Bath Time...

Today we've graduated. The belly button fell off last week and we've been able to give Anna baths in the baby tub. So far it's been all Carrie as she's done them when I've been at work, but tonight I got my shot.

A short instructional from Carrie and I've got the bath situated and water running. Now I seem to recall purchasing some sort of water temperature tester during the baby supply stockpiling and it seems like this would be where that comes into play. Ah, yes the rubber duck with a hot censor on the bottom, here it is and away we go.

I draw a lukewarm bath thinking that they probably don't want it too hot and this is the safest. Stick my hand in, no problem...feels perfect. Better check with the rubber duck hot water censor though before proceeding. Drop in the duck wait a minute and turn it over...HOT!!! Really? I ask myself, but yield my own common sense to the power of the duck.

Well all is ok because Carrie is currently feeding Anna so it will have time to cool. A few minutes later, drop in the duck...HOT!!! I ask myself if something is wrong as it now almost feels like a swimming pool on a hot summer day, not cold but far from hot. Again I yield to the power of the duck and decide I'll add some cold water to the equation.

Cold water added, a few more minutes of cooling and this bath is pretty much room temperature. Curiosity get's the best of me and I drop the duck in the water...HOT!!! Now what the hell is this, do they want me to give my daughter a bath in a pitcher of ice water. I pull the duck out contemplate turning it into a dog chew toy and vent my frustration. Now I'm simply holding this rubber duck temperature censor in the air dry as can be and it's still telling me...HOT!!!

Fortunately Carrie got involved we ended up with a good bath and all is again well with Anna and bathtime, but I have learned my lesson. I will either be investing in a more sensitive hot water temperature measurement tool or using my own common sense, but I will never again yield power to "the duck."

I will however be keeping the duck around for future bath time play...while this thing may not serve it's purpose, it does look fun.

All Nighter

I'm not sure if Anna was trying to party like a rockstar for the 4th of July or what but on her first official holiday with us, we or I should say mostly Carrie pulled an all nighter last night. The shocking thing is Anna has still yet to sleep more than a couple hours as of Sunday evening at 7pm.

Now I knew having a daughter that someday, probably in the teen years, I would spend some sleepless nights and days in a battle of will power but I had no idea it would begin ten days in.

I should give her a little credit because Anna's hours spent awake are not all crying and screaming. There has been quite a bit of staring off into space, looking at her hands and even watching the epic Wimbledon Final with her dad.

I'm starting to think that this lamaze guy who helps women relax during childbirth should have a followup class for helping first time fathers relax during child raising.

3 aha moments...

In the hospital you go through two phases when having a child. Step one is the whole labor and delivery portion. Next is the move into the newborn area spending a couple of days and nights being taught how not to screw things up too badly by a group of nurses at your beckon call.

Looking back I think I would pay extra to have this service for an extended period of time. After two days in a hospital I was desperate to get out but it's still a tad bit intimidating to leave. Problem is, how else are you going to learn if you don't dive in head first...right? I must admit though, the ability to send Anna off to the nursery when she was crying so we could sleep was quite a deal.

Three moments from the hospital stick with me and while none are really huge stories on their own they were thoughts that ran through my head and account for a few of my first aha moments of parenthood.

First things first, admissions...up to room 317 and the door shuts behind me. This is it, no turning back and for the first time I think I'm really nervous. I hate hospitals, not a big fan of blood or others in pain. Whether I like it or not though I'm here for the duration and being it's only 730am it could be awhile.

Obviously all goes well, Anna joins us in the world and Carrie holds her. Now it's my turn to hold our new little girl. Now here's the thing, being a first time father and one without much experience with newborns I was already lacking in the confidence department. Looking to boost said confidence I take Anna from the nurse and find myself smiling ear to ear. Here's where I plummet back to earth. Not sure what I did or if it was just the look on my face but the nurse says to me, "You haven't been around a lot of newborns have you." What? are you kidding me...I was just boosting my self esteem lady and now you've brought back all those nerves from before. Aha moment number one...I have no clue what I'm doing.

Up next they move us to the other room and my wife, my daughter and I settle in for our first night as a family. Well, sort of...Carrie needs some sleep, I need some sleep and everyone recommends we get sleep. Anna, sorry I love ya but it's off to the nursery tonight. Well about three AM in true Kemp fashion I wake myself up with the sudden realization that I'm going to have to pay for a wedding someday....ouch. Carrie laughs at my concern, my blood pressure rises a bit I'm sure and it's back to those few precious hours of sleep remaining. A-Ha moment number two...I have a daughter and all the stress that goes with that.

