Have you ever searched for parenting books on Amazon.com? Holy shit there are a lot of them... It seems like everyone's got a different take on parenting philosophy. I've been quizzed about our planned approach to parenting by a few people now. I have no idea how to respond to that question. I have a pretty good idea of what kind of parent I WANT to be, but there's no way I could decide today whether I'm going to be a hands-off dad or a helicopter parent.
I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about this in the next six months. Who knows, maybe I'll even read a book or two on the subject.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Work
I work from home. It's been a pretty fantastic way to do my job and be a good supportive husband to the med school wife. Back in the "real" office days, I'd spend 8-9 hours a day at work. Time spent actually working on a given day probably totaled around five hours, with the remainder spent surfing the internet, writing personal emails, and other relative time-wasters. Now, I get up early with the wife. She typically likes to get to school by 8, so the alarm rings around 6:30. Between 6:30 and noon is my most productive window. After lunch, if I don't have anything scheduled, I'll run errands or mow the lawn or start prepping dinner for the evening. Then I'll hop back in my office around 2 or 3 and put in a few more hours. I'd say that all in all, I'm more productive now than when I had to clock in to the office. My breaks take me away from work mentally, so when I return to my desk in the afternoon, I feel refreshed and I'm ready to be productive again.
We'll see how it goes once the baby is here. There's a great day care connected to the medical school, but it's awfully expensive. If the baby is on a predictable sleep schedule, I could make sure to schedule my sales calls for nap time. However, that's really hard to know at this point, and getting in to the day care will require us to make a decision early. I also want to be around the kid as much as possible. We'll see.
We'll see how it goes once the baby is here. There's a great day care connected to the medical school, but it's awfully expensive. If the baby is on a predictable sleep schedule, I could make sure to schedule my sales calls for nap time. However, that's really hard to know at this point, and getting in to the day care will require us to make a decision early. I also want to be around the kid as much as possible. We'll see.
Gear
I love gadgets. I tend to be an early adopter of any new cool technology, so I was excited to learn that there are all sorts of gadgets that you can buy for a baby. Remember the old monitors of the past? They were basically a one-way walkie-talkie. Nowadays, there are closed-circuit color video monitors so you can actually see the kid while it sleeps instead of just waiting to hear the cry. Beyond being cool, it seems like there's a practical purpose to this sort of thing. If the baby starts making noise, I don't really want to be the parent who rushes in to make sure everything's OK. I'd rather take a look at the screen, see that the baby is just rustling around, and relax. Or, of course, rush in as the cat slowly raises a paw towards the infant's face...
The budget for these gadgets could easily balloon to Defense Department sizes. We've been doing some pre-shopping for strollers and the nicer models can run more than a thousand bucks. We think we've found the model that will fit our needs and lifestyle in a three-wheeled sport stroller. It's maneuverable and designed for jogging, so I can keep up my current exercise routine after the baby arrives.
The budget for these gadgets could easily balloon to Defense Department sizes. We've been doing some pre-shopping for strollers and the nicer models can run more than a thousand bucks. We think we've found the model that will fit our needs and lifestyle in a three-wheeled sport stroller. It's maneuverable and designed for jogging, so I can keep up my current exercise routine after the baby arrives.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Finding Out
We're not sure what we'll be having - boy or girl - and we're still undecided about finding out. I should clarify that: My wife is a woman of science. She wants to find out, and will as soon as it's an option. I'm torn. On the one hand, it seems very practical to know the sex of your child before birth. It allows you to prepare appropriately and helps to relieve some of the stress. On the other hand, there's something appealing about not knowing until the child pops out (that's how it happens, right? Just 'pop' and done? RIGHT???).
Anyway, my internal debate is moot. Wife gets to make the call on this one. After all, she's the one who's going to spit the kid out. Since she'll have to go through the agonizing pain (and unintentional defecation) associated with childbirth, I'm letting her steer on this issue. Plus, I tend to trust her judgement, despite the fact that she agreed to marry me and have my child.
We're probably not going to make any huge gender-specific decisions anyway... No pink nursery if it's a girl. The one purchase that I'd like to make if we determine that our child will be a girl is a shotgun. It seems like it'll be necessary at some point, and I'd rather be prepared than not.
Anyway, my internal debate is moot. Wife gets to make the call on this one. After all, she's the one who's going to spit the kid out. Since she'll have to go through the agonizing pain (and unintentional defecation) associated with childbirth, I'm letting her steer on this issue. Plus, I tend to trust her judgement, despite the fact that she agreed to marry me and have my child.
We're probably not going to make any huge gender-specific decisions anyway... No pink nursery if it's a girl. The one purchase that I'd like to make if we determine that our child will be a girl is a shotgun. It seems like it'll be necessary at some point, and I'd rather be prepared than not.
Introduction
Hey there. My name is Sam, and I’m an al… Whoa, sorry about that. I’m more accustomed to a different type of introduction.
Of course, as all of my reader (Thanks Mom!) know, I'm not really an alcoholic, or at the very least, I haven't admitted to being one. Yet. I do enjoy beer, and wine, and whiskey. But I'm not creating this blog to detail my drinking habits. That would be an unproductive exercise that would only serve to make others question my decision-making ability. This blog is about the beginning of what is sure to be a poop-filled journey to parenthood.
About three months ago, my wife and I found out that our lives are going to change in a drastic fashion. In November, Claire will be giving birth to our first child while I watch comfortably from another room on closed-circuit TV. We couldn't be more excited to embark on this adventure. However, despite the excitement, I can't shake the building sense of dread. It seems that there's a new piece of info around every corner that presents a budding danger to the unborn child. There's an entire industry built around scaring the shit out of expecting parents. I'm trying to keep a level head, but it's not always easy.
I'm not expecting to build a large follower base. If anything, I'm doing this as a way to force myself to keep track of what's going on during this whole process. I recently found some journals from my childhood and, while they made me a little sad about the person I once was, they were also a great find. Reading them also made me a little surprised that I'm as close to normal as I am now.
So here we go... Six more months, and I'll be a dad. Whoa.
Of course, as all of my reader (Thanks Mom!) know, I'm not really an alcoholic, or at the very least, I haven't admitted to being one. Yet. I do enjoy beer, and wine, and whiskey. But I'm not creating this blog to detail my drinking habits. That would be an unproductive exercise that would only serve to make others question my decision-making ability. This blog is about the beginning of what is sure to be a poop-filled journey to parenthood.
About three months ago, my wife and I found out that our lives are going to change in a drastic fashion. In November, Claire will be giving birth to our first child while I watch comfortably from another room on closed-circuit TV. We couldn't be more excited to embark on this adventure. However, despite the excitement, I can't shake the building sense of dread. It seems that there's a new piece of info around every corner that presents a budding danger to the unborn child. There's an entire industry built around scaring the shit out of expecting parents. I'm trying to keep a level head, but it's not always easy.
I'm not expecting to build a large follower base. If anything, I'm doing this as a way to force myself to keep track of what's going on during this whole process. I recently found some journals from my childhood and, while they made me a little sad about the person I once was, they were also a great find. Reading them also made me a little surprised that I'm as close to normal as I am now.
So here we go... Six more months, and I'll be a dad. Whoa.
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