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Friday, June 19, 2009

Walk Down Memory Lane...



Happy Fatherhood Friday...and HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

With Fathers day this weekend, I thought it cool to (re) post how it all began....





Enjoy:






After about a year together, we'd decided the time was right for us to research starting our family. We'd talked about adopting, but being a same sex couple, it was determined it would not be the best thing for us, legally or for the kid. Too many things can happen, like bio parents coming back for the kid, etc...Besides, the state we live in does not allow it, by law.






We knew we had allot of love to give a child, as much as we had for each other. Our friends, a male couple together for many years, had triplets a few years before we met, so we asked for advice and referral. They suggested we speak with a firm out of Los Angeles which specializes in same sex surrogacy. We arranged an appointment, flew to LA and the process was started.






Now, it ain't easy for two men to have a kid, not like we can go out and knock someone up and wait for labor...(well, we could, but that hasn't happened in years, wasn't gonna happen then LOL)! NOOOOO, we have to consult with attorneys, fertility doctors (not the voodoo kind, the "we cost lots of money" kind), counselors, geneticists, sperm banks (someone had to store our "stuff"), egg donor extractors, etc.... Our bodies had to be poked, prodded, explored and counselled to insure our baby, and the surrogate would not be infected with any range of STD's or genetic maladies. Of course, the egg donor and surrogate had to experience the same, to insure our baby would be healthy.






Now, funny thing about the egg donor processes...ironic in fact...We were directed to a web site, and it was almost exactly like an online dating service. We were directed to see the pics, watch the videos, and read about the family health histories of so many women. Most were actresses, models and housewives in the LA area, young and quite beautiful. Educated and eager to offer their eggs to a same sex family...no worries, they are paid well for this. We chose our egg donor based on so many things, (looks of course) but also, genetic background, family health history, age, hair color, eye color...hell, even teeth. Yeah Yeah, Daddy saw one who was just perfect for our family, but, didn't care for her teeth. Papa said, "no worries, we can get them fixed later in life"...Daddy, says, "why bother?, we can find one with perfect teeth and not have to worry about it"...Daddy Won! We saw one woman, quite statuesque, blond, and Swedish...we were convinced she was the one...until we saw her video...SOOOOOO strong, stubborn, matter of fact and VERY competitive! Stubborn? I was like, NO WAY, I have to deal with one of those already not gonna have a kid like that too.....HELL NO! Ha...(Daddy Won that one too.) Now I suspect I know what you may be thinking, but trust me, I don't win too many battles..not even to this day...we knew from the beginning I would be a stay at home dad...so truly, not many battles for me to fight, let alone win anymore LOL!






Once the egg donor was chosen, it was a hurry up and wait scenario. The egg donor had to go through a few months of medical prep to "tune" her body into producing viable eggs for "harvest." During this process, behind the scenes, surrogates are thumbing through OUR profiles,. pics and bios, looking for the family they want to help create. Yup, the surrogates picks US, not the other way around. Think about it, they are a special breed. They offer up their bodies to carry, and birth a child. Not to mention, the 8 inch needles, full of OIL, for 2-3 months, faking their bodies into believing they are pregnant, readying for the embryo transfer...And of course, the 9 months of actually carrying a child that is not their own...stretching their bodies, for someone else's happiness! Again, not their own! So yeah, they get to pick whom they want to carry for. Hell, don't blame them...! They are paid well, but, in the grand scheme of things, no money can ever be enough, considering what they have to endure for more than a year...!!






We were eventually notified that a surrogate had chosen us....(finding out later, she picked us as her first choice). It was arranged that we meet, in Los Angeles and I don't have to tell you, my Partner and I were so thrilled...it was actually happening! She walks in the room, and I start crying, almost immediately. I mean, in walks a woman, so confident that WE are the family she wants to help create...I was so thankful for her...I couldn't help it, I hadda cry! It was like it all fit, no worries, no concerns, it was done! I can go on and on, with details and stuff, making this one hell of a blog entry, but I wont...you know the outcome, the family created here...the time and effort that goes into having a baby in a 2 Dad family is certainly more time consuming, more meds, more decisions, but hell, don't worry for us, we are damn happy to have our family started!!
Friday, June 12, 2009

"Bella, What Ya Thinking Bout"?


