Our First Date

Bex and I had our first date the day before Thanksgiving. Actually it was our first date A.D. (After Delivery). It wouldn't have happened except that my mom was in town and she offered her services as babysitter. That's a polite way of saying that she kicked us out so she could spend quality time with her grandson. After reading my mom the riot act of Luke's routine, do's and don'ts, and…
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It’s A Walk In the Park

And I thought Bex took forever to get ready . . . One morning, earlier this month, around eleven o'clock in the morning, we decided to take Luke on his very first trip to the neighborhood park. Somehow, we didn't walk out the front door until three-thirty in the afternoon. Did I mention that the park is around a seven minute walk away from our apartment? A younger, slightly naive, but well…
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Let Them Eat Cake

  So, now that I've got him home, can someone tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do with him? The care stuff, diaper changes, feedings, I've got that. We've actually gotten into a nice routine. But how about when he's wide awake and not screaming his head off? When he's just staring at me with the widest and most curious blue eyes you've ever seen, what am I supposed to do then? Before…
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There’s A Binky In My Batcave

I never considered myself a messy person but I certainly wouldn't call myself organized either. There's always been this untidy little grey area between cluttered and coordinated that l like to hide in. Let's refer to it as, my Batcave. Throughout my twenties I found my Batcave to be a multifunctional space. I always kept it clean enough, so as not to be embarrassed if I brought a certain…
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Baby On Board

I still can't believe they let us walk out of the hospital with him. There must have been some mistake right? How could they trust someone like me to be responsible with someone so important? It was easy to look like a semi-competent parent when a team of nurses was present to supervise. But once we left the hospital, my precious safety net would be gone and the real trial by fire would begin.…
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NICU – The Sitcom

  Ladies and Gentlemen, please pardon the interruption. We now return you to the number one sitcom in America - The NICU. Starring Luke Gaygen as a fictional version of himself, the show revolves around a handful of newborns and their hilarious hi-jinx in the hospital. Luke is a strong and healthy baby who wound up getting moved into room #8 in the NICU after a mistake was made on delivery…
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This Turkey Ain’t Flying

  There's a lot to be thankful for at this time of year. There's food, my loving wife, there's freshly baked cookies, there's our baby boy, there's . . . oh is that pie? Cut me off a little slice, would ya? A little bigger. Bigger. Yes, I am aware that's a whole quarter of the pie. Get outta here with those judgmental eyes. There's still some left isn't there? Be thankful for that. Yes,…
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Delivery Day (Part IV): Didn’t They Tell You

    I spent two hours in the NICU. When I went back to Labor and Delivery, a nurse stopped me in the hall just outside of Bex's delivery room. She had a very confused look on her face, and  I could see her trying to figure out why I was back here. "Didn't anyone tell you?" She asked. "Your wife was moved to the O.R." I felt like saying, "Oh gee, no they forgot to mention that trivial…
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Daddy Support Group

Bex pointed out a sign up sheet for Mommy and Me classes the other day. I acknowledged it with my customary cave man grunt but I really didn't think much about it at the time. The class was called Mommy and Me, not, Mommy, Daddy, and Me. Until Bex recruits me to chauffeur, I have zero obligation to care. But between you and me, I'm starting to rethink my position on this.     For those…
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What’s In A Name?

William Shakespeare asked, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is the name we give our mistakes." Even old Teddy Roosevelt got in on the philosophizing when he said, "Never throughout history has a man who has lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering." Gee thanks fellas. No pressure there. I read in a book…
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