Happy Halloween

This "holiday" is for kids, in my opinion, like Christmas and Flag Day (kidding). Many of the adults who celebrate this day scare the dickens out of me, whatever "dickens" entails. I think it gives those adults a reason to act/dress as they wish they could everyday.

Kids, however, are very cute with their costumes and all. The excitement they build up about the impending CANDY is hilarious, at least until you make them go to a door and ask for it. It's something I surely look forward to with the boy. I'm sure I'll go too far in trying to think of ironic or less-kid-appropriate costumes, but that's just part of the fun. "Dad, who's Ross Perot, and why do I have to dress like him and not a Power Ranger?"

Anyway, to you and yours, Happy Halloween!

P.S. Picture is from the real deal. He has his mom's smile, haha...

Sick-O

Starting last week, after returning from my trip, I've been feeling pretty lousy. What started off as a sore throat now has turned into a cold with a stuffy nose and a lot of lethargy. It has soured my mood and made me a pain to be around at times. I guess it gave me writer's block, too, since this is my first post in about a week.

I've been starting to wonder: How does one who is ill and not feeling "up to it" take care of a baby/child who needs me to be at the ready 24/7? Everything I've been reading has ignored this situation, and given the penchant for kids getting sick from other kids and/or day care, etc., it seems to be an important issue.

I don't know what I did to get my current cold except the plane ride. From what I remember, there wasn't a lot of coughing/sneezing but obviously there are germs everywhere on a plane. My doctor told me a new strain of flu was going around (as I was getting my flu shot), which is also bothersome, but I haven't seen anyone at work who was ailing. I guess it doesn't matter; I have it and now I need to recuperate.

My wife says I'm a big baby when I'm sick, which is probably true. I told her last night I just get so disappointed that I'm illin' and it really makes me upset. So I act out and get really moody, which I know isn't fun. But today was the realization (finally) that a little person will be coming soon who will depend on me/us and I will have to get over myself and take care of him. I've been so self-centered for so long that it will a slap in the face when the reality hits. I look forward to it, actually, because I believe I will finally be able to feel some compassion and show some emotion towards something other than my own interests.

So please let me know how YOU coped with feeling down, out, sick, hurt, pissed, pooped, etc., and putting that aside to care for your needy child. Did you sweep it under the rug? Were you truthful to your older kids about how you feel or did you say you were okay, that nothing was wrong? How did you find time to care for yourself?

Daddy Baby-moon

On Sunday afternoon I got back from a trip to see my best friend in the pacific northwest. His wife was away with our godson so he had the house to himself. He suggested I come up to help celebrate my birthday and the timing worked out well. I considered this my own little "babymoon" and it was fun to get away.

The odd part of the trip for was how the topics of our conversation have changed since his son was born and now that I will be a father, too. It became almost a teacher/student thing since I had quite a few questions about what he has gone through or what I might expect. We used to spend a ton of time talking about "Seinfeld," music or films, but this weekend it was strollers, sleeping sacks and his son's recent trip to the ER. On Friday we invited two other guys out with us, one having a baby only a month or two before. Sitting at a bar with music blaring talking about babies is quite hilarious, looking back on it now.

My new nagging question is regarding when to take my wife to the hospital for the big moment. My friend's situation was a bit different due to certain complications, but it seems the story is the same: it comes down to contractions. My favorite comment was "It's not how it is in the movies," which was actually sort of eye-opening. Not that I thought we'd be in a taxi cab driven by John Travolta but I did imagine the water breaking and me grabbing the pre-packed suitcase and speeding to the hospital. Then a cop would pull us over and realize what was happening and give us a police escort straight to the door. Apparently it's not that simple...

It was good to get away, but good to be home. It was tough not thinking a lot of the little guy, even though he's not yet born. Also I worried about my wife since her personality doesn't allow her to take it easy (though I think the fact she needs to is fast approaching). While shopping around my friend's town I found myself looking for stuff for the kid, even getting him a little sweatsuit from American Apparel! I wanted to buy myself a wallet but opted to get him something instead, wow. I don't have a problem shifting my budget to caring for him, of course, but making the shift this early sort of surprised me (but felt good anyway).

