So, Isaac has been keeping us nice and busy lately, and I’ve had pretty much zero desire to post anything new on the website. However, today at 4:23 I got a brand new nephew, James Zachariah.

He’s fantastic, and we couldn’t be happier for Kara & Steve (and Andrew!).

Fun stuff. Oh yeah, and Isaac slept for SIX HOURS last night, which was incredible…but weird. Starting at the ceiling at 2:30am and being unable to sleep because things are TOO QUIET is definitely a disturbing turn of events.

I have to go now, time to start praying for a repeat performance!

> Ryan Says:
> May 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 am e
> Updates, updates!!! First time daddy?? There’s probably at least 100 pictures
> of Isaac you can choose from to show us on your corner of the web.

My corner of the web is too tired. Try Liz’s Corner of the Web.

(to be fair, she’s had less sleep than I have (ESPECIALLY LAST NIGHT, the kid may have an ear infection or something), but she’s more diligent about updating than I am)

Having a baby is certainly interesting. It kind of makes me want to fight for prisoner rights down at Guantanamo… People simply shouldn’t be treated this way. =)

Actually, lame late-night (hey, 1am is late when you’re going to bed at 8pm) jokes aside, things are going surprisingly well, and I think we’re figuring out his system fairly quickly. Something that’s been really nice is that so far there haven’t been any mystery problems or crying.

If he’s making an insane amount of noise– which now that we’ve left the hospital (and his angel persona) behind…he does…frequently– it’s really always one of the following things.

• Hungry. This is an easy one, because I can’t help. =) I try to get him ready, and try to keep Liz comfortable, but when he’s hungry, the ball’s in her court, and I freely admit that she’s doing all the work. This one is ok because it’s so easy to predict by schedule so far. If he’s crying and it’s been a couple of hours, he’s hungry.
• Wet. This is an easy one, because it’s quick and easy to fix. I don’t really enjoy setting off the Naked Alarm (which I will explain later), but when necessary, it really isn’t a problem to correct. Plus, at least it’s fairly entertaining to listen to him Oink like a pig. (which I will also explain later).
• Miscellaneous uncomfortable.

  (1) Typically this means gassy…REALLY gassy. Also easy to correct, as usually it only takes about three different positions of gentle bouncing for him to give a little burp (or random happy gurgle noise) and quiet right down. I actually prefer this method of gassy to the other one, even though this means waking up and/or getting out of bed.

  The other method makes you positive you have cleaning to do, and then upon investigation wonder if you may be dealing with some new mysterious form of sublimation. There’s some chance Liz is actually slipping him truck-stop food behind my back, but we didn’t end up getting the video baby monitor, so I haven’t managed to collect any proof. The most distressing thing about this is that if you happen to be looking at him prior to being assaulted by the smell, you’ll see him get a nigh-angelic look on his face, and one of cutest little smiles you’ve ever seen in your life. The first time he gave me that look (which, by the way, did not happen to be accompanied by any strange smells) it literally made me tear up a little…now it just strikes fear into my very soul.

  (2) Needs a re-wrap (or wardrobe adjustment). I had no idea how lax my swaddling skills were until I met the nursing staff at Northwest Hospital. They’re pro’s at this, and apparently newborns really do like to feel like they’re shrink-wrapped in receiving blankets. This typically has more to do with how uncomfortable the rest of the list items have made him. He actually seems pretty content with whatever happens to be going on, if the top three are ok. (yes, it’s recursive)

So…there you have it. Child rearing in three easy steps, and it only took me three days to figure out. It turns out I AM going to be a great Dad.