At 2:39PM on Friday January 28th 2011 my wife Lyndsi and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family. She weighed 7lbs 11ozs and was 21 inches long. The emotion of having a baby was so overwhelming that I started to reflect on everyone who influenced me in the past and the people who made this pregnancy as good as we could. For those of you who don't know my wife was put on bed rest at 24 weeks...meaning she was on bed rest for 13 weeks before Paisli was born. This was very stressful for Lyndsi who did everything she could to make sure Paisli "cooked" as long as she could and made it to 37 weeks. So I want to treat this like an award show and give away "winners" of different awards. So here we go:
The most beautiful baby ever award - Paisli Lynn Rich - was there ever any doubt that she woulod win this award?
Meridith Grey Award - Dr. Patni - she was very caring throughout the whole process. She was very supportive and informative and deserves her kudos.
Dick Butkis Award - Gillian (L&D Nurse) She was a no nonsense, do what I say or else with a heart of gold nurse. She was very supportive during everything and let us know what we could and could not do. At stressful times you tend to appreciate a person who has been through it and lets you know how it is going to be.
Best Supporting Actress - This goes to the mothers...They both were in the room and contributed where they could. Whether it be her mom holding Lyndsi's hand or my mom counting to 10 while fanning Lyndsi. They both deserve credit.
Chuck Norris Award - Definitly goes to Lyndsi! She pulled this off with little pain and I think she may have a third fist behind her ear!
Being a new parent had been very exciting and tiresome but worth every minute of sleepness nights!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
10 Things Expectant Dads Should Not Do
Today marks the 12th week that my wife has been on bed rest. That being said there has been different struggles for each of us. I however have tested the waters to see what kind of reaction I could get by doing these 10 things...My suggestion for all expecting fathers...Do not do any of these at anytime!
1. Make a "beep, beep, Beep" sound when your wife is getting out of bed...they do not like this!
2. Tell her that it is only 4 more weeks left after 11 weeks of bed rest!
3. Procrastinate...She asked me to paint the babies room for 3 weeks before I actually did it. No harm done accept for hearing about it for the next 3 weeks!
4. Argue with her - it is better to be happy than right!
5. Go to the bar - ever, guys she wants to go to the bar too but cannot due to her situation.
6. Play golf every weekend - I know we all work while they are home but as my wife says its not bed rest its house arrest!
7. Always call if you have to work late...She is waiting for you to cook and when baby is hungry baby is HUNGRY!
8. When you feel she is nagging let it go - you never want to be the guy that was a jerk while your wife was pregnant.
9. Don't get upset when your wife wants to go to DQ for a butter finger blizzard at 10PM on a Tuesday night GO! It sucks but she will always appreciate it!
10. Don't get upset when she asks you to massage her back during the 4th quarter of the Texans game...Let me give you the end to every game the Texans play "they came back and almost won but that damn_____(fill in the blank) about how they lost!
These are just some of the things that I thought of but believe me there are hundreds of things you should and should not do...just think about her feelings before you decide to do anything!
peace out!
Josh
1. Make a "beep, beep, Beep" sound when your wife is getting out of bed...they do not like this!
2. Tell her that it is only 4 more weeks left after 11 weeks of bed rest!
3. Procrastinate...She asked me to paint the babies room for 3 weeks before I actually did it. No harm done accept for hearing about it for the next 3 weeks!
4. Argue with her - it is better to be happy than right!
5. Go to the bar - ever, guys she wants to go to the bar too but cannot due to her situation.
6. Play golf every weekend - I know we all work while they are home but as my wife says its not bed rest its house arrest!
7. Always call if you have to work late...She is waiting for you to cook and when baby is hungry baby is HUNGRY!
8. When you feel she is nagging let it go - you never want to be the guy that was a jerk while your wife was pregnant.
9. Don't get upset when your wife wants to go to DQ for a butter finger blizzard at 10PM on a Tuesday night GO! It sucks but she will always appreciate it!
10. Don't get upset when she asks you to massage her back during the 4th quarter of the Texans game...Let me give you the end to every game the Texans play "they came back and almost won but that damn_____(fill in the blank) about how they lost!
