By David Aaro
Source The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From police duty to diaper duty.
The past year has been a “baby boom” within the Cobb County Police Department, which welcomed at least 30 little ones to their law enforcement family.
While a lack of sleep and work/life balance have presented challenges, it hasn’t stopped the officers from keeping the streets and their children safe. Sometimes it just takes baby steps.
Last month, a third of the new parents posed in photos with their children, who were dressed in various pumpkin, skeleton or superhero outfits for Halloween. Many of those officers have grown closer through their shared experience, and some even look at their own safety differently now.
But no, their department doesn’t have a day care on site — for now.
The Piper family
As an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter walked into Cobb police headquarters this week, Lt. Jackie Piper was in the lobby helping deliver gifts to needy children in metro Atlanta for the holidays. The Cobb police supervisor is a new mother in her own right, with her daughter Leah being born seven months ago.
Working long hours and covering difficult situations while being sleep deprived is comfortable territory for the day-shift lieutenant, who started in the Cobb 911 call center in 2009 before becoming a police officer.
Piper said the hardest part of being a mother was developing the relationship with her husband Jacob and adapting to a loss of independence, because “it’s like you can’t do anything on your own time.”
Parenting is not easy, but the Cobb police department has given her a flexible schedule to help take care of her new bundle of joy, who has had trouble sleeping overnight, Piper said.
When awake, her fearless baby is allergic to napping and can usually be found speeding around their Marietta home in a walker, with her attention fixated on the large, sparkly red, silver and gold Christmas tree that was recently put up. As a result, her parents invented a system with pillows and shoes to prevent her from grabbing the wires. If there is a fridge open, Leah also wants to be in it, her mother said. Both she and her husband also have diaper duty down to a science — they can finish in a flash and move on to the next thing.
Piper is extremely protective of her daughter, especially considering what she has seen serving the county over the years.
“I want to be the best parent ever, because I don’t want my child to experience anything that you kind of see at work and on the road,” Piper said.
Getting her nails done isn’t a priority anymore, with her social life now shifting toward hanging out with other moms and dads who have little ones in tow. The baby boom has also brought Piper closer to other new parents in the department, including Officer Aaron Wilson, whose daughter Ella Grace was born a month after Leah.
The Wilson family
Wilson’s day starts and ends with his daughter.
After each shift, the police spokesperson looks forward to entering his two-story Paulding County home, where he is usually greeted by 6-month-old Ella Grace, whose eyes light up after seeing his face.
Wilson shares the parenting responsibilities with his wife Sarah, who is used to nurturing children with disabilities as an occupational therapist for the Cobb County School District. One time, his wife tried to get Ella Grace to say mama, but of course, only “da da” came out.
“She’s like, ‘I did all the work!’” Wilson joked.
Wilson, who has been with the department for more than nine years, spent the first five on patrol morning watch. He took the less stressful gig in the public information office after almost two years in internal affairs. He said his perspective on life has changed knowing he has a child that is dependent on him. While he is mostly in the office now, it’s still all about handling risk.
“I didn’t think too much about it until after the fact, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of dangerous,’” he said about his time on patrol. “I’m glad it worked out the way it did. But now having a wife and a baby, you know, I’m like, ‘Maybe I probably shouldn’t take unnecessary risks because now I actually have somebody that relies upon me.’”
Prior to becoming a father, Wilson said people would tell him that his life was about to change. He says it has changed for the better.
“Having a baby now, man, it’s just, it’s the greatest thing ever,” Wilson said. “I absolutely love it.”
The Shuff family
Officer Shawn Shuff got lucky that his baby doesn’t fuss a lot. But like any parent, the nighttime is another story.
Luckily, he has a gift for passing out at the drop of a dime after each overnight trip to 9-month-old Archie’s crib, a trait he developed “through years of practice,” he said. Shuff has two older children, ages 9 and 12.
His wife Erin took a break from her 911 job when Archie was born and takes care of the child during the day. But when Shuff gets off work, he makes it his mission to start playing with his baby, who is pretty mellow.
To pacify him, Shuff just has to sit on the couch and bounce the youngster. But Archie is becoming an explorer and fell recently while trying to grab the side of the table in the living room. His father was there to catch him just before he face-planted on the floor.
The baby books didn’t mention that.
“He just lets go, and as he’s falling, I’m stretching out to try and grab him,” Shuff said. “That’s stuff they don’t tell you about.”
Shuff, like the other officers, said he worries about his safety more now. He was caught off-guard by the baby explosion within the department. And it doesn’t appear to be stopping — a friend who works his shift is also planning to go on baby leave soon. Shuff made sure to buy him extra toys and clothes.
The officers expect the department to have about 35 to 40 total new babies by the end of the year. They get emails when a new arrival has joined the department, which they joked happens almost every week.
“I think it just kind of lends back toward the demographics in our department right now,” Piper said. “It’s that late-to-early 30s, like, everybody just seems to be having kids right now.”
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