When I was a kid, I used to fantasize about being my favorite G.I. Joe, living in an underground hideout with my other favorite Joes, in Antarctica. We were theoretically on patrol, but there was never any action or drama—it … Continue reading
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Week 18: Is that you, Roo?
We’re so close to finding out if Roo will be a boy or a girl. I still don’t have that mother’s intuition telling me one way or the other, although it seems a lot of moms-to-be have a strong feeling … Continue reading
Firsts
In the distant future, little O will take his first steps, speak his first words, and commit his first traffic violation. Most of these will be great moments. In the meantime, I would like to celebrate a few notable first … Continue reading
Barefoot and pregnant
I am Cinderella’s ugly stepsister. (The pretty one.) It’s not an easy admission to make, but I can’t escape the truth. Since my sixth month of pregnancy, every time I try on my shoes I feel like an evil stepsister … Continue reading
iCaved
I did something yesterday that I swore I would never do. I bought one of those toys that lets you put your iPhone in it and give to your baby. This cuddly, purple, singing monkey will allow me to lock … Continue reading
Week 22: Weigh in
Before I found out I was expecting, I had heard all of the warm and fuzzy things you hear about pregnancy — how you’ll glow and how it will be one of the most beautiful and cherished times in your … Continue reading
Standing as a family for the first time: The birth of Mason
My “labor story” started out with what I thought was the stomach flu. I couldn’t imagine being in labor even though I was two days past my due date, even though I had read so much about it, EVEN though … Continue reading
Asking for help
I listened to Amanda Palmer’s TED talk a little while ago, about asking for help. Hers was in the context of music and asking fans to pay what they thought was fair for the album, more or less on the … Continue reading
Week 17: Mother’s day
I do my best to appreciate my mom year round. I also try to make up for the moodiness of my teen years—hey, we’ve all been there—by being a diligent daughter every day. It’s rare to go a day without … Continue reading
Letter to my younger self
In moments of profound life change, it can be fun to look back and see just how much we have transformed since adolescence, and consider what we might say to those younger versions of ourselves. I went a little further … Continue reading
Fixed and dilated
I blame George Clooney. Not for the big things like world hunger, global warming, and acid washed jeans. No. I blame him for E.R. reruns. It’s his fault for making me watch them. If I hadn’t been so intrigued by … Continue reading
Dine and dash: The birth of Alexandra
If you want to kick-start your labor, I highly recommend going to Costco. You can walk your way to a baby and load up on enough toilet paper to last at least six months. Now I know what you must … Continue reading
Week 21: Labor of love
For 25 years, I observed yesterday’s holiday as not much more than that: a single day to celebrate my mom. It always involved a card with a sweet sentiment and a gift of some sort, but that’s about as far … Continue reading
Ball rolling & the second playground fight
This post is as fractured as my daily existence, and I must confess is only cohesed by the micro-thread that is movement, inertia. One mostly involving an inanimate object, the other involving one or more overly-animate little brats. Let’s start … Continue reading
Week 16: Name game
As any parent knows, the task of picking out a name for a new family member is daunting. You want something unique without going overboard. Ideally, the name shouldn’t embarrass your child, cause ridicule, or require several rounds of pronunciation … Continue reading
Things that happened this week
My baby boy was born last Sunday at 10:30 a.m. It would be difficult to describe the events of this past week even if I were allowed to write a book, so a three-paragraph blog entry will hardly suffice. Please … Continue reading
Week 20: 20 and counting
Last week, I got to share the oh-so-exciting news that we are expecting a baby girl. (The pink parade? Oh yeah, it’s on.) This week, the fun continues with more good news: I’m now more than halfway through this pregnancy, … Continue reading
His biggest fan
I’ve found myself lately, wondering what Isaac with be like as he grows up. As bittersweet as it is, I know he won’t always be a baby. I wonder if he’ll be into sports, or cars, or construction equipment. Maybe … Continue reading
A beautiful prize awaiting: The birth of Aveline
After experiencing nearly a week of fairly regular contractions that would continue to stall, I knew something felt different the Thursday evening before we welcomed Miss Aveline Muir into this world. Different enough, in fact, that as we put our … Continue reading
The Clap heard ’round the kitchen
Bub and I were sitting at the kitchen table (actually, it’s the dining room table, but relocated for functionality to the kitchen—still a sore subject with my wife), finishing lunch the other day. HP eats much faster than Bub, and, … Continue reading
Week 15: Year of the snake
Jubilant fails to describe how excited I was when I found out our baby was due in October. That is my favorite month, by far. The colorful foliage, the not-too-hot/not-too-cold weather, the impending slew of holidays one right after the … Continue reading
The final week
Life is chock full of special moments, but very few moments are accurately deemed “life-changing.” It is understandably a rare distinction, and one reserved for truly significant circumstances. After all, if a guy were to categorize every mundane experience as … Continue reading
My elective C-section: The birth of Summer
I received the March 2013 issue of Pregnancy & Newborn in the mail last month and was all too happy to flip it open to the “Welcome to the world” birth stories. As a first-time mom to a beautiful 16-week … Continue reading
Still figuring it out
Isaac turned 6 months old this week. I can’t quite wrap my brain around that. We’re half way to his first birthday already! I remember sometime around the 8-12 week mark thinking, “Okay, I’m starting to get the hang of … Continue reading
Week 19: It’s a …
