Daddy Diary, Pt. 1

I've been meaning to get around to this for a while. I've wanted to have a blog about being a parent. Sharing my observations, bragging about cute little things, etc. Unfortunately, it's taken me almost a year to get to.

I could start with my wife's pregnancy, but there's not much to tell. She had an easy pregnancy and a fairly easy labor. On a side note: I hate men who say "We're pregnant." No, you're not. You might both be expecting (the upcoming childbirth) but only one of you is pregnant. Unless the father-to-be spent 9 months gaining weight, bloating, having sensitive breasts, terrible back pain, trouble sleeping, and increased difficulty with formerly easy things like getting out of chairs and putting on shoes, then you're not pregnant. She is.

I could start with the birth. She was born at 11:55 PM on March 5, 2008. 6 lbs, 13 oz. and 19 inches long. After that, there's not much to tell. Newborns aren't the most interesting people. Oh, sure, the new parents (myself included) and grandparents go basically apeshit over every burp, cry, squeal, smile, pretty much everything she does. But for the most part, newborns do a whole lot of eating, sleeping, and soiling diapers, with crying whenever one of those needs need to be met.

But now, now we're getting to the interesting stuff. The stuff that makes for good stories. At least for those who care. Which is you, right? That's why you're reading this.

We're up to 11 months, today. She started trying to crawl around Christmas. Now she crawls like a champion. If she wants to get somewhere, she's there in seconds. Especially if it's somewhere she doesn't need to be. For some reason, babies seem to have an affinity for all things electical (especially the cords and outlets) and for all things sharp or pointy.

Now she's starting to pull up to standing besides anything she can grab a hold of. Which is fine, on the edge of the couch. Not so much at the corner of the coffee table.

She seems to be a danger-seeker, too. On the couch or on the bed, nothing grabs her attention like the edge. Especially on the bed. Put her down and she heads for the edge of the mattress like she's pulled by magnets.

So, we're not far off from walking. Which means more danger. Fortunately, it also means more chances to explore and show her the world.

She's also starting to verbalize. Not quite words yet, but plenty of sounds and noises to get her point across. Which is fun. Hearing her yell at someone to get their attention (or one of the cats) or hearing her basically "tell off" something or someone that's annoying her is neat. I'm sure it won't seem so neat when she starts getting words, especially the "no" word. She already shakes her head 'no' when she doesn't want to do something.

Well, I'm out of time for now. Stay tuned for Daddy Diary, Pt. 2: The First Birthday.