Early Notes on Parenting
by Ben Curtis
1. I’m tired.
2. Who on earth designs baby clothes? Why do they all do up at the back when it’s almost impossible to keep a new-born baby sitting up or rolled over while trying to do up 14 tiny, inaccessible poppers? Then there are those side-to-side diagonal cross-over body vests that you need a degree in engineering to work out at 4 o’clock in the morning… madness.
3. Sacrificing all those things that people worry about sacrificing when babies come, is going to be great. Can’t wait. Just want to hang out with my boy.
4. I never thought I wouldn’t mind being pissed all over (even after I’d just got out of the bath and put on fresh clothes).
5. The way we work is going to have to change radically. I’m really glad to have worked that out before getting back to business in a couple of weeks, because on day one of baby I thought, ‘This guy takes up a lot of our time! That’s great, but our business is screwed!’ Not so, just time for a bit of strategic rethinking on new ways to work, and new ways of involving external help.
6. Did I mention I was tired?
P.S. Many many many thanks for all the comments on the last post announcing Leo’s arrival!
Posted: November 21st, 2008 under General.
Comments: 41
Comments
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: November 21, 2008, 1:52 pm
Welcome to the ‘hood! Parenthood, that is.
Comment from Lisa
Time: November 21, 2008, 1:56 pm
welcome to the world of parenting!!
You seem to be doing quite well as you can still string sentences together ;o)
As to point 2 about clothing - that’s what I never understood about Spanish baby clothes - beautiful but impractical! You need British ones where all poppers are up the front, and vests have poppers under the nappy area.
Perhaps anyone near a Mothercare or Boots should take pity on you and send you a little present???
Lisaxx
Comment from Graham Tappenden
Time: November 21, 2008, 2:13 pm
Mothercare has a number of stores in Madrid listed on their website: http://tinyurl.com/5jdm5b
I wonder if they have English stock?
When our daughter arrived, our nearest store was in Brussels! We never went there because the time it took to drive that distance meant that we drove to Calais instead and went to a ‘proper’ store in Kent.
Comment from Parubin
Time: November 21, 2008, 2:22 pm
It gets better. Every age is fascinating. I have a two and a half year old and a nine months old. I have to say that the time when they are ’bout 18 months and on is great… You get to rest a bit more during nightime (daytime is another story, you cannot just place them in the little craddle and forget about them for some hours) and the best part (for me) is the learning of the language. Is fascinating how they come up with a new word almost everyday, how they start to build sentences, use verbs, etc… The pick up everything, not having to study or listen to podcasts. Amazing little creatures.
Comment from Edith
Time: November 21, 2008, 2:34 pm
RE baby clothes: although I haven’t got any kids of my own, I have always wondered about this, too! On a side note: in the past, lab coats used to be this way too, they had to be done up at the back.
Can’t wait to see more pics of Leo… btw, he has got a cute nose!
Ciao
Edith
Comment from Karen
Time: November 21, 2008, 4:10 pm
The few weeks after my first son was born were just one big blur… don’t remember much. I was even too tired to brush my teeth! It wasn’t the same with my second child though. I think the biggest thing was that I went to sleep after his final feeding at about 8:00, so when he woke up four hours later, it wasn’t such a big deal. And unlike with the first one, I took the advice from many - sleep when they sleep. What a world of difference! Wish I had know with the first one…
Comment from la vieja de la manga
Time: November 21, 2008, 5:38 pm
I expect men designed baby clothes 
Very good advice from Karen, sleep when Leo does if you can. Which could be up to 16 hours in 24 - now there’s a thought!
Delighted to know all is well with you all.
Comment from gary
Time: November 21, 2008, 7:30 pm
@la vieja de la manga - my daughter slept 16 hours in 24, we thought “This is easy” so we had another - he didnt sleep more than 2 consecutive hours in 4 years!!
@ Ben - sleep deprivation is your friend - you will learn how to power nap!! And, as you have no garden the eating soil and worms thing wont be an issue.
Comment from gary
Time: November 21, 2008, 7:33 pm
PS:Ben - its highly unlikely that your boy will find it cool enough to hang out with you… until he’s old enough to realise that if he does you may pay the airfair, the hotel costs and all the beer money for trips to Madrid… 
Comment from Emily
Time: November 22, 2008, 12:44 am
Hi guys! So happy to meet your little boy via blog. He’s adorable! Enhorabuena a mis maestros.
