Dad School: Preparing Formula

Every stay-at-home dad needs to know how to give his child formula.  So, for all those prospective papas, this blog’s for you:

Step one: boil water. This kills germs.

Step two: pour boiled water in bottles. Let water stew in its own juices (I just felt like saying that expression - it seemed apt.  Yes, apt [I just wanted to say that too]). 

Step three: your baby will let you know when she’s hungry (trust me). When that happens, pour formula in water – quickly!

Step four: feed baby. Baby should hopefully be content.

Step five: when necessary, clean accumulated used bottles using a sterilizer (that’s the odd looking container in the photo below). It works through the magic of steam and the raw power of the microwave – the liquid water will turn into steam when heated and clean the bottles. Thank you Thomas Newcomen and Percy Spencer!

That’s it! I probably feed Margot this stuff at least 6-8 times a day so get used to this process – it'll become very familiar!

La Langue de Moliere

As I noted in an earlier post, I take weekly French lessons with a tutor. It’s not that big a commitment – only 2 hours once a week. However, I find the lessons very helpful in improving my ability to speak French (as opposed to reading French, which I can already do at a relatively advanced level).

There are several good reasons for me to learn French: (i) it’s helpful for my career; (ii) it’s useful for day-to-day tasks given that I live in Quebec; (iii) it allows me to read the back of cereal boxes; and (iv) it sets a good example for Margot, who we want to raise bilingual. However, I think the real reason why I’m taking these lessons is simply because I like the idea of doing something just for myself while I am on parental leave.

Don’t get me wrong – Margot is the number one priority for the next few months. But having two-hours of dedicated Simon time is nice.

Today my weekly French class was at the usual time (from 10 am to noon) at a local coffee shop. I ordered my standard drink, a large cider, because (and this is mildly ironic), I don’t drink coffee!

Bookworms

Margot has an active spirit. She loves the outdoors. However, when the time is right, Jen or I will sit down in a comfy chair with our petite princesse and reach for a book. We have a great selection to draw upon thanks to the generosity of our friends and family who have essentially helped establish a small library of French and English books at our house. In those pages Margot and I have discovered the seasons, met munching caterpillars, and followed the adventures of naughty mice.

Today I read “Une Année bien remplie”, a short tale of two talking trees, one of whom has a bit of a sassy tongue if I do say so myself.

 
Jen read “Stella: reine des neiges”, which is about a playful girl who gets up to all sorts of shenanigans.

Hmm, not every book has a moral that needs to be followed Margot!