Any New Dads around ?
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Any New Dads around ?
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 Francis Noel  Send message Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 452 Credit: 142,832,523 RAC: 94 
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Hi folks. Well I've been a dad for five days now and the reality of it is slowly beginning to gel in my mind. If there are other New Dads around that wish to contribute to the thread I would really appreciate it. It would be good to hear from you guys. I'm just gonna throw some random stuff out there as it comes to me so lets see where this takes us. Things are moving fast and the constant adaptation is playing tricks on me perception of time. Five days is not a very long time but those memories of walking the little guy up and down the maternity ward seem to be a month away. Last night's X hour crying session feels like it happened last week. I guess the major bullet points of the last five days are pretty much Baby healthy, has all limbs + appendages : relieved Mommy is here too, I'm not alone : good Sleepless nights last forever : expected but damn... No more 10-hour-straight sleep for me : *sigh* Dirty laundry generated : a lot ! Patience and morale : holding Supplies needed for a family outing : full car boot That being said, I need to get some sleep because little Maurice will be waking soon. I'll be back ! mambo ID: 852075 ·  |
Dr. C.E.T.I.  Send message Joined: 29 Feb 00 Posts: 16019 Credit: 794,685 RAC: 0 
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Hi folks. Well I've been a dad for five days now and the reality of it is slowly beginning to gel in my mind. . . . Congratulations Francis . . . May All be Well for You & Yours in the Years to come  BOINC Wiki . . .Science Status Page . . . ID: 852082 · |
Uli  Send message Joined: 6 Feb 00 Posts: 10923 Credit: 5,996,015 RAC: 1 
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Your mate is lucky, to have you. It will get better in time. Yes, yes, I am a not a father, but a single Mom for more then I care to count. Ok for me to give you my advise? Pluto will always be a planet to me.  Seti Ambassador Not to late to order an Anni Shirt ID: 852086 · |
John McLeod VII  Send message Joined: 15 Jul 99 Posts: 24806 Credit: 790,712 RAC: 0
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Not exactly a new dad (youngest is 6). Eventually you will figure out what each different cry means. The usual seem to be hungry, tired, dirty diaper, and need mommy. You are going to be sleepless for awhile. It will probably be several months before the baby sleeps through the night. Spend some time with just your wife (I am supposing that you are married). There are things the (almost) nobody seems to remember that you will need. Keep a medical kit sized for the little one around the house all the time. Included should be a medicine dropper, pain relief drops - both motrin and tylenol as there are going to be times where the fever will need both alternated to keep it down, A&D (or similar) ointment, a nasal aspirator (the ones that the hospital suppliea are an oral aspirator and are too sharp to use usefully on a nose - find one with a fairy blunt tip - the one we used has a rather fat clear plastic tip). You will want small nail scisors. Bottle warmers are extremely useful if you ever have to use a bottle - even if it is breast milk when mommy is just plain unavailable. If you are using disposable diapers, find someplace you can buy them cheap as you will need a lot of diapers before you are done. Figure a hundred a week for a newborn gradually dropping to 40 a week just before the child is potty trained. If you are using formula (I know that breast milk is prefered in MOST cases), the same applies find the best price on the formula the baby will drink. Some babies like one formula muc better than another formula. We occasionally had to use formula as a supliment - and we discovered that some formulas were unacceptable to the baby.   BOINC WIKI ID: 852091 · |
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Francis Noel Send message Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 452 Credit: 142,832,523 RAC: 94
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2 hours proved to be an optimistic estimate :) Thanks Dr. I'm sure things will turn out great. I just hope I can be in a state of mind that allows me to enjoy it day-to-day. uli you are right but I am just as lucky to have her. I admire the spirit of single parents. I can only image the energy and willpower needed to make this work alone. Although the idea of the thread was to see how other new dads were handling it everyone is welcome to contribute :) Hi John and thanks for the tech sheet. I am a technologist by trade so I had these aspects in check. I'm glad to see that the precautions I took are grounded in reality. We are breastfeeding and I do have some cans of Similac stowed away in case they are needed. Arrangements to take mommy out of the house have been made and the med kit is a work in progress. Baby size nail clippers made the list today as we awed at how delicate the little fingers are :). I think the logistics will sort themselves out as I do like organizing stuff to get things running smoothly. I'm doing a lot of thinking and much of it is dedicated to trying to figure out how I'm feeling, how to get the best out of whats going on and how to be the best dad/spouse. Gotta get back to it :) Thanks everyone mambo ID: 852108 · |
kittyman     Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51469 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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2 hours proved to be an optimistic estimate :) Gawd.....envy you. The love of my kittens, no matter how strong, can not compare to the love of a son or daughter..........but the same in some ways.....I dunno, when I wake up in the morning and see one of them staring into my eyes, I think it might be close to what you feel. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster 
ID: 852112 · |
Robert Waite  Send message Joined: 23 Oct 07 Posts: 2417 Credit: 18,192,122 RAC: 59
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You think you can't sleep now? Wait until you are sleeping in on some beautiful morning and then suddenly get your first running, flying double knee drop into your groin apples from a toddler. Since then, if my boy is awake, so am I...and he's fifteen now. Have fun. It's all worthwhile. ID: 852122 · |
Magenta  Send message Joined: 20 Nov 08 Posts: 1498 Credit: 1,179,361 RAC: 0 
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Congrats Francis, glad to hear all are doing well. Enjoy the journey!!! je suis qui je suis ID: 852154 · |
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someguyincanada Send message Joined: 6 Jul 02 Posts: 144 Credit: 912,086 RAC: 0
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not yet.... still trying thou Signature space for rent. Spacious lot available immediately. Includes utilities. Inquire within. ID: 852168 · |
