Ten Things I Think I Think About Parenting - The Fourth Month

Hello Friends and Family,

It is once again time for my monthly hot takes on parenting. As a reminder, each month for the first year of Mills’ life I am going to put some initial thoughts down about parenting in real time.

I might be completely wrong about some or all of these, but here’s where I am today after four months.

Ten Things I Think I Think About Parenting after Four Months

1. It is much easier than anticipated to differentiate Mills’ different cries. I know when he’s fake crying because he’s fighting a nap or really crying because he’s got some gas trapped. I know when he’s hungry or when his diaper is wet. It really is incredible how even at his age we can “communicate” with each other.

2. Other parents are the worst. Not you. You are probably great. But, just in case you might be one of those “other parents” let me remind you that parenting is not a competition.
   

3. Kids are very adaptable. Mills has spent almost 50% of his life in a hotel or Airbnb. He’s just as happy in the car as he is on the side of a mountain or on the couch at home. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Courtney and I remind each other all the time: “We haven’t done this before, he hasn’t done this before. No matter what happens we will learn something about ourselves and about Mills.”
   

   

   Mills having fun at the AirBnB. - Mars Hill, NC | 10/8/2023

4. There aren’t enough dads alone in public with their kids. I couldn’t understand why people kept staring at me and Mills when I would take him to the park and feed him a bottle, or walk around a downtown area while he napped in his bassinet stroller.
   
   Then a woman stopped me and said, “Wow, you are out here all by yourself with a baby!” As if she was seeing a living breathing unicorn. So, I have made it a goal of mine to take Mills as many places as possible to normalize being a dad in public.
   

5. Once again, formula manufacturers are the worst. The manufacturer of our formula sent us several coupons which we were excited about, until I read the fine print. We could only use one coupon per transaction.
   
   It took me 2.5 hours to use all of the coupons in separate transactions. They did not count on someone like me who was willing to simply keep going back over and over again.

6. Babies have the strongest grip of any human being. The amount of strength it takes to pry something out of Mills’ hand is incredible. I only wish his hands were big enough to open jars of spaghetti.
   

7. The amount of things we have to bring with us to do anything is astonishing. As hard as we try to minimize, we look like we are moving in when we go anywhere. A quick meal out isn’t that bad, but if we are straddling mealtime then it’s a whole production. Add more if we need to have a place for a nap other than his car seat.
   
   We now have two diaper bags: one for short excursions, one for more involved events. We keep them loaded and replenish when we get home.
   

8. Why didn’t anyone ever tell us how awesome it is to have wet wipes wherever we go? I cannot count the number of times that I have used a wet wipe for myself in the last 4 months. Do yourself a favor and start carrying them in your car, your backpack, or your purse.

9. No one knows how to help you with sleep issues. Mills is not a fan of napping on his own. If we aren’t holding him then we are lucky to get 30 minutes. We have tried every trick in the book with no luck.
   
   It could be worse. He does sleep very well all night long. Typically if he wakes up early it’s around 5:30am. So if we get in bed at a decent time, we both get 8 hours of sleep.
   
   (This is not an invitation for tips and tricks. Trust me when I say you don’t have an idea we haven’t tried or already heard.)
   

10. The first time your baby grins at you is an all time great life moment. I’ll never forget that look as long as I live. The best part is that it never gets old. Every time he grins at me my heart melts all over again and I’m reminded how great it is to be Mills’ dad.

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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