Dad I Am

The twins are now crawling and pulling up on everything and everyone.

After four months enduring a "standard" double-wide stroller, we finally got a Mountain Buggy Urban Double. Wow! What a huge difference. We live in an urban downtown with rough sidewalks and grassy parks. Where it used to take two hand and strong effort to walk around, we can now easily push our MBUD with ease. One handed walking while drinking a coffee works fine too! Our three kids all love the MBUD, although only one of them is old enough to tell us as much. Our older son frequently runs for it and tries to climb in, before we can put one of his younger twin siblings in it. In short, it was well worth the extra money. Which, by the way, should mostly be returned in resale value many years from now. I think another reason we waited so long was to find a good deal on a used one. I wish we hadn't waited; we would have happier backs and more fun and fulfilling walks about town. Happy parenting of two or more!

We live in an expensive part of the US, and the DW got an estimate from a local baby proofing place. Their answer, somewhere in the range of $600 to $1000, with an in-person estimate needed of course. Are you kidding! Dads out there, you can easily do all baby proofing tasks, if you're even the least bit handy around the house. I'll cover the following projects: 1. Power sockets 2. Toilets 3. Safety gates 4. Cabinets (kitchen, bath). First, a bit of strategy. One thing we've learned with our toddler is that the challenges and dangers just keep changing. One month it was the coffee table. The next it was dining chairs. Now it seems to be climbing. Given that we never leave our son alone, except perhaps in his crib for naps or for brief moments, our concern wasn't building the fort-knox of baby proof houses. To do so, even with an unlimited budget, would require getting rid of all chairs for example, which is simply a non-starter. Thus, we aim to make our time supervising...

I've been a dad now for 16 months, and have learned quite a bit. With two more on the way in just a matter of weeks, a blog seemed like a good place to jot down what I've learned, in hopes of helping other dad's out there. The most important thing I've learned in these 16 months is: Your wife is always right. Let me rephrase: She really is always right, even when you know otherwise. See, a happy wife makes for a happy little one. Would you rather take the longer, less efficient, bumper-to-bumper route with your happy wife & little one, or take the quick efficient route with a raving ball of hormones and an unhappy kiddo? Next post will be all about something - A'ha! It'll be about baby proofing.