First Noah Video

Who Needs Sleep When You Got Love?

Noah update: last time Noah went to the doctor (3 weeks ago) he weighed13 lbs 6 oz, which put him in the 90th percentile for weight and the 150th percentile for cuteness. Most of the day he is extremely smiley, giggly, and is happy as long as someone is playing with him or carrying him around on their shoulder. He grabs objects pretty well now (another blogpost to come) and enjoys sitting up and just checking out his surroundings. Danielle started back at work this past Thursday, and will be working 3 days a week, in which I take care of the little guy. We are trying to postpone putting him in daycare and are still doing some tweeking to our schedules to work it out. She did awesome, by the way, being away from him. Missed Noah plenty, but excited to get out of the house and back swimming with her sea friends. Noah is also sleeping on average 10-11 hours straight at night without waking up.

That last part is just another blessing that Noah has instilled upon our lives. He may not sleep through the night forever, but for now, mom and dad are very thankful he is. Since he sleeps all night, he is normally awake most of the day with a few short naps. This has its up and downs as far as advantages go. For instance, this past Sunday  I woke up at 6:30am to take care of Noah while Danielle went to work. Knowing that I had to work nightshift that night at the hospital, I had planned on just taking my normal afternoon nap to prepare when Noah took his afternoon nap. Well...Noah had other plans. That little guy did not sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time all day, which meant neither did dad. So on ZERO sleep, I went to work that night.

The next morning when I got off at 7am, I picked up Noah from a friend's house and headed home. I had just enough time to take a shower before he woke up and was bright eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to be entertained.  So I thought, "No problem, I don't have to work tonight, I'll just sleep here and there when he does." Once again I'm starting to realize that a 13 week old baby controls my life, not me. Being well rested from his 11-hour sleep the night before, Noah has no plans on napping at all. The only time I could get him to sleep was if I was carrying him over my shoulder and constantly walking around the house listening to Jack Johnson (whom the blog title is stolen from).

In case you were wondering, in my opinion, no one should be allowed to take care of another human being on 36 hours without any sleep.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love taking care of the mancub. Even on no sleep, I still enjoy every time he smiles. I mean how can I be upset with my son, who is so happy to be with me that he doesn't want to waste a single moment by napping? Sure, at times I feel like taking care of a 13 week old healthy baby is more stressful than taking care of 3 critically ill patients. But hey, I guess that just comes with the job of fatherhood. So first week of daddy in charge, Noah-1 Matt- 0. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve to try. I think parenthood is one of the hardest yet most rewarding, and joyful challenges a person can ever go through in life.

Props to Momma

So I have mentioned a few times before about how awesome I think Danielle is, but I still feel like I need to reiterate this fact. She's a rock star. She's a champ. She is all that is awesome, cool, georgeous, smart and caring rolled into one. From the very beginning of her pregnancy she has shown nothing but the highest level of self sacrfice. Not just her time and her body, but her career, her love of a good glass of wine, clothes that fit, and at times...even her sanity. Just yesterday we were looking back at pictures from when we first found out we were having a kid and Danielle was shaking her head at a picture of herself, saying, "Did we even have a clue what we were getting ourselves into?"

Let's be honest, on paper there is no logical reason for a women to want to have a baby. Your body puffs up, everything you do is slower, your whole life is turned upside down...and thats before the kid even comes. Afterwards, Danielle has seemed to throw aside the natural reaction of self-preservation that most of us live with our whole lives and has traded it in for a cloak of compassion and caring for this new pale, helpless, bald thing that sometimes won't ever stop screaming.  Every single thing she does now, she wonders how it will effect Noah.  Hours go by that she forgets to eat/pee because he is so content in her arms.

It has been 12 weeks since our little mancub has blessed our life, which means it's time for Danielle to return to work (if you call swimming with dolphins all day work).  This also means I am actually going to have to take care of Noah all day while she is at work. Somedays it will be after I get home from a 12 hour nightshift. But lets be honest, Danielle has been taking care of him after many 12-hour night shifts of staying up all night with him. There is no way I can possibly live up to the awesome caregiver that Danielle is to Noah, but she has paved the way and set a great example.

