Countdown to a new start

So in exactly one week we start over. If everything goes as planned , closing for our house is scheduled for the 12th of January. We had a bit of a mix up in the last weeks leading up to now. Long story short, we have a lot of packing to do. The home buyer had an appraisal done long after the due diligence period had passed and to our surprised the house was appraised at 4 thousand less than what our final settlement price was, Our Realtor called me to tell me that unless we were willing to drop the price on the house the deal was a no-go. But since they waited until after the due diligence period we get to keep their earnest money deposit if they decide to back out. I asked a few Realtors I know for their opinion on what to do and most agreed to stay firm and keep the deposit if they don't come through. At the end of the day they did wait too long to have the appraisal done.

So this whole time I've been thinking it's a no deal, but I had doubt that the buyer would walk away from the house and lose the money that they've invested thus far, so I called my Realtor and asked him what would happen if the buyer did buy the house and we haven't moved out yet. So he kindly informed me that I better be out of the house by the 12th. Pretty much until we hear otherwise the deal is on. Now we're in a fenzy, packing and needing to put everything in a storage unit to empty out the house.

I think its all going to be very surreal until we turn in the keys. I'm sure we will feel some sadness to go but I'm really excited to have a new start. I have a few Zillow searches going and can't wait to start house hunting.

 I had a funny conversation with another firefighter that is also selling his house. He asked what size house we're looking for and I told him about 1500 to 2000 sqft. He kinda chuckled and said that was too small for a family. I realize it's not a mansion but how big of a house does a "family" really need? (Small rant ahead) I'm sure that 2nd family room and 3rd office really comes in handy but C'mon (sarcasm). If anything, I think that oversized houses are a huge contributor to crappy family atmospheres. I grew up in apartments where I had to share a room with one or both of my siblings at times and even though the lack of privacy was inconvenient but the small space forced us to INTERACT with one another. If we didn't like something the other did, We told them and we disagreed and we fought but then we made up and laughed about it.

 I saw a documentary about tiny houses that people are building over trailers. They live really simple, are debt free and have realized the difference between a necessity and a luxury. That's too extreme for me but I saw some interesting facts that made me think. The average american family has gone down in size while the size of the average american home keeps going up. Somebody they interviewed mentioned they remembered growing up, their friends had huge houses but their parents were never around because they were working to pay the house off. That's not what I want Micah to remember about us. Just to throw out another observation ; I get to work at many firehouses across the city with lots of different crews and I've noticed the closer knit ones are the ones that work in older stations that are alot smaller than the new firehouses that are triple the size and house half the people. We'll see what we come across when the time comes.

Speaking of a new start...... Laura is prego again. Yes you read correctly. She's 12 weeks right now. This one was planned unlike the first one. When we talked about more kids in the future we both knew we would have another but were undecided as to when. If we waited too long it would be like starting from scratch and if we waited too little we would have alot on our plates. Around the time that Micah was going to turn 1 we kinda knew we wanted another sooner then later and just let it happen.

It's funny how fast this pregnancy has gone by so far. With having a toddler to look after we sometimes forget that Laura is pregnant. Sorry, I mean I forget that she is Pregnant because according to her this one feels totally opposite than the first one. She is super tired and nauseous and always at the most random times.  I try to help, mostly by keeping Micah off of her. A few people I've talked to say that the difference in symptoms probably means that this we're having a girl but it I know it doesn't. We both feel a lot more relaxed this time around and hope we can keep the chillness running when we have to Babies crying at once.

Coming July 2015!

When Micah was sick for those few weeks I had read that babies that get those fever blisters turn really emotionally dependent after they recover since they're always being carried and cared to when they're sick. Micah is no exception. He hates being put down now and starts to throw down a tantrum. This is making it extremely hard to pack and finish what we have to do around the house. The funny thing is that when we leave the room he's in he stops crying and follows us to where we're at and then continues his tantrum. But we now have a secret weapon for when Micah is getting rowdy or at least needs a distraction. Baby Einsteins, I am fully aware that this is lame cop out and always told myself to I wasn't going be that dad that gives my son an electronic device to get him off my back he loves them! We do make sure to sit down and watch them with him and sign the animals and pictures with to make sure he is learning. 

Happy Baby

Hi everyone. Just want to take time to update everyone.

At the doctors office with that little smile.

Micah had been a little sick the past few weeks. First with a stomach bug that gave him the runs for a week straight. We didn't know if he had developed an allergy to something, but after switching up his foods repeatedly, a trip to the Doctors office pinned it to a stomach bug. Then the fever started. We don't know if it was related but a few days after he started to get better, we noticed he was getting warmer and warmer. That turned into fever blisters that made it hard for him to eat or drink anything. I felt so bad for my little guy. he would wake up and sign for milk but after attempting a few sips he would throw the bottle and cry. It was really hard to watch, knowing that there was nothing we could do and to top it off, he didn't understand why his mouth hurt and why it wouldn't stop. The blisters lasted for about 4 days and while he was tossing, turning and crying at night we stayed up and tried to soothe him back to sleep.

During one of his late night crying sessions, I had a Deja-vu moment of the first couple months when we couldn't get him to nurse. You really do find your role as a parent. Even though the crying and the powerless feeling was frustrating, Laura and I both handled it pretty well. Alot better then a year ago that for sure. Makes me think were ready for number 2 ( wink wink)

One thing that I love about Micah is how happy he always is. Even though he was sick he always managed to give off a smile when he could.

Off to Hunt!

And Sold!

I'm at home right now and Micah is asleep so its the perfect time for an update. Micah is still growing at a 100mph. Some of the parenting websites a glance at from time to time informed me that around the 1 year mark babies tend to go through a separation anxiety stage. Of all the stage that Micah has gone through, let me just say that this is probably the most annoying one. Yes my son,  you are so annoying right now. I love my little guy but it seems like I can't set him down for a second without him crying and going into a tantrum. Hey buddy, how about I'm going to get you a snack. Micah has also started taking his first true steps which is awesome and worrying at the same time. I don't know how we'll manage to keep up with him.

No don't leave me!!

All the baby sign language that we taught Micah is working great. It is definitely helping him in communicating himself with us. He is starting to also point at things and grunt or mumble to let us know he wants it. That gives us a great opportunity to say the name of whatever item it is and teach him to talk. He has already said certain words other than the usual mama , dada. The other day he called out for my dad and yelled "Abuelo!'.

Now that he is a year old the Doctor has given us the ok for different foods that Micah can now eat. Real Milk, Honey, etc. He's been doing great and hasn't found a food he won't eat. He still makes sure to save a small portion of whatever is on the menu so he can hand feed the dogs. Now that he is drinking real milk, I've now learned how disgusting real milk smells when vomitted. A couple nights ago, I woke up to Micah struggling to breath and immediately woke up to check on him. He was fine but had thrown up a zippy cup of milk he had drank a few hours earlier. I don't know how but it came out in chunks, almost as if it was turning into cheese inside of him (ok sorry, that was TMI). So we bathed him, and washed all his sheets and clothes thinking that was the end of it. Well the next day the sitter told us he wasn't eating and had thrown up as described a few sentences ago. Well that night we went to our bible study and had sat him down on my lap when I smelled throw up milk from the night before. So I grabbed a couple wipes and cleaned his mouth and hands and handed him off to Laura. That's when I noticed that my pant leg was wet but it was too late by that point and Laura had sat him down on her lap. It was coming out of both ends on this little dude.

