Dad tip #47: Stop, breathe, clear your head, and balance

We're thankful. EXTREMELY thankful. Our baby boy is wonderful for any number of reasons, but one reason that we're particularly thankful for is that he's been sleeping through the night for a while now. [Knocking vigorously on wood as I type.]

However, that wasn't the case four or five months ago. Back then we were lucky to get three and half hours of broken sleep a night. When you're running on that little sleep and you're getting woken up every 15 minutes, you're dangerous. No matter how careful you are, you're just not operating a 100% efficiency. I recall waking up in the semi-darkness -- I think we kept a bedside lamp on all the time; what was the point in turning it off if you needed to turn it on a couple of minutes? -- and being so exhausted, that I literally wobbled out of bed.

Wobbling is NOT a good thing if you're about to pick up a baby.

So, I'd stop, lean against the dresser, take several deep breaths, clear my head, and get myself balanced. Sure, this sometimes took a minute or two and the baby was crying the whole time, but I'm sure it was worth it.

And now, I'm planning on using the same technique as I prepare myself for game one of the 2008 NBA Finals as my Boston Celtics take on the LA Lakers.