Tuesday is also our 3 year wedding annivesary. I can think of no better way to spend it then spending the day with Noah and Danielle at SeaWorld, watching Danielle do what she does best, be the best mom and wife all at the same time.   

Offseason and Offspring

You know the feeling you get the week before Christmas or the week before you go on vacation? Its kind of a care-free feeling, that no matter what happens, its ok because its Christmas next week. If you have a really bad day at work you just think, “It’s ok, I only have two more days until I’m on vacation.” That is kind of how I have felt the past week with the kickoff of college football season. I mean I have been straight giddy this week. Although, I fully understand the contradictions of manliness using the words “football” and “giddy” together, but I don’t know how else to describe it. It has constantly been on my mind. We suffer through months without football, pretending to care about baseball, basketball, and maybe even jump on the USA soccer bandwagon. It’s all just a temporary fix that leaves a stale taste in my life.  I believe God gave us summer blockbuster movies and sunny days during the football offseason to help distract ourselves from the heart-wrenching season of college football.

This football season is even more special to me. I get to sit with Noah during his first UGA football game. This is one of those monumental moments that you put in the scrapbook during the first few years of a child’s life. First words, first time walking, first time sleeping through the night, first tooth, and first University of Georgia football game. 

Of course, as soon as I heard the ultrasound tech say, “Oh it’s definitely a boy” I immediately had visions of walking into Sanford Stadium with my son and watching his eyes gaze in the wonderment of the gridiron.  I can only pray that he will know the importance of great calls by Larry Munson such as “Run, Lindsay! Run!” and “He ran straight through two men!” It’s a special moment in a Sheehan’s life when he first sees the Red and Black run through that tunnel and onto that beautiful field. Unfortunately this game, we will only be watching the Dawgs on TV. But he will have his chance. One of my favorite memories with my dad was the first time he decided I was old enough to go to the Georgia- Florida game in Jacksonville. I remember walking around staring at the intense stupidity that comes out of the rivalry, sitting on a street curb sharing a turkey leg, almost wanting to cry leaving the game and my dad patting me on the back saying, “We’ll get ‘em next year”.

There are few greater bonds between father and sons than sports and sharing that passion with each other.  Danielle and I refer to Noah as our “Little Lion Man” but he’s still our little Bulldog. Blazer or Bulldog, Red and Black runs through his blood. 

                                     Gettin Pumped for Saturday

                                Not Noah (yet)

A Comforting Presence

Whenever we first got home from the hospital with Noah, Danielle’s mom Sophia, stayed for a few days to help us get settled in. After she left, we had about 3 days to ourselves then my mom, Julie, came in town for a few days. These moms were just awesome while they were here.  They would cook, clean, hold Noah when we needed a break and do basically anything we asked of them. Wanting to get the hang of things we didn’t ask them too much to help with Noah, since we wanted to figure things out kind of on our own. We would ask them questions here and there and they would basically be there to encourage and support us in anyway we needed.  They also took the pressure off of us worrying about simple household things like what was going to be for dinner so we could focus on adjusting to our new life style.

My mom came in town on a Friday and the original plan was for her to stay through the following Wednesday, since I had to return to work that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. We had planned it this way so Danielle would have help since it would be the first time I would not be there to help her, my mom could help if needed. Julie ended up leaving Tuesday before I went to work, since basically, Danielle didn’t need her help. Danielle had gotten Noah on a pretty set feed/awake schedule, so my mother figured why not save the time off from work so she could come down later in the year. As sad as it was to see her go, Danielle knew she could handle that Tuesday night by herself. She had no idea she was in for one of the most stressful nights of her life.

While working my nightshift at the hospital I received a number of stressful text messages from the new mother at home. They started out simple from “The dogs have so much energy tonight, they won’t slow down”, and progressed to “I don’t know whats wrong with Noah tonight, he wants to eat every 30 minutes and won’t stop crying” and finally at 1:00 in the morning, “The washer overflowed, our hallway is flooded, dogs barking, Noah crying, mommy crying, please come home.”

Needless to say my amazing coworkers worked it out so I could go home and help stop the house from totally collapsing.

--In the end, all is well, Danielle still has her sanity and we just need to replace hallway floorboards.

