The Baby Years Archives - The 40YrOldDad The 40YrOldDad

October 3

HEY DUGGEE, GO JETTERS AND THE CBEEBIES TEAM

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, 3-5 years, Events
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3
OCT

If you have kids under 5, then no doubt you’ll be familiar with biscuit crumbs wedged in the cracks of your car seat and couch. You’ll also most likely be familiar with CBeebies TV shows, Hey Duggee and Go Jetters. They’re two of our most favourite shows to watch, if you can actually see the screen beneath a myriad of greasy fingerprints and two heads clambering to get as close to the screen as possible, whenever they come on. So, the excitement of meeting Duggee and Ubercorn in real-life was as high as my hairline. (more…)
April 19

WINTERBOTTOM WINS OVER LIGHTNING MCQUEEN

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, 3-5 years, Events
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19
APR

For the last two years, Lightning McQueen has reigned supreme in pole position on our boy’s interest leaderboard, until yesterday, when a new contender emerged victorious atop the Winner’s Podium – Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom.

Not since The Marx Brothers has there been such a crazy and fun ‘Day At The Races’, and excited as we were to get up close and personal with McQueen and Mack at the Disney/Pixar Cars Truck Tour, we had no idea just how close and personal things were about to get. Crazy close and personal.

The Disney/Pixar Cars Truck Tour was housed in the Disney Interactive Zone inside the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit during the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprints, which sounds like a bunch of running robot athletes racing each other without a single squeak, but is actually a full-on, high-octane V8 Supercar Racecar Event. Discounting the slot-car set Indy got for Christmas, we’ve never been this close to an actual race track before and there really is a certain vibe, buzz and thrill in the air around it. (more…)
April 13

LIGHTNING MCQUEEN IN PHILLIP ISLAND THIS WEEKEND

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, 3-5 years, Events
3 Comments

13
APR

YEEHAW! Buckle up and put your pedal-to-the-metal because Lightning McQueen and Mack are rolling right out of Radiator Springs and revving right up to our very doorstep. Yes, indeed. Disney/Pixar, Mack Trucks and V8 Supercars are excited to announce that The Disney/Pixar Cars Truck Tour will be touring Phillip Island this weekend!

KA-CHOW! (more…)
August 17

5 THINGS THEY DON’T TELL YOU ABOUT BEING A DAD

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, 3-5 years, D-scoveries, The Baby Years, Thoughts, Tips, Toddler Years
5 Comments

17
AUG

Being a Dad is pretty awesome and there’s always a lot of advice and tips that people are always willing to give a first time Daddy-to-be. But there’s quite a few things that nobody ever told me about being a Dad which would have been handy to know in the beginning to properly prepare and psych myself for.

So I’ve compiled a short list of things I’ve discovered myself and am willing to share with any Daddy newbies out there.

Here’s a quick list of 5 things nobody tells you about being a Dad:

1. Baby fingernails are sharper than adamantium claws.

The only thing worse than hearing fingernails on a blackboard is having your cheeks, eyelids, lips and nostrils shredded to pieces by tiny razor-like Kruegeresque knives forged in the belly of a dragon at the bottom of a volcano.

2. Despite what you think, babies are not as vulnerable as they look.

Even though babies come into this world vulnerable and defenceless, it only takes a few months before their inherent self-defence ninja skills come to the fore. They may look incredibly cute and adorable lying in your arms as you gently rock them to sleep, but they can incapacitate an elephant simply by totally pinching the sh*t out of the skin on your neck with the strength and accuracy of a Vulcan warrior. (more…)
June 25

CO-SLEEPER CLONES

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, Gadgets, The Baby Years
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25
JUN

Back in December, I posted about My DIY Co-Sleeper, which I built for Mumma to get easy access to our gal after she was born so she didn’t have to get up, lean over and lift her in and out in the middle of the night.

It continues to get quite a response and I’ve been contacted several times requesting a copy of my plans so they can build their own.

One such request came from expectant father, Adam Harrison, whose first child is due any moment. Adam is a DIY hobbyist with a list of impressive projects including a large wooden linen cabinet, a rustic covered litter box and a tall space-saving shelving unit all in preparation for their new baby.

