The waiting game

Everyone says you can never be fully-prepared to have children, but if it's possible to be prepared-enough, I think we're there.

We've checked off our to-do lists -- I even started and completed a second one -- and now, we wait.

We're a week from the due date and I feel as prepared as I can be, both physically and emotionally. It's a good place to be, other than the fact that everything non-baby related seems to matter so much less.

Diaper explosion!

It's not what you think -- not yet, anyway.

Between baby showers, grocery store coupons and Deals of the Day on Amazon, we've managed to stock pile -- and I mean REALLY stockpile -- diapers. They're hidden under the crib, in closets throughout the house, stuffed in cabinets and drawers or packed away in diaper bags.

I've only changed one in recent memory, and that was on a plastic mannequin during child-birthing class at the hospital. So the idea of all those diapers -- we might really be in the four-digit range at this point -- is hard to imagine ever using.

Then there's the sizing. Newborn seems easy enough, but how am I supposed to know when the little man is ready to go from a NB to a 1? Or a 2?

At this point, I'd like to tip my hat to the guy who came up with clothing size lables. I should have a general understanding of how old my kid is, so that should be easy enough.

Wait, what? My three-month-old might wear six-month-old clothes? (If so, I guess he got his grandfather's jeans -- I mean genes.)

So those easy-to-read tags that make diaper sizes look like rocket science are easy-to-read but open to interpretation? Well that just seems confusing as a ripe, smelly diaper.

Little moments

We're three weeks from the due date, which really means any day now.  It's been funny to notice lately all the "little moments" that denote our pending addition.

Some of them have been humorous (like realizing we should quickly invest in Duracell because ever kids toy these days seems to take 4 AAs -- and another 2 if you want to use the remote).

Some of have less than humorous (like feeling the effects of increasingly less sleep -- yes, already -- while failing miserably to hang shelves in the nursery).

Some have been sentimental (like Brittney's father's gentle kiss on her cheek and heart-felt "good luck" on our last visit to Burlington before the big day).

Most days, in the craziness that is our pre-parenthood lives, these moments would have simply passed right by, without much thought. But for whatever reason, they have caught my attention recently and helped bring a smile to my face.

While Brittney and I are very much looking forward to all the little moments (and the major milestones) that we'll celebrate in the coming weeks, months and years, it's been a great last few weeks for Brittney and I, just being us.

Guy's weekend

Spent the weekend with five of my closest guy friends from Carolina. It's a tradition that we just started last year, but has its roots in a New Years trip that we've taken (with our better halves and a select few others) since early in our college years.

There were a few moments this weekend when I couldn't help but chuckle at how much our lives -- and as a result, our relationships -- have changed over the years. Instead of talking about beer and basketball (which would usually dominate our conversations, and did at points on this trip), I found us talking about breast-feeding and boppys.

These are some of the best friends a guy could ask for -- the kind of guys I know I'll be able to call on when questions come up; the kind who will offer carefully-considered (and honest) words of support, even when I'm royally screwing up my duties as a father.

Thankfully, we've all grown up a lot since college.

Amazing show of support

We had our first baby shower earlier this month. (Yes, I've been a bit tardy in updating posts. Hopefully that's a trend I can break once Jackson arrives.)

Our next shower is scheduled for this coming weekend.

I knew all along how blessed we were with wonderful friends and family -- but those blessings have been multiplied since news of Jackson's arrival. Family and friends have all expressed support in so many wonderful -- and unexpected -- ways. From kind words of encouragement to hand-me-down gifts of clothes, toys and accessories, we've been overwhelmed with support. And it's been great.

Brittney's book for baby

Brittney's creating a scrapbook -- in 2011, it's a digital scrapbook, but the idea is just the same -- and I couldn't be more excited.

She's documented various doctor visits (with ultrasounds) and our discussions about a name. She's keeping week-by-week pictures to keep track of her growing belly. There's a place for our Christmas card, which featured our newest addition, and all the exciting milestones that are yet to come.

