Turkey certainly puts a stranglehold on consciousness by frequently reminding you how tired you really are. The leftovers are many after a Thanksgiving meal with my small family. Deciding to avoid the “Black Friday” lines and traffic was an easy decision so we ate leftovers, spent the day at home, and generally relaxed. This was yet another welcome vacation day for the entire family. Dad also learned a thing or two about the baby boy.
One of the things I learned was that my son could be cranky. This is no surprise to many of you but I was shocked. Adding to my surprise was the realization that he could be cranky and not even nursing could calm him! YIKES! What can you do for a cranky baby who doesn’t even want to nurse? Normally my wife does everything directly regarding my son because, in large part, my son is normally appeased by nursing time with Mom. Not so, I learned. There are moments when his yelling cannot be quelled by a loving mother offering him food. What can a Dad too?
I ended up just walking around with my son. My wife assured me that he was tired and would soon fall asleep. So… I walked… and walked… and walked until I couldn’t walk anymore… so I sat down. I rocked. My son rocked. My son got tired of rocking and cried so… I walked again. He didn’t want to be held that way so I switched. He didn’t like the next way either so I switched again. This went on and on as I stared at my backpack containing the books I needed to read in order to write a paper and plan a presentation over the weekend. Eventually, though, my son fell asleep.
As my son slept in my arms I realized that he never fell asleep with me. He always fell asleep in his mothers arms after or while nursing. I might pick him up in order to lay him down to sleep but he never fell asleep with me. So, instead of laying him down I held him. I looked at him sleep in my arms. I watched him breath. I watched him have happy dreams and smile. I watched. Mom, after a difficult couple of days, was sleeping too. So, I watched my family sleep. I never knew something so quiet, so (academically) unproductive, and so unmediated could be so wonderful. It was truly an honor.