I doubt another trip like this is in the cards for me. Any other trip would have to involve the wife but with the holidays fast approaching who knows if it is a reality. We're working on something for the week after Christmas but we do have to consider her state when it comes to options. Flying is out, and the doctor told us even the high altitudes where we snowboard is probably not a good idea, either. But it doesn't matter; I just want her and my little man close by from now on...

Kickin' It

My wife has been going on and on the past few weeks about having the ability to feel the baby moving around inside her tummy. For at least two weeks she has been trying to get me to feel the punches or kicks with her, though I've been skeptical since it's still early and we've been told the placenta is stuck in the front. To appease her I half-heartedly hold the belly in the area she feels it, but alas, I don't get the same pleasure.

I look forward to the day when I can see her tummy move from the baby's kicks, punches and shifting. I feel that then I will finally be able to more closely connect with him and be more confident he can hear me, etc. (Yes, I know he can hear me now...)

So last night when the wife told me to feel her tummy again for movement inside I went along with it. After a few seconds, the moment finally came: I FELT HIM MOVE, finally! It was a fairly solid thrust which surprised me, and a lighter one followed. I waited anxiously for another but I guess he tired himself out with the previous flurry. I admit it was a cool sensation...

Now I'm not sure this means I will rush to put my hand on her tummy every time she feels him squirm, but I do look forward to copping a feel during bed time, kind of a "good night" tap from the boy ; )

Please Be Kidding

Yet another reason people should also need a license to have a baby:

Carter County man surprises wife, names baby Sarah McCain Palin

I love being cynical (those who know me can attest to that) but I can't comfortably put into words how this stuff makes me feel. Maybe as a gag, however, I can find a fake Birth Certificate and come up with some ridiculous name to shock the wife (and get my name in the paper), like "Sarah McCain Palin." It's the craziest name I could think of!

Source story here: http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9008551

Follow-up story is just as funny/sad: http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9008563

Hospital Tour

Tomorrow night the wife and I will be taking a tour of the birthing area in the hospital where she will deliver the baby. Tomorrow is also my birthday, so naturally this is the best way to spend it, haha. My wife asked me yesterday where I might like to go out to dinner for my birthday and I reminded her the tour would take up two hours of prime time so we will have to rush home then grab a quick bite to eat. It might not be fast food, but it will have to be fast...

I'm not complaining. I'd much rather learn about where we will be going for the birth than eating too much food in an over-priced restaurant, celebrating a "non-important" year like a 40th or whatever (which is too-fast approaching anyway). I hope the tour will be really informative, especially since it will be almost two hours long. How big can the place be?

This will be, for me, another one of those steps that should help prepare me for the big day. I'll be able to picture where to go and what it might look like during the delivery. Like with all my reading, I'd really not like to be surprised by anything to avoid freaking out (and/or freaking out my wife in the process). If/when I have to rush her to the hospital I want to know where I can park, what desk to go to first, where family can wait, where I might be standing helping the wife push and breathe, where our little boy will be cleaned up and then cared for afterward. I'll have to remember to ask if I can shower there, make phone calls, sleep, etc. It would be great if my wife had her own room so I wouldn't have to worry about using the loo or shower, so we'll see.

I guess there are worse ways to spend a birthday. I'll celebrate properly over the weekend with friends and family anyway, so I'm not missing out. I got a nice gift already from the wife, too. I'll really be looking forward to next year's holidays though, since we'll be able to spend them with our new little guy, and create some new traditions of our own.

No More BPA

For people like my wife, this news will be most welcome:

"States ask baby product companies to avoid BPA"

Though the states in question here are three back east, it's likely others states will soon follow suit if there's widespread agreement by the baby companies. Some companies have already begun producing non-BPA products, and store like Babies R Us are carrying them. It makes too much sense for these companies to see the research and not connect the dots. If they can produce BPA-free products that are proven safe, these companies and stores, not to mention nervous parents, will all win in the long run.

Source story here: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10710020