Parenthood – Gjertsen [dot] ca

It’s a Waiting Game

Rob Gjertsen — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 04:19:29 +0000

Read Time:24 Second

Well, we have reached February, and Kidlet 2 will be arriving soon. Over the past few months, we have been preparing and getting things ready. Now, we wait…

And wait.

And wait…

When my wife was pregnant last time, we didn’t know if it was a Boy or a Girl. We were as ready as we could be for whichever surprise awaited us.

This time it is different, and we do know.

So much different, and so much the same.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

The Kidlet is Sick

Rob Gjertsen — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 13:08:44 +0000

Read Time:1 Minute, 4 Second

I’m not posting any material of substance this week.

The kidlet came down with a fever Friday, which turned into a cold Friday night, morning into an (undiagnosed) ear infection Saturday (make that 2 ear infections as of Sunday AM).

It is so heart wrenching when they get sick like this, and there’s nothing much you can do. Both ear infections went unaddressed at the clinic I took her to Saturday AM (he looked at both ears), even after me making reference to her countless ear infections. The second one went undiagnosed at the ER, WHERE THEY DIDN’T EVEN CHECK BOTH EARS!!!

Photo by Icons8 team on Unsplash

What I think makes me feel the worst about the entire situation, is when I have to pin her down to put the drops in her ears, and she is fighting me for all she is worth. I know it’s for her own good, but it still breaks my heart.

So I’ll be back next week, with a new blog article that is almost finished. It isn’t technical in nature, and I think (hopefully) it will stir some discussion (at least internally) for anyone who might read it.

Until then, I hope all 2 of you who read this have a great week!

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

I Told My Pregnant Wife, I Lost the Photos

Rob Gjertsen — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 13:55:53 +0000

Read Time:3 Minute, 9 Second

In early 2016, we found out my wife Heather was pregnant with our daughter. It was a crazy time, both daunting and exhilarating. I don’t think anyone is ever truly ready, or prepared…

When getting ready to tell our parents of the impending arrival, we decided to make use of a visual aid (aka: Slide Show). It wasn’t a drab PowerPoint like some might think, but instead it was a fun and musical presentation, thanking them for everything they do for us, and then shrining the surprise upon them.

We have kept digital copies of all our records for a number of years now, and pictures for even longer. While putting together the pictures for the slideshow, I started pulling out some photos and putting them together.

I started looking for pictures from the first summer my wife and I were dating, but each of the folders were blank. “Huh? That’s weird…” I think was my initial reaction…

No problem, I’ll just restore those files from my local backup.

Me: “The backup folders are empty, too….???”

Heather: “What?”

Me: “Oh, nothing.”

WTF….

Me (thinking to myself): No problem. I’ll grab them from my cloud backup.

The folders are still empty. It was at this time I believe, my wife walked in rubbing her tummy, asking me what I was doing. I believe my response was something along the lines of “Oh, just working on the slideshow.”

After I was able to get my wife leave my office, I decided it was time to pull out the big guns. My cloud archive. There was no way it wouldn’t have them.

You see, it has taken me the last several paragraphs, to bring you to this point, where I will cover a few facts:

My wife is blissfully walking around our home, in her early pregnancy glow, picking out colours and sheets for the nursery. She has no idea I’m about to spoil her day with this news.
I have 3 different backups systems, two of which allow for versioning (I believe data is priceless). The chances that they are all bad, is exponentially minute.
I’m not ready to tell my pregnant wife, that I lost all the photos from the first summer that we were dating, and am quietly contemplating how to escape the house without her knowing. Mexico is nice, right?

Me: Ok. This shouldn’t be that bad. I keep all my old hard drives. I’ll get the old one, and pull the data off it again, and figure out what happened.

Well, I did just that, with the same results I had experienced each time before. You see, I had replaced that hard drive because it was starting to fail, and it turns out the sectors that stored those photos had gone bad.

As you can see with this scenario, even what many would consider a robust and multi-level backup system can fail, if your initial dataset is bad.

Thankfully, it turns out I had (for some unknown reason) put the lost photos onto a CD Disc, which I found about a month later. So this particularly data loss story, does have a happy ending.

I would encourage everyone to give their data storage, backup, and/or archiving methods some good thought and discussion. Speak to experts you know, and PLEASE test your backups regularly. A backup that hasn’t been tested, is useless.