Go figure that would happen the first night Danielle is by herself. Nothing would have really changed if someone had been there to help calm the crisis, but there is just something comforting about having the ability to ask someone for help. Even though the madres (that’s mothers for my non-espanol speaking amigos), didn’t directly assist us too much with Noah those first two weeks, their presence was comforting to us, knowing we could ask them at any point. I experienced the same thing whenever I got off my preceptorship as a nurse at the hospital. I was paired with a preceptor on dayshift for 6 weeks, then one on nightshift for another 6 weeks. After the total 12 weeks, you are on your own taking your own patients and being 100% in charge of their care. During the first few shifts when you are on your own, they try and arrange your schedule to work the same nights as your preceptor. They do this so the new-nurse feels more confident knowing they can still ask their preceptor questions if need be.

Anything that we go through in life, is always a little bit easier, knowing that someone is right there with you. Danielle and I have been dating/married for 10 years now. We have been through a lot together. We grew up together. We found out who we are separately, yet together. I know that any problem I have in this life, she will be there for me.  Danielle likes to refer to her relationship with God as a friend who always has her back. Through the moments of our marriage when we were worried about finances, jobs, and just the general direction of our life, we know that God is always there right beside us, as a comforting presence.  Most people are familiar with the story of Jesus walking beside a man on the beach with the footprints

I experience this with Noah as well. There are times that all he wants is to be held. He doesn’t want to be wrapped up snug in a warm blanket and put in an automatic rocker. He wants the touch. He wants to know that we are there with him. There is something about our comforting presence that keeps him at peace. This is part of what the bible verse, “Faith like a child” is referring to. When Noah is held, he has the faith that everything will be ok, simply because we are there with him.

Ps. I have misspelled the word, “presence” 5 times this post and spell check had to correct me every time.

A Simplistic Sense of Wonder

I believe the time lapse between this blog post and my last speaks perfectly to the naive preconception of living with a newborn which I had. Although these past 5 weeks have been loads of fun they have also been filled with loads of hard work and busy days.  When I find time between work, yard work, tag-teaming waking up with Danielle, and making sure the dogs don't run a complete muck in the house...I usually end up not wanting to think to much to sit and write and would rather just sit and be with my family. Hopefully, over the next few days I can post a few more blogs here.

There are numerous things the Mancub has taught me during his time with us. The first one being the simplistic nature of his innate desires.  All this little guy wants is to be fed, be clean, be warm, and be loved. Literally... thats it. Figuring out which one of these desires he wants is easier said than done sometimes. It's amazing that even as his cognitive processes slowly begin to develop, the natural way his body lets us know want he wants. Danielle has already mastered the apparently 400 different blends of cries he makes, which signal different things. "That cry means he has to burp and feels miserable right now, but wants to eat after he burps, "That one means he is frustrated with his hiccups and just wants to sleep", "That one means he's angry at you for waking him up"  

Even though the pitch/tone/length of cries seems complicated to me (not Danielle), the needs that those cries represent is in fact extremely simple. It makes me wonder at what point in our lives do the simple necessites in life stop being enough for us. It is no longer enough to have a full stomach, clean clothes, warm house, and to be loved. We have to have everything bigger and better than we had before. We can't just be thrilled with having a cell phone anymore, we have to have the cell phone, which is also a gps, laptop, camera, english-german translator, recipe book, coffee shop locator, and of course at the very least...AngryBirds compatible. When did enough not become enough?

In the book, Ragamuffin Gospel, author Brennan Manning speaks of how we are cheating ourselves from the glory and love of God because we have become complacent with the things he has created. If we were to "slow down and smell the roses" if you will, we would learn to appreciate the wonder that is our Creator. It's possible to become more spiritually moved while watching a thunderstorm than watching a preacher from a pulpit. As Rabbi Heschel puts it, "As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines." As I was watching The Sandlot yesterday, I remembered this qoute during the scene where the boys were standing in awe watching the fireworks display. The look of wonder and amazement on their face. For that moment in their lives, time stood still as the stood in awe of something bigger than themselves. I'm not sure kids now-a-days would react the same to a fireworks display.