Emily
Comment from Ben
Time: November 22, 2008, 11:03 am
Found Mothercare, and more importantly, got 7 hours sleep last night… wow, feel like a new man! How long will it last…
Comment from vicente
Time: November 22, 2008, 1:06 pm
oh, im just 25 but im getting really cealous.
Ben, can i nickname you superman ¿?
Congrats also to marina, as I forget to name her in the fisrt leo era post.
Comment from James
Time: November 22, 2008, 3:07 pm
Congrats Ben!
I have a 21-month old daughter and she is a joy! No one ever tells new parents how hard the first 2 months are but at some point the little ones settle down and actually sleep.
Can we expect podcasts on babies, Spanish nursery rhymes, baptisms, etc and how you plan to raise a bilingual child? I hope so.
Finally, is Leo’s middle name Obama?
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: November 22, 2008, 3:31 pm
Mental Lightbulb On (and oh boy, is that rare!): I look forward to you revisiting some of the places you took us to in your blogs and podcasts but only this time with Leo.
Comment from Ben
Time: November 22, 2008, 8:22 pm
@VS . good idea!
@James - No, not Obama, or Rafa… but yes, I’m sure there will be babies involved in podcasts at some point!
Comment from Bella
Time: November 24, 2008, 12:40 am
You can get baby clothes with velcro fastenings from Next.. I know cos I used to work there. The next time you go to England… have a look.
Comment from Graham Tappenden
Time: November 24, 2008, 12:53 am
So what’s Mothercare like in Madrid? Is it anything like the stores in the UK?
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: November 25, 2008, 2:29 am
So what’s Mothercare?
Comment from gary
Time: November 25, 2008, 11:53 am
@VS - Its like Marks and Spencers for Mums to be, Babies and Toddlers - nice stuff high price
Comment from gary
Time: November 25, 2008, 11:55 am
@ graham - are we getting broody?
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: November 25, 2008, 1:34 pm
We don’t have Marks and Spencers in the US but we do have Google so now I know. The chain we used here and may be similar is Buy Buy Baby, which I lovingly referred to as “Bye Bye Dollars”. I think it’s a local chain. Anyway, clothing and other articles for infants are definitely not inexpensive, especially when you consider how quickly they grow out of it. Sweats and other stretchy clothing worked for our kids when they where infants.
Comment from Parubin
Time: November 25, 2008, 1:57 pm
Clothing for infants in Spain (especially for girls) is as expensive as adult clothing : really expensive, and they barely get to wear it a couple of times !!!.
The trick is to get granpas, friends and other happy family to provide for the clothing as presents when visiting the toddlers.
Comment from Graham Tappenden
Time: November 25, 2008, 1:58 pm
@gary - no, just jealous. Mothercare only have one store in Germany, and it’s about 5 hours drive away. Brussels is probably closer!
Comment from Ben
Time: November 25, 2008, 9:17 pm
@Graham, mothercare in Madrid is nothing like the massive ones in the UK, but still not bad, quite a bit of everything from clothes to cots etc.
Comment from M-Claude
Time: November 25, 2008, 11:21 pm
why don’t you try ebay, you get lots of brillant clothes at a reasonable price and you feel you are doing some recycling..for the others!
Comment from Amy S
Time: November 26, 2008, 5:06 am
I hope you will continue to keep us updated on the Tales of Leo, it’s so fun to read!
I’m so happy for you and Marina.
I just took the DELE (only Inicial level), and listening to you guys really helped me understand what my hard-to-hear-yet-super-speedy instructor was saying!
Comment from ksgrossman
Time: November 26, 2008, 11:02 pm
My life as a father changed when we discovered the onesies that snap in the front - across the baby’s belly.
Tired in an understatement. I remember walking through the day like a zombie. Naps are your best friend!
Comment from ksgrossman
Time: November 26, 2008, 11:03 pm
My life as a father changed when we discovered the onesies that snap in the front - across the baby’s belly.
Tired is an understatement. I remember walking through the day like a zombie. Naps are your best friend!
Comment from Maria S.
Time: November 27, 2008, 12:04 am
I remember with our second one I was so tired that I once left the house with mismatched shoes (pretty much the same style, but different color). Another thing I remember is running the laundry machine without any laundry in it…
Just curious - you parents out there - do you remember doing silly things like that when you were tired?
