Conciencious about fine points is good -- but dirty crying baby is a pretty clear signal for what needs to change. I mean, if he'd TRIED clean 'em and feed 'em and Mal was still howling that would be different.

Silly husband. Change the baby.

I know. It boggles me. I'm still trying to get through to him why I was crabby about this morning. I mean, he was already up, and as far as I could tell, just dinking on the computer. And I gave him a chance to say "No, I can't watch him."

Ah well, c'est la guerre.

Raq--Can you reveal to him that one learns how to parent by just, well, trying stuff until something works? Give him a template for what to do--first, check diaper, then try distracting, then feed (or whathever order you do things in). Tell him it's his job to keep trying approaches until something works.

I'm giving thanks right now for Christopher. He may not do everything exactly like I would but he's right on top of giving me as much of a break as he can between working and studying for his actuarial exam.

He may feed the kid string cheese and cheerios for breakfast and Owen may be in mismatched pj tops & bottoms when I wake up (from a nap or on a weekend morning), but the diaper is usually* usually a fresh one.

And it's been a really tough few days, too, since O has thrown off his sleeping schedule and is waking a few times at night and has woken for good around 5 a.m. EVERY FREAKIN' MORNING.

• I say usually because DH does kind of have a handicap with smelling poopy diapers. But he changes them when he does figure it out.

In our household, string cheese and cheerios would be a remarkably healthy and well-balanced meal. Today, breakfast was many black olives, a strawberry and 3 grapes, and orange juice.

Dinner last night was milk, 3 bites of my milkshake, 6 french fries, lots of ketchup (mainly ingested off the fingers), and 2 bites of a dill pickle.

We do TRY, I swear.

We do TRY, I swear.

AMEN SISTAH! I keep putting veggies out there and he keeps not eating them. He only wants fruit. And those mini Cheez-It crackers.

Raq, Scott suggests you give your dh a boot in the ass.

Robin, I'm glad to find out that "that one learns how to parent by just trying stuff until something works". I always thought I was broken because I'm so helpless around babies. I thought one was just supposed to know what to do with them. Not that I ever expect to be a parent, but at least I don't feel so bad.

Hil :

Many, many moons ago, you said this (just found it now due to random threadsucking and skimming):

There's a Math for America recruiting poster that I walk by every day, and it keeps looking like a better and better idea.

I don't know if you know, but I'm currently doing this program. Am partway through the first full semester at Teachers College / Columbia right now, doing observations of NYC classrooms at the same time. Next semester, student teaching and whatnot.

The program is AWESOME. If you're interested in teaching, and in math (which I know you are), you should definitely apply, assuming you don't hate NYC (which i know you don't). Beyond the fact that they give you a TON of money to do something you want to do anyway, the fact that there are 30-odd other people in the program who want to do the same thing is great - you get an immediate social group. There are other advantages too - the teacher I'm hoping to do student teaching with is a MfA Master Teacher, who I might not have met without being part of the program, for example.

For that matter, anybody else who likes math and teaching and is looking around for something to do with your lives - check this program out for reals. [link]

I'm glad to find out that "that one learns how to parent by just trying stuff until something works". I always thought I was broken because I'm so helpless around babies. I thought one was just supposed to know what to do with them. Not that I ever expect to be a parent, but at least I don't feel so bad.

Dude. Babies are so individualized that trial and error is the ONLY way you can really figure them out. At least until we can breed them so they come out talking and can tell us what we're doing wrong.