All of that got me thinking about how much a parent truly spends on their children. Not just the direct expenses like formula, milk, diapers, clothes...... But also indirect expenses, like baby proofing, Special shampoos, and now dry-cleaning for my dirty pants. I know its a lot in the long run. Kinda makes you appreciate your parents more.

Sometimes When I stay home and watch Micah I take him to a play area at a Mall nearby. I know its a little germ fest but it would be good for Micah to socialize and more importantly tire himself out.  Micah is a very social baby. Much more than others in fact. When he meets other babies and toddlers he likes to reach out and play. I just learned that when first meeting other babies he has to be carefully supervised. I was watching him reach out to another baby today and smiled at the scene of him being friendly. Then had to run and stop him from slapping the other baby ....... repeatedly. Hey, but the other baby took it like a champ. He's gotta a bright future ahead of him as a punching bag.

On a brighter note, Just wanted to let everyone know that our house in under contract. Laura and I had just talked about how right now is probably a bad time to sell a house because no one is buying or looking for houses since we're in the holiday season. But later that day I got a call from our agent telling us we had a great offer. The home inspection was done today so I'm guessing we'll be working out the details about what we need to do. This is the first house we've owned and sold so I really nervous about the next few steps. The house is in great shape other than a few details here and there but its nerve wrecking to get a home inspection done thats going to throw all the imperfections you weren't previously aware of in your face. Hopefully its nothing to major. I know obviously that no Home seller wants to lose more money on repairs for a house they're wanting to vacate and a home buyer will try to get everything move in ready so Im curious to know what the report finds. With this in mind, Can any of you share any thoughts and experiences on what a Home seller should fix? Or if you've found yourself in a similar situation drop some advice!

Whoops

Whoops, I guess I should update this Blog, huh? Between working, keeping up with a growing infant, I've totally neglected this blog. Well here goes. Let me catch you all on on what has happened in the since the last time we talked. Last update I wrote about how Micah was starting to crawl. It's been about 5 months since the last update and he is crawling faster than ever. He stands and table walks but is having a hard time picking up and walking on his own. I know its all mental because I've caught him free standing at times but when he realizes what he's doing his legs happen to give out.  Even though he's not walking I'm ok with it because I have a hard enough time keeping up with him as it is.

Micah speaks a few words here and there. The normal babble, Da-Da, Ma-ma, leche. He is doing great with his baby sign language. He signs milk, food, more, done, dogs and a few other ones. He knows how to play the game. He started feeding himself a few weeks ago but also learned to share with the dogs in the process. The dogs turn into coyotes ready to scavenge a meal whenever we sit Micah down in his feeding chair. The little guy makes sure to evenly portion his meals so the dogs get their share. It's so annoying but makes my job a little easier because the dogs can probably clean the floors better than I can.


Just this week we decided to put our house on the market. We have a good amount of equity built up where we can sell it and hopefully pay off the majority of a smaller house outisde of the city. Ideally we want something more secluded with a little piece of land in the woods somewhere. I've had some bad experiences this past year with my HOA. I know they do good keeping the crazy neighbors from parking on the grass, burning bonfires that can be seen from the highway and keep your neighbor from starting a farm on his quarter acre of land. But guess what I realized? I want to park on my grass, have a huge bonfire and let chickens loose on my land. Not that I've done that ....... yet, but some of the happiest years of my childhood were on my grandfathers farm. Realistically speaking I'm not visualizing a big red barn with cows, horses and silos but just a small patch of land in the woods where the little guy and his dad can camp out in the back yard is all I want. Aside from that, we have a great opportunity to pay off a new property and for Laura to go part time or be a stay at home mom. What better childhood could we offer Micah than to always have his mom and dad at home to care for him.

I just want to share an awesome video of an awesome dad. I took up hunting last year in search of a father-son activity for Micah and I to share. I started late last year. Just a few weeks after Micah was born but instantly fell in love with the sport. I've yet to fill a tag but don't care because when I'm sitting in a tree stand and the breeze blows and rattles the leaves and the squirrels run from tree to tree getting ready for winter I feel so relaxed and happy. I'm sure that I've probably missed a few chances to shoot a deer while I've fallen asleep in a stand. Yeah' that's how relaxing it is. I drive an hour and change to go take a nap in a tree stand. Either way, I cant wait until Micah gets older so he can tag along.

Hi Everyone! Remember this Blog?

Hi guys. I know its been forever since I last updated this blog. I literally have about 6 drafts that I had started in the last 3 months but never finished. So much has happened since the last update, I don't even know where to start. Micah is growing so fast and there is no stopping him. He's now going on 8 months and it's hard to believe that hes been with us the better part of a year.

About a month ago he started to crawl and the best part was I was home to see it! That initiated a campaign to baby proof the house and I came to the realization that my house is an accident waiting to happen. Now that he is aware of his new abilities, he refuses to be sat on anyone's lap. He's too cool for school. Not to mention that his teeth are coming in one after the other. So we've now introduced him to solid foods in return  he has now introduced us to solid poops. Changing diapers has a totally new meaning now that he is started solids.

During the few weeks that his teeth were starting to come through, Micah went through a regression with his sleep cycle. He went from sleeping all night to waking up every 2 hours, crying hysterically. No matter what the experts say and all the products that exist there is no real remedy to eliminate teething pain. Some might soothe it temporarily but not for long. The funny thing is the way we handled those weeks. Compared to our first 2 months of parenthood we were rock stars. Laura and I had this conversation, if we could some how travel 6 months back in time and talk to newly parents Adrian and Laura ; how much easier those first few months would have been. While Micah was teething we just knew what to do and had so much patience.

When Micah was a a few weeks old I started a game that I thought was hilarious. When I would move in to give him a kiss, he would turn his head and bite my nose thinking it was a bottle. So I jumped on this with my twisted sense of humor and trick him into biting my nose when he was hungry. Once he would get mad I would calm him down and then do it all over again while I chuckled. Not thinking about the consequences of our little game, Micah now has the last laugh because now that he has teeth my game is not funny anymore.

Where's my hair?

Hey guys, How's everyone doing? Micah hit the 3 month mark this month and the parent life is pretty good. I've read in different places that the 3 month mark is a milestone because your baby falls into a routine and will begin to sleep and eat better. Micah is doing that for the most part. He has been sleeping for at least a good  5 hours straight, occasionally waking up once for a quick diaper change or feeding. Our schedules have changed alot. For the 3 of us. Laura is getting used to working full-time again. I'm sure this is probably the biggest change. She is working on going part-time in the next couple months. We're hoping that everything will work out.

            Micah is getting used to others taking care of him. We've been so fortunate to have family to watch Micah while were working. My mom watches him 1-2 days a week, one of my aunts takes care of him -1-2 days a week and I have reduced my hours at my part-time to be able to take care of him once during the work week. Keeping up with this schedule is pretty time consuming. It requires alot of preparation. We have to get his clothes and diaper bag ready at night. We now have to wake up earlier to get him whoever is taking care of him and still be able get to work on time. Blah blah blah..... It's not that bad. It's all part of being a parent. 

