Birth Annoucement

It is with no small amount of pride and pleasure that I announce the birth of our first born son, Trenton Alexander. Born at 1:33 PM after approximately 6 hours of labor and only one shot of pain medicine. 20.5”, 7 lbs 4.5 oz.

Mom is doing well and breastfeeding as best as a new mom can. She’s up, about, and feeling better than she has in a few months.

Hopefully we’ll have a photo online as soon as possible and get that out to everyone! In the mean time, I’m back to the hospital to visit my son!

Tomorrow... Tomorrow... I'll love ya tomorrow...

Well gang, it's been a long time in coming. Tomorrow we go in and we try to induce this little thing out of Kendra. It's been a heck of a 38+ weeks, and it's only going to get better. Let's recap the crazy:

1. There was screaming, shouting, sweating, and nearly passing out
2. About a month later, she took the first pregnancy test
3. Then we went and bought more
4. Then she took more pregnancy tests
5. More screaming, shouting, sweating, and nearly passing out (this time, not sex)
6. A couple weeks of trying not to tell the world in case of miscarriage
7. Sod that WE'RE PREGNANT!!!
8. Lots of seminars at Babies R Us
9. Lots of freebies from Babies R Us
10. Lots of time agonizing over gift registries
    
11. OH GOD WE NEED NAMES!
12. Hey let's go with Aubrey Katherine for a girl, Trenton Alexander for a boy
13. There's been like a hundred Aubrey's born in the last month - we need a new name
14. OH GOD WE NEED A NEW GIRL NAME!!!!
15. Kaitlynn Selene!
16. Baby baby baby baby... grow and grow the baby... baby baby baby baby... BABY!
17. My sister gets pissy with us
18. People on internet threaten to kill self, wife, and child among many other things because of sister
19. Nesting Instinct kicks in/Christmas
    
20. Baby showers :)
21. Oh god we're going to be parents
22. We're going to rock :)
23. Present
    

So yeah... that catches us up. I'm off on an FMLA paternity leave for about three weeks, and on top of that will be telecommuting/working part time for around a month-month and a half. Time to get used to being a dad, to help Kendra get used to being a mom, and generally just go "woah"

Oh yeah - the 25th is our four-year wedding anniversary. Crazy times man, crazy times.

That's about it. I'll do a few more updates before starting the new dad blog (I like organization :P). It's going to be a wild ride, that's for sure

Counting down

It's almost the end of the year, and the little one is almost here. Life is becoming increasingly both more complex as well as much more simplistic. From this point on, it is no longer about me. Well, it's actually been that way for a while. But let me break it down.

I sat back last night, looking at the gifts from the families and saw all the stuff I got and started thinking about Christmas for my parents. They didn't get much - just what they got each other. The kids get the lion's share of the loot.

This morning I did something I won't do for many years to come. I slept in until nearly 9:00 am on Christmas Morning.

Starting in well less than a month, my life will only be about my child. No more piles of gifts with my name on them. 90% of my free time will be devoted to this little thing.

And I couldn't be happier. To teach, inspire, and guide this new child will be the greatest thing I've ever done.

So, here it comes ready or not. T-minus however long the little one has left in there until the biggest change my life has ever had.

Cha-Ching

OK yeah... I think the thing I like the most about kendra being pregnant is the spending of money on the kid.

I'll be honest - I hate shopping for myself. It drives me nuts. I agonize and debate over most purchases for days or weeks unless it's something I really want then yeah I snap it up. But more times than not I'll look at it, paw the box in the store. Carry it around for a few isles.

And then drop it somewhere else for a minimum wage monkey to put up.

Not so for the kid. I can drop so much cash on this little thing that it scares me in ways that it shouldn't. I fear I'll spoil it, but it's easier for me to justify buying something for someone I love than it is for myself. We've bought sooooooooooo much baby crap it's funny.

Oh, and speaking of baby crap:

Here's a bunch of the stuff we've got in the nursery now

And here's a the latest ultrasounds!

anyway folks - thats it for now!

To know?

So, monday is the BIG ultrasound - we now need to decide if we find out the gender now or let it be a surprise. I'm torn - do I want to know now & get used to calling the baby by his/her name, or do I want that elation of "It's an X!" in the middle of all the screaming, pooping (yes, women tend to BM during delivery), bleeding, crying, and chaos?

And despite my description, that's actually kind of a good thing

I don't know... I guess in the end it kinda goes to my opinion of checking now for major birth defects (down syndrome, etc): it won't change my desire to have the child. I won't love it any more or any less than I possibly could.

But... to know. To call the child by the name. To have (secreted away so family doesn't know) the first outfit our child will wear. Although, calling out to the heavens on the day of my childs birth the new found knowledge of "Lord and Lady I now have a (insert gender) And I declare their name to be (Trenton Alexander/Katelyn Celine) (Insert Last Name)!" will be pretty exciting.

I do know that boy or girl, I cannot WAIT. I wish it was February.

What Kind of Dad Will He Be?

For the record, I don't buy it. But parents.com had a quiz asking what kind of father a guy will be. So here's what they say about me:

He's a Hands-On Dad! This dad is very involved in the nitty-gritty of parenting. He loves being around kids, and it shows. He doesn't consider it a chore to bathe a kid, host a play date, or help with homework. While his involvement with the kids is heart-warming, there are some difficulties you might run into with this type of dad. For instance, if you don't agree on how a parenting situation should be handled, it could get a bit sticky. Clarify your approaches to parenting early on by exploring parenting what-ifs (What if our child refuses to eat dinner? What if our child throws a tantrum in the store?), role-playing, and discussing parenting articles or books together. A hands-on dad might also tend to be a worrier. Reassure him that while his protectiveness is understandable, the children need space to grow and learn. It's important to keep the kids safe, but at the same time a scraped knee is nothing to panic about. This quiz is for entertainment and/or educational purposes only. All content here, including advice from doctors and other health professionals, should be considered as opinion only. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

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