New Lady Texan on the way - Born 7/11 (and congrats from TexansTalk)

Less than a month before her arrival. I'm crazy scared but very excited at the same time. First time parent here, just looking to do my best =) Thanks all!

You know, I've played a lot of sports. Played baseball, football and ice hockey in high school. Played college football at Trinity University for one year. Done a few other intramurals. I build stuff. I like to fix stuff. But dammit to hell, I don't know the first thing about a baby girl!!! Basically, I spend a lot of time on this board with my extended TEXAN family and I'm sure a lot of you have daughters. Any good advice would be appreciated. I'm a bit of a learner-by-observer....but in my case this isn't possible. Any good advice someone gave you that worked out? I don’t care about the whole ego thing, I just want to do my best with her.

Thank you in advance.

I'm a single dad and let me the first to tell you that you just pick it up. It really is on the job training. Sounds like your heart is in the right place; that along with the phone number to a trusted and experienced parent will get you through.

Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Congrats

Congratulations. Your whole life is getting ready to change for the better. My daughter is nine, and she is the most important thing in my life. You will be fine. Like PapaL said, find someone you trust and ask LOTS of questions. Take lots of pictures/videos.

BSofA04 said:

Less than a month before her arrival. I'm crazy scared but very excited at the same time. First time parent here, just looking to do my best =) Thanks all!

You know, I've played a lot of sports. Played baseball, football and ice hockey in high school. Played college football at Trinity University for one year. Done a few other intramurals. I build stuff. I like to fix stuff. But dammit to hell, I don't know the first thing about a baby girl!!! Basically, I spend a lot of time on this board with my extended TEXAN family and I'm sure a lot of you have daughters. Any good advice would be appreciated. I'm a bit of a learner-by-observer....but in my case this isn't possible. Any good advice someone gave you that worked out? I don’t care about the whole ego thing, I just want to do my best with her.

Thank you in advance.

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Just buy her tons of Texans stuff! Check out the Woodlands Pro store. It's where we got our Texans pacifiers and stuff. I practically bought out the store. The woman of the house wasn't too happy with our bank account when I came home but she sure was happy. She's a Texan fan too!

Seriously... I hate babies. I've ALWAYS hated babies. I think they're the ugliest things in the whole world. People who think they're cute are nuts and blind!

Most people know that I've got a 7 year old boy but those same people also don't know that I'm not the biological father. I never bothered to explain. Why bother? I never saw him as anything but my son and nothing will ever change that. Nothing!

Back to my point... I had my first baby 8 days ago. I did not enter Cage's life until he was 2. I never had the opportunity to have a baby tossed in my life until now. I did my hardest to keep them away! Ugly little barfing, pooping, grabbing everything and putting in mouth little monsters. I felt so strongly about it that I had a vasectomy on my 18th birthday.

MJ got pregnant. I was angry. I couldn't understand. I did all I could to keep this from happening. I love children but my only option is to adopt and I KNEW I was going to adopt a toddler. No babies. 2 year minimum age to join the Keathley family.

Then Robert Michael (RK) came.

Keep in mind, I know nothing about babies. They made my skin crawl and I've got 7 nieces and 2 nephews! I've only got 8 days of experience but let me reassure you of this... if RK can make a lifelong baby hater like me into a seasoned pro after a mere 3 days or so... you'll be all right.

I can honestly say that I'm a changed man. I felt the tension leave my shoulders for the first time in my life. Watching Cage (my 7 year old) around Robert brings me to tears. Tears I tell you.

Dude... I'm as brash and crude as they come but if you wave a baby in front of me right now... I'm going to fall apart into tears. I now understand the ohhinh and ahhing... although I still think they ugly but I'm having the time of my life right now.

Whodathunkit! All because of a baby!

Now... for it being a gurl... I can't help you there. I'd probably turn mine into a tomboy or something. One thing... diaper changes... you gotta dig into the private region and ensure its clean after a messy poop. Sounds nasty but it's gotta be done. Someone can elaborate better.

