Lessons from My 6-Month-Old Baby
I’ve been watching my daughter Senita carefully since she was born and today, on the eve of celebrating her six-month birthday, share a few of the lessons I’ve learned from her. Read More
8 Ways to (Almost) Make a Baby Laugh
I spend my days anxiously cycling through a routine of peek-a-boos, tickles, and funny voices chasing the most elusive laugh I’ve ever sought.
Following are the eight most promising ways I’ve identified to (almost) make a baby laugh: Read More
Baby on Board: Surreal Experiences Driving with a Baby
What are Baby on Board signs supposed to accomplish?
Rules of the road must apply universally across the board or else there’s chaos. Read More
Dad Nods: The Oddly Charming Way Other Dads Holla Atcha
I was just outside the Canadian border in a Cracker Barrel men’s room soothing my shrieking three-month-old daughter as she covered her diapers, clothes, and changing pad with pee when I received my first Dad Nod.
“Been there,” said the middle-aged stranger with a snort and a laugh before unzipping his pants and urinating three feet beside me. My initiation was complete. Read More
Dispatches from a Stay-at-Home Dad: Newborn Edition
Now that a full month has passed since my wife went back to work, I can reliably report that so long as my daughter Senita cannot crawl, walk, talk, or tell on me (and continues to nap frequently), I like being a stay-at-home dad.
That may change as her powers increase but I’m hopeful the experience will only get even better. Read More
Choosing the Perfect Baby Name
Many pregnant women give their babies a nickname in the womb. They’re often food-related like Peanut or Jelly Bean or Arugula.
Our nickname was Senny, short for Senator Mortimer Gaffney, the name I’ve chosen for a future son. Read More
To My Friends with Kids: Sorry I’ve Been Avoiding You
Hey pal, hope you’re doing well.
Sorry that I’ve been avoiding you since you became a parent. It seemed like a lot to handle and I didn’t want to get in the way.
Also, I had very little interest in your kids. No interest at all, to be honest.
But now I have my own kid so that’s changed. Self-interest has made me a better man. We should hang out again sometime! Read More
My Newborn Daughter Sees Ghosts
After I described the astounding number of signs indicating that my baby communicates with ghosts, the doctor shrugged it off as my daughter “going to her happy place.”
I rarely disagree with a doctor on matters of medicine, but edible happy places aren’t legal in this state – and if they were, two months is far too young to try. Read More
Daddy Karaoke
Participating in school musicals is the most on-point preparation I’ve had for parenting.
They prepared me for the clunky emotional transitions that have me spontaneously bursting into song whenever it seems like the baby might cry.
I always found it peculiar when townspeople in musicals started bouncing up and down to ramp up a song from the leading man, but then I had a baby and started immediately bouncing her on my knee at the slightest sign of a furrowed brow.
Oh, we’ve got trouble my friend, right here in infant city. Read More
I Can’t Stop Comparing My Newborn Baby to a Cat
If my cats saw a pet carrier, they knew they were going to the vet.
Yet when my baby sees her car seat she just sits there trying to figure out what the wiggly things are connected to her hand. Spoiler alert: they’re fingers. Read More