Having the past two weeks off has been great. It went by so fast though. My mother-in-law has been staying with us the whole time since the day before my daughter was born so I have had a lot of time to spend with my wife and Lauren while she has taken care of groceries, cooking, etc.
I can't believe how much my daughter has grown in just 2-1/2 short weeks. She is still only 7 pounds something but I just know that won't last long either. I am affraid that now that I am going back to work, I am going to lose track of her growth very fast. I just know that I am going to blink and we will be celebrating her 1st birthday!
All this being said, I guess I am ready to go back to work. I am anxious to develop some sort of routine. My wife has the hard part: staying home for the next couple of months and taking care of the day-to-day things.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Word gets around...
I was walking my dog this morning when the former owner of our house pulled her minivan alongside me said "Congratulations". I was surprised that she knew about our newborn. Although we are friendly with the couple that used to own our house, we are by no means close. In the two years that we have lived in this village we have maybe seen them a half dozen times. What was even more shocking was that she knew the middle name of our child!
I wouldn't consider our town tiny but I guess it is a far cry from when we were living in New York City. I do like the small-town feeling that our block sometimes exhibits. Still, people seem to come out of the woodwork when they know that a baby is around. The newer the baby the greater the fascination. Why this interest?
Could it be the cuteness factor? Quite possibly. Our little one IS very adorable. I think however that we are drawn to little people for other reasons as well. For me, everytime I look at our little girl it is almost like I can see every posssibity. As her father this is understandable. But I think that looking at her also brings me back to a place in my life that I can never really fully be brought back to. Mostly this has to do with innocence. She hasn't learned any prejudice yet; doesn't know about hate. Her world is all about trusting the people who take care of her. Afterall, she doesn't have any choice. She relies on us, she depends on us.
Perhaps when we look at babies it reminds us of a pureness that we all once shared but most of us have forgotten. For a slight moment in time we think about what it could be like to live in that world again.
I wouldn't consider our town tiny but I guess it is a far cry from when we were living in New York City. I do like the small-town feeling that our block sometimes exhibits. Still, people seem to come out of the woodwork when they know that a baby is around. The newer the baby the greater the fascination. Why this interest?
Could it be the cuteness factor? Quite possibly. Our little one IS very adorable. I think however that we are drawn to little people for other reasons as well. For me, everytime I look at our little girl it is almost like I can see every posssibity. As her father this is understandable. But I think that looking at her also brings me back to a place in my life that I can never really fully be brought back to. Mostly this has to do with innocence. She hasn't learned any prejudice yet; doesn't know about hate. Her world is all about trusting the people who take care of her. Afterall, she doesn't have any choice. She relies on us, she depends on us.
Perhaps when we look at babies it reminds us of a pureness that we all once shared but most of us have forgotten. For a slight moment in time we think about what it could be like to live in that world again.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Push Presents
My wife wound up staying four nights in the hospital after delivering our precious little girl by c-section. Since we opted not to pay $525 out-of-pocket per night for a private room, I wasn't able to stay over. This meant a daily commute to Manhattan from our home in Westchester. The other day, as I was driving in to the hospital I noticed a BMW in front of me with vanity plates that read 1ST PUSH. Clearly the mother of this ride had a hubby who spared no expense when choosing her push present.
Now for those of you who don't already know, a push present is a lavish gift that is expected by the expecting mother. It is her reward for 9 months of pregnancy and the labor of delivering your child. They may or may not tell you about this gift in advance but you'd better believe that if nothing extravagant arrives after the newborn, you will hear about the push present after the fact. She may not come out and say it in so many words, but you will hear about it.
In my case, I have a very open and communication-friendly relationship with my bride so I was lucky in that I was told about the "push present" long before even the romp in the bedroom 40 weeks ago.
The decision of what to buy my wife came easy too... she told me. My wife wanted a diamond solitaire necklace. And you know what? I am happy to buy it for her. I choose to tell her about her surpise in advance because I arranged for her to design her own necklace by picking out the stone, choosing the setting, and selecting the chain. I wanted her to be completely happy with the choice.
So, it is not a BMW but it is not cigar ring either. We haven't been able to finalize the deal yet but will take a drive down to the city as soon as she feels up to it.
Now for those of you who don't already know, a push present is a lavish gift that is expected by the expecting mother. It is her reward for 9 months of pregnancy and the labor of delivering your child. They may or may not tell you about this gift in advance but you'd better believe that if nothing extravagant arrives after the newborn, you will hear about the push present after the fact. She may not come out and say it in so many words, but you will hear about it.
In my case, I have a very open and communication-friendly relationship with my bride so I was lucky in that I was told about the "push present" long before even the romp in the bedroom 40 weeks ago.
The decision of what to buy my wife came easy too... she told me. My wife wanted a diamond solitaire necklace. And you know what? I am happy to buy it for her. I choose to tell her about her surpise in advance because I arranged for her to design her own necklace by picking out the stone, choosing the setting, and selecting the chain. I wanted her to be completely happy with the choice.
So, it is not a BMW but it is not cigar ring either. We haven't been able to finalize the deal yet but will take a drive down to the city as soon as she feels up to it.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Happy Birthday Lauren!
Here she is at a mere 7-1/2 hours old! She arrived at 8:26 am and we could not have asked for a better delivery experience. So many emotions are running through my overtired brain right now but amazement is certainly at the top of the list.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Last Day
What do you call someone who is not a daddy?
Tommorrow is the day that my first child is scheduled to be born. Most people look at me strange when I tell them that. My wife and I found out a few weeks ago that our baby is breech in position which essentially means that it is not positioned head down. Back in the day this wouldn't have meant much. The doctor would have delivered the baby once the mother went into labor. Nowadays the word breech simply means c-section.
So, when a co-worker of mine asked me this morning if I had any good plans for the weekend and I replied that tomorrow I was going to be a daddy, it got me thinking... I guess I am just a man today. Yes, today is my last day to be a man.
So, have I had the opportunity to do all those things that I wanted to do as a man? I really don't know. I am not trying to be funny here. Of course I know that one doesn't stop being a man when he becomes a father. But everyone tells me that my life will change forever tomorrow.
Of course it will.
Tommorrow is the day that my first child is scheduled to be born. Most people look at me strange when I tell them that. My wife and I found out a few weeks ago that our baby is breech in position which essentially means that it is not positioned head down. Back in the day this wouldn't have meant much. The doctor would have delivered the baby once the mother went into labor. Nowadays the word breech simply means c-section.
So, when a co-worker of mine asked me this morning if I had any good plans for the weekend and I replied that tomorrow I was going to be a daddy, it got me thinking... I guess I am just a man today. Yes, today is my last day to be a man.
So, have I had the opportunity to do all those things that I wanted to do as a man? I really don't know. I am not trying to be funny here. Of course I know that one doesn't stop being a man when he becomes a father. But everyone tells me that my life will change forever tomorrow.
Of course it will.
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