Congratulations, dad!

Thanks guys for the reassurances and advice. Most of the day I'm pretty cool, taking care of the Mrs., but at times (probably when I'm by myself), I'm like "Holy crap there's a baby on the way!".

Nitro, that's some good stuff. I was laughing at the beginning of your post, but I understand what you're saying. Tomboy is the way to go! =)

She already has a Matt Schaub jersey in 3-6 months and one year size!

Congrats! The best advice I can give you is to enjoy every moment you can with her as they tend to grow up very quickly. My little girl is already 6, and she'll be heading to 1st grade in the fall. As far as parenting goes like others have said you pick it up as you go along. Always be sure to let her know how much you love her & be a good role model for her. Other than that just enjoy every second you have with her.

Well, for sure, a seasoned GRANDMA, PLUS 42 years experience as a Labor and Delivery nurse, can't let this thread pass her by!

I'm not going to tell you not to worry, because you have a lifetime of worrying about to begin. BUT, I can tell you to just relax, take one day at a time, and enjoy every minute of it. You'll have plenty of people around to help you with the worrying part, so put a smile on your face, sit back and enjoy the ride of your life.

Above all, remember this baby is YOURS, so what someone else did with their baby might not apply to you. You will be given more advice than you will know how to handle, SO please take a little from someone who has spent a lifetime working with new parents. Put the baby books away and use good old fashioned COMMON SENSE!! When in doubt, ask your new daughter's grandparents, the best source of info you will ever receive.

Congratulations to you and your wife!! The moment you first hold that new baby in your arms will be one of the sweetest you will ever know. Your fears will subside and the love you have in your heart will burst through. From that moment on your DADDY instincts will come through for you, and together with your wife and family, you will be blessed beyond anything you have ever dreamed.

As another Grandmother, I was going to post the same thing SheTexan said.

My mother was also an RN that worked with newborns.

It is COMMOM SENSE!

All babies are different, they develope at differnt times. So don't let anyone tell you because something has not happened by a certain time that you have problems. If you have questions ask the pediatrician. If you don't feel the doctor's answers sound reasonable to you, get a second opinion.

I have one granddaugther that never crawled, she rolled her way around the floor, they she started to walk. She is now 8 and loves school and swims like a fish. She also had no teeth till she was about a year old then they all came in at once.

My other granddaugther (whose father is 6'4", mother 5'7") first pediatrician wanted to put her on growth hormones when she was little because he thought she was growing too fast. So they checked with other doctors and found a new pediatrician. Common sense.

Enjoy them while they are babies, take LOTS and LOTS of pictures. It will help to prevent you from killing them while they are teenagers. (sarcasm)

Congratulations!

Better load that shotgun before she gets a drivers license, you know to give the courters the message

SheTexan said:

Well, for sure, a seasoned GRANDMA, PLUS 42 years experience as a Labor and Delivery nurse, can't let this thread pass her by!

I'm not going to tell you not to worry, because you have a lifetime of worrying about to begin. BUT, I can tell you to just relax, take one day at a time, and enjoy every minute of it. You'll have plenty of people around to help you with the worrying part, so put a smile on your face, sit back and enjoy the ride of your life.

Above all, remember this baby is YOURS, so what someone else did with their baby might not apply to you. You will be given more advice than you will know how to handle, SO please take a little from someone who has spent a lifetime working with new parents. Put the baby books away and use good old fashioned COMMON SENSE!! When in doubt, ask your new daughter's grandparents, the best source of info you will ever receive.

Congratulations to you and your wife!! The moment you first hold that new baby in your arms will be one of the sweetest you will ever know. Your fears will subside and the love you have in your heart will burst through. From that moment on your DADDY instincts will come through for you, and together with your wife and family, you will be blessed beyond anything you have ever dreamed.

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I agree on the Baby Books , except for sympoms and stuff .

I think the biggest things are these .

They need boundries , because they will seek them until they find it .

Be active in their lives , sports , PTA , church , plays , or whatever .

