Daddie Days: Emma Claire’S First Year

By Michael Joseph Sager

Author Michael Joseph Sager makes it through the birth of his daughter, Emma Claire, without fainting, but there is a lot more work ahead. Being a father changes every aspect of his life, from the food his baby flings to the level of noise hes expected to endure. How can so many sounds come out of a baby so small?

Michael throws himself into being a father with vigor, and in this funny and inspiring account he delivers a blow-by-blow account of his daughters first year.

Join this new father as he takes joy in every new thing his daughter does, from smiling to farting; survives without sleep and still manages to function; composes and sings songs for his newborn; and shows off his little girl to everyone wholl take a look.

Relive what it felt like to be a parent for the first time, or get a glimpse of what might lie ahead in your future. The candid and heartwarming stories in Daddie Days showcase the difficulties and joys of being a parent and express a fathers love for the daughter who has changed his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462055227

Michael Joseph Sager

Michael Joseph Sager is married to Heather Denise Sager and is the proud father of Emma Claire Sager. Daddie Days originated out of daily posts on Facebook; they were so well received that he decided to write a book. The Sager family lives in New London, Texas.

Book preview

Contents

Dedication

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Review

Chapter One

A Little Background to Start

Chapter Two, June

Emma Claire Arrives

Chapter Three, July

Adjustments Begin

Chapter Four, August

She is so Precious

Chapter Five, September

Still no Sleep

Chapter Six, October

My Little Lamb

Chapter Seven, November

Six Months Down

Chapter Eight, December

A Gift in a Box

Chapter Nine, January

Happy New Year

Chapter Ten, February

I’m Older

Chapter Eleven, March

First Time to Say Momma

Chapter Twelve, April

She is Crawling

Chapter Thirteen, May

Sippy-Cups are In

Chapter Fourteen, June

One Year Old

Sneak Peak at Year Two

Chapter One

Let’s Continue

Sneak Peak at Year Two

Chapter Two, June

Still Growing

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to our fathers who passed before us in life. You were there when your children needed you, through cuts, scrapes, bruises, and every life lesion that we had to relearn because we only half listened to what we were told the first time.

This book is dedicated to the two fathers who made this possible: Norton Sager and Wayne Vaught, may you rest in peace.

List of Illustrations

All pictures in this book have been taken by Michael or Heather Sager and are from our family archives. Every picture from the front cover, all content in between, and on the rear cover are from events relate to their placement in this book.

Preface

I have been trying to write all my life. In the past it was all about poetry. I was young then with other notions of romance and adventure. I always wanted to write a fantasy adventure novel. It never came to fruition by any means. When I found out my wife was pregnant, it changed my entire life. When my baby Emma was born, I could not help but tell others. As time went on it turned into more than I ever expected! I have been many people in life: A student, a sailor, a trucker, a biker, a friend, a husband, a father, and now a writer. I believe this book will give incite that only I may have from my life experiences. Everyone has an opinion and this is mine. If you read this book I promise that you will never forget what I have put to words. I am happier than ever in my life and it is my intention to show you how my child has enriched my life. This book has been a high point to my life and has given me a way to leave my baby a legacy that someday she will read. If something ever happens to me where I cannot be there for Emma, this book will carry on when I will not be able to. If I am around when that time comes then we can laugh together. My life is hectic to say the least. I have a full time job just trying to make ends meet. I have a full time home life with wife and child standing by my side. I have a full time social life where I have to squeeze every event into my otherwise overflowing life. And in the end I have to find time to write everyday for my baby. This is what fathers do if they want to raise their child responsibly and with a full life. I lead by example in everything I do. There is no rest for the weary. Plus getting this book done is no easy feat.

Daddie

Michael Joseph Sager

Acknowledgments

To the two moms who made this possible: Gigi (Grandma Gloria) my mom and Mimi (Grandma Cindy) Heather’s mom! Thanks for having us so we could have Emma.

To my wife Heather who has put up with my new addiction with the written language, and the mangling of it: I love you!

Dear Mom: I am sorry for all the things I put you through… most of them anyway! Your loving child, Michael!

I would like to thank Dee for giving me a fourth grade class on the use of too many "ands". She also wanted to set me down and give me a lesson or two more. As it happens we never got around to it. Maybe she will put up with me long enough for me to learn what I should have learned in school, but was not interested enough to learn then.

Most of all I would like to thank Emma Claire, my darling little child for inspiring me to do something I never thought possible. Also for being so cute, mischievous and interesting! If it was not for her I would have never started writing to tell her story to you.

To Spell-check: You’re the best.

I would like to thank all my friends for their support, understanding, and feedback.

To you who are reading this, Thank You!

Introduction

About the Author

My name is Michael Joseph Sager, husband to Heather Denise Sager and new father to Emma Claire Sager. Everyone else calls me Pollywog. This started as a daily journal about our new baby. It was well received by family and friends. Only then did I realize it might be of interest to others. This is the record of my thoughts of my life and my new child’s life as she grows amongst us. How she affects us and interacts with life around her. I am a very proud father and like to show her off to all who will listen or get stuck in conversation with me. I live In New London Texas with my wife and child. Our dog is named Dolly.

My friend Dee wrote the next part for me at my request. I was surprised at her choice of events. Thank you again Dee.

Michael Joseph Pollywog Sager is an author, father, husband, friend, the President of the 42 Taillights Motorcycle Club, and so much more. I met Pollywog and his lovely wife Heather several years ago at a motorcycle rally when a friend of mine gave them a free tiny plastic baby. Little did I know that such a seemingly random and insignificant event would lead to such a lasting friendship! The free plastic baby has been replaced by their beautiful daughter Emma Claire. Having known the Wogs before and after Emma, it has been both interesting and touching to watch their family evolve. Emma is not the only one who has developed new skills at an amazing rate. Pollywog and Heather have mastered Parenting 101 with ease.