I see this same look of wonder in Noah's eyes sometimes when he wakes up, or hears our voice and turns towards us. It's like every time he opens his eyes, it is for the first time, and he's taking the moment all in. Maybe thats why so many people our enamored with babies, they are in awe of their happiness and innocence. I think sometimes when people hold a baby, that innocence makes the person feel better about their life.  Danielle and I constantly talk about how we believe that having Noah makes us want to be better people. I think we feel this way for a number of reasons, but one of them being as Danielle said, "Whenever I hold him, I just realize what is really important in this life, and I don't worry about the little things as much"

My old college roommate Nathan Hoag used to say that one of the keys to happiness is to live a simplistic life (while he voluntarily lived out of a tent for an entire school year). I believe this is true, proven through the eyes of a 5- week old baby.

Photo Card

Initial Impression Teal Baby Announcements

Shutterfly cards for Valentine's Day, Easter & Father's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

Baby on Board

So I have always secretly thought that parents with the "Baby on board" signs were kind of cheesy (no offense to anyone). But I think I figured out today why people actually have them.

I had to take Noah to the hospital today to get some blood drawn for his bilirubin (jaundice of the newborn). I wanted Danielle to stay home and rest so I took the little man by myself. I actually had to take him twice today because the lab girl didn't draw enough blood. So I had to take my 1 week old newborn 30 minutes there, 30 minutes back, to sit in a germ filled hospital...twice. On the way there it's like every idiot on the road was trying to run me off the road or hit my bumper. If they only knew what a fragile little life I had in the back seat, would they be driving like the Dukes of Hazzards just to turn into a 7  Eleven?

If I was completely honest with myself, before I was a dad I drove relatively similar to those idiots accept with a different purpose on the road.  See, for some reason when I have taken it upon myself to be the enforcer on the road. Anytime I see someone not using their blinker (my biggest pet peeve) I tend to ride their bumper or do everything I can to not let them over.  I don't mind if people cut me off in traffic, I understand that you think you're better than me and wherever you're going is more important than where I'm going, just let me know you're gonna cut me off by using a blinker.  When I am stuck in traffic and there are a few cars riding in the emergency lane just to try and bypass traffic, I block them with my Explorer to not let them pass, while still staying in my lane.

That was the old way I drove. Now, with Noah in the car I am constantly a defensive driver. I don't blare my music, talk on the phone, switch songs on my iPod, or even pick fights with other people on the road. Whenever I drive it reminds me of a game we played on a college ministry retreat, where we had our own egg that we had to protect, while everyone else was trying to smash it with a newspaper.

So I may not have the "Baby on Board" sign but with the way I drive now, people probably don't need a sign to know.

The Story of Noah

5 days after Noah's birth and I am just now getting to sit down and write about it (if that gives you any idea how crazy the last few days of been. I have busted out my Mac numerous times to begin, but as any parent knows, something came up. So here I am, finally getting a chance to share with the world how this little guy came into turning our lives upside down. I will do my best to sum up a whirlwind of emotions and events in a these paragraphs. Feel free to skip to the end if you want to.



Tuesday- Danielle woke up at 4:00 in the morning having mild contractions. They were definitely stronger than she had experienced before, but still nothing too severe and occurring semi-regularly. When I got home from work, we decide it was a good idea for us to go into the hospital, just in case. We went got checked out, and they said she hadn't progressed any from her appointment the week before. Our midwife suggested that if we wanted to have the baby soon, to just start walking. So walking we did. We went to the near by mall and walked for 6 straight hours. Eventually how feet were hurting pretty bad, so we treated ourselves to new Sanuk Yoga-Mat made Sandals (fantastic by the way). The contractions continued to become slightly more discomforting, but nothing compared to what the midwife said Danielle would experience. So we decided to go home and walk and wait it out.  Danielle called her mom Sophia, who lives in Savannah, earlier in the day to fill her in and decided to go ahead and head down to Orlando so as not to miss any of the action.

Wednesday  The next morning when we woke up Danielle was still feeling about the same, so we started once again to walk around the neighborhood. After 45 minutes, we decided it was basically to hot for Danielle to be walking out side and we headed back to the house to get ready to head to the mall again.
 
