The Delight of Becoming a Father

Fighting out of the blue corner, wearing black and white trunks, with Australian and South African trainers and weighing in at 2.278 Kilograms, 47 Centimetres tall, please welcome to the ring for his professional debut, 5 weeks ahead of schedule.... XAVIER JAX EDWARD SPURR.

There were a few dilemmas leading up to tonight, but so far it has been an ultimate delight for Kos and I becoming parents. We are overjoyed that our son is with us and that so far he is healthy. As mentioned previously, he wasn't getting a move on in the inside, so Dr Tan decided to go for a Caeser to speed up the process.

Kos was very calm heading into the theatre, however after getting into my scrubs and cracking a few nervous jokes, I was a mess as they brought out all the needles for the anaesthetic (sp? it is late) thank God they weren't for me otherwise instead of feeling a touch light headed I'd by vomiting on the floor, I managed to regain my composure and sat up the nice end, conversing with Kos and the Anaethetist. 5 minutes later Xavier was with us and he was placed on Kos chest after I cut the umbilical cord and he was pricked and prodded to make sure all was OK.

After 5 minutes with Kos and I the midwife took him and I upstairs, weighed and measured him and got him into a humidicrib. Just like a fine cigar, he'll need a bit more time to mature in there. The mid-wives say that he will probably be in there for about two to three weeks. Which will be hard for Kos and I. We Haven't really had a real cuddle yet, but this kid is a cute as pie in his new home. Kos and I spent about half and hour staring at him this evening and can't wait to see him again in the morning. Depending in how it all goes we'll hopefully get to have a hold tomorrow, but he needs some time in the crib to transition.

I'm exhausted. Life just took on greater meaning. I'm going to bed and dreaming of all the wondorous possibilities that Xavier, Kos and I will have together.

ps Gotta love Foxtel in the rooms. Go Australia! (I'm sure my lil' homeboy wants to visit his mum's homeland in 2010!)

Baby Business - Prams

I think I am in the wrong industry. Everytime we go shopping, looking for baby gear, I'm astounded at the copious varieties, brands and styles of baby gear available. I won't whinge about prices here, because baby gear, like any other industry has an entry level, mid level, and 'the global financial crisis hasn't got me yet' level. It's an excellent business to be in. As long as sex continues to be enjoyable (I have a hunch it will) and not everyone uses contraception, its a win/win enterprise. A bit like being a funeral director I guess - everyone dies at some stage (and it's recession proof!).

Back to the baby gear. We visited a certain warehouse (which will go unamed as we are not working on cash for comment...YET!) and came across a variety of goodies. There must of been at least 20 types of strollers and prams to have a look at and 'road test'. Forget the new Beamer, I'm road testing strollers now baby; great handling, great fuel efficiency, unlimited kilometre warranty....but I digress...

Perusing these strollers and prams is a task in itself. So many options, so many questions and not a staff member in sight. When I first learnt that we were expecting a baby, I had grand dreams of getting one of those power prams that have the big wheels, iPod docking station and cup holders so I could take the baby off-road. If I couldn't afford a monster truck in real life then I'd have the baby version....until Kos brought me back to earth..."I'll be one using it the most and want something light to get in and out of the car."
I want the Hummer Pram (if a branded one exists even better) and she wants the Holden Astra Pram. We are yet to purchase a pram and I'll be taking both points of view into consideration...Hummer it is!

Buying the nice things for baby is one of the best (and stressful) things that parents can do. Going shopping for the new addition to the family is fun most of the time and even if you are just window shopping it can be a dilemma. I think all parents want the best baby funiture and gear for their child, however when it comes down to it, a baby won't care less about the ride he or she is in as long as it is safe and comfortable. Materialism and branding is something we humans instill at a later age... My cousin recently summed this point up quite well. He told me, after I had painted the walls in our house for a bit of a spruce up and in preparation for the arrival, "The baby won't be looking at the walls and commenting on your paint job or thinking 'who chose this colour scheme?" A good point indeed.

Ebay I'm told is a great source of baby gear. Who cares if a few other brats have crapped and thrown-up in it right? I'm kidding... as along as it is clean (Dettol anyone?) it will do the job. Half this stuff will become redundant after a few months or years so think twice before paying top dollar for minor items.

I'd still like the 'Hummer' pram though. Bright red if anyone sees one!

Baby Brain aka Absentmindedness

Increased Absentmindedness. The book we have read through for the past few months repeatedly states that this will be a re-curring aspect of my wife's preganancy. I kept seeing this phrase but could not think of any specific examples....what was I writing about?

Had you going for a minute!

There have been countless small examples of baby brain during Kos' pregnancy (for both of us) but there have been a few times where for a moment I thought I had married a complete nutter. Thankfully, as the book suggests this will pass once the baby comes. Seeing as our friend Mihiri had her go at the blokes with her 'Doing a Dad' post (see previous post), I thought I would turn the tables and give you an insight into some of my wife's silly antics.

To my male readers: Fear not, the baby brain symptoms come and go and she'll be back to her old self in no time (at least 9 months). Fathers and Fathers to be: have any baby brain stories? send 'em through to sam@inlumino.com.au

Episodes:
The Car: My wife, a primary school teacher, drove to school one day. She had a great day, and arrived home at the usual time. Later that night I had to go out and walked to our driveway to see that the car was missing. It was nowhere to be seen. Not down the street, not rolling into the neighbours front yard. Nothing! I quickly rushed back inside the house thinking that the car had been stolen from our driveway. Kos came out and was just as startled. We were about to call the cops when she then remembered that she had driven to school!

She had had such an episode of absentmindedness that she had asked a colleague for a lift home because I had apparently dropped her at school!!! (the car was safely locked away in the school parking lot overnight, I dropped her at school the next morning, and wifey drove home that afternoon.)

The Phone: Wifey went out for dinner with a colleague (actually the same one who drove her home that afternoon - I see a recurring theme here Hannah!). I had some 'Sam Time' and watched TV and had a few beers. I went into the bedroom and faintly heard the phone ringing. Kos hadn't put the phone back into its dock, (which is a regular occurrence anyway) so I pulled up the quilt, pillows and bed sheets, thinking that she had been lying on the bed talking on the phone and had left it there, but nothing. I look underneath the bed, underneath the desk, but still nothing. I eventually opened our wardrobe and underneath some clothes at the BACK of our walk-in wardrobe was the phone. Nothing like talking on the phone in wardrobe and then just leaving it there.

Once I had answered the phone, one of her Aunties mentioned that she had been trying to call all night!

Change has come to America but you can still vote in the Daddy Dilemmas Poll to the left of this page. How much do you think it is to have a baby? I'll post on this topic later!