And the crowning glory was of course, a beautiful baby co-sleeper based on my original designs, with a few tweaks for their own particular house and the materials he had on hand. The finished product looks magnificent and Adam was generous enough to send me some pics to share with you all. (more…)
December 12

MY DIY CO-SLEEPER

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, 3rd Trimester, Gadgets, The Baby Years
97 Comments

12
DEC

After Mumma’s Caesarian with little Alice, it’s six weeks of recovery with no driving, no lifting anything heavier than the baby (lucky it wasn’t me or I’d have a hard time going to the bathroom, if I wasn’t allowed to lift anything heavier than a baby) 😉, and definitely no hanky-panky.

Which is why my eyebrows flew off my head when Mumma mentioned a threesome. What she actually meant was three of us sharing the bed, due to the fact that Alice is a brilliant sleeper during the day, but at night, just wants to be held. Kind of like my lonely single years during the late 90’s.

But co-sleeping with the baby in the bed can lead to all kinds of issues such as overheating or a risk of waking up with a baby pancake in between you (ie: my personal greatest fear), not to mention being a highly effective cock-blocker, and is somewhat frowned upon by the SIDS people.

So we decided to put the baby basinet beside the bed instead. Problem with that is it’s a good Danny Devito size taller than our bed, meaning Mumma has to use her tummy muscles to get up out of bed and reach up and over into the basinet to pick Alice up, which is against all the rules for a healthy recovery. (more…)
November 13

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, Events, In the Womb, The Baby Years
15 Comments

13
NOV

Our trip to Wonderland began with another journey down the rabbit hole, and what did we find?

A menagerie of mad hatters; red, blue and white. (I’m always surprised as to why a bald man such as myself, is still required to wear a hair net in an operating theatre). But them’s the rules, I guess?

Cheshire Cat grins a mile wide, and a lovely little girl named…

Alice Nevada Bechtold

Born at 10:23am on…what day was it again? Oh, yes…

Remembrance Day!

3.95kg and 52cm in length for those running a pool at work or the TAB. So, 5 grams lighter than Indy but 2cm taller and looks so amazingly like Indy, they look like twins born 2 and a half years apart! (more…)
November 10

ONE SLEEP TO GO

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, The Baby Years
6 Comments

10
NOV

Only one sleep to go until…

40YrOldDad Version 2.0

Our final day of ‘treesome’.

Wow, can it really be true? I feel like we’ve both been so busy; Mumma with work and me with going back to Uni, that the time has suddenly crept up behind us and before we knew it, we’re staring right down the barrel of baby #2 about to enter our lives. It seems crazy. Are we crazy? I think we are (or at the very least, a teensy bit delirious).

And the fact that I’ve been a dad for 2 and a half years now should give me a quiet sense of confidence, but the truth is, washing little girls clothes in the washing machine freaked me out a bit. And when we were shopping in Target, we strolled past the girl section where Mumma kindly pointed out the little bras and knickers hanging on the racks, and indicated that’s something we’ll have to get used to one day.

Holy crap!

Never-ever-ever in my whole thought process of being a new dad to a little girl did the thought ever cross my mind that one day we’d have to go bra shopping!

What-da-f#*k, Mumma? You’re weirding me out!

(more…)
July 5

THOMAS BED BIRTHDAY

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, Events, The Baby Years
2 Comments

5
JUL

Happy Birthday Indy!!

Today our son turns 2. Simply amazing how quickly the time flies by. Why only yesterday, he was still in a cot, but not today…

It’s your Birthday! And what an excellent little helper you are.

Enjoy your Thomas big bed, little man xxx (more…)
June 30

GITTIN’ SNIPPY WIDDIT

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, Events, The Baby Years
2 Comments

30
JUN

Happy Days, Seinfeld, Breaking Bad…all good things must come to an end. And so it goes for my nut bag. The very thought of it makes me cringe and although we feel incredibly lucky to have been blessed with our miracle man and a bunette currently in the oven, I’m acutely aware the sands of time continue to spill through the hourglass. Although I’m young at heart, the body says otherwise.

Struggling to read bedtime stories under dimly lit conditions, I was told by my optometrist that I’m entering the ‘Presbyopia’ stage of life. A type of short-sightedness that affects us all over the age of 40 and currently, the majority of the Australian voting public (have you ‘seen’ our PM?). As much as I adore being a 40YrOldDad (*ahem), I have no intention of one day becoming a 50YrOldDad…with a toddler!

Hence, as Joe Hockey pointed out during the budget…cuts must be made. And so, with a gulp in my throat and a tear in my eye, it’s time to ‘git snippy widdit’ and book in for a vasectomy. (more…)