I was picking up Grayson from the nanny/childcare person and had to leave a check for that week. I handed over the check and wondered if we pay too much for someone to watch Grayson. He was still in her arms sucking on his fist and smiling. She started making funny sounds talking to him and he got all excited. It was so nice to see the way they interacted. She genuinely cared for him and it was obvious in her face. Do we pay her too much? Not a chance. We pay her what we can being that I am out of work. The truth is I'd pay her 10 times as much to take care of Grayson. He's a very important part of my life and in her hands for a few hours a day. There isn't a price for that. Instead of worrying about how much you pay for childcare, spend a moment just being grateful that someone is watching over your treasure while you work or go about your day. The ideal situation would be that we were financially set and was able to take care of him ourselves but that's a long way off.

Grayson, you are 3 months old and about 2 feet tall. You can't exactly sit up on your own but you try. We have a good time putting you in your Bumbo Chair and watching you wiggle around. This week has been a rough one with mom having to go back to work and you going to to childcare. I got to see a lot of you during the weeks but now I feel like I am seeing less of you. Granted you had been out with your mom during maternity leave going to baby yoga classes and having a fun time with your baby friends, it just feel different with mom at work and you somewhere else while I talk to people on the phone and continue looking for a job. I wish I was domesticated enough to be an at home dad or financially abundant enough to let mom spend her days with you but that's not the reality we are in and we are making the best of it. by meg_meg_ Your morning routine is our favorite. When you first wake up you seem to be in the best mood ever. Unlike when you wake up from a nap when ...

Sorry readers. Well, the 20+ of you that have stuck around. I've been enjoying fatherhood. I lost my job a few weeks ago and have been able to spend a lot of time with Grayson that I would never have had if I worked. I should be writing more but I've been to caught up with the boy and with being unemployed. Grayson is just about 3 months old. My wife has been doing a very good job of documenting his growth with pictures. I know I am biased but I think I have the cutest baby ever. She started making little onesies for him with numbers so we can keep something more than photos to remember how small our little monkey is. I need to be better at writing about all of this suff. Everyday is something new with this guy.

Grayson, You're only 7 weeks old and watching you grow is truly amazing to me. Seeing you develop and begin interacting if even on a small level, has been a blessing. I want to make sure you have every opportunity to grow in a thriving environment. Truth is, I want you to have more than I ever did and I will do everything I can to make that a reality. Last week dad lost his job. The first thing I thought of after getting the call of doom was how to make sure this situation doesn't impact you in any way. You're too little to know about the economy or understand the meaning of a 10% state unemployment rate but as you grow up, you will know that it's not a good thing to be out of work in these times. Your mom and I were hoping that my job would be around and we could find a way to tighten things up so that you could have your mom home with you as you grew. But life has a way of throwing curve balls and this is one of them. Your mom and I had a moment of devastation when we found ...

Just over a month old the little man is growing before our eyes. It's odd looking at pictures from just a couple weeks ago and now seeing how much he has changed. He's getting bigger and his features are becoming more apparent. We can't decide if he looks more like one of us than the other but it's nice to see that there are pieces of him that take after each of us. So far he's got my blue eyes but his mom's eye shape. which is great because with big blue eyes he stands out more. I won't lie, the first few weeks were rough having to wake up every few hours for feeding or just to rock him back to sleep but recently, he's been going to sleep around 10PM and staying asleep until about 4AM when he wakes up and let's us know he's ready for food. By 'letting us now' I mean we hear his cries through the walls and in the Baby monitor as if in stereo. My wife takes on the brunt of the baby duty since I work at an office all day and at 4AM when he wakes up she takes care of ...

Pretty uneventful. Grayson sleeps a lot other than when it's time for feeding, bathing or some other activity. We have taken him out a few times to get some sun. I don't feel 100% comfortable bringing him everywhere since he's so tiny but I need to get over that. He had a Dr. appt. this week and he seems to be doing very good. His weight is up and the Dr. said he has a very strong neck. All in all, my baby is doing great. I'm getting about 6-7 hrs of sleep but not in one shot. There are still a couple times during the night that one of us needs to wake up, go bounce on the yoga ball for a few minutes to put the little man back to sleep. I think over time that will go away. When do babies start sleeping through the night?

As much as I love my son, I can't stand the smell of poop. Especially the smell of newborn poops. I've tried my best to change as many diapers as I can, I do solicit the help of my wife when I can. The wiggle worm I call my son is a hard one to control during changing time. With arms flailing and legs kicking, changing a diaper can turn into a 5 minute ordeal. No such luck on this day when Grayson decided to unleash hell in his diaper and it was my turn and my wife felt it was a perfect opportunity for a photo opp.

Maybe I'm paranoid but I think there should be a set of eyes on the baby every minute of the day. Maybe that's excessive but something inside makes me hypersensitive to making sure he is alright. During the day it's easy. We are usually holding him or he's laying down next to us sleeping after a snack. I remember in Basic Training I used to hate pulling fire guard at night. Every night a group of recruits were tasked with spending an hour at some point of the night sitting at a desk on one end of the barracks waiting for the building to catch on fire. It never did. The way the rotation worked, everyone would get at least one night off a week from breaking a sleep cycle to sit at a metal desk with nothing to do but watch the clock and wake up the next troop an hour later. Somehow I always had a shift between 1AM and 4AM. I loved my night off. Having a baby reminds me of this because I catch myself waking up at night and watching the baby sleep just to make sure he's breathing and alright. Yes, it's neurotic but I know ...