        My days with Micah are awesome. I enjoy almost every minute of it. We have our good and bad moments. Yesterday I had to take the dogs to the vet for their vaccines. So I got everyone ready early and we were off. Micah fell asleep on the way their and was calm all the way home until I walked through the door with him in one hand and the dogs in the other. He must have figured he had given me long enough of a break and started to squirm in his car seat. It's all good. I got this. I look down at my watch and see it's time for him to eat. I got this. We always change his diaper right before he eats so he'll eat more comfortably. I took off his little pants and felt the back of his chubby little knee was wet. At first I thought it was sweat since it was a little warm and he had a blanket on. But I looked down at my hand and saw it was green , and it wasn't sweat, and his diaper wasn't sealed on right, and now the bed sheets were dirty because I had laid him on the bed to change him instead of his changing station, and now I was gagging.  

Yea it was gross.

Confused and Worried....

I've written about Micah's hair before. It's so long and it keeps growing. I used to say to myself that I wouldn't cut it until it got ridiculously long. That was before I actually met Micah. I never realized he was going to have so much hair. Most babies are pretty much bald or have little hair. The funny thing about Micah's hair is that it is about the same length all around. From the back to the front to the sides. I couldn't even see his ears. And that Mullet, Oh that Mullet! That thing was creeping down his back. So enough was enough. We decided (I decided, Laura wanted to let it keep growing) to cut it. I did it all with scissors and cut mostly the sides. It was pretty special. his first haircut, and we took plenty of pictures. He started off worried, then cried and after it was done and over he was pretty grumpy. He normally reaches up for the hair above his ears and twiddles it once he is starting to go to sleep. That night he reached for it and it was gone. He had a somewhat confused look on his face like where's my hair? How am I supposed to get to sleep? He looks like such a little grown up now. Like a little latino Benjamin Button.

Get off me! Im gonna put you in a home when you get old!!!

Me llamo Benjamin Boton.

Stop it, I'm trying to be mad at you.

Micah has so much personality at such a young age. Everyday he's becoming more and more vocal with us. Anyone who walks into the room is met with starring eyes and smiles. If I hold him while his mom is next to me, he stares at her and coos while dropping his body weight towards her. Yea I think he likes her more than me. Or he's just always hungry and knows that she's the provider of milk. It's my fault though. While Laura was off of work, 6 of the weeks she took off were unpaid and I worked too much during that time to help supplement our income. I don't mind though. I'm glad Laura got to take all the time off available to care for Micah his first 3 months.

I did stay home and take care of him for the first time last Thursday. I'd never been alone with him for more than a few hours. I know that sounds bad but with me working 24 hours shifts and at a part-time job on my days away from the firehouse, I've missed out on a few things. The day wasn't that bad, it actually went pretty smooth! I was really expecting the worst; him screaming at the top of his lungs or refusing to eat. He was great! I tried to stay to a schedule, woke him up every 2 and a half hours to change his diaper and tried to feed him before he got fussy. He would eat and play with his hands for a little bit and then go right back to sleep. I even had enough time to get some chores done around the house and get him dressed to go have lunch with Mommy. When we got back, I read a little, played a little Xbox, and even started dinner. I felt like a stay at home dad and it was pretty cool. I could get used to that.

Dramatization

I've made mention to it a few times, But Micah is a very fussy eater. He's almost bipolar with his meals. Sometimes he eats with no problem, other times he acts like were trying to feed him something off bizarre foods. He'll sit there and spit out everything we give him. At first we thought it was nipple confusion (something I read about babies refusing to breast feed because the bottle is easier) Nope, Micah is just fussy. Almost as if he wants to flex his baby muscle and remind us whose in charge. Well he's not. Daddy ain't having it. After my wife finishes nursing him, if he's still a little hungry or if he starts getting fussy, we'll supplement with a little bit of formula from a bottle to top him off. Sometimes he wants to keep being fussy, he's hungry but wants to fussy too. He'll kick and scream and through a little fit. I'll raise my voice and say "Hey, stop! Drink your milk and stop being a brat!" Sometime's we'll go through this routine at 3 am. Now here's where things get funny. He starts his fit, I raise my voice, then he starts to smile at me while I'm holding the bottle in his mouth. I can't stay upset at this little guy and he knows it.

So here's my first official review of a product .....

The Medela Calma Bottle. It sucks. The purpose of this bottle is to help babies transition smoothly from the Bottle back to Breast-feeding. The milk only releases when the baby creates a vacuum so it imitates the natural feeding process. The bottle is priced anywhere from 17.99 to 24.99 (24.99 at BabiesR'Us where we got ours at). We bought ours around the month and a half mark out of a little despair. Laura wanted to continue nursing Micah naturally, but he fought us every step of the way. He only wanted the bottle, So when we saw a bottle that would help us transition back to nursing we were on it! And it cost 24.99 so it had to work! The bottle is called the Calma bottle! It's supposed to Calm! It doesn't. It worked for about 1 day. After that the milk release was constant, too much in fact. Micah almost choked on all the milk. After a few washes, the bottle starts to leak and over flows. So there went that.

"Micah quiere leche de mami!"

Hello Everyone! Remember me and this blog? I know it's been a while since I last updated but I've been a little busy with a newborn baby and what not. I would love to say that we have the hang of this. But we don't completely. I say this in a humorous way because when my wife or I are up at night and switching bottles because Micah refuses to eat out of anything we give him, or when I change his diaper right after having just changed it, and after all that realize he's pooped again, or when he cries because he loves being in his parent's arms and hates his bassinet, I think about how I was as a baby and the loud sleepless nights I gave my parents. From all the stories I have heard of me as a child , I understand completely why Micah is a little troublemaker at times. When my sister was being  born, my parents left me under my aunt and uncle's care. I guess I must have missed my parents because I am told that I cried and cried like there was no tomorrow. So in a last ditch effort to quiet me, my uncle put me in a closet and closed the door. Now I know that sounds cruel and you won't find that kind of parenting advice in the books but I'm sure I was being a brat. So I had been in the closet for a few minutes when I go quiet. My Uncle came back to check on me and found me peeing in all of his shoes. True Story. So whenever I feel frustrated I smile because I know. I know this is my son (if you dont believe me, check out the picture below) and I will give him the same love and patience that I was given. (By my parents, not my uncle.)

Now please don't misunderstand me and think that we're losing it over here. We are enjoying every bit of being parents. Micah is so alert. I play games with him where I kiss his nose and make little noises and when I come off he smiles and coos. Sometimes I just talk to him and ask him how his day was and if he gave mommy a hard time while I was away. He responds and coos little noises and expressions like he is trying to tell me what he did that day. I've read that most things just click and fall into place around the 3 month mark and that seems to be the case. At times he still gets a little fussy when I feed him but it's only for a few seconds and then he just drains the bottle. He's sleeping longer too! Last night I think we got a good 5 and a half hours of sleep. I know that sounds like a stupid thing to get excited over but you have to remember that he normally wakes up about 3 times to eat or needing a diaper change. It felt so good but I couldn't enjoy it because I kept waking up wondering if he was ok because he hadn't woke me up first.

