Movie Dad

How do you tell a baby that is almost 4 months old that what she is doing is rude and bad manners? I think I might be getting ahead of myself so I will back up a bit.

Today is day 3 of my full blown adventure into being a Stay At Home Dad (SAHD). So far so good. I get up with my wife when she is getting ready for work, wait until Aellyn wakes up and we start our day. We fill our day with feedings, naps, walks(weather permitting) and play time. Now all of this is awesome. I am enjoying it sooo much but today, "Princess" Aellyn overstepped her bounds. Want to know what this adorable little girl did to me that has me up in arms? Let me tell you while asking a question.

Let's say you go out to dinner to your favorite steakhouse. You have been hungry for a little bit and you order your favorite cut of steak. It arrives at your table prepared exactly the way you want it. You cut into it and the juices flow. You take a bit. MMMMMMMMMM! You are ecstatic. You continue to to enjoy your steak one bite at a time until you start to feel a wee bit tired. Not because someone has drugged your steak, but because it is sooo good it relaxes you and your eyes start to fade. You move the next bite up to your mouth and it barely makes it onto your gaping maw. At this point you are completely out. You have a hunk of meat still attached to your fork hanging from your pie hole. Now the waiter see this and comes over and removes the fork/meat from in between your relaxed lips so that you may sleep without any fear of choking. At this point you wake and scream until he replaces it. You finish that bite and then repeat the process every few bites. At this point the waiter is frustrated and stands beside you and startles you every time you start to doze off. Now I ask you. What is wrong in this situation? If the waiter is wrong for taking the food out and making you more comfortable, then I should stop this post right now. If it is you who are wrong for falling asleep in the middle of what is obviously a delicious meal, then I shall continue.

Now that we know the answer, back to the "Princess". Aellyn started to get a little fussy today and I knew she was hungry. The bottle was already prepared as it breast milk, I was just warming it up in some warm water to get it room temperature. We sat down to feed and she got all giddy at the sight of the bottle. I place the nipple in her mouth and she gobbles it up excitedly. Within a few sips, she starts to nod off. I am o.k. with this. I remove the bottle from in her mouth and promptly she lets out a banshee like scream. WHOA! I was a little startled so I plugged the bottle back in. She drank some more and fell asleep again. This time I waited. I waited a good minute, minute and a half and then removed the bottle. I did not get it past her chin before she began to cry again. This continued for the next 10 minutes or so. In, sleep, out, cry. At this point I made it my job not to only feed her but keep her awake by any means necessary. I talked to her. Tickled her feet. Made funny noises, anything to keep her awake. She was not happy about this turn of events. She fought me verbally by making noises and staring at me with the stink eye. She finally finishes and I gladly let her sleep off her deliciously prepared meal.

Was what I did wrong? I don't think so. I think what she did was rude to the chef(my wife) and rude to the waiter(me). Just because she is a cute, adorable 16 week old does not give her the right to have bad manners.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Princess Aellyn:The Rude.