Quinn's Blog

New father Glenn Fleishman has created a list of 9 ways to get your baby to sleep at night. He has published this list on his blog: GlennLog. Allison and I have used a lot of these tricks, not all of them. We swear by the swaddling method:

1. Swaddling. You've heard it, you know it, but you have to do it. We wound up buying the Miracle Blanket to help, but a tight swaddle in any receiving blankets that's comfortable for Ben and keeps him from swinging his hands around, waking himself up, is key to good sleep. We're somewhere between a few weeks and a few months to not swaddling him at all. We'll transition out. We were told by another parent that if you wait too long, the kid can become dependent on the swaddle for sleeping.

Anyhoo, check it out: Link

I read this great article on the website Being Daddy called: Square: The Unhip Parent's Manifesto. It was written in response to another article that was published in the New York Observer. (Unfortunately I can't find the original article, it looks like the NY Observer has pulled it)

Here's a part of the article I really like:


"Parenting is the greatest of democracies; anyone can participate. But this stands in direct opposition to some of the very tenents of hipsterism: exclusivity, elitism, superiority. And this seems to be what drives hipsters like Williams crazy: the fact that anyone can parent well. The dumb and the smart, the ugly and the attractive. Educated and un-. Democrat, Republican. Liberal, conservative. The hip and the unhip. Male or female, straight and (yes, you conservatives out there who proudly didn't think I was talking to you too) gay. The cool and the pathetic. The lot of them can be good parents - amazing parents. There is no formula for great parenting, no indespensible superficial ingredient. Because love does not discriminate."

"Of course, the converse is true as well: a person in any of the above groups can be a terrible parent. But it is perhaps particularly those "pushy parents" who view their children as extensions of themselves that make some of the worst. While the hip parent no doubt decries the businessman father who prevents his son from attending art school, or the suburban soccer mom screaming at her kid from the sidelines, the hipster parent nods with approval at "the preschooler in my hood with a mohawk." And yet all are victims of their parents' egotism, of their own inability to separate themselves from their children. A "tot" with a mohawk is not making a statement about his (or her) individuality; such a child is being used as a prop by their parents – to make their own statement."


I've only been a father for about 9 weeks now, and I'm already bumping into the idea of whether I'm a cool dad or not. This article also strikes home with me because I work at a place that is constantly reminding me if I'm cool or not. Or if I'm a hipster or not. It points out that I should really focus on what's important. Steer your kid away from Barny not because he's uncool but because he lacks imagination. I like the idea of this. It's also good to hear about another parent who's facing the same issues that I'm facing every day. It's not High School any more, I shouldn't care what others think of me.

Anyway, it's a long article and if you have time you should give it a read.

Everyone is sick. I'm afraid I'm the guilty one. I caught a small cold at work last week and brought it home for everyone else. I tried to quarantine myself by sleeping in another room and washing my hands, but it looks like my efforts were in vain. I stayed home on Monday to take care of Allison and Quinn. I tried to let Allison get as much sleep as possible while I kept Quinn happy. It was hard, Quinn looks so sad with a stuffy-runny nose. We called the pediatrician, they said just to keep an eye on Quinn's temperature but for the most part just let the cold take it's course. She was the worst on Monday, today both Allison and Quinn look much better. They should be over it by the end of the week.

You seemed to like Quinn's thinking photo, so I thought I'd include the follow up photo.

Clearly Quinn will be a smart child.