Photo Friday: Who Does Jesse Look Like?

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So right from the start, many if not all of the visitors we got in the early days said that Jesse was a spitting image of me. It certainly looked that way. Blonde hair, blue eyes, big nose.

But the more time passes, more people are saying that he is now looking more like Renee.

So we visited both our parents houses and went hunting through old baby photos of ourselves to try and see if we could find any that would be good to use as a comparison. And so below, we have 4 photos to compare. Photos of both Renee and I as babies with photos of Jesse at the same age (in days/weeks).

Have a look for yourselves and let us know who you think Jesse looks like… Mummy or daddy?

Jesse and Kaine: Kaine and Jesse

Jesse and Renee:

An Open Letter to Dads Returning to Work

July 8, 2015 Renee Barton3 Comments

Next week Kaine will be returning to work and I am nervous to say the least. I am wondering how I am going to handle things on my own without someone to share nappy duty with, without the chest which Jesse loves to fall asleep on and without someone to keep up the housework and bring me things when I’m breastfeeding. But most of all how I’m going to cope without my person with me, my best friend, my husband.

But as hard as it will be for me, I know it will be even more difficult for him to leave us every morning and spend a large part of the day away from us. Especially after enjoying such precious family time over the last 7 weeks.

So here are my words to my husband about his returning to work. Perhaps there are other women that feel this way about their spouse also so this is my open letter to working Dads.

To My Dear Husband,

The time we have spent together recently has been so special. The opportunity to be together every day as a new family while we navigate the challenges and joys of being parents has been incredible. I didn’t know I could love you more than I already did but seeing you as a Dad and the way you are with our baby, and with me, has deepened my love for you in ways I could not have anticipated.

But soon you will be returning to work. I know this will be difficult for you and that you will wish you were at home with us but I want you to know that work is exactly where your family needs you to be, at least for now.

Each day you leave our house please know that we love you and appreciate all you do to provide for us and ensure we are happy and healthy. We will miss you and the moment you arrive home will be our favourite part of the day.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to continue staying at home to care for our son. I know it is incredibly important to the both of us, and to us as a family, to be with him as much as possible and provide him with the best start in life.

So until a time when we are able to spend all of our days together again; we thank you.

Lovingly yours,

Wifey for Lifey

365 Project Update: How Are We Going?

July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So tomorrow will mark day 40 of ‘The 365 Project’. The big question being, how are we going?

For those who haven’t ventured through to that area of our website, simply put, the 365 Project is a brutally honest account of a year in the life of a new mum and a new dad.

The mission was simple. We will:

Over one whole year from the day our baby is born, chronicle our first year of parenthood through writings and photos.
Each journal something every day of Baby Barton’s first year of life, no excuses (no matter how sleep deprived)!
Each take a photo every day of Baby Barton’s first year of life, no excuses.
Not share our journal entries or photos with each other, until the day Baby Barton turns 1 (the end of the project).
At the conclusion of The 365 Project, compile and publish the journals and photos as two individual books titled ‘Not So Secret Life Of Us: A year in the life of a first time Dad’ and ‘Not So Secret Life Of Us: A year in the life of a first time Mum’.

So how are we going? Well, so far so good I think.

Life with a baby is sometimes pretty tough, especially for Renee who is up throughout the nights breastfeeding. But as of today, we have both stuck to our mission and have successfully taken a photo and written an entry every single day.

Collage 1

However, we are still both on leave from work which makes this whole chronicling our lives a little easier than it normally would. The real test is going to be when we finally climb out of this having a new baby bubble and go back to work and regular life starts getting in the way.

I think it’s going to be tough, but I think we will be able to do it. We may only be 40 days in, but I still feel as passionate about this project as when we started it on day 1!!!

Photo Friday: Tiny Toes

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 Renee BartonLeave a comment

We are still fascinated by Jesse’s tiny fingers and toes and spend much of our days marvelling at his cuteness and kissing his delicious little face, hands and feet.

Being a Fit Dad

June 28, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

Being a fit and healthy dad. What exactly does that mean? What does it encompass?

As I stood on the scales at my PT’s gym yesterday for my weekly weigh-in, waiting to see what the damage had been this week I began to think about that question.

As I pondered, I looked down with nervous anticipation as the number flicked up on the screen of the scales. The number staring back at me was 80 kg. Mixed feelings washed over me consisting mostly of disappointment.

‘There’s an 8 at the beginning’, I thought to myself. ‘It’s time to get my health and fitness back on track’.

Now I am well aware that 80 kg isn’t exactly heavy for someone of my height, but I know that my ideal weight is somewhere around the 75 kg mark and that’s when I feel and look my best.

