Sleepless Parents

I miss taking and posting photos of Cu Dao. I left the camera at my sister’s house and I am not sure when I will get it back. I blame the car for it. It was packed before I could remember I didn’t put the camera in.

Duke not only takes up so much room in the house, he also takes up so much space in the car. My TL and my wife’s Camry aren’t big enough for all of his stuff. His new convertible car seat takes up two spaces in the back. His stroller, clothes and diapers fill up the entire trunk.

We thought of selling my wife’s Camry and get a Sienna, but our budget is kind of tight right now. We can’t afford another 30 grants in debt. Furthermore, we’re trying to send Cu Dao off to daycare, and that’s another $1,500 a month. We have decided to go with the Jewish Community Center even though the price is a bit high. Cu Dao is now on the waiting list for the next available spot.

As for Duke’s development, he has been doing great. He is very active in crawling around the house and he also has a very good appetite. He takes solid food well and he still drinks his mommy’s milk from the bottle during the day.

Night time is a whole different story. We moved him into his own room, but his mom couldn’t let him sleep by himself so she joined him. It feels cold and lonely in the master bedroom, so I joined them as well. All three of us sleep on a little-ass mattress with my legs touching the floor.

Truth be told, I joined them because my conscience eats at me for letting Dana taking care of Duke during the night all by herself. I could get an interrupted sleep all by myself, but the guilt wouldn’t let me. These days, Cu Dao doesn’t just wake up and cry. He sits right up, screams and crashes his head into my chest and sometimes my face.

I have to pick him up, hold him in my arms, and bend my knees repeatedly—my man Tim gave me the bending knees advice and it works every time—or cuddle him tight and tap his butt continuously until he goes back to sleep. Since he gets up like every hour, I get too tired to do either one, so the last resort is breast-feeding, and of course, that is when Dana takes over. I can’t hardly wait until the night that he would pull straight through.