Van's First Bath

I think he liked it...

Van's First Week

Here are some pictures over the last week.  Enjoy.

Lunch at Crissy Field

Not a bad view for a quick picnic stop on the way home.

Lunch

Van has lunch while Sharon enjoys an adult beverage.

Yes, I drank most of it.

Ready to go

The Bubble

Today (probably in about 4 hours) we head home from the hospital. Overall this is a very good thing. Life in a 200 sq ft studio apartment has it's drawbacks. But also represents an exit from "The Bubble" and a re-entry into the real world.

I remember a similar feeling after Ainslie was born. My life - like most people - is a massive mix of competing priorities. There is a reason that there is an entire industry built around helping people manage their time - it's not easy. When I'm doing things well, I spend more than half my time on a given day on things that are really important to me. On other days, it's far less than that. I spend a decent amount of time an energy just trying to make sure that my focus is in the right place.

The problem of trying to figure out where to focus does not exist for me when I'm in the hospital after the birth of a child, and there is something very unique and rewarding about that. At one level it's not great to be in a cramped room waking up every few hours - but the flip side is that for every moment we've been here I've had absolutely no doubt that I"m focusing on the right thing. That's a feeling worth appreciating before leaving the bubble and re-entering the real world.

First Day Photos

Enjoy some new photos.

Ainslie meets Van

Neither is showing their hand just yet, but initial contact has been made.

8 hours in

I'm about 8 hours into being a parent of 2, and here are some quick thoughts:

• The experiencing of seeing a child - my child - born was not any less exciting the second time around
• I have great respect for how well Sharon handles both pregnancy and child birth
• So far the swaddle and jiggle skills have dusted off ok.
• Choosing a name is a big responsibility. I feel good about Van Armstrong.
• You are not the first to think of "mini-Van"
• When Ainslie was born, we told the majority of people over email first. With Van, most of our friends heard over twitter or facebook.
• I don't know anyone short enough to sleep comfortably on the hospital cot.
• Our nurses have been great. That makes a huge difference.
• Ainslie meets Van for the first time tomorrow. This will be very interesting an only child like myself to watch.

More later

First nap

The kid has hardly done a thing and he already needs a nap.

BTW - our nurse said my swaddle was THE BEST SHE HAS EVER SEEN. That's right. EVER.

Van Armstrong Bowers

Van (named for Sharon's grandfather) joined us today at 12:30pm. Mom and baby are both doing very well. For those who need stats: 8lbs 4oz, 20 3/4in. More to come...

New Blog!

With a new baby on the way, we decided it was high time to double down on the blogging. And by "double down" I mean start blogging again.

"But Doug, where are are all those completely awesome posts you wrote before"?

you are no doubt asking yourself.

Fear not. They are on the way, but the transition process is highly manual and we are currently a bit short staffed. At some point there will be a story about how the guy who works at the security and availability company managed to have his old blog both hacked and improperly backed up. But that is for another day. For now enjoy the new sharonanddoug.com. I have no doubt you will enjoy it more once there are some (hopefully) cute baby pictures to post.