Brendan Dure: Week 1

Last week, I posted that I was "ready" to be a father. Less than 48 hours later, I was. That's eerie.

And no, I wasn't "ready" for everything. When Jen called, I asked her two or three times if she was kidding. Fighting through rush hour on a rainy day, probably my least favorite D.C.-area fact of life, is far from ideal mental preparation.

But if we did one thing right, it was that we didn't overprepare. We didn't have set ideas on how to spend every minute of labor and delivery, and in hindsight, I have no idea how anyone would. The hospital can prepare for every contingency. You can't.

We didn't expect labor to go quite the way it did, though we won't go into details on dilation, epidurals and so forth. We didn't expect a boy (we didn't know, but we had a hunch it would be a girl). And we certainly didn't expect to be there 22 days early, one day short of what's technically considered "full term."

The hospital provides such a reassuring environment. "Oh, you're shivering uncontrollably? That's normal; it'll go away in an hour or so." "The baby just made a noise that sounds like demonic possession? Yeah, they'll do that." "Yes, we have a record number of deliveries today, but you're still getting a private room." "Oh, and don't worry about the fact that he just peed like Old Faithful during that diaper change."

In his 62-hour stay in the hospital, Brendan passed every test that came his way, including the "car seat challenge." (The records read as follow: 30 minutes, asleep. 60 minutes, asleep. 90 minutes, asleep.) He also cheered the Redskins to victory in their Thursday night opener, though judging by his kicking and heading ability, he has more of a future as a target forward on the U.S. national soccer team.

Since he's been home, he's made friends with the dogs and embarked on a quest to soil every article of clothing he has. He sleeps fairly well in his crib but still enjoys browsing the Net with his dad at 4 a.m. He's also quite the tease, opening his metallic gray eyes only when he feels like it.

Next week, he can help his dad with the work around the house that got pushed back by his early arrival.