Around this time we were expecting Micah's hair to fall out since that what everyone told us would happen. Not the case with this little guy. His hair looks like its here to stay. It's getting so long that if I trimmed the sides a bit he'd go straight mullet. I'm tempted to do it for the laughs but then I'd come home to him driving a John Deere tractor, in a camo cut-off t-shirt and bottle filled with budlight in his hand.

Then again, Joe Dirt was a funny movie...

Laura and I have decided to talk to Micah in Spanish as a primary language until he gets older. We figured that he will learn English eventually through school, his friends and tv but we don't want him to forget or not pick up Spanish. We're also trying to teach him a little Sign Language. Laura's sister is deaf so Laura learned how to sign to communicate with her. I only know enough to ask "What's your name?" and that's it, at that point I would probably have to hand the person I signed to, a letter apologizing for wasting their time. I got the idea to teach Micah Sign language from a video I saw on youtube. The link is below. Its amazing what an infants mind is capable of. According to some information I read, the baby probably would sign back until the 6-9 month mark but we should start teaching him as soon as possible. If I'm not mistaken, In deaf culture, a deaf person has to give you your deaf name in sign. The sign is normally a mix between the first letter of your first name and quality or characteristic you have. Laura's sister has given us all our names. Mine for example is the letter in A in sign and a brush against the side of my head as if I was putting on glasses. Laura's is the letter L while she signs cute which is a flick of her chin with the her index finger. Micah's is pretty cool. It's the letter M coming away from my eye representing his long eye lashes. You can see me signing to him in the video below.

Laura has done an awesome job in her new role as mommy. She can tell the difference between his cries and knows what each one means. In a few days she will exchange her role as stay at home mommy and get back to the work grind. Staying at home has not been a vacation for her. I sometimes thought to myself that she had it good, being able to stay home and "play" with Micah. "Play" ha, it wasn't until I actually took care of him by myself while she went out grocery shopping that I realized there was no playing involved. I was quickly calling her up, wondering how far out she was because I couldn't get Micah to stop crying. All joking aside, Baby, you have done a wonderful job these past couple months taking care of Micah while I'm at work and away from home. I know it wasn't a vacation and it was hard at times but you've stuck through it and now Micah is a momma's boy because of it. Thanks. I wuv you.

Hello everyone

Hello everyone, it's been almost a month since my last update. There is way too much that has gone on to update everyone on all the details but ill try. Micah came home the Friday after entering the NICU.  We we so excited to be able to bring him home. Up until that point I felt as if I was babysitting a baby in the hospital. I know that sounds awful but please remember that we were planning on being able to go home the night of the birth and were thrown off guard having to spend a week at a hospital, interacting with nurses and doctors, and sleeping on a horrible hospital bed that was probably designed by chiropractors to promote business. 

Once we came home everything clicked! I was a dad, Laura was a mom and we were parents. I found myself staring at him while he slept, observing his every breath. This was my baby boy! Everyday when the swelling in his face would go down a little more, we could see more of each of us in him.

Now there are two things that most people told me about having kids that I heard repeatedly. One, was that having a baby would take you to a level of love that you cannot describe and have never experienced. The parent to child love would be one that cannot be compared to another. Two, was that having a baby would literally consume all of your time and energy. I was excited to experience the new love that I heard so much about but was really skeptical of the time consuming part of caring for a child. I knew it would require a lot, but how much? Now that we are in our new roles as parents, I can safely say all of it. I took a little more than a month off total from the fire department to stay home and care for Micah and I thought I would have done so much more. I figured I could knock out a couple of things off my to-do list like re-caulk the bathrooms, go to some doctors appointments that I have been putting off, touch up some walls, and so on. All I pretty much got to do was go to the doctors. Both Laura and I have been so busy, or at least it feels like it because we're so sleep deprived. What is sleep for that matter? It's been so long since we got a full nights rest. Micah started off the first few weeks, waking up every 3-4 hours to eat or have his diaper changed. But that quickly changed to about every hour on the hour and that's nights too. The pediatrician told us that it was normal and it was due to a growth spurt. So that lasted about 4 days straight and it was rough. Im used to getting up at night, we run probably an average of 3 calls every night at my firehouse with each call lasting 30 minutes to an hour, but day after day took it's toll on us. One night about 3 in the morning I was holding Micah while Laura prepped herself to nurse. I normally lay him flat on my chest and pat his back or his butt to help ease him while he waits impatiently (just like his dad). I ended leaning back and fell asleep with him on my chest. I didn't realize that at some point I handed him to Laura so she could feed him and laid on my back,  patting my chest thinking he was still on there. Laura just laughed and said "he's not on your Chest anymore!"

Micah is pretty fussy when he doesn't get his way. He does an escalating level of shrieks when we don't give in or don't satisfy his demands. For example he hates his bassinet, or better said the act of being placed in it. When he's asleep ill sometimes place him in there and I can get a few things done but once he wakes up and realizes where he is at, he shakes his hands wide and out and yells to be picked up. The same thing goes for his feeding. We go back and forth between bottle feeding and nursing and he lost total interest in nursing. The milk comes easily and without effort from the bottle, while he has to actually do some work when he is nurse fed. When he couldn't latch on right, he would 

Shake his head and make a funny, angry goat noise. He lost that battle and is nursing fine now.

He loves to be held and although it is sometimes inconvenient and tiring, someone told me today that I need to take advantage while he still wants to be held. This is true and I see the realization of the fact that he is growing everyday. He has jumped up in diaper and onesie sizes and is becoming more and more alert everyday. This is where that love that only a parent would understand. Even though we are tired and sleepy all the time (made evident by bags under our eyes) we are enjoying every minute of parenthood. 

Call me the swaddle king

Hey everyone, I'm super bored right now.  Laura is up and about and Micah is getting better. We've been given the ok to nurse Micah. It took her a while to finally get him to latch but thanks to that awesome nurse who has been caring for Micah he's nursing like a pro, if for some reason it were some type of profession. Laura and I both spent the night at the hospital last night so she could feed him every 3 hours. We got news today that Micah should finish his last round of antibiotics on Friday evening and will be discharged right after. That's great news! No one wants to be in a hospital longer than needed.

Let me just add that Micah is the perfect little baby boy. I know he has just been in our lives for a few days but amazingly he is not a cryer! He cries a little when he is being bothered like when we change his diaper, and take his temperature but as soon as we finish he stops and that's pretty much it. When he wants to let us know that he needs something he just lets out a series of little baby grunts. Kind of like he wants to establish a new form of communication that only we know and understand. Once I learn it, I'll be able to teach the dogs and we'll be set.

Since this whole trip caught us totally off guard we were totally unprepared. We had a few changes of clothes, and that's pretty much it. After the second day at the hospital we knew we were going to have to make a trip back home. We needed clothes, snacks, and some kind of entertainment. So early this morning around 7 am we made a quick trip home for a quick grab and go to be back in time to feed Micah. Let me just say I have the best family in the world! All of them (led by my sister) got the house ready for our arrival. They were apparently hoping  we would be discharged today and knocked out a some house chores I'd been meaning to tackle for a few weeks/days. They changed the air filters, washed some clothes, set up the pack&play, and even hid the cables running down the wall-mounted tv in the living room. Seriously, THEY HID THE CABLES!!! That's just amazing. I wanted to go back and sneak Micah back home.

