The Donner Household has hit another milestone: Francesca has experienced her first full weekend alone with baby; Michael has experienced his first full weekend apart from baby.

Here’s what happened: Michael had to go to D.C. for a bachelor party. So off he went.

A few friends looked at me askance: “You let him go?!”

Well, sure, I let him go. What am I going to do? Make him stay? Hardly.

In any case, Michael’s trip to D.C. was edifying for me in two ways.

ONE — I learned that looking after a baby by myself is totally within my realm of capability. It was fine. Manageable. Normal. Same routine as always: Baby eats; baby cries, baby sleeps; baby cries; baby eats; baby sleeps etc.

Sure, I had to operate as a one-armed machine, folding laundry with a baby in one hand; operating the sterilizer with a baby on one hip and so on, but aside from the fact that everything — everything — was twice the work, it really was doable. Really.

HOWEVER….

TWO — I learned that while everything alone was doable — twice the work though it may have been — it was half the fun. No, more like an eighth of the fun.

Dads are good at singing songs. They are good at carrying heavy, lumpy babies. They are good at matching baby socks. And they are much, much better at bathing baby than mummy.

But most of all, dads are… hmmm… dads. And that’s important.

Back to Baby Augie.

Tags: Father