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Francis Noel Send message Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 452 Credit: 142,832,523 RAC: 94
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Thanks everyone ! We had a pretty good night and a (mostly) tearless bath this morning. Parents are feeling pretty good right now :) Kittyman if the kittens contribute to your happiness that is good enough for me. It cannot be "the same", that much is true but who says everyone feels love the same way anyhow ? Robert if your kid still has a playful relationship with you in his teens I think this is a wonderful thing ! Many parent-child relationships seem to become very strained in the teen years. I aint there yet but its good to hear some can work it out. Thanks Magenta ! Keep at it someguy. It will definitely "stick" eventually. You know it and I know it :). mambo ID: 852273 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51469 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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Thanks everyone ! I thank God for the love of my kitties each and every night....... I am as blessed with them as you are with your son. They fill me heart with joy......as I am sure your son does yours. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
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Dr. C.E.T.I. Send message Joined: 29 Feb 00 Posts: 16019 Credit: 794,685 RAC: 0
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[quote][quote][quote]  BOINC Wiki . . .Science Status Page . . . ID: 852303 · |
Fuzzy Hollynoodles  Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 9659 Credit: 251,998 RAC: 0 |
Hi folks. Well I've been a dad for five days now and the reality of it is slowly beginning to gel in my mind. Congratulations with the son.  You seem to have everything in check. I wish you and your family well, and maybe soon little Maurice will become big brother for a little sister or brother. Enjoy your kid(s) when you can, they grow too fast. :-) "I'm trying to maintain a shred of dignity in this world." - Me 
ID: 852357 · |
Dave  Send message Joined: 25 Apr 03 Posts: 61 Credit: 27,387 RAC: 0
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From a newborn baby boy, to the T.A.R.D.I.S, to a Lego DeathStar.. in one thread. I think we need a new program.. S.I.C.T.H.O.T (the Search for Intelligent Conversations That Hold to the Original Topic.) j/k :) Congrats on the new addition. It only gets better... until they hit their teens. I wouldnt trade either of mine in for anything. Son age 23, daughter age 14. Their mothers tho... hehe The Universe doesnt always give you what you want... But it ALWAYS gives you what you need. ID: 852360 · |
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Clyde C. Phillips, III Send message Joined: 2 Aug 00 Posts: 1851 Credit: 5,955,047 RAC: 0
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I lost a dad almost two years ago due to Alzheimers. I don't ever expect to be a dad. Right now I'm going over Dads 4,200 Kodachromes to get them digitized. That'll remind me of some of the things I was doing when I was a little kid. ID: 852376 · |
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Pellinore Send message Joined: 15 Aug 07 Posts: 104 Credit: 94,949 RAC: 0
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Francis, If you think that your life changed, look at it from your sons perspective. He had a nice warm quiet environment where every need was automaticly provided. now look where he is. with lots of love you will both adapt. Also be very careful that you take loving care of his mother, because she is in the middle of a hormone storm, that no man will never understand. I hope that you see this as the begining of a beautiful journey, take time to enjoy all of it, because in 18 years from now you will wonder where the time went. Have fun Pellinore My youngest is 30. ID: 852482 · |
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Francis Noel Send message Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 452 Credit: 142,832,523 RAC: 94
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So no New Dads yet but thank you everyone for chiming in. I like how the thread went on a wild tangent and came back, that is pretty much in tune with how my days go by :). Thanks Fuzzy. Ultimately we would like to have three kids but for now we have our hands full with just the one. Clyde I'm glad you have those pictures with you. That struck a chord with me because for some unexplained reason my parents took very few picture of me and my little brother in our infancy/youth. Not much I can do about that but I make a point of shooting one photo a day of my kid so both he and I have some stuff to look at in a few years. Tomorrow is "medical day". A nurse from social services will be visiting and following that visit we are going back to the hospital. Where I live all newborns get a mandatory visit from a social services nurse a few days after arriving home, it is part of the provincial health care system. I think it is pretty neat since we do have some questions written down. The hospital visit is for mommy. Mommy has a headache that is hanging around longer that it should and the staff at the maternity ward thinks it might be due to the sedation administered during labor. Its no biggie bu it needs to be checked out. So again the logistics are pretty well defined but I am still a bit anxious. Because of the headache mommy is not resting properly and the days are adding up. I am extra careful not to upset mommy but the fatigue and those famous hormones Pellinore mentioned are a volatile mix :) So far so good. mambo ID: 852569 · |
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kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51469 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004
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Maybe you can take a photo a day........ Like Noah did........ Noah.... Growing up.. This is quite a project....... "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster
ID: 852583 · |
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Francis Noel Send message Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 452 Credit: 142,832,523 RAC: 94
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Maybe you can take a photo a day........ Quite the project indeed. I'll stick with the random pictures as I cannot imagine how I would get the baby to pose in a consistent manner each time. wOOt 4:15 AM post ! mambo ID: 852603 · |
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John McLeod VII Send message Joined: 15 Jul 99 Posts: 24806 Credit: 790,712 RAC: 0
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I lost a dad almost two years ago due to Alzheimers. I don't ever expect to be a dad. Right now I'm going over Dads 4,200 Kodachromes to get them digitized. That'll remind me of some of the things I was doing when I was a little kid. Eventually, I am going th get my dada cubic yard of slides and his dad's cubic yard of slides to add to my own collection to digitize... BOINC WIKI ID: 853548 · |
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