Daddy Duty

Everyone told me daddies have a different way of handling their babies. I thought I was going to be so progressive and flexible that I would be totally hands-off and comfortable with however Zach soothed and played with Isaac.  At first, it was hard!  When my baby cried, I wanted to comfort him.  I am much more possessive and protective than I thought I would be.  Also, I could have sworn Zach was doing things differently just to piss me off.  

For example...

Zach apparently is completely clueless about the amount of noise he makes while doing ANYTHING.  I would be in Isaac's room, which shares a wall with the kitchen, and I would have spent an hour creating a soothing, quiet, dim bedtime atmosphere playing Isaac's lullaby CD, feeding him, and rocking him until he had just nodded off, when... CRASH! SLAM! BAM! (yes, that was a Batman reference) Zach would decide it was time to unload the dishwasher and do the dishes as loudly as possible.  

One night, knowing how I try to keep Isaac in his quiet, dim room after his bedtime each evening, Zach was on Daddy Duty to get him back to bed.  Earlier that day, he had discovered that Isaac smiled at him when he stuck out his tongue.  I walked by Isaac's room to see him sweetly swaddled in his father's arms, being rocked back and forth, and staring up at his daddy...who was sticking out his tongue at him.  Not exactly how momma puts him to sleep....

And then there's stroller rides.  Whereas momma gently guides the stroller over large bumps so as not to startle the sleeping babe,  I swear Zach aims for the biggest cracks.   Poor Isaac's arms are constantly flying out to the sides as he bounces along.  

The other night Zach gave Isaac a bath for the first time.  When I pour water over Isaac, I make "Ooooo" and "Ahhhh" sounds, as in "Ahhhh, this is so relaxing and soon I should go to sleep for the whole night."  When Zach's in charge of tubby time, water being poured over our baby apparently merits a "Pew! Pew!"  like a little gun is being shot.  

Zach's baby lingo is also different than mine.  Buckling Isaac into his car seat, Zach will tell him, "Come on, Buster, we gotta strap you down."  Rocking him to sleep has become "bouncing him around," and my personal favorite: Zach refers to swaddling Isaac as "tying him up."  Not the most tender terminology.  

I realized, however, that I need to roll with daddy's way of doing things when I watched Isaac's response to this not-so-gentle-but-ever-so-loving man.  When Zach makes Isaac perform riffs on his air guitar and fly like superman, he's completely entertained and happy.  When Zach sticks his tongue out, Isaac smiles.   While Zach bathed him, Isaac just stared up into his face, feeling just as safe, relaxed, and loved as he does with me.  

When Isaac's eating habits keep me from getting the sleep I need to stay sane,  Zach will be the one to rock him back to sleep or stay up with him if need be.  I am often shocked when I suddenly get two full hours of sleep and it's 30 minutes later than when I expected to be woken up by a shreiking, hungry baby.  It's because Daddy took over and kept his son comfy and happy that much longer.  

If I ever questioned his daddy's ability to keep Isaac happy, the way he smiles so easily at Zach has convinced me:  Isaac loves his dad.