Dear Aiden

Well, here we go again.

Next week is a big week for you, my boy. Dad-E is excited, nervous, anxious and scared... all at the same time. He's been through this before, but it was different the first time through. You start daycare next week. And that means some big adjustments around here.

Your mommy and I try really hard not to constantly compare you to your sister, but being the second born, it's inevitable. Trust me son, I know. Please understand that we don't compare you two in a competitive light, but rather to just contrast you two. You see, when we were going through this stage with your big sister, we didn't have anything to compare it to. We just thought the way she was was the way it was. But now that we have you, we can clearly see that you two are very different and unique individuals.

You don't know it now, and it may be many years before you realize it - but your big sister is paving the way for you at this very moment. Not just in school (which she probably will until you both go off to college), buttering up every teacher in the place so you'll have it easy as "Alli's little bro"... but also with your mommy and I. You both won't realize it for a long time, but she's made things much easier for you just by going through certain rites of passage before you.
For example, I knew (almost) exactly what to expect during your birth - which made me more relaxed and I was able to enjoy and savor the moments as they passed. It was much harder to do with your sister because I had no idea what to expect. Monday morning will be no different. While I'll still be nervous as hell dropping you off on your first day, I know deep down in my heart that your teachers will take good care of you just like they did with your sister. I couldn't be more proud of the girl she's turning into, and I have full confidence that you'll impress us just the same.

But with this new chapter comes new adjustments. It means your mommy is going back to work - which means instead of getting up at 3:45am to feed you, she'll be getting up to pump and leave for work. Which also means that Dad-E is on his own to get all three of us ready in the morning, you two off to school and myself to work by a reasonable hour. It could be rough for a few days, but we'll get it figured out. And once you're on a good schedule, we'll be like a well-oiled machine in the mornings.

I have to say though, the last three months haven't been easy. You're still not on a consistent sleeping schedule, and you really don't like going back to sleep once you've eaten... especially at 3am. I've tried putting you down to let you cry it out, but your mommy usually ends up coming to your rescue and rocking you to sleep - even if it takes an hour. It's made both your mommy and I very tired to say the least. But, you redeem yourself each day by being so happy and cute that your mommy and I almost forget that we're running on less than 6 hours of heavily interrupted sleep.


Today, your mommy needed a little break (and some much-needed girl time with Alli Ru), so you and I hung out all morning while they went to the pool. You slept on my chest the entire time they were gone. When your sister went down for her afternoon nap, mommy followed suit. I walked your fussy butt around the kitchen for an hour to get you to calm down, and you eventually fell asleep on me - for over three hours. And finally, you did it again tonight - after your bath and bottle, I got you to fall asleep on me in the time it took your mommy to run down the street to pick up some Japanese takeout. I put you down in your crib and you didn't move a muscle. I was very proud of how we both handled the day.

I know that starting next week, the days of you sleeping on me are numbered. These are the days I yearned for the most when we were pregnant with you, and I know that they'll be long gone before I know it. So while you're supposed to be "growing up" this week by heading off to school, I got to cherish a full day of your infancy before it was too late. I know that all too soon you and your sister will be making your mommy and I nervous wrecks as teenagers out on the town... but I'll never forget the day I got to spend with you before you went and grew up on me.

Love,
Dad-E