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!