        Just before we were getting ready to leave for the mall Danielle was eating some chips in the kitchen and asked me, "Matt, what does it feel like when your water breaks?" I said that I had personally never experienced that feeling, but I have heard its different for different people and that some people describe it as a gush, trickle, or felt like they wet themselves. To which she replied, "Ok then, I think we should go to the hospital" So, I shaved and Danielle showered (no way was my son going to think that his dad was homeless looking) and we headed to the hospital. Sophia, at this point had gone for a run so in order to inform her of our current situation, we decided a note would not capture the excitment of the moment. We then raced our Toyota along the running trail until we flagged her down and through her in the car.

      12:30- We arrived a the OB triage were they checked Danielle out (whose contractions strength/intervals had stayed the same for about 24 hours now) and confirmed that her water broke. Apparently the maternity ward was slammed with patients that day so we were just admitted to the triage room. Knowing that sitting around can only stall labor, Danielle began to get her walk on around the hospital, reporting back to the room every hour or so. My mother, Julie had been in Crescent Beach for the week and also met us at the hospital to wait with Sophia.

     4:00pm- Danielle's contractions have remained the same for 28 hours. She is just as happy as an expetant mom can be, laughing and joking around as I was on the phone with her mom ordering our Panera coffee and dinner.

     4:10pm- I literally can not leave Danielle's side because she is in so much pain. They are coming at about 2-3 minutes apart now and are not treating Danielle to lightly. The stress of laboring in a cold, barren triage room instead of the warm, calming, soothing labor room we saw on our hospital tour was starting to get to Danielle. A little Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, and Caedmon's Call calmed her right down.  Our midwife took one look at Danielle and decided she needed a room immediately.

     5:30pm- We finally make it to our labor room and Danielle immediately hops in the jacuzzi infused with lavender. After a little while of that, we began to try different standing/sitting positions to take her mind off the pain. At one point we were swaying with each other in the dimly lit room like a middle school dance listening to Jack's Mannequin "Swim" on constant repeat. Even though Danielle was in the most amount of pain a woman can experience you wouldn't be able to tell by her facial expressions. She was a straight rockstar.

     8:57pm- Danielle, after only 5 hours of true labor, no drugs, and no more energy...pushed our son, Noah Austin Sheehan into this world. He weighed 7 lbs 11 ozs and was 20 1/2 inches long (He is now 21 1/4 inches) and had all the signs of a perfect, healthy baby. We know that God was right there with us the whole time in that labor room, just like he was for the past 9 months. Everything just went so smooth and perfect, it truley was amazing. Danielle and I just stood in awe of what we had created together and how beautiful he was. My parents and her mom celebrated with us in the room as Danielle and I were still in shock of the feat she had just accomplished.  We then moved to the VIP birthday suite(thank you Florida Hospital) in the postpartum unit where Noah never left our side until we were discharged home on Friday.

    In order for Danielle to prepare herself for the labor of giving birth without any pain medication, we had typed birth plans, motivational notecards, videos, music, aromatherapy, yoga ball positions, and everything in between. In the end, all we needed was each other.

     It would take a long time to type everything else that has happened since last Wednesday, and this blog post has been long enough. Here are bullet points to some it up.

    **Danielle's mom, Sophia, has been here the past few days cooking and cleaning up a storm (which we could not thank her enough for). She will leave Tuesday morning, Danielle, Noah, and I will have a few days to ourselves then my mother will come for a few days.
    **We have been overwhelmed with thoughts, prayers, dinners and desserts from the best friends and family any one could ask for
    ** Mom(Danielle) is doing great, needs a little encouragement every now and then to take it easy and rest up when Noah's resting
    ** Noah is fantastic, we've had to take him twice to get heel pricked(poor little guy) to monitor his bilirubin levels (jaundice) nothing to worry about though
    **The nights are long, but are getting easier

**I got my mancub and he is the best thing that has ever happened to us 

Hurry Up and Wait

The bags are packed. The nursery is all done. The showers are all over. The crib is at the bedside. The toys are sterilized and the baby blankets washed. So now we wait.... Technically the due date is July 26, but according to our midwife it could be game time at anytime.