Not sure how you should or want to proceed, or if your methodology is sufficient for your risk tolerence? Reach out to me via Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn and I’d be happy to discuss.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Learning to be Better

Rob Gjertsen — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 18:16:07 +0000

Read Time:1 Minute, 50 Second

My daughter has taught me how to love better. At 25 months old she may not be speaking yet, but I try to make sure I listen to her as much as I can. Each and every day she teaches me something new. I love learning new things from here: how to be a better Father; a better Husband; a better Man.

How can someone so young, and who doesn’t speak, possibly teach me so much?

She sees everything through those innocent eyes, where so many things are still new and amazing. When my (terrible) magic tricks of making things disappear are the things of wizards, and not badly executed slight of hand, her eyes light up and I hear the most amazed ‘Wow!’, that makes my day each and every time.

But it’s not only this. It is the simple things in life that I have started to take so much comfort and pleasure in over the past couple years, and I have her to thank for that.

I no longer sweat the small things like I did before, and she has taught me how to accomplish that the most. As adults within the technology filled world we live in today, we easily get caught up in the business of ‘life’ and forget the simple pleasures that make the lasting memories that children remember forever: throwing a baseball with your uncle; working to fix a fence with your Dad; throwing water balloons at your sister; picking strawberries with your Mom; or how the smell of freshly ironed linen will remind you of your grandmother.

No matter how stressful or crappy my day has been, and as much as I Love my wife with everything I have, a simply hug and kiss from that little girl of mine can melt away everything that might have been bad in my day, as she grabs my hands to go and colour, or play with her toys.

A friend of mine said to me the other day, “I love how you Love Heather and Freya”. I cannot think of many compliments better than that right there. I may not be the perfect husband or father, but I try my best.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Sick Toddlers Are Amazing

Rob Gjertsen — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 04:58:18 +0000

Read Time:1 Minute, 47 Second

Caring for a sick toddler is heartbreaking. In that child, there is this part of you that exists outside of oneself. You know they are not feeling well, but there is a limit as to what you can do for them. You feed them if they’ll eat at all. You try to make sure they get enough fluids if they will drink anything, to begin with. You try to comfort them and get lots of rest, but that’s only if they will sleep. After that, you need to let their body do the rest.

Here the young parent displays their alertness for all to see.

Over the past 4 months, Freya has been sick a number of times, most significantly she has had 3 ear infections. For someone so young to have that many in such a short amount of time, is a bit of a concern,

Last Thursday, Freya came down with a fever. It went as high as 106.5C and didn’t break for 6 days. It was everything we could do to get her to drink juice these past few days, let alone eat anything of substance. We have been in and out of the hospital, doctors offices, more times than I wish to remember this past week. But finally, today was an entire day without a fever.

Here the Snoopy is seen exhibiting a carefree dance of joy, expressing how happy he is to be an animated character

And now she has a rash…

It can be trying as you’re trying to cuddle or soothe them because of course, they can’t tell you what is bothering them, and heartbreaking also. But all you can do is make sure they are as comfortable as possible and manage their symptoms as best you can, and remind yourself “I kept them alive today” because some days that can feel like an accomplishment in and of itself.

Freya wearing a jacket I wore when I was her age.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Freya Enjoying her Jumper!

Rob Gjertsen — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 03:23:50 +0000

Read Time:6 Second

There’s not much to say about this post, other than she’s starting to really enjoy her jumper.

[wpdevart_youtube]m5YZ3MGz4F4[/wpdevart_youtube]

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Sleep Training + Noise Cancelling Headphones

Rob Gjertsen — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 21:06:43 +0000

Read Time:2 Minute, 37 Second

We have started Sleep Training. Would it be considered ‘cheating’ if I were to wear noise cancelling headphones at homes while Freya cries?

The change in sleep schedule, as well as sleep training itself, continues. And it sucks.

There is a lot of information available for couples that are expecting, as well as new parents, and you know what? I hate how much there is.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Forums. Websites. Newsletters. Talk Shows. News Broadcasts. Everywhere you turn, someone has an opinion about what bottle works best, what the best formula is, or even what colour sheets will soothe your baby the most – it’s ridiculous.

Everywhere you turn as a new parent, you are bombarded with information and advice. Everyone and their dog, is going to tell you ‘It gets better’, but you will feel patronized the entire time.

So, contained within this post where I complain about information and opinions, will be a bit of irony – for without any further ado, here is my opinion about a couple things.

