The Crib: Our First Night

02/02/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Super Bowl, what Super Bowl? We’ll be too busy watching a baby monitor for round two tonight.

Kelley and I were glued to the thing all day after laying Avery down for a nap in the crib yesterday. Daytime naps aren’t always easy (nothing is with sleeping), but at night, getting Avery to sleep is like selling a minx coat to animal rights’ activists*; not happening. I blame it on having something to do with the Moon’s gravitational pull affecting only children up to a certain age. Hey, who can ACTUALLY prove me wrong?

Regardless, getting Avery to sleep and keeping her asleep is a difficult task that neither one of us have mastered. Does anyone really master this? If you have, please come over for a good meal and a warm home.

After our nightly routine of bath time and Kelley giving the ol’sleepy boob treatment, she laid Avery in her crib and we hoped for the best. 10 minutes later, that hope went out the window and Kelley was back in to soothe her. After 3 more rounds of this, she finally seemed to quiet down and accept the crib!

Of course that would be too easy; she was back at it just squirming in her swaddle within 30 minutes. Damn. Hands flailing about as if swaddles could actually keep this night demon at bay and legs pumping up and down; she was not happy.

Kelley and I agreed that since she was not crying out loud, that we’ll go to bed and see how it plays out. In bed, we watched and listened and finally fell asleep as Avery seemed to subside in her wiggly ways.

2:30 a.m. – Kelley wakes me to go and get her since she was crying and probably need to feed. Thank you, boobs, for providing such wonderful food for our baby!! Okay, thank you, Kelley, too. : )

And that marked the end of the first night in the crib. Avery slept with us the rest of the night, and on me for several hours. My own living, squirmy, and fussy blanket!

So, that Super Bowl thing happening today….might be replaced with us watching the baby monitor as we try for round 2 as I said earlier. Maybe we’ll catch the end of it, but if Avery stays in her crib for even longer, it’s a win for us!

Any tricks we should know about on how to keep a squirmy baby from breaking free and waking herself up with crazy arms and razors (fingernails) attached? We ordered a Woombie that we are anxiously awaiting and hopefully that will keep the hands from breaking loose. Kelley didn’t think my rubber band idea was good…..

* I’m not against animal rights’ activists, just made for a good example.

Food

Simply7 Lentil Chip Crusted Baked Fish in a Snap

02/02/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Kelley and I were at Costco and happened upon this giant bag of Simply7 Lentil Chips about 2 weeks ago. We both said they sounded good, and after I scrutinized the ingredients, they seemed fairly decent. Non-GMO is a big one I look for too. After going back and forth, I repeatedly asked Kelley if she would help me eat the bag if we got this plus-sized potato sack of lentil chips. “Yes, I’ll help.”, she replied. Ha….

Fast forward to now and after her “helping” by eating about 10 of the eleventy million chips, I was almost through the bag. Since I was tired of throwing them on my salads, eating them with carrots (pretty good, by the way), dipping in Greek yogurt, and just straight up snacking on them, I figured I’d use the rest in a recipe.

Thus, the crusted baked fish idea came about. We had a giant pack (yes, from Costco) of wild Dover Sole that I needed to cook, so why not add some crushed chips?

All you need is an almost empty gigantic bag of lentil chips, white fish of choice (chicken would be good too), and an oven.

First off, you need to crush the chips. Being a parent, I made use of stroller and swing, as you can see. Hand crushing would work too, but it’s not as fun.

Once they are crushed, toss in about 5 Dover Sole filets (these are thin, so adjust accordingly with what you have), fold the bag, and shake to coat. The chips don’t stay on very well, probably needed to use egg wash, but there’s no time when working against a sleeping baby clock!

After they are coated, lay on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes. The house will smell pretty fishy, that’s a good indicator they’re almost done.

Remove from oven, let cool, then serve with a side of steamed veggies like broccoli or Brussels, and maybe quinoa or a sweet potato. For an extra kick, I like topping the fish with some salsa, so feel free to do the same.

Not the prettiest, but nothing is after it's broken down by your stomach acid. Just saying.... — Not the prettiest, but nothing is after it’s broken down by your stomach acid. Just saying….

There you go, quick, easy, delicious, and healthy all together. Make a lot for leftovers; as parents, we can always use the extra time!

Parenting

What I’ve Learned After 2 Days as a Stay-at-home Dad

02/01/2014 R.C. Liley 9 Comments

Not much. I’m still confused and trying to figure things out, but I am more comfortable with the role.

I have been able to get Avery to take long naps in her crib without too much fussing. Swaddling, taking queues from yawns and watching the clock are very helpful. Oh, and accepting the crying in my face for a while until she gives into sleep.

Eating while she sleeps is something I need to work on though. I get so excited about the time I have to get other things done, I sometimes forget to actually just sit and eat. For her first nap of the day, I rush to the garage to try and get in a workout. Listening to music while working out is a thing of the past, now I listen to a baby monitor. I’m still trying to learn the lyrics there….

Husband and wife do not always see eye to eye with parenting styles. This is a big a one! If I know she has been fed, changed, and burped, I will let her cry and scratch my chest with those ~~razors~~ nails longer than Kelley will. Kelley will get up, bounce around, change positions, and hum loudly until Avery calms down. Are either of us doing it wrong or right? I don’t think so, it’s just us having our own ways.

Of course we argue over these differences as I’m sure most parents do, but we can also learn from each other this way.

Just last night I tried holding the screaming Avery while laying flat in the recliner. After several minutes of her thrashing and wailing, Kelley told me I’m doing it wrong. I hate being told I’m wrong (even if I am), and usually refuse to do as suggested. C’mon, please tell me I’m not the only one like this!

I own the both of you!! Now change me, then food!

Anyway, Kelley said I need to sit up and rock so she wasn’t flat. After resisting these instructions, I gave in and did as told. Avery settled down, I then reclined and we both slept. Wife – 1, R.C. – 0.

We’re only 11 weeks into, so there is a lot of learning to come. Hopefully we learn to let each other go about their own methods and only intervene when something is seriously awry.

After making chocolate pancakes and coffee, for Kelley this morning, any argument left from last night is gone and all is well. Until night falls again….

At the end of the day, we are all happy to have our beautiful girl and know that we’re strengthening our relationship by raising Avery together. Yes, a little fighting is healthy, right?

Parents, do you and your significant other have different ways to handle your kids? Be honest, how many fights have started because of this?