(The pic has nothing to do with the story - just wanted to share a day by the pool)

It has been a pretty darn cool week, but the highlight has been..."the big girl bed"
After our neighbor told us of their 2 year old, taking a header out of her crib, I have been concerned for Bella's safety. She is fearless when it comes to discovering new things and it was only a matter of time before she too took the dive.
Fortunately, she did not...ever! But, it made me think, when do you transition a toddler from crib to bed? Well, depending on who you talk to, I have researched and found it varies...GREATLY! Have received advice from parents and pediatricians, neighbors and friends, 15 months, all the way up to 4 years. 4 YEARS? Lord, no way I am lifting this kid out of a crib, several times a day...uh uh, not gonna happen.
So, when our friends told us of hearing that tell-tale thump, upstairs, I figured it was time to start looking into it for our little one.
Of course, the thoughts of how she would deal with this transition, this new change in her life, concerned me. So, for the past week or so, I have been psyching her into it. She prides herself on no longer being a baby. Reminding us over and over how she is now a "big girl." We ask her if she is a baby or a big girl, and she just about screams...NO, BIG GIRL! Bella is a big girl now! Soooo, one to stay with a theme, I kept on her...telling her over and over..."your big girl bed is coming"..."Bella's gonna have a big girl bed soon" "Are you excited to sleep in a big girls bed"?...I kept this up, until eventually, SHE was telling ME the same....
First step, bought her a standard size pillow. I was as, if not more, excited than she was to have this in her crib. FINALLY, I could get rid of the "pickle pillow"...(a small, green, firm, curved pillow. Not really sure what it was intended for, but, she seemed to like that it was a pickle...;-) Researching online, I found, best not to place a standard size pillow in a crib. Especially for infants, but, toddlers have also been known to have issues with a large pillow in a small space.
Eh, it was time. We needed the big girl bed.


Taking advice from yet another neighbor/friend...I ventured to Costco. Thinking I would price them there, then go on to our local mattress store and negotiate. Boy, was I surprised to find the mattress store was having a huge sale. It was 150 bucks cheaper than Costco - who would have thought? I had to have the mattress set...NOW!
Picked out a full size set (her crib turns into a daybed and full size bed - without the side rails - she is gonna have this till she is 18!!) and proceeded to wait 24 hours for delivery. Well, I got that wrong. For an additional 50.00 bucks they will deliver. I figured, eh, I can do it myself...it should fit in the back of my car...afterall, full size sets are just slightly larger than a twin. WRONG! Duh me, they are just smaller than a queen size set. LOL. Had to head back home, but not before calling my neighbor, and gotta love them, they offered their big ole Expedition! No more wait, I could get it home that night. If only you could have seen me tying that box spring to the top, and shoving the mattress in the back...not a pretty sight. Good thing I was alone, as I was cussing up a storm.
Next day, I took down the crib, placed the mattress and box spring directly on the floor. (again, taking advice to place it there for about a week, get her used to the idea).
That didn't take long...within hours, she was so excited to take a nap on her "Big Girl Bed". I was in shock, as she usually give me little hissy fits at nap time...not this day...uh uh, she went right down. Even sang herself to sleep...and in the 36 hours since, has slept all night and taken two naps...WOWSA! It worked!
Damn, our little girl has a big girl bed...not so little anymore...SIGH!

AAAWWW OF THE WEEK:


Bella was sitting in our family room, and as I glanced over, had a look of deep thought. I asked: "Bella, wotcha thinking about"? She replied: "I am thinking about my Daddy"...man oh man, did I melt in that moment!




SHOUT'N OUT TO MY PEEPS & PALS over at DAD_BLOGS Check us out, we give great advice and loads of fun stories, groups, discussions and welcome Moms too!






Friday, June 5, 2009

From Baby Babble to Chatty Cathy


Or just plain Cute? Our little one has become quite the chatterer....Seems like only a yesterday (so cliche eh? LOL) ago, we were still trying to decipher her words. She has become SO LITERAL, seemingly overnight!

She taught herself the alphabet at 19 months, thanks to Elmo and Old School Sesame Street DVDs...seriously, she did it, we watched, with fingers in ears and she actually learned the letters by sight, then sound. She is a braniac...she absorbs everything around her. Pays attention to conversations, and is a stickler for detail...but now?
Now? She doesn't shut it...goes on and on and on and on and on. My Partner recently suggested that I had asked for this. HUH? WTF? I said at one point: "I cant wait for her to talk, like a normal person. So I can actually have a conversation with her". Yup, that's what I said, after so many months/years of Baby Babble.



