Thursday, February 28, 2013

The BIG Announcement and Garfoose Giveaway

I've hinted at it in emails but here it goes: the compa is 12 weeks pregnant! We refer to the little guy/gal as "Blueberry" in homage to Vida Blue (OK, maybe not really), and Blue's expected date of arrival is mid-September.

So, if I owe you a trade package that I haven't sent PLEASE check in. I'm increasingly excited/forgetful owing to the news, so it's nothing personal.

Anyway, I grabbed this to celebrate:
Being a literary sort, I thought a customized, signed, and Garfoosed copy of Out of My League would be an appropriate way to bring Blue into the world. If you aren't familiar with Dirk Hayhurst or his literary endeavors, I suggest you check them out. The above, The Bullpen Gospels, and the "cut chapters" from these, Wild Pitches, are well worth the read. His website and blog are also pretty cool. Seriously, literature and baseball together, what more could Blue want?

Well, as part of the auction I won I received these:
On left we have a signed A&G with Hayhurst dressed as the Garfoose, on the left a signed promo card for the book. I'll be giving these (and other cool things) away to celebrate! 

So, I'll have to get a judge but: to enter the first "Here Comes Blue Contest," leave a comment in the comments section and tell me your best advice for new fathers/mothers. It can be serious, it can be funny, whatever you like. Promote it on Twitter/your blogs, whatever you are cool with. Contest closes in one week.

The winner (whomever the judge selects!) gets his/her pick of the cards above. The other is then a prize in the next "Here Comes Blue Contest"!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are! 

(Sadly, "Pumpsie Green" has already been eliminated from the pool of potential names)

15 comments:

  1. Congrats! That's awesome.

    Best piece of advice I have - it's as hard as everyone tells you it will be, especially the first few weeks. On those sleepless nights, just know that eventually, it does get easier.

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  2. Ah, the best news possible! Congratulations!

    As you'll soon learn, sleep will be hard to come by, but it very important. So, what we did in our house will depend on whether or not Mama will breast or bottle feed. If bottle, this is my advice...

    Be hands on and split the night-feedings. In our house, I stayed awake every night and took every feeding from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. That way my wife could get five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

    Then starting at 1:01 a.m., my wife had every feeding from then until 6 a.m. That way I was guaranteed five hours of sleep. There's no, "who feeds the baby" discussion/fight because all you have to do is look at the clock.

    Also, if you take the first shift, you can stay up late and watch the MLB Network like I did and catch the West Coast games.

    Congrats again!
    Doc

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  3. Similar to Doc's comment above, only from a much more selfish and completely insensitive side - Be sure your wife breast feeds, then there's no reason for you to get up :)

    2 more pieces of advise, on more serious notes.

    1) Getting a routine becomes important for parents and baby. Anything you can do to have him/her down to sleep at the same time each night seems to make it take less time before he/she starts sleeping through the night.

    2) When faced with the choice, sleep is more important than food.

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  4. Congratulations!

    My advice - Enjoy every minute. What everyone says is very much true in that they grow up way too fast. My boys are already 2 and 6, and every week brings a new milestone and something new for them to experience. I'm already wishing time would slow down a little.

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  5. Congrats!
    Here's the advice - No matter how bad things get with the little one, just remember that there are other people out there that want a child, but cannot have one. Don't take 'em for granted!

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    Replies
    1. Funny you should bring that up. Blue was 5 years in the making, which is a whole different story. We are very, very fortunate.

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  6. Congrats! I have not been in that position yet, so the best advice I can give you is when he's eight years old accidentally sets fire to the living room rug... go easy on him.

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  7. Everyone seems to have given some great baby advice, so I'll try to give a humble suggestion for later...

    Always follow your instincts. Learn from your old man and don't repeat the stuff he did that you didn't like, and double up on the things he did that you will always remember and appreciate. (I gave this same advice to my oldest son and suggested he learn from me).

    Good luck, dude. Someone said it earlier and it's true. They grow way too fast. My oldest is 20 and it feels like he was a little boy just last week. =)

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  8. I will go the Marty McFly route .. as he said to his Dad when he was "Back to the Future" if your 8 year old kid happens to set the rug on fire in the living room.. take it easy on them

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    Replies
    1. I should've read the comments before posting that *tips my hat to zman40*

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  9. Congrats, man. I'm thrilled for you. I hardly feel like I'm in any position to give advice, since I've only been a father for three weeks. One big thing for me, though, was allowing people to help me. My wife and I are very independent people, but we quickly realized the value of community. And I personally found a lot of support in my academic community. Anyway, let folks help. Be willing to let people know you're exhausted and can use help. And don't be afraid to cry in front of people. It's going to happen. My heart turned into mush the second I saw my daughter, and now every sweet thing that people do for her makes me cry. There's no crying in baseball, but plenty in parenting.

    You'll be a great dad, I'm sure. Some day, you and I will have a beer and toast our children and PhDs.

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  10. First off congrats!! It's such a great feeling knowing you guys have a little one on the way!! My advise is plain and simple "Enjoy every single second you get to spend with your little one, because before you know it they will be all grown up". I have two boy 6 and 4 and let me tell you it, its allot of work but the pay off is heart felt. i wish nothing but the best for your wife and the babe and yourself. I'm sure you guys are going to be great!!
    wicked-

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  11. Here's two things I learned when I became a father:

    1) Get used to a lack of privacy. Kids will just walk in no matter what is happening, especially when you are in the bathroom on the throne.

    2) Get over your fear and grossness about any and all body fluids. Through your months as a parent, you will end up getting every single one on you - whether out of the mouth or from down below. You have to realize you don't have the time to be disgusted; you just have to fix the problem.

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  12. Congrats!

    Lots of sound advice here. I second the importance of a schedule/routine. While not everyone agrees with it, 'becoming babywise' was a good book for us, and it worked for us.

    Also, finding out the gender at 20 weeks helped me connect with the kid because then it had a name instead of just being an 'it'.

    There will be times where you will feel tired and helpless, but this too shall pass.

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  13. Congratulations !

    Get sleep now while you can.

    Learn to count slowly to 10.

    As they get older there will be times you want to kill them,
    but just love even more instead,
    because when they get even older and move away,
    you'll want them back again !

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