Daddy Churchill

I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and try out this blogging thing.

As our midwife appointments become more frequent and our house begins to fill up with foreign furniture like a crib, bassinet (who knew they weren't the same thing?) and high chair, this baby stuff is becoming more real with each passing day.

While the whole process is very cool and exciting, the "its okay, we've got 9 months to figure it out" has been replaced with "holy f$^% , we've got 3 months to go and I don't know anything more than I knew 6 months ago". I'm sure this is a very common feeling, and one I'll have to get used to, but its difficult to appreciate it until you experience it.

I *am* reading books to prepare myself and I've found one I really enjoy. Its called "So you're going to be a Dad". The cover shows a man standing at a crossroad, one sign reading "being a Dad" and the other "having a life". The author is hilarious, so its a fun read. I find myself reading most of it to Stephanie so she can find out what I'm laughing about.

My brother has passed on some advice that I think will be very helpful and calming. He said, "prepare to worry for the rest of your life". Okay, that didn't sound so helpful or calming, but he delivered this seemingly profound message with such peace and confidence that I'll assume he was passing on a philosophy of relativist peace, rather than being an @sshole.

Oh yeah, I have to stop swearing so much. Yes, Dad. I know you told me so.

Our midwife is very calming and has been a good choice. I have to admit, I initially felt hesitant about going with a midwife. Even with a full understanding of the advantages, using a medical doctor just seems so ingrained into my psyche. With that said, I'm 100% sold now. Every Doctor I've ever visited has sucked. While we were on a waiting list for our midwife, we visited a doctor for 2 appointments, and surprise, surprise, he sucked too. He was rushed, didn't explain anything and seemed annoyed by our presence. On the other hand, our midwife is unbelievably pleasant and calm. She reserves an hour each time we meet with her to ensure we have time to talk about anything we want. She explains everything clearly and calmly. Her focus is on empowerment of the mother and a minimalist approach to medical intervention. After giving birth, she will come to our home every second day for the first week or so to ensure we're adjusting well and the baby is feeding properly.

I think our child will be a handful, like I was as a baby. He already consistently kicks me when I rest my cheek on Steph's belly and talk to him. He either finds me comforting or wants me to shut up so he can go back to sleep. I suppose we'll never know. Either way, he'll have to put up with it because it amuses me. When it comes down to it, getting kicked in the face by our baby is about the coolest thing that's happened so far... or at least its right up there with the first ultrasound. I can't wait until he pops out so I can kick him back.