Next morning bright and early is Anna's first bath. She comes in, Carrie feeds her and we are then escorted to the nursery so we can watch the fun happen. My first hint of what was in store followed. Upon walking into the nursery Anna begins to cry and all the nurses laugh and say "Anna's back." This is hint number one that you have a fussy baby. We complete the bath, Anna is dried off, situated and still won't stop crying. No big deal, this is normal...until I look around and the other 6 newborns in the room are all fast asleep calmly living out there new found lives. Hmmm? My baby doesn't seem to do that much, again in denial I think this is nothing to worry. Wrong, this was hint number two that we had a fussy baby. Aha moment number 3...I don't think she's going to make this easy on me.

So there you have it...my three aha moments from our time in the hospital and while I'm sure I'll make it through, I'm still dealing with the shock of having a brand new baby girl in the family. Good news is she sure does bring plenty of smiles to my face and that is a very good thing.

A Marathon, Not a Sprint...

Well we're a little over a week in and so far we've survived. Anna is doing great although she seems to have it out for us and our regular sleep schedule of the past. You hear mixed reviews from other new parents, some say sleep comes fairly easy and others say there is no sleep. I think we'd tend to find ourselves closer to the side of the sleepless in week one but it's all worth it and Anna is a funny one.

A big thank you to the grandma's and grandpa's that have been here to help early and those that are still on the way. Also to those who've extended there well wishes through calls, cards and thoughts over the past week, thank you.

As far as the business at hand of being a parent and father, there are inevitably some entertaining stories that I'd like to get on paper in the near future and have thus modified the name of the blog for a continuing look at our next phase of parenthood. While we certainly experienced changes in those 9 months of pregnancy, it's clear that those pale in comparison to those of truly raising a child. Not sure anything can fully prepare you for this but here we go and it's time to enjoy the ride.

Happy Birthday!!!!

On June 24th Carrie and I were officially scheduled for parenthood with a 7:30am labor induction scheduled. At 6:32pm we became the proud parents of Anna Duvall Kemp a 7 pound 8.4 ounce baby girl. She measured 20 inches long and both the new mommy and baby are doing very well.

So far she prefers to be wrapped up and with her mom, otherwise watch out!!





Looks like the Pink baby basket is going to be a perfect fit.

All Smiles

A restless night and an early morning. All smiles at the hospital so far...goal for the day, Have a baby.

and away we go!!!!

Nope, it hasn't happened yet but it looks like we're scheduled for parenthood either June 24th or 25th. Tomorrow morning we head into the hospital for LABOR INDUCTION!!!

Talk about another strange feeling in the course of this whole pregnancy thing. Suddenly we had the opportunity to decide if and when we wanted to go ahead and do this. Carrie has progressed very well over the past couple of weeks and the doctor said she was a great candidate to be induced if we were ready to have the baby. READY...are you kidding!!! Is that a question that the answer is ever yes to. Maybe not, but we said yes anyway and away we go.

I'm already sitting here at home thinking of all the things I could get done tonight before heading in tomorrow. All the while my poor dogs have no idea what is about to happen.

I guess from a man's perspective this is a great thing. I was able to mow the yard, pack a bag have one last irresponsible evening at home awaiting impending fatherhood. It's pretty exciting, fun and relieving.

Shockingly though Carrie is the same way. If I were a woman and about to go through childbirth I'm not sure I'd want to know it was coming. I'm sure men don't really face a pain in life similar to childbirth but if we did it would be this....




and I don't know if I would want to know it was coming.

As usual though Carrie has taken it in stride and seems ready as ever for motherhood. So tonight I get my last night of uninterrupted sleep and hopefully I won't have that reoccurring nightmare of Carrie and I at eachothers throats during birth.

Feels like Christmas Eve a little bit I suppose, should be anything but restful and I don't think either one of us can wait for tomorrow.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow we'll have some more news...boy or girl.

Doctor Quote of the Day...

Today Carrie went in for her weekly check as we are on the final countdown to birth. Turns out she's now 4.5cm dilated and over 75% effaced. Sounds to me like we should be having a baby...? The doctors reaction confirms this and earned a quote of the day award.

"I just don't understand what's holding this baby in."

