Spain Dad, a baby blog

I was sitting there fidgeting with the paper slip in my hand, the number R519 printed on it. An open book was sitting on my lap, but I hadn’t read a word. I glanced around at the room full of others watching the red, digital numbers flash onto the small marquee hanging from the ceiling. [...]

I had just arrived at staff meeting when Troy told me April had called. I called her back on my mobile phone. “I locked myself out of the apartment,” April said. “I’m at Victoria’s with Alleke and Grandpa and Grandma. Can I meet you somewhere to get your keys?” I hesitated. “I don’t have keys,” [...]

I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and left the bedroom. The light was on in the bathroom. My mother-in-law was brushing her teeth. I could hear my father-in-law rolling their last suitcase through the hallway to the front door. I helped them carry their bags down the flights of stairs to the front [...]

So far in my thinking, I’ve discovered there are two basic parenting styles. Parent as Expert In the first parenting style, the parent is the expert. When the baby is born, her mind is like a blank slate without any rules for understanding the world around her. The parent, in contrast, knows the rules from [...]

Grandpa and I sat on a park bench in the square and watched Alleke as she wandered around, stopping occasionally to study the fallen leaves. A dad pushing his daughter in a stroller bought a balloon from the vender standing in the middle of the square and walked over. He took his daughter out of [...]

I’m beginning to think of last Wednesday less as Alleke’s first birthday and more as her Independence Day. Last night April and I were sitting on the couches and talking after Alleke was in bed. At one point April looked at me, puzzled, and said, “I barely saw Alleke tonight. Did you have her?” I [...]

This post is the second one in a set of two. To read Alleke’s birth story from the beginning, click here. The next thing I knew another nurse came and loaded up my bed for transfer. We rolled down the hallway, and he tried to make small talk with us as I moaned and made [...]

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