I am blessed to be their friend, and honored to have been part of this writing project. I also have had the pleasure of watching the author mature and develop as a writer. He gets an A+. Daddie Days is Michael Sager’s first book, but the story continues. They make their home in New London, Texas amongst the water buffaloes.

Dee Pitner Lower

Review

Daddie Days is a warm and sensitive portrait of a father’s first year with his baby daughter. Frequently very funny and always insightful, Michael Sager’s daily reflections weave a wonderful story. I enjoyed the thoughts of life, old home ownership, stolen cookies, motorcycles, and shoulder surgery almost as much as the essays on Emma’s sleep patterns (or the lack of). I feel blessed to have Emma Claire in my practice and am thankful Mr. Sager shared his writings with me.

Michael D. Austin, MD FAAP

Pediatrician

East Texas Medical Center First Physicians Clinic

Tyler, Texas

Chapter One

A Little Background to Start

My name is Michael Joseph Sager, husband to Heather Denise Sager and new father to Emma Claire Sager. Everyone else calls me Pollywog. This started as a daily posting about our new baby on Facebook. That’s why most log entrees are four hundred and twenty characters or less. That lasted until I learned how to make notes. Now I write all I want for entries. I have not posted negative or extremely serious family business. I don’t believe getting sympathy and crying to the public is a good thing for us. Light and funny is a general rule for the postings. They were well received by family and friends. Only then did I realize it might be of interest to others. I have added more information about everything around us in this book that was not posted anywhere else. This is not a blog about us, but a journal of our life. So hang on tight, here we go!

This is the record of my thoughts as Emma Claire grows amongst us and affects us and interacts with life around her. I cannot do everything I want to or feel like. I will make a valiant attempt to be as consistent and loyal to my child as I can, and still be as funny as I can. I hope if you’re reading this you find either a connection to your own experience in life or just have a little sympathy as we take this journey through my daughter’s beginning and our learning experience crash course. I’m writing this down because I will not remember enough to tell her what it was like when she grows up and she can understand what’s written here. I hope I’m still around to have the chance to continue to document her life and grow as her father and her historian.

For those who like to judge others, good luck in life and enjoy, you don’t bother me anymore. For those who don’t judge, you are the people who will enjoy this the most. I hope this brings a bit of joy. If this seems a bit like a logbook entry, blame the US Navy. I spent eight active years with two year reserves. I have also driven a semi-truck for the last eighteen years. While driving a heavy haul truck in the oil field I hurt my shoulder while working on moving a crane from an oil-rig location. I went through surgery and therapy while I was writing this book. I am getting to old for throwing chains and hauling boomers now days. I now work for a large global company. I run the archive warehouse in the document control department. After we had Emma, I decided to get a job so I can be home more often with weekends off. I am trying to avoid going back to driving a truck for a living even now. The money is a strong pull. I feel it drawing my stack of bills toward its lucrative pay scale.

As for me being called Pollywog, it is from growing up in high school on Lake Houston. (Go Huffman Falcons). My dad gave me the nickname when I was young and I was living with him on a houseboat. We ran trot lines every evening and every night to catch fish. It’s how we made extra money. One Friday I had come home from school determined to do it my way. I thought that I knew everything and went to walk out on him to go to Timmy’s house. My dad was in a wheelchair because he was missing one leg. I took it for granted that he was weak. I was fourteen at the time, my rebellion had set in and I was full of myself. As I walked by, he grabbed me and chunked me on to the table where we had all kinds of fishing supplies sitting. It all went flying as I slid off the other side. I got a rude awakening for sure. My dad had always talked to me about things since I was little and this was not expected. I climbed to my feet and stood up. My dad was surprised too, because his wheelchair had flipped over backwards when he tossed me. It never dawned on me how strong his arms were from constant use. He used them to get in and out of his chair to the boat and back up and around everywhere. The one leg he had left was not very strong. His arms were his main mode of movement and had grown to ape-like proportions. He used these huge appendages (that I could finally see after my flight in the air) to pull himself around on the floor. He looked at me and said You’re more than a tadpole, but less than a frog. And a Pollywog you will ever be to me. If you can get by me, you can go to Timmy’s house. I said Dad, don’t you think that we need to go do trot lines? After we returned he told me I could go. I never challenged him again. When I had grown older and strong enough to where I thought I could take him, he passed away. If I can’t beat the frog, I’ll be a Pollywog forever. I have been Pollywog a long time now.

Our military builds habits that last a lifetime. For that I’m ever thankful. May all who serve come home and thank you for your time. Because of my own service I have traveled the world and seen many cultures. I never believe the position and rhetoric of most governments compared to their people. If you show respect and interest in their culture, I have never met anybody who wasn’t ready to show me their way, from food, dance, drink, local historic places or their families. I thrive in that diversity and excel at enjoying the world. I hope Emma can someday see all there is out there in the corners of humanity and leave the judgments behind. Only then will she truly enjoy life. Just because people are different doesn’t make them or you wrong. Just a bit different! Tolerance to let people live their own lives is the key to everyone getting along.

With that in mind, you are unable to travel without money. So get a job, either making money for travel or get a job that is travel. It will make you happy, and less judgmental, and glad to be home. You don’t always have to go far. You can go next door, across town or to Egypt. I hope Emma Claire has a world that is still open to travel when she gets of age. It bothers me that she may never see Jerusalem on Christmas, or New York at the New Year. She needs to see