We're both picture people, and having these memories is going to be priceless as our little man becomes a not-so-little man.

Slow progress, but progress just the same

Preparing for a kid is hard work, but sometimes, finding the motivation to do the work is just as much of a challenge.

Somewhere between enjoying the idea of pregnancy and welcoming a child into the world, I start to feel this little panic swelling up inside. There's TOO much to do and not enough time to get it all done. The due date is three months away, but we've already filled half of those weekends with other obligations. When are we going to find the time to get everything done?

Deep breath.

This weekend, Brittney and I made some good progress. We settled on a nursery theme and picked out some art for the walls (an important first step before paint, fabrics, etc.). We started clearing out the office, which will become the nursery, and sorted everything into piles (Goodwill, storage, garbage).

There's still a lot to be done, and we're one weekend closer to the big day, but today I can celebrate that slow progress is progress just the same.

Finding balance

While I'm still four months out from our due date, my laundry list of worries is already starting to pile up. At the top -- finding balance.

I am an admitted work-a-holic. It comes with the territory, I suppose, as the editor of a community newspaper. I'm always on call, a slave to my Blackberry and Outlook. There are times -- more than I care to admit -- that I don't always feel like there will be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Now throw on top of that the idea of fathering a child. Jackson will, without question or hesitation, be my first priority. But adding that responsibility can't possibly come without sacrifice.

Brittney is an amazing -- and amazingly patient -- wife. She understands my career and the responsibilities it carries. She accepts that, on occasion, work interrupts life. But I worry that a young child won't be able to understand. And selfishly, I worry about missing out on life while work has so much of my attention.

Babies everywhere

I suppose it's only natural that once you're aware of something as life-altering as bringing new life into the world, your whole world changes.

I wasn't sure what to expect in the days, weeks and months after getting the news. But what I certainly didn't expect... all the babies.

Suddenly, it seems like they're everywhere. Sure, my baby-meter is on high alert, but where did all these kids come from? And why haven't I noticed them before?

To that end, I've also learned -- quickly -- that when you see a baby, you're also supposed to see the accessories (at least until we get our registry straight; apparently, along with Internet research, book research and word-of-mouth research, practical everyday life research is key to good decision-making).

Brittney and I will pass by someone in the grocery store and she'll say, "What pattern was that?"

It didn't take long to figure out she wasn't referring to the intricate display of precisely stacked 12-packs of soda, but rather the pattern of the infant carrier. (No, I haven't learned to identify patterns -- yet. I figure things like assembling a crib, painting a nursery and rearranging furniture to make room for the new glider are much more daddy's speed.)

While Brittney's busy studying patterns, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all the babies. And here we are, less than four months from adding to the mix... as soon as we decide on a pattern for the drapes.

And so it begins

Technically, it began about six months ago -- this idea that I would document what has to be the most exciting, nerve-wracking and joyful life change I should ever anticipate.

In May (or sooner), my wife, Brittney, and I will welcome our first child.

Honestly, I don't think it has completely hit me. The ultrasounds, my wife's growing belly and the expanding pile of baby gear have all helped ramp up the realization of what's to come, but I'm really not sure that the idea of fatherhood is completely real.

I've had several friends tell me I'm ready, and others -- probably more right than they realize -- offer the sage advice that you're never really ready.

But ready or not...

With that in mind, Brittney and I have decided that it's time to move from the the babymoon phase -- and all the doting that goes along with it -- to what we're calling the 'get in gear' phase -- and all the decorating, decision-making and general work that goes into actually preparing for baby, rather than just enjoying pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of enjoyment, showers, etc. to come, but there also needs to be cribs, strollers, swings, etc.

I hope this blog -- like so many mommy blogs before it -- will become both a record of our adventures, and perhaps our misadventures, along the way. Perhaps it will serve as a way for far-away loved ones to keep in touch, and for others to simply enjoy my trials and triumphs in fatherhood.