CRYING

I know every baby's temperament is different and a baby's cry can be the effect of many different things like teething, stomach or Colic. When I cry, usually it’s because of gas! I tried this little experiment that I think could be helpful to us dad's.

Dads have the role of "FUN, PLAY TIME" Guy. Our ladies even reinforce this "DADDY type cast" and I can count on one finger how many times my son has fallen asleep on me. Whatever, that's cool and fine by me. Dad's are more fun, I'll take that! However, being home and trying to get him to sleep when mommy is not there has been somewhat of a challenge. I think I got something that finally works.

Recently I started paying closer attention to the tone of my voice when talking to my son, speaking to him in different tones of voice for play and nap time. When its time for sleep I bring him to his crib and let him know what needs to be done. I speak to him like an adult, not a baby and the crazy thing is, I think he understand me better because of the different tone and seriousness in my voice. I never let him cry past 5 min, and when it comes to waiting outside his door, I think his tears effect me more than him. The little dude goes from crying LOUD to sleeping, in less than 5 min, which is something I still don't understand and don't need too because he's sleeping.

If my buddies can respect the fact that when I call "Fivisies" to save my spot on the couch, than I can respect the 5 min my son may need to chill out in his crib to fall asleep. Don't let your wife go in before "Fivesies", when she is home. It will ruin your schedule. With Baseball season coming up this "Fivesies" rule, should it work for your kid, will come in very handy catching more of the game.

If he does roll over before 5 min, it's for a reason and he's probably more comfortable in that position. This took me three weeks to figure out. I was going in and turning him over on his belly and restarting the 5 min clock. It became a game to him and I was being played by a 5 month year old. Let him fall asleep than turn him over, I get at least another 30 min of nap time out of him which translates into 3-4 inning of preseason baseball.

If anyone has anything else that may work for crying babies, because I know techniques are like trophies and trophies are always on display, let us know.

...Now back to work. Today I started an S Corp. For all you dads out there, if you don't have a family corporation in this economy, you should. I'll save this for another post should anyone have any questions or further interest.