What Should I Be Doing With My Newborn, Seriously

Already on that! I am the cook of the house for the most part anyway, but I will probably be doing a lot more slow-cooker meals or make-and-freeze-for-later type of stuff.
It's actually pretty cost-effective that I work a 2nd-shift schedule along with two days off during the week. He'll only be in daycare for 4 hours a day. So he gets the social interaction along with time with mom and dad. And we aren't paying out the butt for it!
Plus, I get to sleep in still (usually get home around 2 a.m.) and she (being a morning bird anyway) can get him up and going to daycare for 7 a.m. without my help.
I'm sure there will be bumps in the road somehow though! haha

 

Holy shit, crockpots are the best thing that ever happened to people with young children. I use it three days a week still, and the baby thing is well over a year now.

Your little guy is still sleeping enough, too, that it should be relatively easy for you to get out during the day and shop, get coffee, run errands, etc...Really helps the time pass if you can get out a bit. Helped me, at least. Although I didn't work a night shift so perhaps you want to stay home more...

Congrats again! It goes by so quickly...

 

He's a GREAT sleeper...compared to what my friends (who have a girl six weeks older than ours and another couple that has a 4.5-month-old) have said. He's pretty consistent with 3.5-4 hours in between feedings.

I work part-time at a radio station (just voicetracking one week night and one weekend night) so I plan on bringing him there once a week. The office girls can ogle him for the 20-30 minutes it takes me to do a night-shift track, so FREE babysitting! LOL
I'm planning on doing most of the grocery shopping and errands during the week so we can maximize time to do stuff with him together on weekends before I have to be in to work by 5 p.m. both Sat and Sun, so that will get him used to being in a car seat and being in public. (That and I can go shopping at Aldi again since the wife HATES the place! LOL)

Crockpot faves:
Beef Stroganoff
Polish Sausage and potatoes/onions in a beer bath
BBQ brisket
Roasted rosemary chicken

Between that menu along with leftovers, the occasional run to Subway, and maybe a good frozen pizza once in a while...we should be good to go for dinners.

It's funny...I hate planning ahead, but SHOCKING...it works.

 

That's great, Spike. It sounds like dinner may be the only time you see her many days. Remember to carve out that couple time (as well as family time). It looks like dinner will have to do most nights, but those 30 minutes add up and will make things run a little smoother than otherwise. It's easy to put aside for things that seem more pressing at the moment (or because of money situations), but it's the most important thing. I learned that the hard way, and do not want anyone else to suffer the same fate.

 

Meatballs in sauce is pretty solid as well.

And this pasta boiler for the microwave is the shit.

 

Thanks for the advice. We (somehow) have made this work for a decade without a kid...I think her having him home at night will be better for her actually since she's had to kind of be the "tag-a-long" for every job I've taken, so when it comes to close friends...they aren't close by and so she spends a lot of time at home.
I'm going to try to encourage her to get out with him and maybe take him to a "Mommy & Me" type class once a week, maybe she'll get to meet some more people that way.
The one positive of having two nights off during the week instead of having weekends off? Short lines just about anywhere we go (movies, dinner, etc.).

 

Anybody here ever have a problem with a 2-year-old who won't swallow her food and just carries the stuff around the living room in her mouth like a few winter chestnuts?

 

The short lines are a perk, for sure. It sounds like you all have things very well thought out.

 

Will she spit it out or swallow it?

 

Refuses to do either and whines the whole time about it, as much as one can with a closed mouth full of food.
We're mystified by it.

 

This is a hard road, but have you thought about not letting her eat if she refuses to swallow?

I ask in all seriousness. She will not let herself starve. She will eventually want to eat and swallow the food.

 

She might have texture issues with her food.

Take her to your doctor and get a referral to see a therapist to do some feeding work.