She went on to add that it must be a boy as stubborn as the baby is being. So that's where we're at. Ready and waiting, seems like something should be happening but it's not. Due date is still June 30th but it is seeming very unlikely that we make it that far as next week at 39 weeks we may be inducing labor.

One Last Class

Oh boy...last night was our final class with anything related to the baby. We've done the childbirth class, we've done the child care class but last night we went to the dreaded breast feeding class!! My worst nightmare, a room full of women learning to breast feed.

My initial thought here is surely my participation or attendance wouldn't be necessary. To my knowledge a man doesn't really contribute here I thought of it a little like that class in college that was easy and unimportant enough that you could pass the test just by knowing someone who took it and getting all the answers. Furthermore, I would put money on possibly being the first official male graduate of breast feeding class in my family. What an honor.

However, the dreaded "support" word get's tossed around and again I'm front and center holding onto this fake baby doll watching video's about "proper latch."

Now there were a multitude of jaw dropping moments within the class for me but fortunately I was slightly late and missed the two that might have been deal breakers. I arrived about 15 minutes late for class and it was well under way on my arrival. As with any class there is the "ice breaker" get to know everyone portion, followed by any initial questions. This is what I missed and I was later informed by Carrie that it was a good thing.

First off our lactation specialist who is teaching the class discusses her experiences in breastfeeding her three children. She has a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 9 month old. Perhaps I'm way out of line here and if I am consider me now educated but I would have assumed that only the 9 month old was currently breastfeeding. Wrong!!! Apparently the 4 year old and 2 year old are still as well. To each his own I suppose and I'm sure there is a good argument for this being a beneficial thing but I'm not sure and I'm glad I wasn't in the room quite yet.

Next comes the stupid husband question/comment of the night. In our group of 6 couples I'm fairly sure only two husbands even spoke and the first one to chime in proceeds to ask if breast milk was something adults could have, following that question up with the comment, "not that I'm into that." I think that would have been my signal to depart but alas I was about 15 minutes late missing stupid question #1 of the evening.

Keeping a long story short this was by far the most uncomfortable I've ever been in one of these classes yet and I've never been happier to "graduate." The class prior to this, child care, I actually almost enjoyed learning to change a diaper. I envisioned myself as a rodeo participant dominating the calf roping competition as I successfully changed the diaper in record time. There is no such analogy or fun to be had though in breast feeding class.

Breast pumps, proper latch, massaging the breasts to release milk...I'm not sure where I come into play here but all in all it was educational and something I never want to sit through again. Three hours in class, in a tiny room is enough to drive me up the wall. Add in the subject matter of the evening and it wasn't easy.

Certainly I would do it again in a heartbeat if Carrie asked but hopefully we're both well versed after this class, all goes well after birth and we won't be re-learning anytime soon.

Down to the Wire

So we are truly down to the final hours, days or weeks...at this point no one is sure. Went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything is pretty much good to go, Carrie is "progressing" quickly and it's just a matter of when this new guy or gal wants to come into the world I guess.

I'm fairly certain Carrie is ready for this to be over with. It's turned into pretty much a nightly event of her being up from 3-6 or so because she isn't able to sleep for a variety of reasons. It's actually become so frequent that I haven't even noticed her getting up lately and only realize it when I see random facebook comments from her at 3:46 in the morning.

If there is one thing I think I have learned through all this it's that man pregnancy is a funny thing. To us it's pretty much a slow and steady ride with little bumps in the road as opposed to a woman who rides a rollercoaster of emotion, changes and I'm pretty sure hormones come into play somewhere along the way too.

I think for men the rollercoaster begins when the baby really get's here or at least when things finally seem imminent which has happened for me very recently. I'll admit it, I've been a little stressed the past couple of weeks hoping we've got everything in order and ready. Last weekend we made a major house cleaning effort so that at the very least we had one part of our lives in order. I guess it will probably be the last time we'll feel like that for a while but it should be fun.

As I'm writing this Carrie is on another Doc visit because they wanted to check on things due to some cramping and mild contractions. Who knows I could be in the hospital tonight. Very strange, very exciting and it really does change your perspective on things a bit I suppose. Obviously there are many chapters in life but I'm not sure any have this definitive of a beginning. The baby is there and that's that, no easing into things with this one.

So onto my best effort at remaining focused at work, it's been tough lately having that impending birth thing in my head...it's kind of like trying to be productive at work the day before vacation or on Christmas eve. Despite your best efforts, it's impossible.

