/home/endperform   Rants, rambles and technobabble

It’s been two weeks into fatherhood, and so far so good. I’m doing well, baby is doing well and momma is doing well too. I’m surprised I haven’t driven Beth completely insane as I had been questioning myself almost daily about whether or not I could do this. I know it probably bugged her, but I’m finally over that hump and she hasn’t locked me in a closet yet. We’re both really happy Emma has arrived, and things are settling down into a routine.

Today is my first day back to the office, and it’s almost like I never left. Nothing major happened while I was out, and everyone had congratulatory wishes for me when I walked in. I didn’t want to come in today, but sometimes a dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do. I can’t believe that October is almost here. This year is flying by pretty quickly, and before I know it, I’ll have year 1 in Georgia under my belt.

Not much Linux-y or geeky to talk about of late as I’ve been in daddy mode. Once things settle down a bit more I’ll start working on a few things I have ideas for.

So far so good, I’m getting passing grades from Beth (A+) on the fatherhood game. I’ve lost count at the number of diapers I’ve changed, but you know what, it’s not so bad at all. I’m pretty quick with things, but occasionally Emma decides that daddy didn’t wait long enough and she takes a pee. It’s not bad, really. I do feel a bit helpless at times, since when baby’s hungry there’s only one person that can deal with that situation, and she’s been getting up with Emma in the middle of the night. Occasionally I’ll wake up and change a diaper if needed, but as far as feedings go, I’m not properly equipped to deal with that.

I go back to work at the end of the week, which I’m not looking forward to, but the time I’ve been home has been wonderful. I’ve been bonding with Emma, spending time with Beth, and taking care of things that need done. All in all, so far, fatherhood has been wonderful to me

So it’s been about 5 days since my daughter has entered the world, and I have in that time become a champion diaper changer. We’re doing the breastfeeding thing with her, so my job is diaper changing, burping, and other assorted things that might need to be done. I can tell you though that this is my child, just based off of the gas she passes. We were sitting with her this evening and heard a rumble. I looked at Beth, and she looked at me, and when we realized just who left that gas bubble free, we both started to laugh. My little girl can fart with the best of em, I tell ya.

A long story short, I’m sliding right into the whole fatherhood thing without a problem. I’ll post more of these as I continue on my path to becoming the ultimate father :)

We are pretty much set to go as far as baby items go. Beth is at the 8 month mark, and we have an exact birthdate: September 17th. How do we have an exact date? Simple, Emma is going to be delivered by C-section. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

Most people tend to worry about big-ticket items when it comes to a new child: stroller, car seat, playpen, but there’s also some other things you need to remember, aka the small things.

Diapers, wipes and related
You’re going to need plenty of these. Don’t buy a ton of newborn diapers, though. Our stragedy is to buy enough to get us going and buy as needed, since the baby will be growing. Wipes on the other hand come in handy, so we’ll have plenty of those on hand. One other thing comes to mind is a separate trash can for the diapers. Our plan is to pick up a Diaper Genie and use that.

Clothes
As with diapers, we won’t be going overboard with clothing purchases to start. Emma will be growing quick, and also we may be getting some clothes from others. Second hand clothes are not a bad thing, and can save you some money as well.

Bottles and related items
Depending on how you plan to feed the little one, your purchase of formula may come sooner or later. Bottles, though, are going to be needed no matter which way you decide to feed.

So anyway, those are just some of the things on my mind as far as making sure things are in order around here come September. By far I’m no expert, but I think I’ve got a pretty solid idea of what we’ll need.

I’ve also been thinking this morning about my father again. Emma will never get to meet grandpa, but hopefully I’ll be able to at least give her an idea of what he was like through me. I was in the same boat she is when I was born. My grandfather on my mother’s side passed away a couple of months before I was born, so I never got to meet him. Unfortunately I never really got to know him all that well either, but I know of him at least through the stories my mom would tell, plus the picture I have of him and my grandmother. One thing I have going in being able to tell Emma about her grandfather is that I’m (apparently) a lot like my father was.

We’re closing in on the home stretch of the pregnancy now, and as time progresses, my excitement level builds. Last night, we could see baby’s kicking through movements in Beth’s stomach. A bit freaky at first, but undoubtedly awesome. We picked up the final big items we need, and now we just need to get the smaller items when the time gets closer. I really cannot wait until I can hold my daughter in my arms.

I’ve been preparing as best as I can for this new life change. I know there’s only so much I can do, but I’d like to be ready when the time comes. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been getting some advice from people at work. The biggest thing I keep hearing is how much sleep I’m going to lose. Well, I’m not really going to mind that too much at all. It’s a team effort to take care of a child, and I’m not going to drop the ball.

I still wish my father was around to see his grandchild, but that’s something that is beyond my control. I’m sure he’s watching over us all, so that puts me at ease. My family has told me that I remind them of my dad so much, which I can see, so I guess our daughter will get to know him through me and the rest of the family.

In case you haven’t been checking out the gallery lately, I’ve been archiving photos over here. Clothing, items, ultrasound and belly progression pics (no, not my belly… hers!). I have a few more to add soon, so keep checking back if you’re at all interested.