Well, it has been a while since I posted anything so I
figured now was a good a time as any. We have had a new addition to the Coop,
who we call Piglet. No, I’m not talking about Winnie the Pooh’s companion or a
young “bacon in training”; I’m talking about my newest son. He is now three
weeks old, and is growing like a weed, not to mention eating like a, well,
piglet. I won’t go into too much detail about him here because I want to
reserve that privilege for my Darlin Bride over at A Country Chick in the Hen House.
Thanks to the family medical leave laws, I had three weeks
off work at my regular job to tend to the Piglet and his mother. I know that
doesn’t sound difficult to most, but you don’t know my Bride. It’s not that she’s
tough to get along with; she’s actually quite the opposite. She is an amazing
woman, and one of the gentlest people I have ever met. She is the most
selfless, kind, and giving woman in the world and I am very lucky to have her
in my life. Getting along with her is never the problem. The biggest issue lies
in getting her to actually sit down for a minute and relax! She is always
moving, always doing something to better our house, to better our meals, or to
make someone else comfortable. It makes me tired just writing about it!
I spent the first two weeks of my leave getting to know my
new son and trying to help his mother out as much as she would let me, then I
spent week three putting together a kennel, er, crib, for the Piglet.
I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted in a crib before I started, and went
to Lowe’s for the materials. Surprisingly enough, the materials cost only
$86.00, making it cheaper than a store bought crib made of pressboard and laminate.
Where I saved in cost though, I made up for in labor. It took me three and a
half days to complete; not because it was that difficult, but because you
apparently cannot trust the internet for accuracy! According to several
websites, a crib mattress should measure between 27”-29” wide, and 55” long….WRONG!
After the crib frame was cut, sanded, and assembled my bride suggested that we
purchase a crib mattress to verify those measurements. Now if there is anything
I have learned in life, it is this; when my bride makes a suggestion, I should
listen. Not because she’d gripe at me, or give me a hard time about not “doing
it her way”, but because she’s usually right. There, I said it. My wife is
usually right and I’m ok with that. This knowledge keeps me out of more trouble
than you could ever guess. After we bought the crib mattress and got it home I
learned that the internet’s measurements were off by oh, about 3” in length,
and 4” in width. I disassembled the whole doggone thing, re-cut it, and then
reassembled it, thus adding one more days’ worth of labor to the whole shebang…
Assembled and apparently too large....
Cut down, and fitting snug...
Once the frame was reassembled, re-sanded, and pretty harshly
cursed I began sanding the slats for the sides and the ends. I wanted to make
sure there were no sharp edges anywhere for the Piglet (or us) to get hurt on.
Besides, hospital bills are expensive and lead to lots of questions you don’t
want to answer from people you don’t want to answer to. There were 35 - 1”x3”
slats that needed to be sanded and rendered safe. Since I don’t have a belt
sander yet, all of the sanding was done with a palm sander starting with 80
grit, and working it down to 220 grit. Luckily I didn’t have to do that part by
myself…I had a 15 year old daughter who got herself in a bit of trouble and was
beholden to me for a week’s worth of hard labor.
Once the slats were sanded, I
began installing them. Federal safety guidelines require that crib slats be no
more than 2 3/8” apart. I have decided in the past few years that our
government might not have our best interests in mind, so I opted to make the
slats closer together than the minimum requirement. Each slat on the crib is 2”
apart, meaning the Piglet cannot poke any vital body part through them and
injure himself, nor can the Monkey poke any large object through to help the
Piglet escape. With two young boys running around, escape is only ONE of my worries.
That and explosions….
It has been a fantastic three weeks getting to meet my new son, spending quality time with him and my wonderful Bride, and being able to build him his first bed. I wish every father could experience the thrill of splinters, mis-measurement, and hand cramps from sanding endless 1x3's.... And I wouldn't trade this life for all the money in the world.
Until next time,
