Copasetic Flow

I saw an article this morning on Male postpartum loneliness.  Among other things it suggested that men frequently found themselves more lonely after the birth of their child, and that they could and should seek support groups as a resource.  That’s good.  The article also mentioned that the loneliness might be a result of said men’s spouses spending more time with the baby and less with their husband  What the article failed to mention is how easy it is to remedy that situation.  Miss your partner?  Jump into what she’s doing.  Here are some ideas: Wipe the kid’s ass.  If you’re not the primary diaperer on a particular diaper change then at least take on getting rid of the dirty diaper duties Take bottles to the fridge during pumping. Clean said bottles after they’re used. Co-sleep.  Take shifts with your spouse getting the tike to bed at night.  Does your wife like to get to sleep early or does she perfer having uninterrupted slee...

The Blood and the Mud and the Crud As a hunter, you’ll be immunized to the blood, gore, and sleeplessness that comes part in parcel with parenting.  Pooh-filled diapers?  No problem, you’ve ground deer scat between thumb and forefinger to glean knowledge of their feeding patterns.  The kid falls on its head and comes up screaming and streaming blood?  Who among us hasn’t endured a pate wound in the field?  It’s among the bloodiest of injuries, but in the end it’s all thunder and fluff signifying nothing.  While other parents run screaming to the hospital, you’ll simply find a clean cloth, (might I suggest cloth diapers?), and apply pressure to the wound while talking to the little cootermaroo in calming tones.  A few minutes later voila, you’ll be back up and running.  And sleep deprivation?  What hunter doesn’t know about sleep deprivation?  Sure you’ll have to get up to feed the little tyke and clean their butt, but is that any wors...

The one-year-olds I’ve known were able to join the hunt so-to-speak, walking half a mile unassisted after a few months of practice. Staying Wild: Your first steps to (parental) independence: patience, stamina, and orienteering As your first kid grows, well-meaning parents may try to convince you of the utility of a stroller.  “They’ll outgrow the wrap,” (wrap: attachment parenting for that strip of cloth you’ve been tying the kid to your chest with.).  “Once they’re out of the wrap, they won’t be able to keep pace with you on foot,” they’ll say.  “You’ll appreciate the mobility,” they’ll insist.  Do Not Cave.  Tap back into your hunting mindset, and tap in hard.  Patience is the key to nirvana here.  Of course a one-year-old won’t be able to keep pace with you, but remember, slow and steady gets the job done.  As you obstinately insist on letting nature take its course, your infant-cum-toddler will get faster and build endurance.  The one...

Little if any mention is made of hunting in modern parenting literature, but it is, to put it simply, the fastest path to parental bliss.  Hunting teaches the patience, confidence, and self-sufficiency so critical to raising young ones in today’s urban wild.   My hunting buddy and I were moving at a classic stalking pace.  She’d take a. step, mirrored by mine; we’d pause for a few seconds surveying our surroundings; then, carefully placing our next step, we’d watch our quarry while again taking time to register changes in our environment.  Our prey, stock-still, never moved.  One would have expected, what with all the noise of passing cars and ambling passers-by, that it might have bolted.  It held steady though.  A few minute later, No. 3, my hunting companion and one-year-old daughter, gleefully giggled as we overtook our target: a young, at least judging by its short stature, set of stairs that led to a door stoop.  3 spent the next several...