Being a stay at home parent, you don't get much adult interaction, unless you seek it out...and who has time? Who in their right mind would ever ask for anyone to chatter incessantly? Hell, for months now, I have SO looked forward to that one, maybe one and a half hour sleep time. Alone time. Just damn quiet time.
Anyway, now, it is:


Daddy, what are you thinking about?
Daddy, who is that on TV?
Daddy, where is Papa?
Daddy, are you feeling OK?
Daddy, do a puzzle with Bella?
Bella Do it Daddy. OK? OK Daddy? Daddy OK?
Daddy, Bella let the dogs out?
Daddy, Bella let the dogs in?
Daddy, go shopping?
Daddy, Bella do yoga?
Daddy, Bella do exercises with Daddy?
Daddy, Bella want juice, please, NOW!
Daddy, Papa at work?
Daddy, Pink Shirt, Pink Shoes, Pink Headband.
Daddy, where's Bella's Pink Glasses?
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! (I May change my name).

OK, OK, I know, how frikkin cute....but believe me...when you are experiencing it 24/7...it tends to get a little (ALLOT) redundant....
Now I say: "Man, I cant wait for her to go to school"...(of course I will miss her, what are you frikkin crazy?)



Moral of the story? Careful what you wish for.



And, don't forget to check out my friends over at Dad-Blogs.com.

Happy Fatherhood Friday!


Friday, May 29, 2009

"Look Papa, It's Bella's Hoo-Haw Hoo"




Get your mind out of the gutter! This was Bella's interpretation of: "Look Papa, It's Bella's HOOLA HOOP" :-) She certainly has a way with words sometimes. This one, though, was one of her more hysterical ones. Papa couldn't wait to tell me, as it totally cracked him up.

Now, this post may have started on a humorous note, but, it has been one helluva week, indeed!
We returned form vacation last wed night, and the very next day....Papa and Bella were sick. Me? Well, it took a few more days, but I was targeted as well. NURSE-MAID MODE kicked in.

Kicked in? more like MANDATED! It seems when anyone is sick in our home, I am the one who takes over. The calm one. The one with the mind to nurture...Gets the meds ready, calls the doctors, warms/or cools the home, depending on the illness...(and the doctors advice)...and this time was no exception. In fact, it felt more like we were quarantined!

Honestly, Overwhelmed is a good word. But, in defense of everyone involved, I take over because I HAVE to. I feel like I am the only one who can make it better. Stupid I know, but hey, I grew up in a large family, and my mind tells me the worst scenarios can be avoided. And my mind, yeah, it works like that, I think the worst can happen and I prep for it. I may not handle it in a calm manner, but crappers, I do what I can. God forbid anyone stands in my way when my family is ill.

It is truly more of a self preservation method. I don't wanna get sick...if I do who takes care of everyone else?

My partner, sick as he can be, will offer to get up every three hours to give Bella her Motrin and Tylenol (alternating of course)...but I always do it, and I do mean always, so no. "You need to get yourself better, so I can have a break"...That never happens. I need to be in control I guess. I am a stay at home dad, I have the time to read, research and get the answers needed to get better. I have that knowledger....I like to think. ARRRGH! It doesn't always work that way...but hey, it is MY WAY DAMNIT! LOL (kidding) sort of!

Bella has been feverish, with a cough, for almost a week...off and on, the fever issue always makes me nervous. DAMN nervous! http://belladaddy.blogspot.com/2008/01/week-of-scary.html

As of this posting, (9am-ish) she is still sleeping. I feel, since she woke up every three hours last night, and the night before, she can sleep as long as she wants.

Now, if only I could get some sleep...maybe a vacation from our vacation?

SIGH! - Happy Fatherhood Friday Everyone!






Friday, May 22, 2009

Fearless Philly Photo Fatherhood Friday

Back from a vacation visiting family near Philadelphia, I am so glad to be part of DAD-BLOGS Fatherhood Friday, yet again.