High Pressure Sales Tactics

Sunday nights over the past two weeks have gone from a relaxing evening watching Joan Rivers and Clint Black duke it out on Celebrity Apprentice to a 4 hour block of baby class. Think of it like a lecture in college but for an extended period of time. Honestly after fighting my way through the 8 hours of total teaching I wonder how in fact I made it through school in the first place. There must have been a time when my attention span was much greater and I was a better student.

Anyway, back to the class...baby express I think it was called and it involves all things baby delivery. Sure, sounds like a good idea and maybe it is but the kicker is that the ultimate result was much like a timeshare presentation.

Picture this...your staying at a resort and you want to get the free shuttle, dinner, maybe an extended happy hour for the week whatever it may be they want you to simply sit through their short 1 hour seminar about the resort. Next thing you know you really feel like you need to buy this thing and they make it hell to say no. Ultimately I suppose it's easy to win out because there is a monetary factor involved but in baby class that is not the case.

Day one consisted of roughly three and a half hours of relaxation techniques for the expectant mother. Great!! by all means let's get her relaxed have the baby...everybody wins. That's where they get you...as an expectant father it becomes apparent that you are the one that is responsible for said relaxation. Coaching, soothing, encouraging and MASSAGING!!!

Again, completely understandable come baby time and labor is in full swing. I for one am SO glad that i don't have to be in charge of that but in class I suddenly find myself rope-a-doped into giving massage after massage but we aren't really having the baby...just practicing?

Translation...my relaxing Sunday evening watching celebrity apprentice just turned into a group spa session for Carrie and all with the promise of a more comfortable birth. Now are you seeing the timeshare comparison??

In all honesty I'm making it sound worse than it was and I only tell the story because Carrie and I had fun with it and the comparison for most of the week. Glad we did it, glad it's over...the only funny thing is, I think I feel better about the child birth thing, but I'm pretty sure Carrie feels worse.

Baby Update

So once again I've been neglecting my expectant fatherly duties in recording and documenting all things pregnancy for a little while. Truth be told though it's pretty uneventful anymore and that might be a good thing.

Since the 3D ultrasound it's been a grind to the finish and we've still got a month and a half to go. Sure seems like the first few months flew by but now I think we're both just ready to meet the new baby and get going with things.

The baby room is pretty much completely setup at this point to which we owe a great deal of thanks to two baby showers for providing a multitude of wonderful gifts to help us prepare.

In addition we've gotten to purchasing some of the major things as well like a pack and play, one of those swing things and we did receive the ever important Jayhawk onesy. I do have to admit though that the excitement of my first trip to look at all the baby stuff has gradually worn off as there suddenly became a cost associated with said items.

Other than that not a whole lot of news. We took one last trip to Mexico pre-baby with Carrie's work which was fun but also very glad to be out of there right before the dreaded swine flu took hold.

After that Carrie took a trip to Quincy and I'll be doing the same at the end of this month so it's just been a busy time with doctor visits in between.

The only other thing really is that we've taken a couple of baby classes which deserve their own posting so that will come this week I promise. After that I guess we're getting down to the nitty gritty and I'll be in touch as things warrant some reference and certainly when we get down to time for the baby to come and going forward I think I'll use this as a sounding board beyond just pregnancy but to talk about all those other challenges that will certainly come along the way.

Oh and one last thing...struggling with boy names so if anyone has any good ideas feel free to sound off...we probably won't use the one you suggest but you never know :D

Looks Like a Real Person

28.5 Weeks at this point and entering the homestretch. Carrie is still in good spirits but we're both getting anxious. Time that once seemed to fly by is now standing still.

We did however visit the doctor this week and have some neat stuff to share. Technology is truly amazing and this week we had a 3D ultrasound done in which we got a chance to see up close and personal some images of the baby.

Not sure exactly how this all works but basically it's like looking top down through the stomach and at the baby. If it cooperates things look pretty incredible, if not a little blurry. For the most part the baby wasn't super cooperative but we did get a few great shots that I wanted to share.



Now it's funny because while they're doing the ultrasound the baby is moving and tossing and turning so you get to see all that going on and it's truly a real live person in there at this point which is somewhat shocking to me for some reason.

We saw hands opening and closing. Several times the hand seemed to wave at the "camera" or perhaps the baby is as non photogenic as I am and was attempting to block the view.

Another really crazy thing that happened was it's eyes opening. Apparently this isn't very common for them to catch this on the ultrasounds but it did in fact open it's eyes which again was very exciting but kind of strange as well because the images are pretty vivid.