There are a few Podcasts that I think are really great, and they are:

There is one particular Podcast Episode which I want to draw special attention to regarding sleep, and that is ParentCAST Episode 7 – The Importance of Bed Time Routines. This may seam self evident, but babies need a regimented schedule, and they need consistency (upon this ‘advice’, I think all parents would agree.

My second piece of advice, is to be aware and monitor just how much surfing your significant other does during the day. Particularly if they are the primary caregiver, they will have period of ‘down’ time to fill.

Down Time: A period in which you hardly breathe or move, in fear of waking up the child.

During this time, I find a lot of Mom’s I know end up surfing the internet, most probably Facebook, and conversing on various Mommy groups. This is where the complete avalanche of information starts from. If not taken with a (very small) grain of salt, the fact that your child is 4-months old and still doesn’t know how to recite the alphabet because some yahoo in China told the world their child did it, and now every other child on the planet is ‘slow’. Albeit it an exaggerated example, but it is this mindset that is easy to get into when you’re entire day (and world) is that little ~~monster~~ bundle of joy, where you start thinking your child isn’t ‘normal’. To that, I would simple ask you this: What is ‘normal’?

Lastly my advice for you today, which is to purchase some noise cancelling headphones. You’ll be able to gain some head space, and zone out of from the crying baby – if even for 15 mins (of course, while you are doing this, they are being cared for by someone else). I find myself listening to a lot of podcasts are I put Freya to sleep lately, which helps me deal with the lack of sleep.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Teething is Fun.

Rob Gjertsen — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 01:15:28 +0000

Read Time:48 Second

Teething. Oh, teething. Any parent who has experienced teething knows the joys of this time. Those rosy little cheeks are not cute, they are warning signs. They mean “If I had teeth yet, I would bite your fingers off – that’s how upset I am”. I am now convinced that this is the translation of ‘rosy cheeks’.

So, if it wasn’t already evident, Freya has started teething. Last night was murder. The only thing we had at our disposal was some Infant Tylenol, so that’s what she got – and it did help. Apparently we had both forgotten to put Oral-gel on the shopping list (guess what I picked up this morning).

In other exciting news, we’re switching Freya sleep schedule and will be starting to sleep train Freya tonight – she gets to fall asleep on her own now. I’m not sure how this is going to proceed, but I foresee a few difficult nights in our very near future.

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Don’t Let Her Fool You

Rob Gjertsen — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 05:01:21 +0000

Read Time:1 Minute, 33 Second

The other evening when I was walking upstairs around 7:55pm, getting ready to put Freya down for the night, I heard a strange sound. More on that in a minute.

So, we go upstairs and get her bath ready, which she enjoyed a lot. She is learning how to splash a bit now, which is great fun. She actually splashed me in the face the other day, as accidental as it was. But the bath went well.

We took her back into her room, where Mommy dried her off while I cleared up the bathroom. By the time that was done, she was changed into her sleeper and enjoying a few minutes of wiggle time in her crib.

After ‘wiggle time’ was over, it was time to be swaddled and time for the lights to be turned out, so Daddy could put her to bed.

Do you remember that sound I was referring to earlier? I didn’t realize it, but it was the Rocky theme song, and Freya was letting me know what I was in for…

Going to bed did not go well…1 hr 45 mins later, she had finally fallen asleep – I think out of pure exhaustion, or boredom.

Sleep. It’s such a simple word, and yet it is so precious. Freya is not sleeping well right now, which means nobody is sleeping well right now.

As I’m typing this, Freya is in her swing (Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle N Swing) sleeping (thank you), and I’m watching (silently) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (we’re taking our staff to see Star Wars: Rogue One on Friday, so I’m gearing up). When she is asleep at this point in the day, it is really nice, because everyone in the house (except for me) is all asleep at the same time – some quiet time (if we’re lucky).

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %

Switching to a Bottle – Day 1

Rob Gjertsen — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 21:38:57 +0000

Read Time:24 Second

Yesterday was the first day of our committed adventure to get Freya to take a bottle. It did not go well…

I have brought out the Christmas Tree today, so we will have that all setup by the end of the week. It will be fun to see Freya see the tree lit up for the first time.

This afternoon she discovered her reflection in her swing, and had a wonderful smile – which we never caught with the camera.

Next time…

About Post Author

Happy

0 %

Sad

0 %

Excited

0 %

Sleepy

0 %

Angry

0 %

Surprise

0 %