Be quick to compliment and slow to be critical , unless of course they need it and that time will come . The world is not all warm fuzzies and I think kids need to learn that it's ok to be instructed .

I think in today's society , we spend alot of time going to all kinds of afterschool activities . Do not get so busy that you neglect your family time , even if it's setting down for a 30 minute dinner .

I think the numero uno thing is ... don't sweat the small stuff and most things are small . That doesn't mean that they shouldn't clean their rooms for example . It means they crawl , walk , then run and if they leave a sock on the floor ... it's not a big deal . At least 10 years down the road it isn't .

Like most things, I'll just sit back and do what I feel is best. Let my common sense take over. I appreciate the advice everyone has given me, because it is getting close and even for just one day...it all hit me at once.

I just finished painting the nursery and put up all the "girly" stuff so it's beyond real now. I'm really going to try to enjoy the on-the-job training and ask my folks a lot of questions. I can say this about my dad, we might not have always got along but there's nothing that brings people together than a grandbaby! So it's great that we've found a way to talk and bond. Lots of good things are coming and I'm counting my blessing everyday. I'll take some photos when the big day comes and post them for everyone to see.

Joe, I'll be at the ready when she's 16!

So that the wifey or baby momma (not sure), just make sure that when you have any time away from the baby (like when she is sleeping) that you don't automatically go to the computer or Madden. Your wife will totally hate that. You really have to make sure you aren't doing all the Texans stuff while wifey is doing stuff for the baby. Don't tick off mommy and all will be good. Trust me.

El Tejano said:

So that the wifey or baby momma (not sure), just make sure that when you have any time away from the baby (like when she is sleeping) that you don't automatically go to the computer or Madden. Your wife will totally hate that. You really have to make sure you aren't doing all the Texans stuff while wifey is doing stuff for the baby. Don't tick off mommy and all will be good. Trust me.

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Word. I'm QUICKLY learning that! I'm actually in the crapper right now sneaking around for my Texans fix. Ima get caught soon cause I've been in here quite a bit today.

NitroHonda said:

Word. I'm QUICKLY learning that! I'm actually in the crapper right now sneaking around for my Texans fix. Ima get caught soon cause I've been in here quite a bit today.

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Serious? LOL! now that's a fan!

Congratulations on your little girl! I'm with She Tex, That's some good advice. Because as a parent, girls and boy it doesn't matter what you will actually do as their parent, I find ANY parent would change something they had done or wish they had done something different, handled a situation differently.
Love and patience. And yes common sense.
Cherish her, they grow up SOOOOO fast.

El Tejano said:

So that the wifey or baby momma (not sure), just make sure that when you have any time away from the baby (like when she is sleeping) that you don't automatically go to the computer or Madden. Your wife will totally hate that. You really have to make sure you aren't doing all the Texans stuff while wifey is doing stuff for the baby. Don't tick off mommy and all will be good. Trust me.

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Lol, she's my wife.

I think in today's society , we spend alot of time going to all kinds of afterschool activities . Do not get so busy that you neglect your family time , even if it's setting down for a 30 minute dinner .

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Yeah, I can tell you about afterschool activities. We elected all stars for 7-8 y/o kids (my son one of them) Thursday before last. We then practiced the following Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, off Friday, practice Saturday, Today, Tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tourney starts Saturday (in Liberty), and we will play a double header win or lose. But I dread it being over.

Will echo a lot of the sentiments around here. You will be a pro in no time, especially since your heart is in the right place. Enjoy every moment, because they grow up so fast. I actually get really depressed thinking about it. Heck, my kids were just born, and now they are 7 (about to be 8) and 10......

I have a 1 year old girl...
patience
patience
patience


but she is the single greatest thing ever to happen to me.

scourge said:

I have a 1 year old girl...
patience
patience
patience


but she is the single greatest thing ever to happen to me.