Throughout these past 9 months it is unbelievable how much love and support has overflowed from friends and family. From high school friends, to college buddies, family all over the country, and new friends right here in Orlando, they have all shown almost as much excitement as Danielle and I. One of those friends rewrote a poem that she wrote after her son was born. She altered it to fit me and Danielle. From the day we found out we were having a boy, Danielle has been extremely excited, and extremely nervous about the idea of raising a boy.  She only grew up with a sister and I grew up with 2 brothers. I would feel just as lost and scared if we were having a little girl. After reading this poem it really encouraged Danielle and got her excited about having a boy (mancub) all over again.

Oh My, What an Adventure


In just a few weeks,
Noah will be on his way.

You will breathe fast.
(and Matt will drive fast.)
You will push hard.
(and Matt will pray hard.)
And finally, my sweet friend, you will meet your son.

A few days later, you will take your new family home.

You will walk slowly
(and Matt will drive slowly.)
You will rock softly.
(and Matt will talk softly.)
And your heart will melt into a puddle on the floor.

Oh my, what an adventure.

By then, it won;t matter what color you've
chosen for his room,
Because you will be undone by the color of
his eyes.

You will, (I promise)
forget about the pregnancy pain.
You will be in awe,
in love and
Over the moon.

What an amazing adventure.

He will cry in the middle of the night and the
middle of the day
(and many times in between.)

Your mom will say,
"He looks like Matt!"
Matt's mom will insist,
"I see Danielle in those eyes."

And you will think, oh my, what an adventure!

There are many adventures to be had, of course:
forts in the living room, safaris in the back yard,
camp outs under ten million stars, and most definitely,
a dolphin encounter or two.

Everything will be an adventure.

There will come the time he will choose the
path less chosen or be honest when it's hard,
and your heart will swell, and you will think,
"This is my son, with whom I am well
pleased"

He will get scrapped knees
and have scary dreams
and want to jump from high places.

He will have his first day of school,
his first big test,
and his love.

He will get his first speeding ticket,
and probably a second and a third...
And it will feel like the years are speeding
away...But you will always be eager to hear
the latest adventure of your baby boy.

Noah Austin Sheehan

Of my, what an adventure

                           With love,
                                            Catie L.

Lessons From Thumper

       The other night after an amazing barbecue dinner, Danielle and I were discussing with some close friends about how much people judge you as a parent. This is one of the most exciting times in a couples life and there are some people, sometimes total strangers, who just like to rain on our parade.  It even started from the very beginning when we told people what names we were considering (a decision in hind site, I regret). It's amazing to me that people would actually sneer or cringe at certain names we were thinking about naming our son. Why should their opinion matter at all, what we call him? Comments like, "That sounds kind of girly", or "Don't name him that" are just a few of the ones we received.
       One of the most common negative reactions we have had is when Danielle tells people that she doesn't plan to use any drugs during the labor process. I am not sure what the underlying motivation of these negative reactions are. Maybe since they do not feel like they are strong enough to withhold medication during such a painful process, they don't think Danielle is strong enough either.  People actually make her feel guilty for wanting to expereince birth as God intended. She is in no way naive about the pain involved and understands that if medically necessary, she will do whatever it takes to bring Noah into this world. We recently had a negative encounter at a hospital as we were touring their baby unit with a nurse. Danielle simply asked the nurse that if we wanted to bring in our own crockpot, what we would have to do (crockpots are sometimes used in labor to provide relaxing scents and keep warm cloths in). The nurse then proceeded to lecture Danielle for 5 minutes about how she needs to be flexible and that not everything works out how laboring mothers intend. This nurse immediately labeled Danielle as some devoted-hippy kook without knowing her at all.

It is also unbelievable to me when strangers find out how far a long she is and make statements like, "Oh thats when I lost my first baby" or "Better enjoy life now, because it will end soon" Did they really think those comments were productive in any sort of manner? Or the mother in the Target parking lot yelling at her 3 kids in the car that turns to Danielle and says, "See what you have to look forward to".  How come none of these people have positive things to say? I don't need to here your 20 minute birth story about how painful and awful your pregnancy was. I feel sorry for these bitter, angry people who spread negativity like wildfire, we are not those people.

