Allow me to introduce the
newest member of our family: baby Benjamin!
My wife gave birth a few days
ago and we are just getting settled back home.
She had an uncomplicated delivery and has been recovering quickly. Now I understand why everyone told us to “get
some sleep while we still can” before the arrival of our baby. They were right!
While we’ve both read a lot
of information about what to expect with a baby, we are still learning every
day.
At home caring for our
child
I am very grateful to be able to take 4 weeks off work to help raise my child and take care of my wife. My wife is lucky to have a job that will allow her to take 6 months leave to care for our boy (note: she is not getting 6 months worth of pay). So far it’s just been the 3 of us (me, my wife, and our son). Our parents have busy lives and will only be able to come visit infrequently. Next week, my wife’s parents will fly in to visit for two nights. In September, my father is going to visit for 3 weeks to come help. We helped him book a free round trip flight from Taiwan using our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. We feel lucky to have our parents interested in helping out, even if it is only for a little while.
I am very grateful to be able to take 4 weeks off work to help raise my child and take care of my wife. My wife is lucky to have a job that will allow her to take 6 months leave to care for our boy (note: she is not getting 6 months worth of pay). So far it’s just been the 3 of us (me, my wife, and our son). Our parents have busy lives and will only be able to come visit infrequently. Next week, my wife’s parents will fly in to visit for two nights. In September, my father is going to visit for 3 weeks to come help. We helped him book a free round trip flight from Taiwan using our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. We feel lucky to have our parents interested in helping out, even if it is only for a little while.
Some of our friends have
parents with no interest in getting involved with raising their grandkids. These grandparents may feel that they’ve
already done enough in raising their own child(ren), and don’t want to become a
day care service. I can respect that. Many of our friends hire nannies. A nanny can definitely make your life a lot
easier. Nannies can prepare food, clean
your house, wash the dishes, do the laundry, change your child’s diaper, bathe
your child, potty train your child, and much more. This comes with a price; full time nanny
service can cost over $4,000 per month.
We briefly considered hiring
a part time nanny. Many of our friends
have nannies. Our parents felt bad that they could not help us raise our son,
and even offered to help pay for a nanny to come help us. We talked about this for a while and decided
that we did not want to depend on a stranger to come into our home to raise our
child. I don’t have a problem with
hiring a nanny – a nanny raised my sister and me and I feel like we turned out
just fine. We just chose to go without. Plus, who will love your child more you and
your own family? For the next few weeks,
I’ll be the nanny.
I’ve heard on the opposite
end that some grandparents are a little bit too
involved in helping to raise their children. Mothers and mother-in-laws who mean well may bicker
and argue with new parents over different methods of caring for the child. Some people just don’t want grandma and
grandpa staying over all the time. A
newborn can strain this relationship and make things more stressful. It’s kind of nice to have just the two of us
watch our child.
We aren’t turning away all
help. Many friends and family members have
stopped by to visit for a few hours, bringing nourishing food and even cooking
fresh meals for us. This is much
appreciated. If someone is offering to
help, I say accept it!
Sleep deprivation
Any parent who has experienced a lack of sleep while raising their child knows that it is no fun. We have both been very sleep deprived the last few days (my wife especially). There have been times where the two of us have felt delirious, feeding, burping, and changing diapers on autopilot. Did you know that sleep deprivation has been used in brainwashing, torture, and interrogation? When you’re not sleeping enough, it’s easy to lose track of the time and day of the week.
Any parent who has experienced a lack of sleep while raising their child knows that it is no fun. We have both been very sleep deprived the last few days (my wife especially). There have been times where the two of us have felt delirious, feeding, burping, and changing diapers on autopilot. Did you know that sleep deprivation has been used in brainwashing, torture, and interrogation? When you’re not sleeping enough, it’s easy to lose track of the time and day of the week.
Human newborns are the most
fragile of any kind of baby. Your
newborn is completely dependent on you for everything; they are completely
helpless. Newborns can’t sit up, walk,
talk, find food, control their muscles, or their bowel movements. Newborns can’t even burp by themselves!