Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Guilt

http://www.viacord.com/

Remember your first visit? Remember grabbing all of those brochures? Remember those cute little babies looking at you, trying to make sure you do the right thing? After all, what kind of a parent are you if you can't even find the thousands of dollars to invest in preserving your newborn's umbilical cord blood?

And then, after a while, you see these babies everywhere. They're on the doctor's wall, the blood bank company's name is on the doctor's pen. The hospital's welcome package. Hiding between all the paperwork you get in the classes. Do these companies own our hospitals? And since when are we so clear about Class in this country? Aren't we supposed to hide the fact that rich people live longer and better?

So then you either get the money to save the blood, or you don't. And if you don't, you hope for the best, spending your time wondering if you've done the right thing. After all, you could have just applied for a new credit card, no?

http://www.corcell.com/

So it's always a small joy to read an article that says that in Australia, not only do many hospitals refuse to allow the collection of the blood by private companies (parents can still donate the blood for free to a public bank), but a report indicates that although Australian parents have spent millions in storage costs, none has been used yet.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24924784-953,00.html

Maybe it's one less thing to feel guilty about? At least until the next time?




Monday, January 19, 2009

Matt

DC Urban Dad
Washington DC is known around the world as the place you may want to skip tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about the new direction for the country, and about Obama as an individual, and about the idea of experiencing it all with more than a million shiny happy people.

But seriously, no strollers? And it's too cold. And I-95 will be crazy. And... Maybe we can still make it?

With that out of the way, here's Matt from DC Urban Dad.

Like many fathers, Matt is trying to lose his pregnancy weight. I actually gained more weight than my wife when she was pregnant, but I assume I'm alone there. I also moved from cigarettes to Snickers bars so maybe that had something to do with it.

But the thing that makes me really feel for the guy is the way he reacts when his 8-month-old baby begins to get more mobile. Because if there's one thing that drives me insane is feeling my head is about to explode, actually hearing my heartbeats as a result of constant worrying on the one hand and physical exhaustion on the other (going up and down those stairs... I should have had that kid when I was fifteen), and then having a well-meaning person look at my baby and say, "Awww, that's the easy age."

But don't worry, Matt. Take it from an experienced father of a much older kid (13 months): every day gets a little more challenging, but every day you carry with you another day of experience.

DC Urban Dad






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