Nesting

It's been three months since my last post and a lot has happened since then. Paolo turns 5 months today and we have recently moved to a new Kingdom, our Kingdom.

For the first time the Queen and I feel that that we are truly standing up on our own. We bought our first pieces of furniture, picked house decorations, and decided on other plans for our humble abode. Hopefully, the things we bought are pamana-worthy for our kid/s.

It's a weird feeling - managing a small economy. We dictate how things will go and when they'll go. It's scary because we still don't know our limits. It's fun because we get to push ourselves to the limit. Only time will tell if we took the right turns at the right times.

For now, we're really enjoying it. Things are going very well and we can't wait for the next big thing that we need to deliberate on.

And by deliberate I mean the unnecessary formality of me telling the Queen my opinion so she could overrule it.

Image source

The Sleeping Prince

It's true that there are things in this world that words just cannot describe and the photo above is the best example I could think of.

Paolo has recently taken a liking to sleeping on my chest. It's a very tender moment for us as father and son and I'm cherishing every second of it. In a month or two he'll be too heavy and too big for this so I hope to be his King-size bed for as long as possible.

Mother and Son moment

Paolo in videos

Paolo in Pictures

All he does is sleep and cry.
And poop

Meet the Prince

On October 9th, 2009, at exactly 3:25 p.m., my son, Juan Paolo, was born.

He is the cutest, sweetest, and loudest baby I have ever seen. People say he looks exactly like me and that he even got my, ahem, trademark dimples.

Paolo weighs 5.9 pounds but he chugs down milk (both breast and bottled) like a drunkard does alcohol. He's having breakfast as we speak.

His hobby is crying. Crying a lot - especially when everyone's asleep.

I love him so much.

The Green Door

This is the door that haunted me two nights ago. The Queen and I rushed on over to the hospital thinking it was time for us to meet our prince.

We got nervous and we panicked. Everything seemed like a blur, before we knew it she was wearing a hospital gown and I was lying on the unbelievably uncomfy couch in front of the delivery room.

I waited anxiously for word on my wife's condition. An hour passed - nothing. Two hours passed - nothing. My back was beginning to hurt and that says a lot considering I'm only in my twenties (either that or I'm not as healthy as I think I am)

Then, after two and a half hours of not knowing anything, the door opened. Time stopped.

"Did she give birth?" I asked

"No" the nurse answered

"Oh, where is she then?"

"Getting dressed, you can go home now"

It was hard to hear those words. I wanted to go home, but I wanted to go home with a family.

Any day now

I usually get a natural high whenever I finish writing an article. Today however, it's a little different: I'm edgier and downright more nervous than I have ever been.

Last weekend the wife and I found out that she was already dilated -- 3cm to be exact (10cm is the ideal width for giving birth). From here, it could take as little as a few days to as much as a week before we become parents.

As I sit on my chair typing this entry, the reality that we are slowly stepping into the rest of our lives becomes more apparent. The next text, call, or email I receive may go "uwi ka na, ang sakit na ng tiyan ko!". I know it's coming, and I know it's coming sooner than I think.

When that time comes I'll be a different person, and I hope that person lives up to my expectations.

[photo]

Bank of Dad

Bank of Dad: Where the ATM Never Goes Offline

It's an old joke reserved for fathers who dole out wads of cash to their kids and their wives. Yesterday I found myself on the receiving end. It felt nice. It felt weird.

I was about to leave the office for a press conference when all of a sudden the wife comes running after me. It's not like her to go sprinting (especially since she's 8+ months pregnant), but what she said really made my day.

"I don't have money for lunch, penge naman ng pera"

A couple of my officemates broke into laughter and I couldn't help chuckling along with them. The moment was so spontaneous and so real, the reality of being a father and a provider just dawned on me... I have a family.

I left the office with a light wallet and a big smile. October is going to be interesting...

Image from alittlecrafty.com

Baby kicks

Baby kicked around a lot last night. It was weird but very exciting.

It's the first time I felt him/her squirm around that long.

Can't wait!

Kicking baby from this site