100 Days for My Baby Girl: Week 5

Week 5

The first month of parenthood is behind you. Those couple of days in the hospital seem like a lifetime ago, and by now, you and your wife have likely established a solid routine. If your wife is breastfeeding, this means you get to sleep from 10pm-6pm while she nurses (two loud snores for nursing!). If your baby is on formula, this means you could be making bottles in the wee hours of the night (one sleepwalk into the bedroom door for formula!). Either way, when morning comes, you are getting out of there as fast as humanly possible (just kidding) (maybe) (not really). And once you're at the office2, it's easy to immerse yourself into the joys of TPS reports, broken copy machines, and some co-worker showing you his "O-face", all the while forgetting that your wife is home, alone, nursing or feeding baby every 3 hours, holding or consoling baby every other hour, thinking about the voicemails and emails she needs to return, and imagining what it would be like to take a shower just once—just one time this week. I'm not saying your wife is going to become a caged animal who can't leave her pen and start hysterically jumping onto furniture or act like rat who's completely boxed in and slamming her head against your bedroom wall, but let's face it—during the month of December for us midwesterners—the ground looks like the Hoth system and the skies look like something out of a Terminator movie. So, for hersake, and yours, it's time to get her out of the house. Encourage her to do something alone. Something girly. Something that will give her peace, quiet, and comfort.

And, while you're experiencing this newfound spirit of giving, now is the perfect time to start another project for your baby girl that will last her a lifetime. While momma's gift will be immediate, peanut's gift will be annual, for the next 18 years. Something that the two of you can make together. Something that you can make a day out of. Something that will last a lifetime. So, Week 4 is going to be all about appreciation. And, here are two things I'm planning on doing:

#1: Spa Certificate for Mom

Whether your wife is a reflector, an inner discoverer, or a get-me-out-of-the-houser, sending her to a local spa for a few hours will rejuvenate her as a woman, wife, and mother. Note: this will score you major husband points than any Value Meal you bought her when she was craving Arby's Roast Beef at 4am during her pregnancy cravings. But, don't be afraid of terms such as European Conditioning Facial, Deep Tissue Massages or Mud Bath.  Know your budget, walk into the Spa, and they will take care of the rest. To put a little icing on the cake, you can put the spa certificate into a nice card along with a wallet-sized favorite picture of Wifey and peaches together. This way, she can still have a part of Pumpkin with her while she's away and can always have a little something to remind her of the special afternoon. While this seems like its all about Mom (and you should tell her that it is, several, several times, over and over, multiple times a day), you'll get alone alone time with Pooh-Bear. Read her a book, give her tummy time on the activity mat, or introduce her to the art of watching Bob Ross or Kung Fu. Mom, alone, spa, champagne. Dad, daughter, couch, beer. It's a win-win for the whole family!

#2: Her 1st Pearl

This is a small gift that becomes larger over time. A gift that will take a few years for her to comprehend. A gift that after 18 years will remind her of why she'll always be Daddy's little girl and contain a magical deflector shield so that no boy, guy or dude will talk, touch, or even look in her direction until she is 35, maybe 40, years of age. This gift is a pearl. And every year, on the same date, I will give my daughter another pearl. And, it's going to be our day, whether I take her out to Barney's Ice Cream Hut or shopping at Woodfield Mall (and yes, I'll bring my ID when the security guards begin to think that I am way too old to be with such a young girl). Because this is something that we share, just the two of us. And when she's 18, we'll go to a local jeweler and have the pearls strung anyway that she wants them. There are many ways to wear pearls, and whether it's a pearl necklace (get your mind of the gutter), a pearl collar (no seriously, get it out of the gutter) or a pearl choker (really, even this makes you snicker?)—I want that decision to be hers. For her decision to reflect her style, her personality and her attitude when that special day comes (oh, come on now!).

Show the love and the love will be returned. Immediately or down the road. Take care of the woman who made you happier than ever and the baby who made you realize that you could cherish someone more than your wife. But remember to have fun with it. When Wife comes back from the Spa, brag to her how excited your princess got when Bob Ross painted a happy little tree or when David Carradine drop kicked a group of bad guys. Or, when purchasing her 1st pearl(s), include a picture of the two of you and see how much the two of you change over the years. See how she gets prettier and prettier, you get....wiser and wiser.

Are you doing anything for your baby girl that I can copy???? =)

Check out the previous weeks below...
Week 4: Observation
Week 3: Celebration
Week 2: Connection
Week 1: Reminiscence

Pin It Now!