It was a couple of years ago (but it feels like yesterday) that I was laying on the exam table waiting for the ultrasound technician to confirm what I already knew: We were going to have a little boy. My … Continue reading
Playgrounds
We were at the playground today, me inviting a hernia by attempting to push Bub and his playmate up and down on the seesaw, which quickly led to a mental diatribe in my mind about seesaws, then about playgrounds in … Continue reading
Week 14: Bye-bye sanity
Now that we’re in the safe zone, we know Roo is healthy, and the pregnancy is out in the open, things are starting to come together baby-wise. I’ve relaxed and allowed myself to realize that we are indeed having a … Continue reading
Baby waiting
Spring has come, and my wife has been noticing that several of her friends are having their babies. Babies are everywhere. I have not seen these babies, but my wife swears that she sees their pictures on Facebook. Most of … Continue reading
There are no sick days when you’re a mom
As I write this, it’s 9:08 p.m. We have yet to eat dinner and I’m coughing. A week ago tomorrow, the scratchy throat began. “Oh, it’s just from sitting out in the drizzle at that soccer game,” I told myself. … Continue reading
An extension of our love: The birth of Sofia
I opted for an all natural water birth. I never realized how many women define “all natural” as a vaginal birth with pain medication (i.e. epidural). For me, the term “all natural” means just that—no interventions, no drugs and no cutting. Just me, my laboring body and … Continue reading
Week 18: Smell test
You know that question you used to get as a kid about what power you’d pick if you could be a superhero for a day? Take a moment to walk down memory lane with me, and think about what you … Continue reading
Week 13: Pregnancy brain—it’s a thing
I used to think that pregnancy brain was a myth that expectant mothers used as a convenient excuse. Now I wish I could tell my past self to bite her tongue, because I know firsthand that it is very real. … Continue reading
Touch (Part II)
My wife and I are not very touchy-feely people. In fact, we would definitely fall within the spectrum of the under-affectionate, though we are trying. Especially with our kids. HP is making it easy right now. She also went wild … Continue reading
Ready for baby
We are at that stage. I just tied my wife’s shoes. She cannot wait to stop working. We are less than two weeks from the due date, and we are ready for this baby to be here. My wife is … Continue reading
Week 17: The name game
With just a few more weeks to go before reaching the halfway point in this pregnancy, I think it’s high-time that I correct an injustice to this new little baby of ours: He/She doesn’t have a name. Now, I don’t … Continue reading
A day in our life
A day in our life at 5 ½ months: 7:30 a.m.- Isaac starts to stir. He “talks” to himself for a few minutes until Mom can tell he’s getting frustrated. 7:45 a.m.- Mom stumbles into the nursery and fetches Isaac from … Continue reading
Love at last: The birth of Raven Marie
My husband and I have been together for almost four years now, and back when we started dating I was told I would never have kids. Well much to our surprise, a little over two years later we found out … Continue reading
Touch (Part I)
Note: So I was going to write this whole gooey thing about the joy of touch, and soft baby skin and all that. That shall henceforth be known as Touch (Part II). Because this stuff just happened, and it’s on … Continue reading
Week 12: Should we or shouldn’t we?
A standard question I’ve come to expect from interested parties: “Are you going to find out the sex?” It seems simple enough; there are only two answers, after all. But this question prompted a serious discussion in the North household. … Continue reading
Baby shower for dad
While at work the other day, I was given a toy fire truck, a bottle of wine, and a tube of butt paste. Without context, one might think that my fellow employees lack proper boundaries. With context, however, one might … Continue reading
More real than anything I’ve ever felt: The birth of Noah
I want to document my birth story for a couple reasons. First, I don’t want to forget the experience of my birth. Second, I want others to learn from it, because I feel that it is pretty unique for an … Continue reading
Week 16: Change up
As happy as Tom and I have been about the soon-coming arrival of a new little one there has been one rain cloud in the whole matter. My dearly beloved midwife, Diane, (without whom I’m certain Jacob would still be … Continue reading
This does not look comfortable
Since Isaac started rolling over, he has wanted to sleep on his stomach. The “Back is Best” campaign has been a good one, because nothing strikes fear in a first-time mom’s heart like seeing her baby sleeping on his belly. … Continue reading
Change
“Would you mind changing HP?” my wife says. Hmmm, interesting thought. No, now that I think about it, I wouldn’t mind changing her a bit. Not a complete overhaul, just a few details about her. Would not mind at all. … Continue reading
Week 11: I’m thrilled … really!
My husband and I have been telling our friends and family about our little Roo (our nickname for whoever is growing in there) in waves as we get closer to the 12-week mark. Seeing their reactions and feeling their excitement … Continue reading
Listening ears
A couple of months ago I thought about having Matilda’s hearing checked. Surely, my sweet child would not just ignore me? After careful examination I realized the sad truth… it was indeed just that. She was tuning me out. Parenting … Continue reading
Things we lose
We all know that pregnancy leads to addition. A new birth brings an additional person to my house, additional objects onto the floor, and additional tasks to fill each day. It is much more common, however, to be reminded of … Continue reading
Intense, beautiful, awesome: The birth of Wren
Although I knew that the average first time mom gives birth around 41 weeks, I couldn’t help but be disappointed when my due date, December 22, came and went and I was still pregnant. My belly was growing larger each … Continue reading
Nom nom baby food
We have an eater in our midst! That’s right, our little Isaac is moving on up to solids. When I first offered him a spoonful of rice cereal, he wasn’t so sure, but it didn’t take long before he was … Continue reading
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