Where Have I Been: A Blog Post for Those That Might Not Be on Facebook

I haven't posted anything on my website since May 25th...that wasn't my intention, it just happened. No blog updates, no comic updates. That's no way to treat loyal readers. But I have the best excuse of all. I had a baby! Well...I didn't actually have the baby, but most of you know how that works so there is no point in detailing how that works. So yeah, at 37 years old, I am a father for the first time. What is that like? Well, first of all, here's what he looked like at 6 minutes old.

I intended to live blog the whole having a baby process (again, without the details that nobody wants), but that didn't quite happen as planned. After about 24 hours in the labor and delivery ward of the hospital on June 26th, live updates to the web weren't exactly first on my mind. I was tired, Katharine was more tired, and then when it was all said and done, they handed me an 8lb 1oz bundle of baby wrapped in a blanket and part of me panicked, while the other part was excited. While the other part of me panicked. For the next 48 hours, I would have help keeping him alive at the hospital, but after that, he would rely on me and Katharine for all of his needs.

We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the hospital with our son, Nathan, and it was an interesting stay. I won't dwell on it. The nurses in the labor/delivery/maternity wards were excellent, aside from the lactation consultants, who were like Nazis that insisted on breastfeeding and gave no other options for those that might not be able to or, god forbid, chose not to breastfeed. I won't discuss that whole thing in detail...it just annoys me. I'll try to remember all the positives surrounding our hospital stay instead...like the wonderful nurse that coached Katharine through the delivery and the fact that they gave me free meals. I know they weren't really free, but nobody asked me to pay for them.

So then we went home with our baby. The drive home was pretty scary...I likely drove slower than I have ever driven in my entire life, aside from that one time...never mind. Did I have to drive like my grandmother used to drive before they took her license away? Probably not, but I did anyway. I didn't want to break my new baby on the way home from the hospital. He made it home in one piece. The first night was a great big unknown. He cried. We tried to comfort him. We had no idea how to comfort him. We cried (not really, but we wanted to). We called the hospital to make sure he was OK. He was. When he had cried *in* the hospital, someone came and took him to the nursery so we could sleep. There was no nursery unless Monty the dog was going to comfort him. Unlikely...he was still pissed that we brought this "squaking thing" home without asking him first. Nathan cried a lot of that night. Here's how he looks when he cries (this was his first bath).

The first two weeks were trial and error. We figured out how to bottle feed the boy on our own...breastfeeding is way too stressful for mom and baby if you ask me. There's no way to tell how much food your baby gets and he's always hungry. If you've done it, more power to you. My baby is doing just fine on a bottle and we're all happier that way (hospital lactation consultant...STFU). We've figured out his sleep pattern (mostly). We know when he's tired, hungry, needs to be changed, and just plain cranky (he gets that from me). He gets almost everything else from Katharine...except for his eyes...those are mine.

The second two weeks were easier, altough he was more active and we learned that he only likes to sleep on our laps. As fun as that is to stare at him and take pictures while he sleeps, it's hard to get anything done. Bills still need to be paid. Household chores still need to get done. Blog updates need to be updated. Nathan is learning to like the swing now, but it takes some coaxing. I tried cake...he wasn't interested. Sometimes a pacifier works.

The fifth week, and now the sixth week, we've been trying to get him used to the co-sleeper when he sleeps. We get a good 5 hour block of sleep once a night (he does...we haven't learned to sleep when he does yet), so we better plan it well. We usually do, except for that one night...that was last night. Nathan is doing fine...we're trying to introduce him to stuffed toys, we've increased how much he eats by an ounce or so per meal, he tolerates swaddling and sleeps better that way (except when he's trying to break free and grunts as he struggles), I've read him some DC and Marvel Comics to let him decide for himself, Katharine has taught him about the piggies that go to market and the wheels on the bus ("What the hell is a bus," asked Nathan)...and that is that for now.

And I'm back to post more posts.