Wow. There are really cool things going on with my kids that I would like to share with you. I know that they are’t a “big deal” but they make being a father rewarding.

So, my five month old son, Ben, has reached a major milestone. Not only can he roll from his stomach to his back, now he can roll from his back to his stomach. In addition, he’s making crawling motions and scooting him self around. I can really see a difference from Tehilah. When she was born it was the first time for both my wife and I and it was hard for us to let her cry. She HATED being on her belly and would cry and scream until we either picked her up or flipped her over. As a consequence, she was very late i crawling and walking. I will be very surprised if Ben isn’t crawling within six weeks. VERY EXCITING! It is an amazing feeling to hold him in my arms and think about his future, a future that I am responsible for helping shape.

Tehilah has reached, to quote my father, a miraculous stage. That is she really talks and is able to express her self. I know that every parent since the beginning of time has gone through the same thing, but it is the first time for me and its so very special. “Daddy, big sister bed time big girl bed!!” translates as Dad, will you please read me my book I’m a Big Sister as a bed time story in my bed. BTW, for those of you with your second child on the way, I recommend this book or it’s companion, I’m a Big Brother. My mother in law bought the book for Tehilah (thanks Ruth!) and its been great at explaining the concepts of being a big sister to her. Several months ago we moved her from the ‘baby bed’ that is the cradle, to ‘the big girl bed’ and she loves it. She’s a ‘big helper girl’. She loves to help with anything (including things she shouldn’t help with. ) One of her favorite activities is helping her mother set the table. The really neat thing is that she gets most of the right things in the right place.

She’s also gotten into the “NO!” stage. My wife figured out that if you explain something and ask her to do it, she’s much more likely to do it with out arguing. On the other hand, we have to teach that she has to do what Mom and Dad say. It’s challenging, but I’m sure we will get it figured out.

If your husband or partner is like I was, he may be quite nervous (read SCARED OUT OF HIS MIND) about the upcoming birth. I had a lot of misconceptions myself. Be Prepared help me correct those misconceptions. Babies look a lot different when the come out than what I expected. It’s not a cute cuddly neat looking child (i.e. the Gerber baby). Don’t get me wrong, I thought both of my children were amazingly beautiful and special the moment that they were born, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting, at least not the first time around.

If you want to get your partner more involved or IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SPECIAL WAY TO TELL HIM THAT YOU ARE PREGNANT, Be Prepared makes a great gift for the man in your life. I’ve lent my copy to several friends and they all enjoyed it and learned useful information at the same time.

One of the things I really liked about the book was the fact that it uses a really clever retro format reminiscent of classic adventure and how-to guides. To quote, “Now changing a diaper can be as easy as changing a tire.” That pretty much sums the whole book up. While fueled by humor, this inventive “guy’s guide” provides all the information Dad will need to make it through year one of that ultimate survival sport - fatherhood.

“For thousands of years dads have roamed the earth, hunting, gathering, trudging through the fields day after day in order to provide for their families any way they could. But it wasn’t until the last quarter of a century that dads began to put down their spears and take an active role in the day-to-day duties of raising a child. The truth is that all those centuries of hunting gave men a skill set perfectly suited to new fatherhood. Patience, cunning, stamina, ad on-the-spot improvisation play a major role in both stalking prey ad baby raising. And much like a beast of the field, a baby is a very unpredictable creature, prone to wild mood swings and cranky tirades.” That is probably my favorite quote from the whole book.

It really is an indispensable survival manual for guys entering the trenches of fatherhood, Be Prepared is loaded with one-of-a-kind insights, MacGyver-esque tips and tricks, and no-nonsense advice for mastering the first year as a dad.

Finally, a book that teaches men all the things they really need to know about fatherhood…including how to:

• change a baby at a packed sports stadium
• create a decoy drawer full of old wallets, remote controls, and cell phones to throw baby off the scent of your real gear
• stay awake (or at least upright) at work
• babyproof a hotel room in four minutes flat
• construct an emergency diaper out of a towel, a sock, and duct tape (I keep wanting to try this one out, but so far my wife ever lets us run out of diapers.)

Get your copy of Be Prepared today for your special someone.

As part of our continuing effort to build a parenting community here at Baby-Place.com, we’ve decided to add a Parenting Blog.

My name is J.T. Parker and I’m a 27 year old father of two. They are Tehila, two years old and Ben, five moths old. I’ve been married to their mother, Julie, for three years.

I intend to write about problems and solutions (or attempted solutions) that I, as a young father, who is still pretty new to this whole parenting adventure face.

Right now i have two issues that I’m dealing with, one with each kid. Our two year old is a real daddy’s girl. I give her her bath and put her to sleep most every night. It’s our special, just the two of us, time together everyday. The problem is that as of late, she has started waking up in the middle of the night and she won’t calm down and stop crying until I come into her room. That I can deal with, but there are nights when she won’t fall back asleep unless I lay next down to her and talk to her in a calming voice. This can be a hard thing to do at 3:00 a.m. especially when I have to get up in a few hours. I know that I need to be firm with her and let her cry it out or else she’ll have sleep problems if I’m not around to comfort her. The thing is, she has me wrapped around her little finger and it BREAKS my heart to hear her crying in bed.

My second problem is with Ben. Thank God, he is nursing and so spends the vast majority of his time with his mother. I feel that it is hard for me to get close to him. Almost every time I hold him, he starts crying within five minutes and won’t calm down until Julie takes him. I know this is silly to be worried about this and that it will change as he grows older, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

I welcome any comments or suggestions on either or both problems.

That wraps up my first blog post. Hope you enjoy it and the many more to come.