These are just some of the things that I thought of but believe me there are hundreds of things you should and should not do...just think about her feelings before you decide to do anything!
peace out!
Josh
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Dadisms
After my post about my niece and nephew I started thinking about funny stuff that I have heard the past few years. Then most of the "sayings" started coming from my Dad. So here goes a few all time quotes from Pops:
After about 14 holes of golf, which my dad hacked his way through every hole...unless he picked up and moved on. We pull up to 15 which is a long par four and my dad walks up to the tee box with a 1 Iron. My brother in law points out a quote from the great Lee Trevino "you know they say not even God can hit a 1 Iron" My Dads response "Well I'm not God"...huh? Needless to say he takes a hack, hits it off a tree about 20 yards away and the ball bounces back behind the Tee Box...at least he proved my brother in law wrong...
Another golf story...My Dad and I were talking about golf courses and he mentions the great Alpine country club. He goes on to say that he liked the front nine but the back nine was much more difficult...ummm Alpine Country Club is a nine hole course that you play the same nine holes twice. I guess he is right though because most of the time we are drinking so the back nine would be harder than the front nine.
And the most recent(and my favorite) story revolves around college football. My dad and brother in law were talking about the controversy surrounding Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton. My father is not the most "informed" with Social media. He claimed that he was in trouble for all the tweeters that he was sending. Then my brother in law and I started to share a string of texts asking if the NCAA had rules against players looking at each others "tweeters" and what the penalty was.
I am sure there is more but those are the classics that we often refer back to at family gatherings.
Josh
After about 14 holes of golf, which my dad hacked his way through every hole...unless he picked up and moved on. We pull up to 15 which is a long par four and my dad walks up to the tee box with a 1 Iron. My brother in law points out a quote from the great Lee Trevino "you know they say not even God can hit a 1 Iron" My Dads response "Well I'm not God"...huh? Needless to say he takes a hack, hits it off a tree about 20 yards away and the ball bounces back behind the Tee Box...at least he proved my brother in law wrong...
Another golf story...My Dad and I were talking about golf courses and he mentions the great Alpine country club. He goes on to say that he liked the front nine but the back nine was much more difficult...ummm Alpine Country Club is a nine hole course that you play the same nine holes twice. I guess he is right though because most of the time we are drinking so the back nine would be harder than the front nine.
And the most recent(and my favorite) story revolves around college football. My dad and brother in law were talking about the controversy surrounding Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton. My father is not the most "informed" with Social media. He claimed that he was in trouble for all the tweeters that he was sending. Then my brother in law and I started to share a string of texts asking if the NCAA had rules against players looking at each others "tweeters" and what the penalty was.
I am sure there is more but those are the classics that we often refer back to at family gatherings.
Josh
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Now that my wife and I are expecting a child in the next couple of weeks I have started reflecting on our relationship and how we got here. We dated a couple of years before we got married and are now a year and a half into our life long journey. When I proposed to Lyndsi we were both excited and I can promise you that was the most nerve racking thing I have (and probably ever will) do! After we told everyone the good news and "celebrated" that night we sat down and started making plans. The good thing is we both wanted a destination wedding on the beach. As you can see from the slide show we went and several close friends and family came with us. We had a fantastic time!
I have several friends that were married around the same time and didn't take a honeymoon right away. I can tell you that the honeymoon is as important if, not more, than the actual wedding. We were married at a resort and changed resorts for our honeymoon. I can tell you that although we were married at a resort in Mexico I could not wait for Lyndsi and I to spend a week away from everyone we knew! So enjoy some of the photos here and if you are thinking of getting married you should seriously consider the destination wedding, it was easy to plan and believe it or not fairly inexpensive.
We looked at several resorts when we started this process but the most convenient website we used was www.Bookit.com, they offered us the ability to specify our requests and they would requests bids from several resorts. We received a bid from Dreams in Tulum, Mexico. I checked out reviews on www.tripadvisor.com and the actual resort web site and we decided that is the resort we wanted to spend our special day. As soon as we made the decision they had their wedding planner contact us via e-mail with a questionnaire that had us decide the details of the wedding. They stayed in constant contact with us and helped us make the tough decisions we had to make despite not knowing much about the area or the resort. We flew into Cancun, Mexico three days before the wedding and paid for a van to drive us about an hour away from the airport to get to Tulum. The resort was beautiful; we knew we made the right decision immediately! The wedding planner greeted us at the gate and we took the tour of the resort where she explained the details for our wedding. After that we were able to sit by the pool or beach for the next three days and relax with our families with little to no stress leading up to the big day.