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This is one of the things that I'm sure will come to us, but if you were to ask me now I'd probably say that I have no patience for bratty/whiney/wound-up children. Of course, that is only based on me going out to the grocery store or mall and seeing kids absolutely screaming bloody murder, and their folks just ignoring them like nothing is happening. It's easy for me to look and think, "Better give that kid something to cry about!", but it's not my own. I'll really try to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride.

I have 2 daughters 16 & 10. The following are about to become common place in your life:

1. Worry
2. Concern
3. Self-Doubt
4. Self-Pity
5. Tears
6. Grief
7. Outrage
8. Frustration
9. Moments of Insanity
10. Infrequent Moments of Clarity

But I will take all of the above 10Xs over for the Joy they have brought into my life!!! Hearing "I Love You Dad" with a Big Fat Hug & Kiss is the BEST.

Good Luck & God Bless.

Little Girls remind Dads that they aren't as tough as they think they are.

BSofA04 said:

This is one of the things that I'm sure will come to us, but if you were to ask me now I'd probably say that I have no patience for bratty/whiney/wound-up children. Of course, that is only based on me going out to the grocery store or mall and seeing kids absolutely screaming bloody murder, and their folks just ignoring them like nothing is happening. It's easy for me to look and think, "Better give that kid something to cry about!", but it's not my own. I'll really try to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride.

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My wife and I were pretty much the same, and still get irritated by the screaming kids. Now, though, we are more observant as to why the kid is that way. Instead of focusing on the kid, we see how the parent is reacting to the situation. There are many hyperactive kids out there, but quite a bit just seems to scream bad parenting.

And while I knew that for a while I would have to get up throughout the night, actually going through it is something totally different. That's where I learned quite a bit of the patience I have now. Waking up ever 45-90 minutes every single night for a month or two can drive you insane. Especially when the mrs. works nights.

El Tejano said:

So that the wifey or baby momma (not sure), just make sure that when you have any time away from the baby (like when she is sleeping) that you don't automatically go to the computer or Madden. Your wife will totally hate that. You really have to make sure you aren't doing all the Texans stuff while wifey is doing stuff for the baby. Don't tick off mommy and all will be good. Trust me.

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Now this is a wise man.
Listen to him.
If I could make that one sentence flash and alarms sound I would.

ObsiWan said:

Now this is a wise man.
Listen to him.
If I could make that one sentence flash and alarms sound I would.

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Got it! Although I'm not going to lie, it'll be hard for me not to get on the computer and see what's going on around training camp. I mean....this is going to be our best season ever!

Is Antonio Smith getting in the backfield? How's the RB situation looking? Is Duane Brown improving his pass protection? Is Glover Quinn still picking off passes in camp....speaking of which what is Molden doing? Ahhh!

Luckily I'll be pre-occupied (to put it lightly), but temptation will be in full effect.

At 12:22 AM I became a proud father of an 8 lb. 8 oz. healthy baby girl. Wohoo! Crazy how much you can love someone the minute you see them. Pics to come!

Yahoo!! Congratulations!!

Proud new Daddy

Baby Alexandria (Ali)


Me trying to cut her long fingernails

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like...Hooters wings for the new parents!

Hey fellow dad!

Ask a mod to split the thread into a new one. People here love kids but yours obviously got overlooked. Probably because they all think it's still on its way!

Once again... YAHOO!! Ali looks G-R-E-A-T!!

NitroHonda said:

Hey fellow dad!

Ask a mod to split the thread into a new one. People here love kids but yours obviously got overlooked. Probably because they all think it's still on its way!

Once again... YAHOO!! Ali looks G-R-E-A-T!!

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Thanks Nitro! She's a handful but I'm enjoying the whole experience.

I'll PM a mod about the thread.

congrats!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to you and your new family. She's a beauty.

I missed this thread earlier Congratulations, you have a beautiful little girl. I have a 12 year old daughter & a 7 year old son... SheTexan is right; you'll get all kinds of advice... do this, don't do that etc. Just do what you think is right. I didn't know anything about kids either, but they're turning out all right Just wait until she starts phoning you at work