Some Therapy

We had our second child on November 29th, and between a combo of my disdain for winter and this child being 500 times more needy and crabby than the first, I have not gotten much time for myself. It’s been wearing on me, but spending some time prepping things at our cabin this weekend helped blow off a little steam. We got the pump in/water on, got some yard clean-up done, took out a few bothersome trees, and gave the interior a little scrubbing. Hopefully, child #2 improves in the coming months, as Daddy could really use some sleep.

1) The driveway to our little slice of heaven.
2) Some new fish structure in the form of a large cottonwood that went down this winter.

Im guessing that cotton wood just saved you the cost of needing a swing set and water slide at the cabin.

Nice! I might need to get a rope swing going out there…for the kids, of course.

Nice little early crappie spot too? Glad to hear you got a little therapy.

Ralph…Your post concerning the kids is bringing back some great memories. My girls are now 17 and 14 and kid #2 was also a handfull for a very long time. I can remember trying to “get away” many times just to refuel the engines from that kid. Looking back I wouldn’t have changed a thing because that is what makes her soooo special! I miss those times badly. Enjoy them while you are living the moment now…
(Side note…What general area is your cabin? That road looks very SE MN like…)

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(Side note…What general area is your cabin? That road looks very SE MN like…)

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Not even close! Think west. It’s over near New London, MN.

Not to vent here, but….just wait till the kids grow up and the activities start in. Kid softball practice tonight, game tomm., practice next day, game next, sprinkle in other kids dance and gymnastics, dance recital Saturday morning, choir after, Sunday even more…..love to see the kids excel in their activities and provide the opportunities bit it doesn’t end when they are out of diapers. Better start planting the seed with the wife right now on how daddy and mommy can have some relax time together and individually in the coming years.
Need some more pics of the land! That does look tranquil and freaking sweet, kids are gonna have a field day with that big hunk of wood in the water as I’m sure yourself will too.

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Not to vent here, but….just wait till the kids grow up and the activities start in.

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Oh, I hear you, but some relief from needing to be held 20 hours a day and crying from 2:00-6:00 am is much needed!

Here are a few more shots, nhamm.

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Not to vent here, but….just wait till the kids grow up and the activities start in. Kid softball practice tonight, game tomm., practice next day, game next, sprinkle in other kids dance and gymnastics, dance recital Saturday morning, choir after, Sunday even more…..

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I’ve been on both ends. Busy the first few years. Then the X jumped ship, married into the military, and my daughter has been traveling the last 5 years. I wish i didn’t have any time to get into the boat…But the reality is, i can hop in the boat 7 days a week because i see my daughter 5x a year… I would trade it for time with my daughter. Some see it as the ultimate bachelor’s life, but for me fishing allows the mind to wonder away from the worries of having a 9yo across the country…Couldn’t ask for a better way to fill in the time before her visits.

For a guy who’s been on both sides of the fence, I realize now how often parents see children as a burden. All parents have to some degree.

Trust me gentlemen, you haven’t a clue what it’s like not having them around until they’re gone.

Enjoy it while you got it boys.

Bring em fishing…Even if it’s only for an hour

Great looking cabin!!

How could this post not be about BK

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needing to be held 20 hours a day and crying from 2:00-6:00

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Don’t get me wrong–I’m 110% thankful for my kids, but everyone needs a little break on occasion to do his own thing or to spend some time with his wife!

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Oh, I hear you, but some relief from needing to be held 20 hours a day and crying from 2:00-6:00 am is much needed!

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Our 11 month is just starting to sleep through the night. What finally worked for us was a book called Healthly Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. The bottom line is to let them learn how to soothe themselves. Our boy was colicky from 1-4 months and needed to held all the time. He learned to cry until we picked him up. This meant lots of sleepless nights although he seemed to be happy during the day.

It took exactly 2 nights of us letting him cry himself back to sleep in the middle of the night for him to figure it out. People that have done he same thing say it’s hard to do this, but I had hope that it would work, so it wasn’t too bad. He’s been sleeping through the night on his own ever since, about 6 weeks.