Bella had a GREAT time with family. She was thrilled to play with her cousins, Rachel, Mathew and Brandon. Alas, we were still not able to visit her BFF Sophia in New Jersey, but we have hope it will happen someday :-)



The highlight of our trip, was visiting Sesame Place. I am certain I had more fun that anyone else. But, as you can see from the pics, Bella had a pretty darn good time as well. She is FEARLESS...asking to ride the roller coaster the moment we entered the gates. her first time on one and we had a BLAST! I must say, this was no little kiddies coaster...this thing was tall...fast...and SUPER FUN! I have it on video, may post later.







Also, to address concerns, on a previous post. We are pretty good parents, we know when to limit our child's viewing of anything questionable. Therefore, for anyone concerned, Bella loves The Rocky Horror Picture Show, EDITED VERSION ;-) She adores the costumes, the music and the dancing....

Thursday, May 7, 2009

An Interview With A Superstar!


Not the best I could have done...considering last weeks' post (tee hee) but hey, not so easy sitting a toddler down for an interview ;-) I wanted it to be spectacular...smoothe...nail biting! OK, OK, We had loads of fun though. This was taped at a few different sittings. One, as you will notice, right after her bath...and she asked to wear her "poky-dot robe" as well as her...well, you'll see! Hope you enjoy.


You may need to pause in places, to see the question, and turn up the volume, she speaks softly at times ;-)


This vid goes out to all my friends over at DAD-BLOGS. Yah Yah, I know, I seem to only post on Fridays now....but, if you visit the site, you will realize there are some very cool, encouraging blogs over there....Love em! Most of the questions in the video were sent in by those cool Dads and Moms! Don't fret if your question wasn't included this time. We have saved them all and are already in the works for a better, more vivid and revealing interview...Coming Soon!

Hope you enjoy as half as much as we did making it.



Friday, May 1, 2009

Foot In Mouth Friday



...as well as a shout out to my very cool friends over at DAD-BLOGS.

Every Friday, as many of you know, we share blogs, ideas and cool camaraderie.

Last Friday, I put out a call to our blogger buddies to submit questions for the little Superstar for an interview to be presented this Friday. (A cool idea, I thought, at the time).
Making a long story very short...Daddy dropped the ball. I do, however, have what I would consider a good reason...FOOD POISONING! (Gawd, I thought I was gonna be on the news, for Swine Flu!)

Being a stay at home parent, we get to experience so many things in the wonderful little worlds of our children. BUT, and it is a BIG but...(pun intended), sometimes...well, ya just get sick. And when you do, and those of you who are stay at home parents know, you just don't function well....
You are supposed to though...no excuses...no one can do it better...you are THE one who holds everything together...(or rather, you like to think so) but damn, you just wanna crawl under a rock and die....

Imagine, your tummy feels a bit odd...u eat lunch, but it just doesn't seem to settle...the little one goes down for a nap...you decide to lay down too...(we have all heard, when the little one naps, you do too).

We have a two story home, therefore, we have used a monitor in our little one's bedroom since birth...and I cant tell you how amazing it has been to have that monitor...watching, (staring) at the little one sleeping, moving about...and just being a cool alarm clock...for when she wakes.

BUT, (there is that big ole but again)...this particular day, I wanted to pitch it. throw it out the window...(off the second floor)...smash it...burn it....donate it to the local convenience store for surveillance....

She wakes! I spew! Simple as that....? NOPE! It was horrendous....I barely made it to the kitchen sink...(I know what you are thinking...KITCHEN SINK? Hey, it has a disposal...and frankly, lucky I made it anywhere at all...)! Without going into particulars, let's just say my lunch included bits of bell peppers...read, green, yellow...and at that point, no digestion had taken place...IT HURT!

At this point, the little one wants out of bed...NOW. I can't...it hurts, I am weak...it is two stories up...and it would have felt like a hike up a mountain at that point....

So, Daddy, who does it all, who prides himself on taking care of everyone else, regardless...had to break down, call the other half...and in a whimper..."Please can you come home and get the little one out of bed...I am Spewing."

Better now, after a few days, but, the Interview is not ready....it will be...trust me...and it will be fun...but for now...I need to wallow in my self pity for a bit....(at least I ain't wallowing in Spew)

Go ahead, take advantage of my humility...read last weeks post...send your comments and questions...I will add and have a fun fun fun video next week.

Make sure and click on the blogs of those who have submitted, as well as heading over to my friends at Dad-Blogs.com...

SIGH!
P.S. after the spew had died down, I had to blow my nose...YUP, bell peppers...in the nose...NOT PRETTY!









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