Defining Moments

So yesterday was a defining moment in Nolin and I’s relationship.  He went back to the doctor for The Cut.  He’ll either see me as the jerk that put him through an awful pain, or the father that stood by him.  I’m hoping for the latter.

When we arrived at the doctor’s office, Jenn decided that she would allow me to go back with Nolin during the procedure.  Apparently most parents don’t do this, but I just sort of walked back there as if to say, “Let’s get this party started”. I think sometimes as a parent it may be better to be clueless instead of trying to over protect your child from everything.  It’s how they learn right? 

Well I definitely did not feel like his protector as soon as I handed him over to the doctor so that they could strap him onto a cold table like Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking.  At that moment if Nolin knew what was about to happen, I’m sure he probably would have felt like a dead man walking.  He sort of looked at me in silence with his big eyes and said seriously I promise I won’t stay up late, soil my diapers or cry anymore just please get me out of here.

I stood there holding Nolin to try to comfort him while watching the doctor to make sure that she didn’t do anything wrong as if I knew what she was actually doing.  That may also be another reason why parents don’t usually participate in the procedure.  At one point the doctor finally said, “yeah I don’t think you are going to want to watch this part”.  I think Nolin understood because it was at that moment that his eyes got really big and all I could say is “it’s almost over buddy”.  I will say that he handled the whole thing like a champ and cried less than I would imagine most people do when getting their stuff cut.  My little guy is pretty tough. 

After the procedure I brought him back to the waiting room with Jenn and he pursed his lips with the fiercest look of determination I have seen that indicated he was not going to cry, but that he was going to make us pay dearly for doing this for years and years to come…And this year’s Parents of The Year award goes to…

He pretty much slept from the doctor’s office through the night.  I started to think that he had decided he would get us back by screaming relentlessly during the hours of midnight and 4am.  Instead he had his second night of good sleep.  I hope this doesn’t mean that he is just waiting until we’re not expecting it to unleash an ungodly terror on Jenn & I.  All I can say is that while we think the white noise sounds like aliens he loves it, and the baby airflow cushion that the Colbey’s got us is a God send.  He only woke up twice to eat with Jenn, and then I got my time to feed him, change him and watch the news this morning before I left for work.

In what I am sure is going to be a trend over the next 50 years, we had another significant development this morning.  During our morning change, Nolin’s umbilical cord fell off.  I have been told that you are supposed to plant it with a tree, so I think that when Grandpa Don comes to visit in a few weeks that is what we are going to do (my last venture at planting trees not so successful since all 6 died…awesome).