I love them all. I would never tell them directly because my family doesn't show those weaknesses, but I do love them.

So I'm having a conversation with my brother; updating him on Micah and he asks "So did you give him the "snip snip" down there?" I didn't understand him at first but once I did said "Oooooohhhh, not yet dude, I don't know, what do you think?" As if leaving the fate of my son's prepuce for my brother to decide. He says "I don't know dude, let him be like the Europeans, just free-ranging it." I have no idea what that meant but then he adds "He'll be just like Gerard Butler!". By this point, I'm just plain confused and say "How does this have anything to do with Gerard Butler?" He says "Well he's European, and the girls like him. They also like the guys from One Direction." And that ladies and gentlemen is a typical conversation with my brother. 

Free-ranginn, ya hear me?  FREE-RANGING!

And just to end on a positive note, I am now the self proclaimed swaddle king. I've been steadily observing the nurses swaddle and I now can swaddle Micah into the most beautiful cocoon. I just have to be careful that I don't swaddle him to perfectly that he stays in there, grows wings, and then flys away forever. 

Stuck in the NICU.

Hey ya'll it's Paula Deen! I actually don't know why I wrote that. We're stuck in the NICU with Micah in a very country area so Laura says that I've been talking in a country accent for some reason. I was reading over my last post this morning and proof reading some errors when I realized that I didn't really write much about Micah. It might get a little graphic, so if your grossed out by the human anatomy then you might want to grow up. 

I had read sometime ago that a baby's skull is actually in peices and when they're born they're heads are shaped like cones so they don't destroy their mommy's while coming out. Well during Laura birth, as she was pushing the top of his little cone head was coming out and I remember thinking that Micah was going to be a small little thing. I was even worried that he was a bit premature; he was so small. But once his head came out I was like "whoa!" As soon as he was pulled out, the midwives places him on Laura for the skin to skin contact with him mom and that ms when everyone cried. Laura mentioned that at that moment the pain disapeared and she just want to hold him to her. After a few minutes he was cleaned a little, weighed and measure. He was 8.2 lbs and 21 inches long. Micah has so much hair! Most people who have seen his picture comment on that first thing. This kid is ready for his first hair cut and a trip to the barber shop for a straight blade shave. He has the sideburns I waited until I was about 14 to grow in. 

He definitely has my nose and mouth. But we're not sure on the eyes. He's still a little swollen so they might change. I think he might have his mommy's squinty eyes. What do you guys think?

I mentioned in my last post that he had inhaled a little bit of meconium resulting in needing to be transported to a NICU in hickory. Meconium stays in the lungs and has to be absorbed by the body. Its toxic so they told us he would have to have either a 2 day or 7 day round of antibiotics depending on his recovery time. Micah is making very good progress and has brought his respiratory rate down significantly, it's still high but better. His doesn't need any oxygen assistance anymore so we were optimistic. Well today the doctors informed us that because of his still high respiratory rate and after looking at X-rays of his lungs they saw that he still has some dark spots in certain areas that they would like to monitor and treat him for 7 days. He's better and hasn't developed a respiratory infection but more antibiotics and monitoring won't hurt. Another great sign if progress is that Laura can now feed him. Before he was getting all his nutrients through an IV. But now were working trying to breast feed him or should I say Laura is, I'm not breast feeding anyone. The nurse attending us at night has been a blessing! She is a great person all together. They're all great but you can tell in the details that this one cares. We stepped out to eat and she didn't know if we were coming back so she gave him his first little bath and had him swaddled and sleeping when we came back. Anyways I'll keep you guys updated of any new news. I'll have plenty of time since we'll be here until next Saturday. Anyone have any good netflix suggestions?

At last!

So after 41 weeks of pregnancy, Micah is finally here. What an amazing array of emotions labor is. I've never gone from feeling so sad and helpless to happy and ecstatic and then back to disappointed and helpless. Let me explain.

First off, I literally had about 3 or 4 unpublished post that I never finished. They made for a good read but are kinda obsolete now considering that Micah is here. One talked about home renovations and feelings of impatience, another one talked about Micah being the last baby standing or in another words being the only one of a group of babies due at the same time to not be born and About getting my jump bag ready. I probably mentioned something about impatience there too. 

The last few weeks were so hectic and suspenseful that I could never finish a blog post. The due date came and went while we sat there twiddling our thumbs. But finally Thursday morning Laura woke me up saying "I don't want to freak you out or anything but I've had 4 strong contractions about 15 min apart." They weren't too painful so she called her midwife and was told to call if they got more frequent and or painful. They didn't, So I went to work that day checking my phone every 10 seconds waiting for "the call" that never came. The contractions would die down and become further apart so we knew something was going to happen but just didn't know when. I took Laura on a few walks to the mall and Ikea to try and hurry along any signs of pregnancy. The next morning Laura woke me up to tell me that she was having really painful 1 minute contraction about every 10 minuntes. Painful enough to wake her up from her sleep. Just to make sure it wasnt another false alarm she got up and showered while I packed the car. The contractions continued and each one seemed to be stronger than the one before. I decided to make our way to the birthing center and if she wasnt ready to be admitted, at least we would be in the vecinity of the center in case THINGS GOT REAL.

I think I forgot to mention before that we decided to switch our birthing facility from Carolina Maternity Center in Ft. Mill to Natural Begginings in Statesville. CMC had their licensed revoked for reasons still under investigation and we had to find somewhere else to deliver. The facility in Statesville was 40 minutes away from our house on a good day, on a bad one, about an hour and a half. Heading up there around 8:15, up I-77N on a friday, at the beginning of a  workday? I was preparing for the worst traffic and was shocked to not have to stop at all! We made it there in about 40 min and I quickly walked Laura in to get measured. She was dialated at 3cm. There I learned that they would like for you to be 4-5 cm dialated to be admitted, 6-7 if you want to try to contract in a birthing pool, and 10 to start pushing. This was all aroud 9 am. This midwife recommended we go have breakfast, than go for a walk at a park or a mall then come back later when it got hard to walk. There was a mall about a mile away with an IHOP so we figured we would kill to birds with one stone. I ate my breakfast fine but looked up to see that my poor wife could barely take a bite out of her food, not because of the contractions but to nerves. I was fine though, I looked across the table and said....

After we were done we walked around the mall for about another 2 hours, where we met with my in-laws. Around that time the contractions got painful to the point that's Laura could not walk anymore. So we decided to make our way back to the birthing center. After another measurment Laura was 4.5 cm dialated and was admitted. We chose a birthing room and settled in, preparing for what was to come. I walked around putting our gamplan into play, lighting lavender oils, and texting friends and family to let them know we were getting ready for the big day. By now the time was around 12:30 pm.

