Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My Minnow

I spent the morning listening to reggae with my new best friend Nico. His favorite song is "Night Nurse" by Gregory Isaacs.

"...I don't wanna see no doc

I need attendence from my nurse around the clock

'Cause there's no prescription for me

She's the one, the only remedy


Night nurse

Only you alone can quench this Jah thirst..."


Nico arrived Friday morning at around 8am and he's proven to be a bit of a night owl. So I'm getting used to his schedule. Late-night binge drinking seems to be his favorite pass time; it's been awhile since I've pulled an all-nighter, so I'm working on my stamina. Handling him reminds me of the first scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones transfers a bag of sand onto a stone scale that's the exact weight of an idol. Very careful, or there are some extreme repercussions.

Anyway, Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright and baby Nico's doin' alright too. Dims? 7lbs, 70z x 20" long. Thanks to everyone who has given us support, snacks, love, champagne, and Cohibas.

Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse

38 comments:

Patch said...

Chip of the ol Chum. Your life just got that much better and look at the sleep deprivation as training for pre dawn sessions.

Salud!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Rick! That is awesome!

-Morgan

twin said...

Congrats Dad! (and Mom!)

Take note....you'll now be eyeing tiny wetsuits. (hint....a fast-growing kidlet means the wetsuit exchange program at Cleanline is generally the best bang for your buck.) ;-)

Anonymous said...

So happy for you both! He's a handsome minnow at that!
Candi

Foul Pete said...

Wow, Congrats. I thought you guys had a bit longer. Was Nico early? You know you are right about the sleep deprivation training. Becomming a dad certianly re-aquainted me with that long forgotten time of day called morning.

ras said...

big ups to the lickle brejren inna your yard. congratulations.

Surfsister said...

What the? What's he doing here? I check this blog every day. I kept expecting you to do a post about how you were in a holding pattern waiting for the little man. I didn't expect to find him here already!!!

Congratulations to you and your beautiful wife!

Nuno said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nuno said...

Congratulations Chum! How does it feel? :D

cheers

5:13 PM

Kyle said...

Huzzah from the right coast. I've got two and one in the oven and they are great. The two ex-utero are asking for surfboards already (7 & 4 yrs old) so it comes quick.

As per Patch's comment, your life just got that much better. Children are a blessing. Congratulations to mom for the hard work!

Gaz said...

Congrats man!! Love 'em..... they grow quickly!

Graham said...

Best thing that will ever happen to you right there!

Congrats from our fam to yours!

Anonymous said...

Good job and congrats,
cool name too...
Yeah forget sleeping for awhile.
:)

Patty said...

Wow Rick this is the first time I really could relate to your blog! (well partly). Seriously though Congradulations Dude! I am so happy for you! And your new best friend will screw with your hours to be sure!

Anonymous said...

Congats to your family!

You get used to 3-hour naps.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's great! Congratulations! You have a Sisyphean task at hand. Haha. Send me an e-mail or call when you get the chance.

Festus Porkmeyer

Anonymous said...

congratulations! joy to you all!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! I've read that in the first year an average parent loses 1 month of sleep. I remember napping at work on my lunch break. But wait 'til you see him charge the white water at the beach when he starts walking. It's cold and they're fearless.

Anonymous said...

He is absolutely beautiful! Good job guys :) Congratulations.


Kim

Whiffleboy said...

Nice work, my man. Hopefully, you'll be able to still get the surf time in over the next 6 months to a year. Although, quite frankly, you won't miss it with this little wonder in the world. OK...scratch that. You WILL miss it, but, it's all good regardless. :-)

Kiss your previous life goodbye and embrace Phase II. It's the hardest yet most rewarding thing imaginable.

Chum said...

Howdy there!

Yes, Nico came a little early... almost two weeks!

And everything the veteran parents say is true: the sleepless nights, lack of surfing, that crazy feeling you get when he looks you in the eye at 3am as you rock him to sleep, and you detect a little smile.

I just got a few swift gifts in the mail from Consafos Press today: Way of the Bird by Andrew Kidman and Andy Davis (for Nico), and a few surf movies (for Dad). Thanks, Kirk.

And yes, there's a new Portland surfer to deal with, Writer...

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Anonymous said...

Congrats man!

Anonymous said...

Hey bro. super congrats.

J.P. said...

Yay! More surf babies!!!

Anonymous said...

happy thanks giving :-)
congratulations

-ryan

6ftnperfect said...

Congrats man! the old cliche is true, it goes by fast so take lots of pics.

brownfish said...

Didn't you hate it when other parents told you for the last nine months that, "Your life will never be the same." After about the tenth time you just feel like going, "Damn, you must of whizzed through Rocket Science." In the end, you endured. Now your back at the start. Everytime you think your getting near the end, you'll actually be getting closer to the start of something new. Kind of like surfing. Being a parent is a challenge and always dynamic. Happy surfing. Congratulations.

chuk said...

Time to enjoy, no doubt about it!!

Un saludo

jchack said...

Nicely done!

borntoloser said...

Groms are epic! Get ready for some gnarly nights, radical mealtimes, mondo fun!

Anonymous said...

The world is now even better. They are all little wonders. You will find time to surf and do all the things you used to enjoy that were positive. All negative things will cost to much time. Evening will be brighter and colorful. You will be excited about things that you forgot were exciting. Kids see the world with new eyes. A frog will fire them up for days. Or taking a bath. You are stoked.

Kono said...

Congrats Mom and Dad, luckily he was born in the morning so labor started last night, hence you didn't end up at the bar the night before labor like i did, you don't even know how kick ass life is gonna be now, like someone said frogs, baths, grasshoppers, snow, dirt, can entertain for hours, days, etc, and honestly sleep deprivation can be fun it undertaken with the right attitude, congrats again and welcome to the world Nico.

Chum said...

Thanks again everyone! Yeah, the nights are actually already getting better, believe it or not.

It was a little tough to let my old surf buddy Gee (who was visiting for the holidays) borrow my quad to go surfing this morning, but it took me oh, a half-second to get over it.

Kono, I was actually slightly headache-y when Mom went into labor at 3am. I'd just drowned my sorrows from an Oregon Ducks loss a few hours before!

Chum.

Kono said...

Good man Chum, i actually think a little hangover and some aspirin help take the nervous edge off the first kid, i kept asking for valium but the nurses just kept laughing at me.

Totor said...

Congratulations!!!
Welcome to the club of "exhausted-yet-delighted" parents; my youngest son (the 3rd!!!) is four months old.

Daniel said...

Congrats to you both.k

Anonymous said...

Mother's little helper is just for mom.

Anonymous said...

Whoops. I meant it isn't just for mom. It's hard to type good when you're sharing the chair with a 2-year-old who's anxious to watch RC helicopter crashes on youtube. Oh, dear.