#3 Babies, babies everywhere!

You know that feeling you get when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you start seeing that car driving all over the place?  Well I am starting to wonder, have there really always been babies around every corner and I just didn’t see them? It seems like babies are everywhere these days.

On a side note, I am really starting to feel bad for the kid in Sixth Sense. Just imagine starting to see dead people and then they start showing up everywhere. Yikes!

It’s been a thrilling time in our lives and the lives of our friends and family. I just wanted to start this post by welcoming a new friend into the world - baby Landon. With Landon, in addition to Lulu’s new cousins, Grant and Gabby; and our other baby friends Drake and Kaylee, it is clear that Lulu will have some fun little ones around to grow up with. We couldn’t be more thankful for them all.

I’ve got a golden ticket!

In addition to always having an excuse to go out to eat, having a wife that is pregnant is sort of like having an exclusive ticket to a party where only other parents can attend. It’s like the first time you get that letter in the mail letting you know you are prequalified for a credit card. All of a sudden I am prequalified to talk about and be included in any number of different topics regarding children. Like that first credit card notification being slid into the mail box, I thought I was pretty lucky.

I quickly learned there are a number of realities of parenthood that don’t necessarily make for great dinnertime conversation. In fact, they probably don’t make very good blog conversations either. To make my point maybe I should briefly list the keywords involved in each conversation: placenta, breast pump, feces color, and vernix caseosa (which is not a spell in Harry Potter). I could go on, but what other party would you want to attend where these are the topics of conversation? 

Seriously though, it has been a lot of fun. There are so many interesting new things to learn and fake being an expert at. Some I cannot wait for and others terrify me.  Like in one book there was a chapter on baby proofing, have any of you read that?  It’s ok if you haven’t; there is a new TV show about the same thing. It’s called “1001 ways to die.”   

Organize storage for hair accessories

My wife loves lists. I think it is a secret excuse to use as many tiny bits of paper lying around as possible. Which now that I come to think of it, choking hazard! She has a list for everything. Do not get me wrong, I love it. If she didn’t have a list to keep us on track we’d be in a lot of trouble. Me most of all!

With that said, there are a lot of things on the lists now that I never thought I would have to do. The list she showed me yesterday had “organize baby storage for hair accessories.”  I think I need to make a to do list called Rocky’s never thought he’d have to do list - from death proofing to barrette sorting. FYI, I had to look up how to spell barrette… so it begins.

Chinese calendar

We had an ominous warning the other day.  We were having some Pho at Jade Dragon (waiting for my ad money from them) and we came across the Chinese calendar.  “Oh I wonder what Lulu is going to be,” we said with all the joy of soon to be parents.  Our little girl will be born in the year of the Rabbit.  How perfect, she will be keen, wise, considerate, fashionable, and kind. All great stuff right?  We should’ve stopped reading. The last part simply said, beware the rooster.  Wait, Shelli and I are roosters.  Under rooster it says, rabbits are trouble. I think we might have a feisty one on our hands! 

#2 Family

I can’t wait to spend time with my little Lulu. I know there will be a lot of challenges, some I am sure I can’t even fathom. There is one though that I am anticipating and am working up the courage to deal with. Please bear with me as I try to overcome my shortcomings.

Sharing

I realized shortly after getting married that nothing is really “mine” anymore. This will become even more apparent after Lulu is born.  I think I am ok with that. Thankfully, Shelli has given me years of practice sharing things that are precious to me, like my computer, Diet Dew, and my dinner plate. The one thing I think I am going to have trouble sharing though is Lulu herself.  

Lulu will be lucky in many ways. Some she will have to grow to appreciate, but the first and most apparent luck will be the amount of family that loves her, comes to visit her and will want to hold her. On Shelli’s side of the family, Lulu will not only be the first grandchild, but also the first great-grandchild. She will also have two pretty great guys as uncles. And I would be remiss to talk about family if I didn’t mention that Lulu’s family will be expanding greatly just two weeks after she arrives due to a wedding! She will have an “official” Aunt Lisa and the two cutest cousins and future babysitters in Madeline and Lauren.

