beagledave,
(first off, howdy y’all, an pleeztameecha)
As a slightly less recently new member of the club, I felt it my duty to pass on a couple-three other things you might want to be on the lookuout for, fairly soon now. In the category of babyproofing the house:
[list=1]
[li]Theft(petty): Small, easily graspable objects will begin vanishing, from all over the house. Your pens, coasters, playing cards, etc.[/li][li]Theft(grand): Small, easily graspable, and important objects will also begin to vanish from sight. Your car keys, pager, cell phone, any and all remote controls are in serious jeopardy, brother.[/li][li]Theft(how the hell did she pick that up?!?): Any object smaller than a breadbox may seem to migrate from one part of the house to another, if you take your eyes off the kid for more than about 2.3 seconds. It is a fallacy, in my experience, to assume that just because the thing weighs as much as or more than the kid, she won’t be able move it.[/li][li]Those little plastic electrical outlet blocks are your best friend, up until around 18 months. At this point I find that it’s much simpler to either cement unused outlets over, or invest in a small straightjacket. (Note that using the straightjacket in no way guarantees you safety from items 1, 2 and 3 above.)[/li][/list=1]
On the subject of “big” owies from falls and trips:
The first one is a killer, brother, and I don’t mean for her. I always thought the word ‘heartbreaking’ was melodramatic, until it happened to me. However, because of the inevitable reaction the first fall brings out in you, your little drama student will turn every fall, bump, and owie into a 4 act drama. A couple months down the road, you’ll get through these incidents with much more aplomb.
On the subject of vitamins:
The liquid vitamins the pediatrician gives you will soon become a hated object to every member of your household. It smells bad, tastes bad (“See, Daddy’s taking it, mmm-mmm.” Gag, cough sputter) and administering it daily will sap all the fun out of breakfast/bedtime (depending on when you give it to her). When you get to the chewable vitamins stage, you may find yourself saying, several times a day, “No, sweetie, you already had your vitamin this morning.” But on the plus side, if you also have to sample the chewable ones, they don’t taste nearly as horrid.
And finally, a warning: Don’t do anything that makes her giggle, without being fully prepared to repeat said activity roughly 40 times. Sure, wearing the lampshade on your head while waving your arms around and saying “boogah boogah boogah” once was fun, but by the time she gets sick of it, you may feel a compulsive need to throw the bloody thing out the window. (Don’t, btw, as she’ll remember this gag about a week down the road, and expect you to give a repeat performance.)
Oh yeah, one other thing:
You’re gonna love every minute of it.
Cheers, and Happy Father’s Day to ya.
