September 2004

September has been easily the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding month of our lives. The birth of our daughter was only the beginning of this wild ride called parenthood, and we feel as if we haven’t had a chance to stop and get our breath.

It is amazing to me that the human race has made it this far now that I’ve witnessed firsthand the trials you face bringing a new person into the world. I always assumed that breastfeeding was a completely natural phenomenon that didn’t require much effort on the part of the feeder. In reality it is an incredibly challenging exercise that takes a while to master. Every nurse at the hospital showed Becky a different technique and we were both thoroughly confused until we visited a Lactation Consultant three days after the birth. The fact that hospitals actually employ professionals devoted to breastfeeding speaks volumes about how simple it is.

Sleeping has of course been a luxury. Becky can’t figure out why she can only manage four hours of sleep a day while Kyla gets about 20. Relative to Becky I’ve been spoiled in this department since I have no means of feeding Kyla yet, plus a new mother produces hormones that cause her to become immediately alert when her baby cries that a new father does not.

For some reason I was under the impression that you have to change a baby’s diaper every three hours. In reality it has been about once an hour, and I’ve lost track of the number of times she’s gone immediately after changing her (and a few during). I’m thinking about dividing my 401(k) funds between Pampers and Huggies.

Other than simply caring for Kyla, September has been a blur of shopping trips to Target and Babies ‘R’ Us, visiting with family and friends who make few pretenses of who they really want to see (hint: she weighs less than 10 pounds), and attempting to keep our household afloat. I went back to work after a couple weeks, which has returned some normalcy to my routine, though I often find myself longing to hold Kyla and eager to get home.

Even in light of all of the demands that have been placed on me since Kyla’s birth, there is no doubt in my mind that becoming a parent has been and will continue to be the most extraordinary and gratifying thing I’ve ever done with my life. There is nothing like locking eyes with your child and sharing a moment with her. She has even begun to smile recently, which gives me hope that she is enjoying me as much as I’m enjoying her.