But it’s there — watching, waiting for the right moment to turn our greatest loss into our biggest gain.
Even when it comes in the form of an orange and white stuffed animal.
Let me explain….
Celebration Gone Wrong
Two years ago, my wife gave me a card where Pooh Bear told me I was going to be a dad. I stared at the card like a lottery winner. I was floored with excitement.
We went to the LA county fair the next day to celebrate. Two twentysomething kids celebrating the reality of having their own at the county fair. It seemed fitting.
We rode rides. The sun shined. Our good friend Becky gave us fried churro funnel cake with a mound of whipped cream.
It was a perfect day.
I even found my touch at the carnival games — trying to impress my wife like we were fifteen and on our first date. After successfully throwing a rubber ball in a sideways wicker basket, we excitedly surveyed the long line of stuffed animals, finding an orange and white stuffed dog that looked like a keeper.
With dog in hand, we walked back to where I’d set down my wife’s backpack ten seconds before.
Gone.
Her bag with our money, her wallet, and our car keys — the only keys we had on us. The other pair locked inside our house thirty miles away.
Needless to say, it was a long freaking night. Our celebration popped like a balloon shot with a Beebe gun.
The next day I grabbed that orange and white dog by the ear and went to the trashcan. I didn’t want to be reminded of how much that stuffed animal cost me. I dangled that dog over his end, but stopped. Throwing it away didn’t feel right. I put it in a box and packed that terrible memory away.
However, on one glorious night to our wild, incredible, amazement, after lots of tears by both baby and parents, she slept through the entire night. With our video baby monitor we could see after crying and crying she finally grasped something tight in her crib, laid down, and fell asleep. She’d found her sleep angel.
When we walked into her room the next morning, she was sitting up in her crib with a big smile, lifting above her head the angel. I picked her and her sleep angel up, hugging both tight — the irony of what I was holding as pronounced as the big smile on both our faces.
There was my baby girl, and that orange and white dog that I won at the fair.
The stuffed animal that I won when celebrating her.
#3 The First Contraction: The Narrow Passage Into Parenthood
WHAT IS MORE ADULT than having your own kid?
What is more exhilarating, terrifying, anxieting…
From the first moment you see THAT stick (then pee on four more to make sure) or open a card to read Pooh Bear say, Piglet and I are soooo excited that you’re gonna be a Dad – the countdown begins.
And not your New Years Eve with Dick Clark kind of countdown.
No it’s nine months of thinking, worrying, wondering whose nose she’ll have, learning new ways to breathe when you thought you had breathing pretty well covered, and buying a room full of tiny things you have no idea how to use but are VERY confident you need. All to prepare for that moment that is unpreparable.
The Cusp of a New Parent
When that moment came for my wife and I five weeks ago, I grabbed two things – my camera and chips and salsa. (You’ll have to watch the video to understand).
This is NOT a birthing video (I wouldn’t do that to you) . No this a video that every new parent, hopeful parent, and person with eyes needs to watch – about THAT moment that forever changes everything.
For your viewing pleasure here is the most personal, exciting, entertaining, scary and honest video I have ever done, with an ending you might not expect…
After watching The First Contraction, watch what happens next in the Last Contraction.
That first week of being a new parent kicked my butt more than Walker Texas Ranger kicked terrorists.
For the last few months on All Groan Up I have detailed my wife and I’s journey into the Land of New Parenthood. Because nothing can feel more groan up than becoming “MOM” and “DAD”. (Father’s Day is for me?! What!-this-is-crazy-holy-diapers-I-can’t-believe-it). Shouldn’t we be required to go through a series of in-depth interviews to get the most intense job we’ll ever have?
The FIRST CONTRACTION
In the first video of this series, The First Contraction, we saw an hilarious and honest video of THAT moment for two on-the-cusp parents whose lives are about to forever change.
The LAST CONTRACTION
In the second video, The Last Contraction, we saw a dramatic and inspiring video that jerked a couple tears.
Now for your viewing pleasure, I wrap up the first week of being a new parent with a 4 am delirious/hilarious commentary where I cover topics like birth on the Oregon Trail and how even with zero sleep, the depth of your new found love for this little creation is truly unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
Growing up is Not Easy. But it is so Freaking Good!
Night four of being a new parent is a night no one talks about. So what does this new dad do in the middle of this night, running on zero sleep and countless diapers – he videotapes himself talking about it. What else?
No sleep + No clue = Watching Video Gold
In the first video of this series, The First Contraction, we saw an hilarious and honest video of THAT moment for two on-the-cusp parents who’s lives are about to forever change.
In the second video, The Last Contraction, we saw a moving video that jerked a couple tears.
Both videos worth visiting or re-visiting.
Now we come to the middle of night four. When I haven’t slept for, well, pretty much four nights and I force myself (literally) to videotape my thoughts during a 3 am diaper changing/feeding time. Watch the video below (if you’ve subscribed by email, click over to the site) to see what it’s like to really be a new parent during that first blur of a week.
In the first video of the series The First Contraction, it all seemed to be going better than planned – a calm wife, a husband with chips and salsa, and a smooth transition to the hospital. That was until they heard the words that no hopeful parent wants to hear. If you did not get the chance to watch The First Contraction, see why it was viewed over 240 times in three days. Also stay tuned for two more videos in the series.
So how did it turn out? Well here it is below – The Last Contraction.
I’ve never cried before when editing my own video. I can’t say that anymore.