Needless to say both Lyndsi and I were late to our own wedding because we sat out by the pool drinking cocktails all the way up to the wedding!!! The best part about it, nobody cared because we were in a very relaxing environment. Again I cannot stress enough the ease to have a destination wedding and would suggest it to anyone!!!!
I have several friends that were married around the same time and didn't take a honeymoon right away. I can tell you that the honeymoon is as important if, not more, than the actual wedding. We were married at a resort and changed resorts for our honeymoon. I can tell you that although we were married at a resort in Mexico I could not wait for Lyndsi and I to spend a week away from everyone we knew! So enjoy some of the photos here and if you are thinking of getting married you should seriously consider the destination wedding, it was easy to plan and believe it or not fairly inexpensive.
We looked at several resorts when we started this process but the most convenient website we used was www.Bookit.com, they offered us the ability to specify our requests and they would requests bids from several resorts. We received a bid from Dreams in Tulum, Mexico. I checked out reviews on www.tripadvisor.com and the actual resort web site and we decided that is the resort we wanted to spend our special day. As soon as we made the decision they had their wedding planner contact us via e-mail with a questionnaire that had us decide the details of the wedding. They stayed in constant contact with us and helped us make the tough decisions we had to make despite not knowing much about the area or the resort. We flew into Cancun, Mexico three days before the wedding and paid for a van to drive us about an hour away from the airport to get to Tulum. The resort was beautiful; we knew we made the right decision immediately! The wedding planner greeted us at the gate and we took the tour of the resort where she explained the details for our wedding. After that we were able to sit by the pool or beach for the next three days and relax with our families with little to no stress leading up to the big day.
Needless to say both Lyndsi and I were late to our own wedding because we sat out by the pool drinking cocktails all the way up to the wedding!!! The best part about it, nobody cared because we were in a very relaxing environment. Again I cannot stress enough the ease to have a destination wedding and would suggest it to anyone!!!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Funny Stuff my Niece and Nephew say/ Do
I am an uncle of two nephews and a niece. They each have their own personalities and are very funny! The oldest is Coleman who will be 10 years old in March, next is Maddie who just turned 5 and the youngest is Miles who is going to be 2 in May. Since my wife and I are expecting very shortly we are looking at day cares and starting to take tours and put down deposits to get on waiting lists. The top of our list includes the day care that my sister uses so Paisli (soon to be daughter) can go to school with her cousins and will help logistically being close to Lyndsi's (Wife) office and Mindy's (Sister) house. This way if we need her to watch Paisli or we need to watch her kids we are all close and can help each other out. So that sets the stage for telling some interesting and funny things they each say and do.
When Coleman was about 2-3 years old Mindy was on a workout kick and brought Coleman to the gym and kept him in the child care center. Well to say the least he didn't like it. My sister said one day she walked up to the day care center in the gym and the had the door blocked with a small gate and Coleman was screaming "NO COLEMAN IN THE CAGE!!!!" That story cracks me up every time I think about it.
Maddie has several stories...She was sitting in the living room with her Mom and decided to say "you know what I love mama? Dreaming about wrestling!" What four year old girl says that!!!!
Maddie was in Sunday school and the teacher said the lesson would be about Paul, her response: "yes, would that be Paul Blart Mall Cop?" After the lesson on Paul: "That wasn't Paul Blart Mall cop, he didn't get bit by a snake he was chased by a dog on the way to work." Nice call Maddie!
And finally Maddie was watching a Pittsburgh Steeler's game with her Daddy, Maddie's commentary: "Pittsburgh Steeler's? I bet everyone on that team is a thief!" Good times Maddie, good times...
