Nina sat in the back seat with him and he did much better than the cat. The cat MEOWS loud and Niko slept very quietly. When we arrived home, we were mentally and physically exhausted and that is probably how every parent feels. I screamed HELP silently, but nobody answered!!
“I really thought the first thing we would do was go upstairs and lay down in our own comfortable bed, gaze into each other’s eyes, and just laugh and cry and marvel over the fact that we created a beautiful human being,” I wrote in an earlier Daddy Diaries blog.
Well, we did make it upstairs but only to feed Niko. While Nina was breastfeeding, I had an opportunity to bring stuff from the car into our house, I showered and shaved, I discarded my dirty clothes for clean clothes, and I started the first load of laundry — all in less than 30 minutes. That is always going to be a great time for me to do stuff (at least until I can feed Niko with a bottle, which I hope will be soon). I am really looking forward to the time when I can take Niko for a Daddy-Son day out and let Nina sleep for a very long period.
After Niko’s meal was completed, Nina and I grabbed some stuff and headed downstairs to eat dinner and watch television. I couldn’t even tell you what we watched, but I know we didn’t have to think about who did what to who and why. I think it was a reality food show!!! Niko was in a wrap that Nina wore and was very comfortable. All I could see was his little head sleeping against her skin.
That evening, it felt so good to be in my own bed. We put Niko in the pack and play next to our bed. He was swaddled, sleepy, and had a very warm sleeping onesie on. Not even a minute later, he cried bloody murder. So, we held him till he fell asleep which happened very quickly and then placed him back in the pack and play and he cried bloody murder again. OK, so, he doesn’t like the pack and play.
I decided to take him into his bedroom so Nina could get some sleep. I played Beatles music for him and sang along with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. That worked for Niko as I held him in my arms for 2 hours in a rocking chair and guess who joined me for an hour on my lap? It was the cat. That was the first time Franklin has sat on my lap — he is a momma’s boy. Franklin cat knows there is something new in the house that is alive and that thing is very clingy to Nina. Franklin really wants to be in everything that is meant for the baby. He isn’t getting as many cuddles from Nina as he is used to. We have been kicking him out of the bedroom at night because we don’t want him hurting our baby. The cat was much louder than the baby on opening night.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, we took turns holding Niko so the other could sleep…tag teaming at its best. I am very glad we have Netflix and not cable because I could’ve very easily been brainwashed into buying stuff from paid programming (since my brain was extremely sleep deprived). I slept when Niko got fed in the bedroom.
I could’ve slept on the toilet, in the shower, while changing a diaper, opening the blinds, opening the door, walking down/up the stairs, cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, starting the laundry, folding the laundry, writing, on the cat tower, in the fireplace, on top of the bar top, on top of the coffee table, under the coffee table, in the crib, in the pack and play, on the cat tower, in the closet, in the pantry, on the bookshelves, or on top of the roof (no, this isn’t an Ambien take-over paragraph). Just letting you know how sleepy I was. I did fall asleep on the rocking chair and the couch while holding Niko (don’t worry, even though I was sleeping, I was still holding him tight — I wouldn’t put him in harms way).
On Saturday, Nina purchased a co-sleeper so Niko could have his own little comfy bassinet in our bed. It got delivered Monday and it actually worked. Yes, we are very careful not to roll over on him. It is convenient for breastfeeding because Nina doesn’t have to move her body at all (waking Nina up from her sleep is another story). Now, we just got to see if we can move it from our bed to the pack and play soon.
