#2: Microwaving Old Coffee

When you have a kid, you no longer think microwaving coffee is something only old people do.

It can be the fastest way to get caffeine into your bloodstream. And when you have a newborn, that is more infinitely more important than a slightly better tasting cup of joe.

Last weekend, my father and his girlfriend came to visit A. for the first time. After waking up several times throughout the night, I stumbled into the kitchen bleary-eyed on Sunday morning, and discovered some coffee leftover from the previous day. I was about to dump it and brew a fresh pot, when I thought "Why not microwave a cup? How bad could it really be?" Sure enough, I hardly noticed a difference.

So now I've joined my grandmother, great aunts and uncles, and countless others who think it's perfectly acceptable to microwave and drink old coffee. I won't go so far as to purposefully make extra so that it's leftover the next day, but I won't refuse if it's there.

Does that make me old too? Absolutely not. It just makes me a parent.

How has having kids changed your daily habits and beliefs?

#1: Tracking Pees and Poops

When you have a kid, you become obsessed with tracking pees and poops.

As a marketer by trade and musician by hobby, most people are familiar with my creative side, but I am also very analytical. My wife Stephanie might say *too* analytical. For almost as long as she's known me, I have tracked my finances in Microsoft Excel. Now that we're married, I use the same spreadsheet--just with more line items and features--to manage the family finances.

When Steph was pregnant with A., I took my job as labor coach seriously, especially the part about timing contractions. In addition to buying a watch with a second hand, I once again turned to Excel, creating a table that would automatically calculate the duration and frequency of contractions based on the start and end times. Unfortunately (for me), labor set in as we were getting ready for bed, so I had to rely on printouts, not my trusty spreadsheet.

When A. arrived, my mathematical mind became fixated on tracking pees and poops. Unlike the assuring regularity of getting paid bi-monthly or the steady build of contractions, pees and poops can come sporadically during baby's first week. A sheet the hospital gave us said to expect at least one poop each day until mommy's milk comes in, then 2-3 poops per day. Anything less could be a sign that baby isn't sufficiently hydrated or nourished.

While the nurses tracked pees and poops in the hospital (disclosure: I took mental notes!), we assumed responsibility once we got home. You can imagine our anguish when on our first full day home, A. didn't poop. For more than 12 hours, Steph and I were on pins and needles. When A. finally did her business at two in the morning, I felt like running around the house with the dirty diaper raised over my head in triumph!

Although A. has been peeing and pooping regularly since our "scare", we are still diligently tracking. Once the hospital-provided sheets were exhausted, we moved on to a streamlined version I created in (big surprise) Excel. Yesterday, we started using a day planner for newborns that Steph got from a friend. As first-time parents, it gives us peace of mind knowing that we're doing something right!

Welcome to When You Have a Kid

Welcome to "When You Have a Kid". As a first-time parent (my daughter A. was born one week ago today!) , I am struck by the countless ways in which life changes once you have children. While the major changes are well documented, the smaller, quirky ones get far less attention.

The latter are the inspiration for this blog, which will chronicle my experiences and observations on parenting. Hopefully, many of them ring true, whether you're a newbie like myself or a grizzled veteran with a mini-van full of kids! And I am sure you have your own stories and insights to share. Please feel free to comment and contribute to the conversation.

So here's to the exciting journey of parenting!