We found a baby picture of me that Carrie thinks looks VERY similar to the baby in the above photos but we'll have to see when it arrives.

Another note worth mentioning from the visit is a possible answer to the ever popular question of "what are you having?"

We managed to again avoid temptation and not find out the sex but we did have two moments where we thought we might be getting hints from the ultrasound tech and the doc. The problem is they were opposites.

I swear during the ultrasound I heard the word "he" slip a few times while talking about the baby. Problem is after that with the doctor the word "she" slipped. Who knows? and honestly at this point I've given up...everyone seems to have one reason or another why it is what it is based on an old wives tale or something and I guess come the day of the birth we'll just have to prove half of those wrong.

Some Assembly Required

After much deliberation and two cribs being discontinued we left Baby's R Us last night with a crib in tow. I was very impressed with Carrie's selection for a variety of reason. First it is a very nice looking crib and I think it will go well with Carrie's style. More importantly from a man's perspective it looks relatively easy to put together and it was pretty reasonably priced..

Now when I say that it looks easy to put together that was just my opinion in eyeballing it. The true test will come when it actually happens. My doubts were raised though when the box was carted out and the words "Easiest Crib to Assemble" were on the side of the box." Why would you have to say that if it were true? It seems to me that anytime something is "easy" to assemble...it's not.

Fortunately I get to procrastinate a little while longer as the current bathroom remodel is taking precedent along with Kansas basketball season which has turned surprisingly successful over the last couple of months.

Full documention of the crib assembly will be available and if all else fails I guess I'll have to make Thomas get on a plane and fly to Denver. At the moment though confidence is high.

We Have Movement!!!

Well, I finally did it. I finally felt the baby move. Patience isn't exactly my forte and for a while now Carrie has claimed to be feeling the baby move. I however have never caught her or the baby at the right time to successfully feel any movement.

What am I feeling for? What will it feel like? All very confusing at times but never resulting in me feeling any movement which is strange because Carrie feels it so often.

Well the other night that all changed and my first reaction was...whoa...that's strange. At first I wasn't sure if it was Carrie hiccuping or breathing or what but she insisted it was the baby. Then the movement picked up a little and I was reminded of the Alien movies I watches as a child. Yes the the classic films where Sigourney Weaver battles the slimy aliens that pop out of peoples stomachs.

Fortunately I don't think Carrie is housing an alien and the experience of feeling the dancing baby breaking down was both very strange and at the same time exciting.

Now next week we go in for the extensive ultrasound and I guess that's when I'll get to see what this baby looks like and what I felt but for the moment I'm left with the simple fact that something is moving in there and it's a pretty amazing thing.

The Pink Baby Basket

So this story I meant to tell a long time ago but life seems to always get in the way. It happened over Thanksgiving and today I'm looking at this stroller assembled over Christmas and I am reminded of the simplicity of a recent gift. So here it goes...

We visited Kansas City for Thanksgiving and met my mom, grandparents, brother and his wife as well as my uncle and aunt at my grandparents house before heading to our destination. Now if you know my grandpa you will know that he is one of the better story tellers at least that I know. He also seems to have a knack for things that might just be important at some point in time. These two talents gelled together on that day and resulted in a pretty incredible gift in both Carrie's and my own opinion.

It started as we talked about how Carrie was feeling and the whole baby thing and gradually trickled into uncovering old photos of Lee and Mary Duvall in their younger days. Photos through the years trickled to those of their own children sprouting up from a box left in the living room. A particular picture pulled showed an infant child with long curly hair wearing what appeared to be a dresslike garment. The natural assumption, this must be grandma.

To the contrary however, we were quickly informed that the child in the photo was Lee Duvall. Clearly this photo was taken a few years prior to another famous photo of trick horseback riding in Waverly Kansas taken slightly later in life.

Now we get to hear another story from Grandpa and to my surprise this is a new one. Typically we all sit on the edge of our seats for one of the old standby's, crashing the Mexican wedding, camping with the convicts or the Duvalls on parade. Everyone of those are great and if you haven't heard them ask me and I'll do my best to explain or if you get a chance ask him, you'll get the real deal and you won't regret it.

Anyway, back to this story. As the story goes my great grandmother Lela Duvall had apparently always hoped for a girl with her first and only child. Accordingly preparations were made for a girl and to make a long story short this photo of a long curly haired grandpa as a baby was the result of what Lela had planned and prepared for, at least that's how my grandpa tells it.

