In love with the sound

When you fall in love, originally uploaded by Ngọc Hà

In the eleventh week of her pregnancy, my wife and I went to her doctor for a checkup and the first attempt at detecting a tiny heartbeat. We were both nervous. Even though her diagnosis had been confirmed, something might have gone wrong in the meantime.

I'm sure that all expectant parents are nervous. It's not like we can peek into the womb to make sure that everything is okay. On top of that, there's a history of miscarriage in my wife's family, so we had a valid cause for alarm when her doctor couldn't find a heartbeat. She tried to assure us that it was easy to miss at that stage in development; don't worry, she said, make another appointment and come back in two weeks.

We were sad and nervous during those two weeks. So when we finally heard that hummingbird patter, I felt a sensation of pure relief and joy. It was only the first of many emotional hurdles yet to come, but at least now we can see that track laid out in front of us.

AMX with custom car seat

I spotted this car at the 2007 Car Craft Summer Nationals. You see a lot of custom work at these shows, most of which is either cosmetic or related to performance. With this little lime green beauty, it's not what's under the hood, but what is inside that counts.

Behold: a custom-built cage for mounting a child seat in the back of the car. That's an impressive project that grabbed my attention even though I was not expecting a child at the time. To see this gave me hope as a potential future father. Yes, there is a way to have a baby and still be awesome at the same time.

Borrowed time

Let us help with your babyrental needs, originally uploaded by bootsintheoven

I have a new niece! After a long and excruciating labor, my sister-in-law delivered a healthy newborn girl with giant eyes and a full head of dark hair. I went to visit when she (the niece) was just one or two weeks old. Her mom needed a baby break when we arrived and happily offered her up to me for some quality uncle time.

I couldn't believe that she was so small and yet so punchy. After I was properly trained in the art of coddling, she calmed down again and went back to sleep. It was the first time I was able to visualize myself as a father. When I held that tiny baby, I was at peace. She napped for an hour in my arms while I swayed her back and forth and watched Spiderman on TV.

With parenthood comes great responsibility. But I'm not a parent yet! When it was time for her to be changed, I handed my niece back to her mother, and I went back to watching TV and playing video games. With my nieces, I get to do all the fun stuff with none of the responsibility, and I am going to savor that for the next six months.

Ramalama sling for men

We will have a sling to hold the kid. My wife already made a few prototype designs, and they're very bright and lovely and I'm sure they will look great on her. But what about something for me to wear when I'm hauling our baby around? That's where Ramalama comes through with the manliest sling I've seen so far. It's so tough that it's available in leather and black nylon. Found in the archives of Babygadget.

Black onesies

The man in Black, originally uploaded by J J Justinsen

I don't understand the whole blue/pink dichotomy. When it comes to children's clothes, why not go with black? It's good enough for me, and the baby looks cute regardless of garment color. Besides, it's going to get dirty anyway, right? A black onesie from Pokkadots will hide the stains on your little ninja and it can be passed down to a child of either gender. Thrifty!