The last kid hasn't really started talking yet but he still has some good stories...The day care where he is enrolled in had to remove all the chairs and posters on the wall because he has a tendency to climb on chairs and tear down the posters he can reach...needless to say Mindy's says when we take the tour we should mention that we are "distant cousins" early and often so they don't jack up the price for being related!
Just somethings I was thinking about today...
Thank you!
Josh
When Coleman was about 2-3 years old Mindy was on a workout kick and brought Coleman to the gym and kept him in the child care center. Well to say the least he didn't like it. My sister said one day she walked up to the day care center in the gym and the had the door blocked with a small gate and Coleman was screaming "NO COLEMAN IN THE CAGE!!!!" That story cracks me up every time I think about it.
Maddie has several stories...She was sitting in the living room with her Mom and decided to say "you know what I love mama? Dreaming about wrestling!" What four year old girl says that!!!!
Maddie was in Sunday school and the teacher said the lesson would be about Paul, her response: "yes, would that be Paul Blart Mall Cop?" After the lesson on Paul: "That wasn't Paul Blart Mall cop, he didn't get bit by a snake he was chased by a dog on the way to work." Nice call Maddie!
And finally Maddie was watching a Pittsburgh Steeler's game with her Daddy, Maddie's commentary: "Pittsburgh Steeler's? I bet everyone on that team is a thief!" Good times Maddie, good times...
The last kid hasn't really started talking yet but he still has some good stories...The day care where he is enrolled in had to remove all the chairs and posters on the wall because he has a tendency to climb on chairs and tear down the posters he can reach...needless to say Mindy's says when we take the tour we should mention that we are "distant cousins" early and often so they don't jack up the price for being related!
Just somethings I was thinking about today...
Thank you!
Josh
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Keep Em Cookin'
When my wife was first told that she was going on bed rest and couldn't go back to work she was OK with that. My family knew that it was going to be difficult for her both physically and emotionally. The plan was for her to do whatever she could to ensure that she stayed pregnant for an additional 10 weeks. She did very well the first couple of weeks. She would watch her cooking shows and some day time television but as you can imagine that got old really quick! She started to feel emotionally wore down and didn't have anyone to relate to her condition. My sister had brought over a few ideas when we first found out that she would be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy and one of those were twitter groups for women on bed rest. They have been a saving grace for my wife!
She now passes the long days on the couch by interacting in forums and twitter groups run by keep em cooking. I truly believe that any family that is going through this difficult period should really consider checking out their website and looking at stories from other women who are experiencing the same thing you are.
Interacting with other people going through the same thing you are can help you deal with your emotions with an online support group. I cannot express the gratitude that I have for Keep em Cooking and all of the wonderful ladies that participate in the forum. When my wife has "bad" days emotionally there is always a member that can cheer her up with advice or plain ole' sense of humor that my wife appreciates. As a husband with a wife on bed rest I also benefit from the information that they provide. Women that are in all phases of pregnancy and bed rest provide information for what you might expect by sharing their experiences and those experiences are passed down from member to member to ensure that each person can be as prepared as possible for there journey down bed rest lane!
Please, if you know any body going through a tough pregnancy I encourage you to send this link to them...I know they will find help here:
www.keepemcookin.com
Thank you and have a wonderful day, week and month!
Josh
She now passes the long days on the couch by interacting in forums and twitter groups run by keep em cooking. I truly believe that any family that is going through this difficult period should really consider checking out their website and looking at stories from other women who are experiencing the same thing you are.
Interacting with other people going through the same thing you are can help you deal with your emotions with an online support group. I cannot express the gratitude that I have for Keep em Cooking and all of the wonderful ladies that participate in the forum. When my wife has "bad" days emotionally there is always a member that can cheer her up with advice or plain ole' sense of humor that my wife appreciates. As a husband with a wife on bed rest I also benefit from the information that they provide. Women that are in all phases of pregnancy and bed rest provide information for what you might expect by sharing their experiences and those experiences are passed down from member to member to ensure that each person can be as prepared as possible for there journey down bed rest lane!
Please, if you know any body going through a tough pregnancy I encourage you to send this link to them...I know they will find help here:
www.keepemcookin.com
Thank you and have a wonderful day, week and month!
Josh
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