On my side of the family, she will instantly have four cousins and future best friends in Grant and Gabby, who are just months older. I can’t wait to get to watch them all grow up together. She will also be unable to escape the loving, spoiling barrage of the whole Schneider clan. This was in full display last weekend when “the Aunts” hosted a baby shower for Shelli (and Lulu). With pink decorative details in full force, Donna, Marcie and Mary Joe once again outdid themselves. It was clear from all the pink and monkey themed goodies Shelli brought home that our Lulu is already loved.

This brings me back to sharing. Even though I may not always be the most willing papa to give up his daughter to others, it is pretty clear that she will be in good hands regardless of who is holding her.

Monkeys

I now feel the need to explain why our daughter has been inundated with monkey gifts. This is all my fault. I have a somewhat unhealthy propensity towards monkeys. Seriously though, who doesn’t love monkeys? What is not to love?  Those dog and cat owners out there, haven’t you always wondered what it would be like if your pets were just a little bit more human-like?  Tada!  Monkeys! 

Don’t get it yet?  Google image search monkeys… go ahead I’ll wait… Ok, now didn’t your day get a little bit better? 

 

Raising Lulu

Lulu isn’t the name of my baby. Like most parents, we are still in debate mode over what to name our baby girl. So since she is currently nameless, I have to call her something. Meet baby Lulu.

With an expected due date of Oct. 31, 2011, my wife and I are planning to have a baby in our lives exactly three months from today. Lulu will be our first child, and we are both very excited.

I have to digress for a moment. I went with “very excited” to describe how we are feeling and immediately regretted writing it. I stared at these words for awhile and thought, how does one describe how it feels bringing a new life into this world? I thought longer and realized - I have no idea, I have never done it. I am sticking with “very excited” for now. I am sure some more brilliant adjectives will pop out later that better express out joy. I will keep you updated.

Daddy Blogging

I have tried a couple blogs in the past and sort of lost interest in the topic, or at best it was an inconsistent interest. I don’t think I really get that option with a newborn, so I am hoping this blog can provide some personal insight into my own parenting and can also be an outlet for my creativity.

The toughest part about blogging for me is that there is no interaction, probably because there are no readers. Maybe this lack of adult human interaction is something I should get used to. Anyway, I hope that you proud few readers will enjoy this blog and my experience or, at the very least, will enjoy some insight into Lulu that you might not find elsewhere.

Five things I know about being a dad

1.        You can learn from fictional role models – Growing up in the generation that relied on TV for many of life lessons, I have learned a few things from the TV dads in my life.  Here is a short list of bits of wisdom I have been able to gleam
• Homer Simpson – Not your stereotypical role model. He did show us that no matter how much you mess up you still have a 1 in 3 shot of raising a brilliant child. The jury is still out on Maggie since she never got older.
• Dr. Huxtable – Bill Cosby, as opposed to Homer, was the stereotypical role model dad. The most impressive thing to me was how he was able to be a doctor and his wife a lawyer and yet he always made sure there was time for each kid when they needed it.
• Phillip Banks – The Fresh Prince of Bell Air helped show me the importance of extended family. Growing up with a very close extended family myself, it was reassuring to see that these things were totally normal.  
2. Hold the baby like a football - I have always had this fear that the baby would wiggle and slip from my grip. I was once told by someone that “babies are slippery, so hold on tight.” I am not sure I remember the context of this phrase, but it has stuck with me. I just need to figure out which side of the baby has the laces.
3. It’s ok to lose – I play games to win. It’s not that I don’t like losing. I actually enjoy losing because it means I was beat. I imagine it will take a few years before Lulu beats me at something, but I think it’s important to lose to her every once in awhile to build her confidence.
4. When unsure, improvise – Lulu may very well end up being smarter than I am, but I have years of experience on her. More simply, she doesn’t know any better. Really, this is sort of like a free pass for parents. If we mess up, Lulu won’t know the difference – just go with it.
5. I had the best dad in the world – I loved my dad. He was my best friend. Whatever he did raising Jasper and me, he did right. The way I see it is that if I I have half the natural parenting talent he did, I will be ok. Thanks dad!