I think every dad out there has their own thoughts on what a fit dad is. So the question I need to ask myself, is what does being a fit dad mean for me?

For me, I think being a fit dad first and foremost means being active, healthy and getting back into my pre-birth routines.

The past 5 weeks have flown by in a blur of nappy changes, cluster feeding and entertaining a newborn. And that has come at the expense of any kind of normalcy as far as routine goes. And because there are only two weeks before I go back to work, it’s a good time to start focusing back on my own habits to get back to feeling and looking my best.

So, keeping in mind there is a new element in the mix (named Jesse Jack Barton) what needs to change? Well, it is my promise to start doing the following:

Exercising more regularly (PT sessions, circuit training, walks/runs with the dog).
Keep as active as I can, even at work.
Eating less and eating healthier options (no alcohol, less sugar, less carbs, more protein, more fresh foods and vegetables).
Better sleeping patterns (going to bed earlier and waking up earlier).
Start supplementing diet with good vitamins and supplements.
Involving Renee and Jesse into these routines wherever possible.

These are all very simple things to do and re-instate, but I now believe that they are more important than ever to do. It’s now time get off my ass and start doing them if I truly want to be a fit dad!

Outside of being a good dad, being a fit dad was the one thing I really wanted to try and achieve. Throughout our pregnancy journey, it’s one of the things that Renee and I would discuss every now and again.

I have always thought of myself as being relatively healthy and fit (except for when I’m on holidays and have a blow out, but hey, doesn’t everyone…). I want to be the dad running around the park or court with our son kicking the football or shooting hoops.

I want to be the dad playing in the backyard or park with our son, pushing him on the swings or playing in the sand pit.

I want to be the dad going to a bike ride with our son through the bush tracks and stopping to look at the weird and wonderful wildlife that he has never seen before.

I want to be the dad that could run and jump and carry and swing our son around when playing with him.

I want to be the dad that our son looks up to and develops good habits from with respect to being active and healthy and fit.

It’s time to chase these goals. It’s time to make a change.

It’s time to be a FIT DAD!

Photo Friday: Baby Barton Diaries – The Final Chapter

June 26, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

What’s this? Another video for Photo Friday? You betcha!

Throughout our pregnancy, we uploaded a series of videos called ‘Baby Barton Diaries’. Well, as you are all aware, our pregnancy journey came to an end just over 4 weeks ago when we welcomed little Jesse Jack to the world.

Yesterday we recorded the final Baby Barton Diary entry where we talk about the labour and delivery, our experiences at the hospital and my infamous ‘Cigars, Scotch and Cards’ night to celebrate the birth of Jesse.

Because of it’s length, it ended up becoming 2 separate videos (Part One and Part Two). So that said, we hope you enjoy the 2 part finale of our ‘Baby Barton Diaries’ video series.

Part one:

Part Two:

If you are interested in seeing any of the previous videos we did throughout our pregnancy, you can check them out on the Baby Barton YouTube Playlist HERE.

Happy One Month Birthday

June 24, 2015June 24, 2015 Renee Barton3 Comments

We have a four week old baby. Yup, we have managed to navigate our way through parenthood for one whole month. And fairly successfully I would say.

Most say by the six week mark we will finally emerge from the haze that is life with a newborn. That sounds about right too as I don’t quite think we are there yet. However we have started to find a rhythm and even on the most difficult days there is still so much to be joyful about. Jesse is starting to smile a lot so that is all that we need to brighten our day and lift our spirits.

He is also starting to spend more time awake. Instead of just feeding and sleeping we now have a sprightly and curious bub for several hours a day. So we have been finding ways we can interact with him and help him develop.

You’ll find us giving Jesse a blow by blow of everything we are doing from changing his nappy and clothes to a running commentary of the Brisbane Broncos game.

And today we have pulled out his new play mat and a multitude of rattles and toys (all which were gifts from family and friends) so that we can start some play time with him.

I have no idea whether it is too early for all of that, but he already seemed to really like the shiny colours and interesting noises of the toys hanging across his carrier. And then it all must have got too much for him because he soon fell fast asleep. A win-win I suppose.

One Month Old Photo

I was hoping not to be one of those parents that wishes their child doesn’t grow up and instead just relish in every stage and every age. But even four weeks in I am starting to have those thoughts. He has already changed so much since he was born and pretty soon he will be too big for his 00000 clothes.

A reminder that no matter how monotonous or challenging some days may feel, this too shall pass. So drink it all in and cherish all the beautiful moments. And the tough ones too.

Mission: Leave the House for the Day

June 21, 2015June 21, 2015 Kaine Barton1 Comment

DATE: Friday, 19 June 2015

TIME: 10:30am

THE MISSION: Leave the house (successfully) for the whole day with Jesse.

