A few weeks ago some friends of ours had their first child, a beautiful baby girl. The first birth is always the most exciting and nerve wracking, as you do not know what to expect. At one point during the birth of our son, my wife took a 45-minute nap between pushing sessions due to baby stress in the birth canal. A nap! How can you take a nap during labor? It’s not like watching golf on TV, but I guess the labor drugs can make you a little woozy.
The second birth went a lot smoother and faster. Of course, I am saying this from a father’s perspective and not the mother’s, who actually had the babies coming out of her. The birth of our daughter seemed like it lasted about 10 seconds. Actually, we got to the hospital at 11:00 pm and she was born after two pushes at 1:52 am. It happened so fast that my wife and I looked at each other with expressions of surprise, wondering if it was really over! I’m just glad we didn’t have her in the minivan on the way to the hospital. I was prepared for the first child with a big blue tarp and a first aid kit in the car, but let my guard down on the second child. I’m not sure how that birth would have gone with me as the coach, catcher, and cord snipper. I ditched the tarp a couple of years ago, but still had the first aid kit. Sewing her up with a needle and thread until the paramedics arrived would have been my best option.
Our friends had a pretty long and stressful labor, but everything
turned out fine in the end. Mommy and the baby are healthy and the
daddy is probably still a pile of goop on the floor over his beautiful
little girl. After about a month you get the feeling back in your legs
again and can form regular sentences that adults can understand. That
is until your baby girl starts smiling at you and you automatically
turn back into a Jell-O mold on the rug. With our baby boy, I just
wanted to go around the neighborhood giving everybody high fives. I was
so proud (and still am) to have a son. With our baby girl, I just want
to hug her, kiss her, and make funny faces at her so she will continue
to smile and laugh at me. She knows I’m a sucker for that smile of
hers.
I’m sure our friends are getting plenty of advice on what to do with a
new baby in the house. Most of it is probably good advice. Some of it
is surely coming from one of the many books new parents get while
pregnant, and several years thereafter. While that can be useful
information, here is my unsolicited advice for all the new mommies and
daddy’s out there…
- Babies cry.
Always check for tears to be sure they are not just fussing. I’ve
fallen for that trick many times. “WAAAAAAAAAAAA! Oh, hey Daddy.
(giggle,toot) Can you get me out of my crib so I can hang out in your
lap? No? But I don’t want to go to sleep. It’s only 3:00 am!
WAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
- Have plenty of clean
t-shirts on hand. You will most likely go through 3-4 every day thanks
to baby barf and liquid poop. As much as you try to avoid it, you will
be pooped on.
- Naps are the best. I wish I had taken more of them.
- Stock
up on videotapes or DVD’s so you are sure to have the camera ready for
when something good happens, like a smile, even if it is from gas. Take
lots of photos and email them to your family and friends. They want to
see your baby!
- Take your baby out to
dinner with you and show her off. When they are babies they usually
sleep in the restaurant and look cute. When they get older they refuse
to sit in the highchair and pitch a fit, which results in your dinner
coming home in a to-go box.
- If you had
home projects that you were working on or wanted to start…forget about
it for at least three years. It’s hard enough to find time to brush
your teeth, much less tile the bathroom floors, paint the walls,
landscape the yard, and power wash everything. Hire a contractor or ask
your parents and in-laws to help if they can.
- As
they get older, pick your battles. Sticking their fingers in the peanut
butter jar is not as big of a deal as a dinner fork being hurled from
the table.
- Get them their own jar of peanut butter.
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