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Thought this was an appropriate place to post this.
As of Sept.25th at 11:25 p.m. Central time, My wife and I are now parents of an 8 pound 7 ounce baby girl. She is 21.5 inches long and her name is Laurel Nicole.
I am still in the infant phase of my business and have moved to full time stay at home dad now too. Any advice on efficiency of both roles is greatly appreciated.
Congrats, Engraver, to you and your family! Sorry I don`t have any tips on the stay at home dad role..... but wanted to wish you the best. I`m sure you`ll be busy!
Congrats to you and your wife. Having children is definately a motivator to be a better human being!!
Erin
Our baby girl is 2 yo, so I can give some pointers.
1. Get organized. List everything you are supposed to do - grocery shopping, cooking, etc. Have an agreement with your wife on who does what and when. Plan for everything to reduce unnecessary trips.
2. Of course, each baby is different. However, most newborn will wake up every 3 hours at night, so it will be extremely difficult. Get sleep whenever you can - that means, if the baby falls asleep during the day, you should take a nap instead of working.
3. Never wake up a sleeping baby. If she`s hungry, she will wake up and complain.
4. Try to get the baby a good sleeping habbit as soong as possible. That may mean the baby would not be very happy when you move her to the crib, or move the crib to her own room etc. However, she will get used to it. Also, observe and establish a good napping schedule too. That`s when you will take a nap with her at the beginning but later can be used for work.
5. Be realistic. You will have very little time for your business at the beginning. Gradually, you will have time to work during her naps and at night. Believe me, it will get easier.
I have two teenagers, so they take up less of my time now but a lot more of my money!
You will have to be really organised and committed. You have to balance work, wife, Laurel, rest, play and own time.
I would suggest you start with `what could you stop doing or reduce?` Watching all those soaps on the TV, crosswords, sleeping! Spend a few minutes just listing all those new time wasters based on your new world.
Then list what are going to be your challenges. What is going to stop you progressing your own business and see if that highlights any other things you can stop or reduce.
re: work.
Have dedicated `work` times which you agree with your wife. There are times when they will be interrupted but at least you have set out to have them.
Getting up early and going to bed later that the rest of the family is a great idea - just don`t do it everyday!
A couple of articles which may help:
http://www.greatmanagement.org/articles/274/1/Management-Ski ll-a-Make-Time-Work-For-You/Page1.html
http://www.greatmanagement.org/articles/260/1/Eliminate-Clut ter-Inside-and-Out/Page1.html
Andrew
Thanks for the advice. Right now, I am lucky to get in a few hours of sleep for myself, but as soon as my wife recovers from the delivery, we will get back into the swing of things.
I already have a complete outfit that says "I love daddy" witha bib that says " Daddy`s Girl" so I unfortunately think I am on my way to being wrapped around her finger.
I have added a pic of her in my profile for those interested in seeing the cutest girl on the planet. In the pic, she is only 10 minutes old.
Congrats!
One piece of advice...
When a diaper says 7-10 pounds, that`s really all it will hold...
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