By now we have accepted the fact that people will judge you for every thing you do as a parent, and in the end, their faults, stories, and mistakes are not ours. We will make our own mistakes and form our own story. We welcome all positive comments and constructive advice, but We have always done things the way we want to.  In the future when we see a couple expecting their first child, no matter what, we have vowed to only say positive things. Like Thumper taught us growing up, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"

"Are You Ready?"

As the due date gets closer and closer (July 26 by mathematical calculations), I find more and more people keep asking us the same inevitable question; "Are you ready?". Although the words of the question stays the same, the context of which it is asked and by whom it is asked makes the world of difference.

The first category of people I call the Dreamers. These are the really giddy people who ask the question  with pure excitment that sound like they are more excited to meet our baby boy than we are. For the most part these are the people who do not have kids, but love babies and secretly think about stealing really cute babies when they see them in the supermarket.  The Dreamers have never actually had babies themselves, but have spent no more than 2 hours with them and think they are nothing more than soft, smiley, sweet smelling balls of love and cuteness. The excitement in the way they ask the question portrays a sense of jealousy in their voice, as they imagine a day when they will be expecting a little one of their own.

The next group of questioners, the Skeptics, ask the same question, but as they ask it the tone in their voice makes it come across more like, "Are you really ready?...I mean....really?" The Skeptics are the people with who just the very thought of being responsible for another life freaks them out.  They can in no way imagine why anyone at the age of 25 would want to have a kid that would subsequently take up all of their time. They quickly put themselves in our shoes and immediately jump right back out of them. They have so many other worries and obligations in their life right now, they briefly consider never doing anything again that would even lead to the chance to reproduce. I still have not figured out if the Skeptics respect us for starting a family or feel sorry for us.

My favorite cluster of questioners are the Realist. I have a standard rule that every Realist is a parent. You can tell they are parents by not only the tone they use to ask the question,  but also their body language as they ask it.  As they cock their head to the side, raise an eyebrow, juggle a kid on one hip and a pack-n-play on the other, a sarcastic smirk comes across their face with a small laugh sneaking out as they ask, "Are you ready?.  My favorite thing about the Realist is that they ask the question while fully knowing the answer. They have enough experience to know that there is no way you can possibly be ready for the hurricane of life that is descending upon your marriage.  Every time a Realist ask me this question, I feel like they are secretly praying for my sanity.

So to answer the question, Yes I am ready. I am ready for the hurricane (stop shaking your heads Realist). When I say I am ready, I mean that I am prepare to be unprepared. I fully accept the fact that no matter how many books I read, advice I get, or how many runs to Babies R Us we partake in, there is no way to ever be prepared. I fully expect to be physically, mentally, and emotionally strained for the rest of my life. This I am all willing to sacrifice for the impending adventure.  I feel like this is best described in the book, Becoming a Dad by Stephen James and David Thomas:


           "Nothing to date has expressly prepared you for parenting...This is a season that God has set aside for you to grow in wisdom and influence. It is your responsibility and opportunity to turn toward the moment with your whole heart, as best you are able. Bring all your fear, joy, vision, doubt, hope dreams, and longings into focus and take the leap" pg 42 (Not APA format, sorry Prof McGinty)

In the beginning...

This July, I will be embarking on one of the most important challenges of my life. I will begin the process of raising a son. My wonderful wife Danielle will be giving birth to our first child, to be named Noah Austin Sheehan.

Whenever I first decided to blog about my fatherhood experience, many blog names crossed my mind (The BlogFather, Father of the Blog, SheehAnimal Instincts). Last week while watching The Jungle Book with our niece, it clicked. In the movie the boy Mowgli is called Man Cub by many of the jungle inhabitants as they fight to protect the boy from the dangers that surrounded him.  I realized that that is exactly what I will be doing with Noah. I will be not only trying to protect him from the dangerous world we live in, but I will also be teaching him the necessary skills to survive and fight for himself.  Whenever Danielle and I first found out we were pregnant, one of the reasons I was excited because this was my chance to create my own perfect super human. Everything I loved doing and learning as a kid I can help my son experience and everything I wished I have learned I will do my best to teach him. To raise a godly, honest, intelligent, tough boy I am sure will be no easy task, but I am up for the challenge ahead of me for the next 18 years. Lord only knows Danielle and I need His help and guidance now more than ever.

I give you, the ManCub Manuscripts

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6