Comment from Jon Hundt
Time: November 27, 2008, 10:24 pm
oh please - stop the whining! Adult humans have been having babies for several thousand years now, without the help of expensive chain-stores. You already have self-adhesive disposable diapers, what more do you need? Slip a t-shirt over the top and the kid is dressed. It’s not like he’s going out for a walk alone on the tundra or so…
And don’t go on about how tired you are because you have to wake up once or twice during the night. You have a baby - a child of youe own flesh and blood. Is that such a price to pay?
I am a bit burned-out from all the “yuppies” who want so much to have children and then do nothing but whine and whimper about how hard it is.
My cat never complained about having kittens!!
We had a kid. He woke up at night when he was little. I woke up with him, and fed him. Then we went back to sleep. Later he woke up with other things (bad dreams, wet the bed, etc.) and I woke up with him and helped to solve those problems. Then we went back to sleep. It is the most natural thing in the world.
I think young parents in the Western world are often so soft, spoiled and pampered themselves that they no longer have a clue what raising a kid is all about.
Sorry Ben and Marina - no sympathy here!
(PS - just had a lovely day listening to all your old beginners lessons. Thanks!)
Comment from Mike
Time: November 27, 2008, 11:22 pm
Congratulations Ben!
I must admit I (eventually) found the diagonal ones to be the best
Have fun! (I’m still tired. Our boy is 14 months
Comment from John
Time: November 28, 2008, 2:13 pm
@ Jon Hundt - This is the most unwhiney post and they are obviously not looking for sympathy; and kittrn’s heads don’t do nearly the amount of damage that babies heads do. Let them enjoy it, and us vivariously.
Comment from John
Time: November 28, 2008, 2:13 pm
vicariously even!
Comment from Edith
Time: November 28, 2008, 2:37 pm
Hey hey hey… lighten up!
Ben and Marina are not complaining or whining abiut anything, and I don’t think they are ‘yuppies’, either.
They are just button-bustin’ proud of their new baby! * thumbs up *
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: November 28, 2008, 6:05 pm
We all cope as best as we are equipped to, as unique individuals.
Comment from Jon Hundt
Time: November 28, 2008, 6:49 pm
oh, sorry guys - I didn’t mean to sound so hard. And I sure didn’t mean to insult Ben and Marina.
I just meant that it’s not as hard to be a new parent as we sometimes think. And when everyone starts going on about how difficult it is, and how tired you get, I think “yeah, c’mon it ain’t all that hard - that’s your own little kid!”
When I said “no sympathy here!” I meant it as a joke.
Apologies to all who were offended.
Comment from phil
Time: November 29, 2008, 2:05 am
Get plenty of grub down Leo and he´ll be sleeping for 6-8 hours at a stretch in no time! Then you´l start to enjoy yourself more as you´ll be awake enough to notice what´s goin on!
who needs sleep any how - for me the worst bit of this was that if you found time to have a few beers, you´d always get woken up just as it was wearing off and have a bit of a hangover, so it´s best to lay of the booze a bit in this period - you´ll have plenty of chance to turn alcoholic when he gets older and starts worrying you!!!
Comment from Esther
Time: December 1, 2008, 10:08 pm
Baby cotton nighties are the answer. Easy access any time of the night, just hike up skirt and change nappy. No poppers at all. Call it a night shirt - slightly more manly. My 10 llb bruser of a boy wore them!
Comment from karlita
Time: December 4, 2008, 4:53 am
Congratulations, Ben and Marina! I’m so happy for all three of you - this is wonderful news!
Looking forward to future podcasts and your other projects.
Welcome to the world, Leo!
Comment from Dan King
Time: December 30, 2008, 10:54 am
Congratulations both. Our boy Alf was born in Madrid nearly 9 months ago. When you’re ready to take Leo to meet other babies (and you’re ready to meet other parents) maybe we’ll meet at Stickyfingers playgroup on Calle Ibiza…
Comment from Dan King
Time: December 30, 2008, 10:54 am
Congratulations both. Our boy Alf was born in Madrid nearly 9 months ago. When you’re ready to take Leo to meet other babies (and you’re ready to meet other parents) maybe we’ll meet at Stickyfingers playgroup on Calle Ibiza…
Write a comment
(No Anonymous Comments Accepted - Valid Email Required)