The same goes for naps. Put them in the crib and walk away. If they wake up from their nap mad, stay away. Chances are they’re still tired and will fall back to sleep. Only get them when they wake up happy, which means they are rested.

Good luck!

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everyone needs a little break on occasion to do his own thing or to spend some time with his wife!

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My kinda guy! I love going up to the cabin to get away from it all and spend time in the woods playing with bugs, looking for critters, fishing, etc. Therapy indeed.

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Oh, I hear you, but some relief from needing to be held 20 hours a day and crying from 2:00-6:00 am is much needed!

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If you haven’t already explored this, ask your Pediatrician if they’ve considered that acid reflux could be the problem?

This is emerging to be a lot more of a problem than previously thought and it sounds like a lot of infants that were assumed to have colic may actually have acid reflux. Some pediatricians are slow to add this to their mental list of possibilities for a child that’s experiencing symptoms that traditionally would be thought of as colic.

Look up the infant symptoms online.

Both of our children had reflux and were extremely restless and woke up often. Initially, we were told “it’s just colic” and were given a bunch of woo-woo homeopathic “cures” and advice about bedtime routines, etc.

Getting them on reflux meds (a few ounces of liquid given about an hour before bedtime) fixed everything. Night and day difference.

Grouse

She was on reflux meds for a while, but we phased it out as we thought she was improving. It’s probably worth a shot getting her back on that. Our son had it, too.

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She was on reflux meds for a while, but we phased it out as we thought she was improving. It’s probably worth a shot getting her back on that. Our son had it, too.

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We made the mistake of trying to take our 3 year old off of it once he reached the age where his brother had been able to stop taking the medicine. Big mistake.

He was fine for about a month and then he was up at all hours and would wake up howling. It took us a while to think of the fact that it could be the reflux was back. Put him back on the reflux meds and he was snoozing through the night again 2 days later.

I’d say it’s worth asking your Ped about again. My understanding is that the risks and side effects of the meds are relatively low.

Grouse

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She was on reflux meds for a while, but we phased it out as we thought she was improving. It’s probably worth a shot getting her back on that. Our son had it, too.

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We had that with William too. He was to the point if you even showed him a bottle he started to cry. Then we got the meds and life got abit easier. He doesn’t have reflex anymore being he out grew it but he still is a picky eater now that he’s a bit older. So I feel your pain brother.

Just called in a refill on the Zantac. It’s worth a shot.

Beautiful place and the lake can have amazing results on your mental state.

I understand completely Ryan. Our son Hunter is a difficult sleeper (luckily he’s great during the day) who wakes up every couple hours and needs to be held to fall back asleep which then turns into something I like to call “mission impossible” where the goal is to get up out of the rocking chair and carefully set him down in the crib without waking him up… I can’t count how many times I thought he was asleep only to step on a creaky floorboard while sneaking down the hallway back to our bedroom and the tears start again. It’s gotten to the point where I can navigate the house in total darkness missing every creaky board and knowing exactly when to quietly reach for each doorknob. The other night while I was sitting up at 3:00 in the morning though I actually was able to have a moment of clarity where I realized that it sucks now but I’m sure in what will feel like an instant I’ll be looking back and missing those days where the greatest thing in the world to my son was to be held in his parent’s arms.

Your post also reminds me that I should be thanking my amazing wife every day for the sleepness nights she’s endured by herself in order for me to be able go film with James this winter.

Hang in there bud!

Will

HAHA! Will your house sounds like mine. We have all hard wood and I can get through it with out making a squeek now too. For the very same reason!

Oh, yeah. We’ve got about 90% original hardwood. The squeakiest spot is directly in front of the crib!!! We’ve sold the house and are looking now, and my wife is in charge of searching out squeaky spots in the floors.

Let me know if you find any squeaks in the new house, got a new framing nailer that would love to throw some 3″ ring shank nails in there for ya. Or borrow the gun to ya and let ya bang away, that can be quite therapeutic as well