Now what happened over the next lets say 8 hours is pretty much a blur. To pretty much sum it up let's just say that laura switched to various positions while she contracted every 2-3 minutes. Her friend, Sister and I took turns holding her hand and rubbing her lower back trying to soothe the pain while each contraction got stronger and over-powering. Now I like to think I have a sense of humor and I like to make jokes on this blog hoping to pull a chuckle from all of you but on a serious note. Every man I've ever talked to has said that he broke down and cried when their wife gave birth. I don't cry. I probably have not shed a tear in about a good 15 years.So going into this I had a mind set of "Challenge Accepted!" I felt I wasn't going to cry. And I did pretty good up until about the 8th hour of  her being admitted. Her and I were sitting in a dark bathroom. I was holding her hand while her contractions kept coming minute after minute without letting up. Just as one would mellow out and a stronger one would take its place she cried "No, no, no, just make it stop. I don't think I can do this anymore." And right at the moment she opened her eyes for a brief second, looked at me and said " Baby, just make the pain go away..." That pierced me deep and I looked down and away while my eyes instantly watered and teared. A few hours later while she was on her back and finally pushing she would push and make progress, but the physical and mental exhaustion beyond what anyone could handle. She would put her head back and say "I can't anymore, I just can't". But somehow she mustered up the stregnth for one more push, and then one more after that.

In both those occasions the feeling of being absolutely helpless ate at me. I make a living by fixing peoples problems. One fire captain once said that when firefighters show up and you dont know what your problem is, We'll make one for you just so we can fix it! So finding myself in a situation where I could do nothing at all to fix the problem, and worse for the person whose it mattered the most killed me. So Yea, I shed some tears, a few but they were there. If you Sir don't or didn't she's any at the birth of your child then I want to shake your hand and ask you more about what it's like to have no heart.

The whole labour surprised me in many ways. The experience as a whole is nothing like what I imagined. And the moment Micah was born there was not a dry eye in the room. My wife was amazing. She pulled of a 15 hour natural labour. Deep down inside, I imagined her weak pain tolerance would make her change her mind fast about going natural but she carried on through it like a champ. Other people's reaction's were pretty surprising too. My Sister in law and one of Laura's best friends were of great support. Wether it was holding her hand, fetching towels and rubbing her back they were on it. I honestly thought that (and please dont hate me you two) they would be an overwhelming nusiance. But they did great. My sister and My mom pulled it together too. My sister refused to go into the birthing room once the pushing started because she refused to see Laura naked because the labours she's seen have apparently been carried out in victorian dresses. 

Okay Dutchesses, PUSH PUSH PUSH!!!

But she came through for us and cheered Laura through! My Mom was sitting outside the birthing room, hearing all the screams and would occasionally send me a text asking how everything was going. After about an hour and her thinking that the labour wasn't progressing, she sent me another text saying "You need me to come in there?" I replied "Yea sure if your not scared of Vaginas". Her reply was and I kid you not "I'm Strong and Laura needs someone strong to encourage her!" and as I was reading the text, she busted the door down and Encouraged. I guess she couldn't sit back and watch all is weaklings sit there with our weak voices try to motivate.

Everyone played a major role and I am thankful for everyone who text us and were thinking of us. Even if I couldnt respond, thank all of you.

As Micah was coming out , He seemed to have swallowed some Meconium (look it up). Which seemed to be affecting his Oxygen saturation levels and his breathing rate. The Midwives had a hard time suctioning out his air way and decided it was best to have him transported to a NICU to be monitored for a a lung infection and or Pneumonia. As of now its precautionary and he is being put on a 24 hour round of anti-biotics. Depending on his improvement he could be cleared to leave or if an infection develops he could have to stay for a 7 day round of anti-biotics. The average discharge time for at the Birthing center is 4-6 hours after birth and thats what we were looking forward to. The realization of having to spend 48 hours to 7 days in a hospital is very disappointing. But I guess that's life (Get it? The Cornbread joke earlier? Life?). We're just going to have to take it one diaper at a time.

The last baby standing.

First off, just want to say sorry for not keeping everyone up to date these past few weeks/months (I've completely lost track on where we left off). Since my last post the pregnancy has reached what has felt like a standstill. Everyone says that the final months are the longest. You know the baby is coming and the days on the calendar are marked off one by one, but the progress seems so delayed! The house is littered with pack and plays, strollers, and baby onsies so I know we're getting close but I feel so far. This is where that patience thing I was working on comes in handy. As it stands now we are 11 days away. I feel like those commercials "It's our baby and we want it now!"

Micah is now the last baby standing or should I say swimming. Since the beginning of the pregnancy I came in touch with friends and family that were also due around the same time as us. And all have given birth already while we sit hear and watch. The friends that announced their pregnancy the same week we discovered ours, received their baby boy at the end of September. My wife's cousin in NY had hers last Wednesday. A firefighter buddy of mine whose little girl was due the same week as ours just had theirs last night. Meanwhile Micah is taking his sweet time.

My mom and sister through a mustache themed baby shower, full of corny and embarrassing games, gifts, and great friends. I was super happy to see all the support from friends and family. Seeing all of them there to support us, assures me that everything is going to be just fine. Our friends bought us alot of the stuff we needed on our registry. With the exception of a few things here and there, were set and ready to go. 

 

The nursery is complete with the exception of a few decorations that we'd like to set up but are nonessential. Now I need to start getting a jump on a few things like a jump bag with all the essentials for when my wife goes into labor. Until then, send me some lives on candy crush because this game is kicking my butt.

A Butternut Squash!

 Hey everyone, Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. The pregnancy seemed to have taken a standstill for a bit but now has us busier than ever. Micah is now the size of a Butternut Squash and weighs somewhere around 3-4 lbs. We are pretty much counting down the days until arrives. The Baby Momma is doing good. Although she was having cramps running down one side of her leg, which she read was a common thing for women this far along in the pregnancy. Her midwife recommended some baby safe supplements and problem solved. This summer has been great to us. I've always heard that summer pregnancies suck and had this one been planned we would have tried to avoid the summer at all cost but there really haven't been many days over 90 degrees and hoping I don't speak too soon, summer seems to be on its way out. Here's an interesting piece of information, Studies have shown that the baby now has sleep cycles in which he could possibly even dream. Isn't that crazy? What does little Micah dream about? The strange and distant voices outside his little bubble?

The small baby bump that was easily covered and disguised is now here and making it's presence known. In about a months time, we went from people being surprised when finding out how far along my wife was to her not being able to find anything to wear. Which means several shopping trips to look for Maternity clothes. That's whole 'nother subject that I don't want to get into too deep, but Maternity clothes is ridiculously expensive!!! Maybe its just me because I'm used to finding my clothes in the clearance racks or in my brother's room when I casually raid his closet, but seriously guys! Talk about taking advantage of someone in a tough spot. At the end of the day it is business, but I still imagine a group of evil business men and fashion designers gathered around a large conference table, laughing hysterically because we all fall into their traps!

And then, Once they feel fat, bloated, and can't find anything to wear
they'll have no choice but to buy our expensive clothes!


Both the wife and I took some vacation days a few weeks ago and finally got around to painting the nursery. With a little help from my sister and her husband we knocked it out in no time. It's painted a gray color with red accents. All her ideas.... from Pinterest. Once we were done with that we could move all the baby furniture inside including a big red comfy couch that I previously had no place for. I think It'll be perfect in the nursery for those up all night time when you just need a place to crash.   Once I add a T.V., my Xbox, a mini fridge, a Man Cave sign and Oh wait, nevermind ; those times are gone.

  Here's a picture below, let me know what you guys think. All its really missing is the little guy.