Now on the surface that seems like a good funny story but here's where it got really neat for Carrie and I. My grandpa's baby basket was in the basement and in his story he explained how a portion of the basket was painted pink for a girl and when he was born rather than change it, it was left that way. He said he was going to pass it to the first great grandchild and as luck would have it, that's my baby!! So he awarded us with this idol of Duvall history and now the question again becomes, what if it's a boy.

Carrie and I have decided that despite my grandpa's blessing in painting it blue or another color if needed, we will honor the tradition boy or girl leaving the baby basket with the original pink trim. While clearly modern technology has left this a bit antiquated as far as practical use, we are very happy to have it, will be using it in some way and when the time comes passing it down the line.

Call me cheesy but I thought this was a pretty neat little story as well as a cool gift. It's gotten much longer than I originally anticipated due to some necessary background information and what I felt was an opportunity to get a good plug in for Grandpa Lee's story telling.


Thanks again grandpa

Update from the Doc

OK, where were we...oh yes Carrie's pregnant. Monday of this week Carrie made a quick trip to the doctor's office for some testing and a regular check up on the baby. First off we are happy to report everything looks great, but I did want to share a mildly humorous story from the visit.

As part of the regular checkup the heartbeat of the baby is checked for an listened to. The first time this happened it was very easy, put the instrument on the belly you hear two heartbeats. One is Carrie's one is the baby's.

On this particular instance there was a whole lot of interference going on with the monitor. After working a little to find the heartbeat the nurse started laughing a bit. Obviously this is at the very least reassuring but Carrie still wondered why she was laughing. When asked to explain she made the statement that this is the most active baby I've ever heard.

Apparently the baby was throwing a party in there because rather than hearing a clear heartbeat there was a whole lot more noise going on.

With this news I can only determine one of two things to be the case.

First it's possible the baby has taken after me when I have a few cocktails at a wedding and taken to the dance floor.

More likely though the answer is this...it is Kansas basketball season and Monday was a big road test against Baylor. Perhaps he/she was afraid of missing the action.

Next checkup is March 2nd...this will be a fairly extensive ultrasound. Should have some good action shots of the dancing machine. The big question is, to find out or not to find out the sex of the baby?

Top 5 Worries of Impending Fatherhood

All right...I have really dropped the ball here. I have every intention in catching up on all the happenings and thoughts of the last couple months. For today however, I think I'll just stick with 5 mostly sarcastic and somewhat humorous worries of impending fatherhood.

#5...What if I break it...I can honestly say I have probably held a baby in my life less than once that I am aware of. So that brings the grand total of experience to zero. Good luck to me...maybe I'll practice on Otis the pug.
#4...So if I'm home alone with the baby and a Kansas basketball or football game is ongoing, would it be appropriate to prop the baby up with a pillow to watch. It's pretty important that he/she become a Jayhawk fan. Furthermore, from day one there will be a rule instituted refusing any tuition payments to the University of Missouri...sorry to anyone who went there, nothing against you but it just ain't happenin!!

#3...What to feed it. I keep thinking if I was a baby, would I want to eat that?. I mean obviously the beginning is pretty self explanatory but I am talking about the jar of mush phase. I mean smashed carrots, sweet potatoes or the dreaded peas...are you kidding me? No wonder most toddlers hate vegetables. If it were me I would want pureed pizza, smashed pumpkin pie or something really good. We all think they make those mashing back and forth movements with their mouths in order to swallow when actually they are trying to spit it out but haven't figured that movement out yet.

#2...The last two are directly related to one daunting task. Changing a diaper. First off, I really don't want to be peed on. I've watched enough America's Funniest Videos in my life to know this is a possibility. That said it will become my mission to avoid this folly of parenthood. Maybe I can invent some sort of shield or modify a welders mask to a more child friendly image. I think I might be onto something here...The #1 Worry of Impending Fatherhood...Finally how to handle changing diapers...Not sure I can pull this off. When it comes to dog messes in our house the extent of my involvement is as a spotter. I spot the issue and Carrie takes care of it. I have been informed that this won't continue with kids. Now a few weeks ago we went on several child care facility tours and after the frequent use of the term "blow out" I am pretty worried. I would put a high probability on a video of me ending up on youtube gagging while trying to accomplish this chore. Why can't they just enter the world as fully functioning toilet users?