MISSION OUTCOME: SUCCESS!!!!

That was literally how it felt on Friday. It felt like we were planning a highly important military operation that needed to be carried out with precision and accuracy (yes I know those mean the same thing). Like it was almost going to be the difference between life and death if we got the planning, execution or any tiny detail of ‘Operation Escape the House for the Day’ wrong.

But… We survived.

What did we do? Well, we escaped to where every other expectant or new mothers, fathers and grandparents were going to be. At the Brisbane Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo.

We packed the nappy bag, bundled Jesse into his carrier and loaded the car in preparation for the day trip to baby central (the Expo). As we drove out of the garage and down the driveway, I turned to Renee and said “Are you sure we have everything?”

“YES! It’ll be fine.” She responded.

Ok great, so I should just ignore this feeling of dread that’s washing over me in waves right now?

We pull into the carpark of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and find a car space relatively easily. We grab Jesse and his carrier, load the pram up and start toward the Expo.

As we poke our heads through the doors, all I can see is prams, babies and pregnant women everywhere. There is no order, there is no structure, there’s just prams and kids and people going in every direction. Its absolute chaos, like sperm swimming around trying to find their way to the ultimate prize, which is ironic considering that’s how everyone in the hall got into this mess in the first place.

First port of call, food for us. The café is down the back of the hall. Ok let’s do this.

WATCH OUT FOR THAT PRAM!

Stop, rogue child.

Quick, let’s make a break, there’s no one in front.

No wait, another pram, hard right… HARD RIGHT!

Ok, let’s try left.

Nope, left is no good. I repeat, left is no good.

We need to make a U turn. Checking left, checking right, GO.

Ok, we made it!

Expo Shot

After refuelling, we were ready play dodgem cars with the other prams and headed out to look at the stalls. Who knew babies needed so much stuff! Or do they?

There were the typical stalls you would expect to see at a pregnancy and baby expo like newborn photographers, prams and prams and more prams and popular brands like Curash, S-26 and Phillips Avent. There was also this great stall full of Rugby League onesies including a Brisbane Broncos and Queensland Marrons onesies. We managed to resist the temptation.

However, what really caught our attention was all the weird gadgets, contraptions and furniture on offer. Like the stall offering a devise for parents to suck snot out of their babies noses. Or the stall that had the ‘Baby Shoosher’, which was essentially a plastic speaker that repeatedly played a ‘ssssshhhhhh’ sound over and over again. How much is it? REALLY?

Then there were the stalls with furniture for babies that looked like it had come straight of the set of ‘The Jetsons’. I don’t think interior decorating has quite embraced the space age look just yet.

Before anyone gets upset and claims that the Baby Shoosher is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I have written this in jest. By all accounts the stall offering the Baby Shoosher did claim it had an 80% success rate, although I’m sure parents making the ‘ssssshhhhh’ sounds themselves would have a similar effect.

At the end of the day, we did manage to escape the Expo unscathed without spending too much money. The only purchase we made on the day was a nappy (diaper) disposal bin for Jesse’s nursery. Some of you might claim that this is also not really needed, and you’re probably right. But we like it for the convenience factor.

It actually was a pretty great day and the perfect way to spend our first full day out of the house. Mixing with other parents and expectant mothers.

I have a feeling that I will probably be less stressed the next time we prepare for a full day out of the house.

The Lonely Hours

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 Renee Barton5 Comments

Some nights can get pretty lonely when you’re up with a newborn. The repitition of feeding, changing and settling every few hours can be trying. Especially during those nights when all you want to do is sleep.

Don’t get me wrong, Kaine is absolutely supportive and a massive help. In fact, he couldn’t be more hands on both with Jesse and with keeping the household running. But there is only so much he can do without boobs! And we agreed from the beginning that it doesn’t make sense for us to both be sleep deprived so I take the night shift while he sleeps.

I know that I can wake him if I really need to but I try to avoid that. A well rested husband means he is able to help more during the day while he’s still home with us and it will be even more important once he goes back to work in a few weeks.

I know I am very lucky really. For the most part Jesse is really good through the night. He generally feeds well and now we get close to 3 hours sleep between feeds. But there are some tough times when he fusses at the breast or takes a long time to settle. And then there’s those pesky cluster feeds!

It’s during those times that I am comforted by the thought that other Mums all over the place, and even in the same street as me, are up doing exactly the same thing; looking after their beautiful babies and probably while their husband sleeps!

So my question to other Mums out there is, how do night shifts work in your house?

Let’s share our strategies and stories so we can all feel a little less alone when we are sitting with our boobs out at 3am on a winter night. And for all you Dads out there, we’d love to hear your perspective too.