With the nursery somewhat complete we went ahead and registered. My wife wanted to make a registry at Target which was cool with me. Once we were there I had flashbacks of making our wedding registry. I remembered how My wife was so detailed and did alot of research on every product. The baby registry was literally the same experience. When I got a hold of the scanner, I was just looking at colors and prices. My reactions were "Ooooh, this one looks cool!" or "Ouch, that ones expensive!" while my wife was overly prepared with cut-outs of product reviews and several parenting magazines and their recommendations for what every parent needs. It's a good thing she was there to balance me out because if not, Micah, you would probably end up being swaddled in some paper towels and napkins. They'd be cool napkins though. With little firetrucks on them.

There are alot of things that people say parents "need" for their babies. I guess it's been a while since I was a baby (24 years from my estimates) but I don't remember having or needing all the things that experts list as a requirement for babies. This led to several disagreements between my wife and I. Here go some, and parents help me out if I'm wrong :

1) Wipey Warmers. A Wipey is a moist, disposable towelette that is used to clean the rear end of a baby when changing their diapers. Apparently the Baby Union was not satisfied with the way they were being changed and cleaned and decided they wanted more. Wipeys themselves were simply not enough. They had to be warmed. The Baby Union fought hard to make sure the "parenting experts" made a Wipey Warmer a necessity for every with-child household. Seriously guys. No one from my generation had one and I think most of us turned out ok, with the exception of a few.


2) Shopping Cart cover. This one was tricky. I know that Shopping Carts are some of the dirtiest things on the planet. Putting your child in one is something I plan on avoiding. Some of you may say "But Fire Daddy, (yes, I will now be refered to as Fire Daddy.) didn't you ever ride in a shopping cart as a child?" Yes, I did. At my local family grocery store where people actually took pride in cleanliness and appearance. Most places and people cared about those things back then, but now all that's gone out the window. That's not all. Think about the people who touch the grocery carts. Never noticed them? Take a trip to www.peopleofwalmart.com and get back to me. I bet you won't touch one without sanitizing first. The wife and I didn't disagree on one but  just kinda looked it over as a product that makes your child's ride in a bacteria infested seat more comfortable.

Hey do you think after we leave the Walmart we can swing by the Pediatrician's? I'm pretty sure this rash on my leg wasn't here 2 minutes ago.

http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/261194/how-dirty-your-shopping-cart

3) Rectal thermometer. Because I love my child and that's why they make digital ear thermometers.

Hey Daddy, What are you doing with that?

 4) A Baby Bullet aka a super small food processor with cute designs on it. Because it's a super small food processor with cute designs on it.

We're probably going to make another registry at Babies R' Us for the variety, so I'm sure I'll have more useless products to review. 

While I have your attention, I'd like acknowledge and thank a few people. My family, The Jimenez, and Karla. Thank you so much for all the little baby clothes and supplies you gave us. Having a baby is a life altering event that we can never be fully prepared for but your contribution and help, reminds us that it's all going to be OK because we have good friends and family like yourselves. 

An ear of corn

Hello everyone, thanks for checking in. Sorry it's been a while but it's been an eventful few weeks since I last updated the blog. Little Micah is growing and letting his presence be known. He's now the size of an ear of corn and kicks like a little Maradona. I actually felt him kick yesterday. My wife and I were laying in bed and I put my hand on her belly to see if I could randomly feel anything. And a few seconds later there was a twitch. Now I know that sounds weird but I can't think of any other word to describe it. My wife describes it like little muscle spasms. This was pretty big for me. I'd been trying to feel Micah ever since my wife said she started to feel him move. She even woke me up a few days ago at 3 in the morning, grabs my hand and places it on her belly asking if I can feel Micah kicking. I said yes and turned back around. She then asked me "Are you just saying that because you want to go back to sleep?" And I said "Yes"...... and then went back to sleep. So the fact that I felt him was pretty exciting.

Like I mentioned before, these past few weeks have been pretty busy and eventful. To start of I got promoted to the rank of Firefighter II. I still ride the back of the truck and do most of the hands on work but now with more responsibility. On our dept. a firefighter II is kind of a jack of all trades. He pretty much jumps from one position to the other depending where he is needed. He may be assigned to drive, or even ride the seat which is a fancy way of saying "playing" captain of that company for the day. And because he goes where he is needed I got some unfortunate news. I would be transferred from my station to one across town where they needed firefighter II's. When I say across town I mean it. I'm going from a station less than 5 miles from my house to one almost 35. Depending on traffic it could be anywhere from a 30 to 45 minute commute. Needless to say I wasn't excited, especially with a pregnant wife at home alone. Just the proximity brought peace of mind that if anything were to happen I would be a few minutes away. But no assignment is permanent and eventually I can make my way back to "my" station or one closer to home. And at the end of the day, I still got the best job in the world wether I'm at a station by the house or be across town. 

We also had out first appointment with the midwife. Her name is Pamala and she's super nice. She definetley created a relaxed and chill atmosphere. The day after, we had a songram done and got a 3D picture of Micah. Alot of people told me that he looks like me. He pouted the whole time ....just like his dad. I've also fixed my car dilemma. The day after we got the 3D picture, I took a ride to a Toyota dealership in Concord to test drive a 4runner. I've always trusted Toyota's and love how they hold their value longer than other vehicles. Negotiations went smooth, and I got what I wanted from my truck as a trade-in and we made it happen. Hell, even Micah helped. I was talking to the salesman and asked him to go back and tell his manager what my requirements were and he said "I don't think he'll do that!" so I took out my phone to Micah's Ultrasound picture and said "Don't do it for me, Do it for the baby!" One thing I noticed is that the salesmen still use the "leave you at the desk while they go negotiate with their managers for extended periods of time" tactic. Sorry to break it to you guys, but in the world of smartphones with internet and apps it doesnt work anymore! I dont know if they were trying to test my patience but I was relaxed. Everytime they left to play their game, I played one on my phone, or watched a video on youtube. I ended up leaving that night with a 4runner. So I can check that one off the list.

At the firehouse there's a tradition that if you get promoted you have to buy steaks for the whole crew. It's a nice way to show your appreciation to the guys that helped you move up and shed some knowledge on you, it also sets you back a pretty penny. Kind of like saying "Hey, congrats on your promotion and the raise ! Now give us that first pay check so we can eat some steaks." We all have to do it, It's tradition. But at our station it's more of a contest to see who can buy the biggest steaks. I did good this year. We had so much meat, PETA and the vegans rallied up a protest outside the station! I knew I wanted to get huge steaks but was not counting on the size of the cut that I bought. When I went to Harris Teeter, I asked if I could get some Ribeyes cut but the lady said the butcher was gone for the day and all that was available was whatever was in the pre-packaged meat section or behind the display counters. I didn't even bother with the Pre-packaged section because I had a statement to make. So I asked how much one from behind the glass would cost me. She said "Oh you don't want those. That's the kind of steak that men buy when they want to show off to their buddies at a cook-out!". I looked her straight in the eye and said "I'll take 5." No kidding, each one was at least an inch and a half thick. I pretty much bought everyone their own cow Jk. Throw in some sauteed parmesan green beans, a sweet potato, and Oh were they delicious. I guess you could say it was my last attempt to get the Battalion Chief to pull some strings and tell me I could stay at my station. Tough nuggies, I'm still leaving. Once he thanked me and told me that it was one of the best steaks he'd had in his life, I told him there was another one in it for him if he got me back in the future!

