone :D

After 20 minutes talking to my son behind the door making sure he was calm I came up with the idea of getting him to turn the key straight, I found an allen key in the garage and pushed the key through to him and got him to feed it to me through the letterbox.

I then swore my neighbour to secrecy :D
 
It's so difficult isn't it, although I'm sure you get used to the chaos.

Good luck with it - I can honestly say it is the hardest thing I have done but also the most rewarding.

[FnG]magnolia;19476217 said:
I took a 6 month break from work when our little one was 6 months old and the wife went back to work. It's tough, really tough but also tremendously rewarding.

I just didn't find it hard work at all tbh. Mostly it was fun and I had plenty of time to get things done.
 
Awesome little man :D

Hehe cute kids!

He looks like a diamond Danny :)

Cheers guys I've turned into one of those irritating fathers that pictures and videos everything there kids do. Especially weird as I never wanted kids and tbh resented my son for quite a few of his first months for 'ruining' my stable lifestyle.

He though is not getting a brother or sister :D
 
Cheers guys I've turned into one of those irritating fathers that pictures and videos everything there kids do. Especially weird as I never wanted kids and tbh resented my son for quite a few of his first months for 'ruining' my stable lifestyle.

He though is not getting a brother or sister :D

lets hope the internet doesn't archive that post for when he gets on a pc :p
 
My GF videos and photos everything too, she even had a video at the weekend of her dropping water bombs out our bathroom window onto our three year old.

He was not impressed and burst into tears, and screamed it wasn't fair.

I got the whole thing on video.
 
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