With my wife about to go back to work next week, a whole influx of changes will be taking place in our household. With our son now three months old and settling into a routine, we are about to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. There are a number of factors driving our decisions in regards to our son; the first being that we don't want him in daycare five days a week at his age and secondly, we can't afford a whole week of daycare. So what exactly is going to happen in our household come next week? For starters, our son will be going to "daycare" on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. I quoted daycare, because instead of sending him to a traditional daycare chock full of children where an average caregiver has 4 infants to watch, we will be having a family friend watch him. This family friend of ours, along with our son, will also be watching a 2 year old and a 4 year old, and that's it. Instead of being in a facility with numerous other children, our son will be in a house. In our minds, this is a much better environment for him, especially at his early age and with being in "daycare" only 3 days, it will still allow us plenty of time to spend with him. That leaves Wednesday and Thursday to contend with, and that is where I become Mr. Mom. Since my wife's job provides our family with health insurance, it makes more sense for her to go back full time (despite the fact that she would much rather stay home) and for me to re-arrange my schedule so that I can be home on Wednesday and Thursday with our son. In addition to making more sense in terms of insurance, I also have more flexibility in my schedule as I am self employed.
The downside to the re-arranging of my schedule is that I will most likely have to work Saturdays to pick up the slack or just work longer hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. But it is what it is. I am looking forward to the two days I will get to spend our son during the week. Those two days will make dealing with my new work schedule a whole lot easier. But what kind of havoc will it play with our son's routine? Hopefully, he will adjust quickly and adopt this new routine without too many issues. It is not so much a matter of him dealing with new people, it is more a matter of messing with his sleeping schedule. Currently, he normally wakes up between 5 and 6ish to eat and then goes back down for a couple more hours. With the new schedule, we will have to be out the door by 630/645 in order to get him to our friend's house on time. Maybe he will decide to take a nap once he gets there or maybe not, only time will tell. Whatever the case may be, I know he will adapt and get used to it. But enough about him adjusting to a new schedule. I am truly excited to be able to spend those two days in the middle of the week with our son. I know many dad's don't get that kind of opportunity and I am just glad that I can re-arrange my schedule to make it happen. As excited as I am for this unique opportunity, I also feel for my wife who will have to quickly adjust from spending every day with our son to spending afternoons and weekends with him. The plus side for her, is that as a teacher, she gets out earlier than she would if she worked in the corporate world and she gets her winter and spring breaks along with the summer to spend with him.
Change is not always easy and I know there will be a little craziness that ensues next week when we embark on this new schedule, but we will just have to work through it. It will mean getting more things done around the house on the weekends and organizing things better so there is less chaos when we are getting ready to leave in the morning. I am sure it will all work itself out...eventually. Looking at this major change our family will be experiencing, I wish in part that the US had more of the values of some European nations where both mother and father get to take time off from work to spend with their new family member and all in all, that time off is much longer than we in the US get. Yet wishing will get me no where so as I look towards next week, filled both with excitement and a little anxiety, I am going to make every effort to make this transition as painless as possible. I feel that as long as my wife and I can enter into this new transition peacefully and with as little anxiety as possible, then our son will able to do so as well. Frankly, right now it is all about making it as easy for him as possible. At three months old, he has no control over what happens so it is up to us as the parents ensure that he makes the transition smoothly with us. Next week will be crazy, but for now, we will enjoy the last few days with our current schedule. I will be Mr. Mom next week, but for now, I will just keep on working.
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