One Week In

We rounded out Nathan's first week out the womb yesterday with his one week Dr visit. It was a rough day for the little guy. He's still a little yellow, so they wanted to take some blood to make sure everything was still ok. For some unknown reason, they decided to take it with a needle from his arm, rather than just sticking him in the foot as has been previously done. I got the job of basically laying on top of him to keep him from moving while they fished around for a vein in his little arm. Of course, he was screaming at the top of his lungs and his mother and I were almost in tears. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and I'm sure Liv would agree. I was kinda shell shocked for about 15 or 20 minutes after that. I couldn't get us out of that office fast enough. Anyway, everything turned out fine. His test came back ok, we just have to make sure he eats every 3 hours to try and flush his system.

Another highlight since my last post was a trip to Great-Grandma and Grandad Dudley's house on Wednesday. I was going to Ashland for a haircut, so I dropped Liv and Nate off for some quality time with the Great-Grandparents. When I left, Great-Grandma Dudley was holding Nathan. When I returned about an hour later, she was still clutching him. She said that she hadn't let him go the whole time I was gone. Judging from his picture, he seemed to be enjoying it...

We also managed to get a few pictures of Olivia with the little man as well... finally.
I made this one black and white and it turned out really nice...I really like that picture. Anyway, after a whole week of fatherhood, I've picked up on a few things. I'm certainly not an expert yet, but I am a fast learner. So, here's my top 5 list of things I've learned after a week of being called Dad.

5. Everything babies do is cute. I don't know why or how, but it is. Somehow burping, spitting up, pooping, flailing around for no reason, or even just sleeping takes on a whole new level of excitement that doesn't make any sense. I doubt anyone would enjoy watching me do any of those things, but I think I could sell tickets when Nathan does any of that.

4. Whoever invented the pacifier (the soothing tool, not the Vin Diesel movie) should receive a Nobel Peace Prize. I guarantee that whoever invented that clever little tool has brought more peace to the world than Al Gore's stupid global warming movie ever will.

3. With a baby resting on your belly, a Marfan syndrome-like chest indentation is the perfect place to rest his head to keep it from rolling off to one side. (Aunt Shauna may be the only one to get that reference.)

2. Only about 50% of a baby's pee actually winds up in the diaper. The other 50% winds up on the changing table, the clean diaper, the adjacent baby care products, and the baby changing personnel when the baby cuts loose in the middle of a diaper change. Nathan may actually get less than 50% in his diaper because I think he saves most of his for changing time. Just ask Great-Grandma Dudley. Sorry Grandma! Anymore I just crack open the diaper, blow a cool breeze in there, and close it back up for a second. Once he loses the "pure relaxation" face, it's usually safe to proceed.

1. A few weeks back, I was talking with Dave Anderson at church about fatherhood. Nathan still hadn't been born yet and Dave was preparing me for what to expect. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he made the point that if a grizzly bear was threatening your baby you'd rush in to protect it. You'd know it wouldn't really do any good, but you'd get in there and have a go with Smokey all the same. Luckily there haven't been any grizzlies spotted in New Berlin recently, but I now know how right Dave was.