Ain't that the truth!

Changing the subject and tone, I'm sure many of you have heard of the 19 firefighters that lost their lives in Arizona a few days ago. What a tragedy! Next to 9/11 that's the second highest firefighter LODD (line of duty death) in US history. I believe I read somewhere that their average age was 28. Most of them were husbands and fathers. One of them left behind a pregnant wife. She was 7 months pregnant with their first child. That one hit me pretty hard. It's always sad to hear and my condolences go out to all the families of the 19 firefighters and to those affected.

A Pomengranate

Little baby Micah is now the size of a pomegranate and weighs about a pound. My wife feels her baby bump but it's not really showing. We find ourselves having to show people a picture of the ultra-sound to convice them that we're not playing a joke on them when we tell them Laura's prego. But everyonce in a while something happens that lets us know there's still a growing baby in there somwhere. For example, the other morning my wife woke me up to show me her belly, it was literally bulging on the left, It was a little bulge but it was noticable. I guess she had slept to one side and her uterus creeped down and stayed there for a bit. It was pretty weird but kinda cool too. And guess who's had some foot swelling? Yea, it's Laura. It doesn't happen alot but we've noticed it especially after a long day of her standing at work. One of the Pregnancy forums I keep up with said the best thing a daddy can do is massage his baby momma's feet. So I guess I'm gonna have to go buy some scented lotions for the next swelling episode.

I'll just pretend these are my dog's ears.....Whose a good boy?!?!?

Here's the coolest thing that blew my mind. Today, June 20th, 2013, Laura felt Micah moving. She said she felt it around lunch time. Just a little wiggle, but it was out of the blue. It wasnt expected. At first she said it was random and kept doing what she was doing but she felt it again a few hours later. How awesome is that? I can't wait to put my hand on her belly and feel Micah kick.

I mentioned in my last post that we we're gonna take a tour of a Maternity Center. Well we did, and we we're definately impressed. First of all the Midwives had a extensive experience in the medical field. Most of the them got into Midwifery after long careers as Nurses in the delivery room or the ER. As Midwives many of them have delivered 400+ babies. They're trained to spot any signs of complications. There is a hospital nearby and an ambulance service at throwing distance if needed. Another thing we liked was the atmosphere of the rooms and facility. These weren't ordinary delivery rooms. They were all out suites with king sized beds, showers and tubs that just put me at ease. I've been inside hospitals hundreds of times and the rooms, the staff, and the thought of having my wife hooked up to a bunch of cables is frightening. I wasnt 100% convinced going in but talking to the midwives and asking ALOT of questions and doing ALOT of research I feel better about it. It seems like a great, natural alternative to the hospital setting. My wife loved the idea and at the end of the day its her decision and I support her. We go for our first appointment next Wednesday. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Bananas

Little Micah has now grown to a healthy 11oz and I about the length of a banana. As I was typing out the title to this post I couldn't help but think of that Gwen Stefani song where she spells out bananas. I forgot the name of it. Help anyone? There's been a lot of movement this week with Micah. Earlier this week my wife complained of sharp pains in her lower belly. To the WebMd!!! Thanks to the Internet we have found several pregnancy blogs that can help put any worry at ease. What we learned that this is a common process where the growing uterus pushes and stretches the abdominal muscles. Micah is just growing.

One cool thing I read about the Micah's growth this week is that he has developed taste buds. So not only is the baby feeding off of what my wife eats but he is also enjoying it (Hopefully). Now this poses a problem. I love spicy food but my wife refuses to eat anything remotely tingly to the taste buds. I guess opposites do attract because being mexican, spicy food is a must. I've had emberassing moments at restaurants where my wife sends back plate after plate because she claims it too spicy and I can't find anything spicy on the plate. Or when we were dating and she would come over for dinner I had to ask my mom to change her recipes and go super light on the chile so Laura could enjoy her meal without throwing up. So obviously we have very different tolerance levels when it comes to spicy food. So where will Micah's tolerance level be? It's kinda hard to say because he definately wont be getting any spicy food while he's in the womb. We're just going to have to work on it once he's here with us.



Maybe one day he too will have a hot sauce named after him.

I dont remember if mentioned it in an earlier post or not but The wife and I recently watched a documentary about birthing in the U.S. and how unfortunately birthing has become a business for many hospitals. This leading to the U.S. having one of the highest infant mortality rates amongst industrialized countries. The documentary was pushing the idea of Materntity Centers so I can't say its wasn't unbiased but much of the information made alot of sense and sparked my interest to do more research. There is a nearby Maternity Center in Ft. Mill SC, and we decided to take a tour this saturday to see if this is the right choice for us. When we watched an introduction video for the facility, suprisingly we saw some friends that we hadn't talked to in a while being interviewed. They had they're little girl at the facility so I immediatley went in to stalker mode and searched for them on Facebook to ask them questions about their experience with the birthing center. They said they loved it and had very good things to say about it. I in no way intend to make this decision for my wife and am not an advocate for one birthing method over another. She knows whats best for her body and what she can and can't handle. Obviously there are health risk that can only be adressed at a hospital so we are definately going to weigh out our options. Either way we're excited to see what this place has to offer.

Goodbye

How do I Say goodbye to yesterday? It's quite sad, parting ways that is. We've all had to say goodbye to friends, family, pets, or any object that is precious to us. I too have said goodbye recently. To what you may ask? To something very dear to me. I said goodbye to my motorcycle. It was hard I'm not going to lie, but a man has to recognize his priorities in life and mine have changed. I sold it and watched as a stranger rode it away into the sunset and as the shine of the modded grips glistened and the loud rumble of my custom exhaust faded away and I couldn't hear it anymore, a single tear rolled from me eye down my cheek. 

Now I am completely exaggerating guys. I sold it to my dad, so I'm free to ride it anytime I please. But with our big change in lifestyle I knew I didn't need an extra expense at the moment. Now just to put it out there, the wifey did not push this decision. It was completely my idea. I felt It was the best choice. Once we talked about it she did give me permission to buy one in the future. (Did you see what I did there?). And even though I only sold it to my dad, it still stung a little to part with and if I don't ever purchase one again, I can still check it off the list of a childhood dream I always had. If you happened to have played the video at the begining if this post then by the end of this paragraph you're probably saying to yourself that the Boyz II Men song was a little too much (especially if you're weeping, then we'll give you a minute).

Ok, now changing the subject. My family has fallen into a full frenzy buying baby clothes. It's all pretty cute, especially some of the peices my wife has bought that are firefighter themed like the one below.

The funny thing is that a CO-worker of mine told me that we would probably recieve so much clothes at the baby shower that any clothes we bought would probably never get used besides the fact that the baby would probably wear a select few items of clothes. And even though I explained this to my wife and sister, It doesn't seem to make a difference because apparently to them Micah is out to make a fashion statement. But I found what has to be the coolest baby onesie out there, and yes, Micah's has already been ordered. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you ......the Baby turnout gear onesie.



Will baby Micah save somebody's life one day? I can't make any promises ..... but yes.