Stop and Smell the... well... baby poop.

Ok, so... by popular demand, I am taking another moment in time to brand my thoughts for the day into cyberspace. I never really saw this coming, and it really is developing slowly, however I may just make some sort of regular 'appearance' if you will on this blog. Who knows, I may just visit some others too, as if they were the daily news. Still no Twitter... just a blog or two.

As for my recent feelings regarding our new addition, allow me to refer to a short passage from a conversation I had with an acquaintance recently. I was asked, "how are you hanging in there?"

At that point, I could only reply with, "I'm exhausted."

The acknowledgment I got in return was, "Yeah... I bet you're still in that adjustment period."

In retrospect, I have come to the conclusion that the "adjustment period" quite likely began last week on February 24th at about 7:42AM, and it may very literally last through the rest of this century. What I am getting at is that round about last year this time, Amanda and I chose a walk on a much different trail than we had ever traveled before; a walk that comes complete with twists and turns, and the occasional poopy diaper (at which, by the way, I am pretty decent at changing). We've only been home from the hospital for about 2 or 3 days so far, and although in a perfect world I could report that everything as going just peachy... in all actuality, echos of this "adjustment period" bounce through my every task at hand. At times, it can become a bit frustrating. Lets be completely honest... no one enjoys a quad-nightly interruption in their sleep from a beckoning baby, or a poop rocket into a perfectly clean, just-changed diaper. No one can honestly say that they enjoy an interruption in their dinner to feed a baby or prepare for future feedings (pump). The Army teaches its soldiers to adapt to the contemporary operating environment utilizing lessons-learned from the battlefield to maintain themselves accordingly. Encompassing this mentality, and lessons-learned from the nursery, I know that with all the turmoil and craziness that is child-rearing, one needs to find an outlet or outlets to maintain their sanity.

In the past day or so I have learned to be one of the quickest diaper changers ever, paying little attention to the screaming child on the table in from of me because of an internet-based program recently introduced to me, Pandora.com. Listening to a station I love allows me to refocus all of my energy from the shrill cries and get the job done efficiently. Yet another outlet I have found is in my wife. I know she thinks the world of me right now, and she loves the support I have attempted, but, truth be told, I am no Super Man. I am not invincible, and I too, need my breaks from the action. Whenever I am on edge, she is very quick to help bring me back down to the speed of life, to make me stop and smell that baby poop. Below is just one example of her efforts... Officially, I must say though, in closing, that I am not here to judge her; you can draw your own conclusions. I am just presenting this for the viewing pleasure of the public. Until next time... Justin.