Betrayed by Pampers

Well, after a little over two weeks of dodging the friendly fire, I finally got tagged last night. While laying on her back in my lap last night, Abigail let loose a dark conspiracy that caught me off guard. It was the kind of “dark conspiracy” that went up her back, down her legs, and over, under, around, and through anything that got in its way. Sadly, my shirt and pants were in the way.

After emergency action, a bath for baby, and a shower for daddy, both father and daughter are resting comfortably.

Et tu, Pampers Swaddlers?

Photo and Video Gallery Changes

Now that I’ve grown accustomed to Apple’s iMovie software and MobileMe gallery, I’m making some changes to how we handle videos on the site. From now on, all photos and videos will be accessible through the “Gallery” link in the top navigation of this site. That will open up the photo page you may already be accustomed to. However, now you’ll see videos in the gallery, as well, under the “Movies” heading.

That’s where I’ll post the little family and friend videos I make. I’ll probably still use YouTube to insert the videos into blog posts, but I’ll also archive all of these videos to the online gallery for easy viewing later. I can also make the videos accessible for download through the gallery if necessary. I’ll hold off on that for now, though.

Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing the gallery page. If you experience an issue, let me know what the problem was and what internet browser you’re using. Thanks!

Proud Grandparents Pics!

Abby met her Gran-Gran (my dad) today! All the pics I took inspired me to move all grandparent pictures into a new photo gallery. Check it out!

Grandparents, feel free to upload your own pics of you and Abby into the gallery. Just click the upload link in the “Proud Grandparents” gallery to add your own photos!

Video: Abby’s Arrival

I pieced together some of the video clips I shot immediately after Abby’s birth. All this footage is within 30 minutes of her arrival.

On a geeky note, I went back and forth on whether or not to drop the $79 for the Apple iLife ‘09 update. I’ve been pleased with iLife ‘08, and I wasn’t sure if the new version would offer enough new features to justify the cost. Now, having installed ‘09 and used the new iPhoto and iMovie all week, I can say it is definitely worth it. I’m having a blast organizing all the baby photos and videos with iLife, and the new features are awesome.

Baby Picture Backup Strategy

It’s been a little while since I went geeky, and since this is the first week when I can truly call myself a “geeky dad,” I thought I’d put up a post about my backup strategy for all those wonderful baby pictures and videos we took in the hospital when Abby was born.

I should say up front that I take backups quite seriously. The little Christmas Eve data loss nightmare from two months ago weighed heavily on my conscience. I had backups in place, but my whole plan failed then. I could not let that happen to these once-in-a-lifetime pictures! I was snapping pics of Abby as soon as she was exposed to open air. There’s no way to recapture those moments if a drive or backup failed. So, I left nothing to chance.

My photo gear consisted of my iPhone 3G camera for quick, easily emailed pictures; my basic Kodak Easy Share C613 point-and-shoot; and my Flip Ultra mini camcorder. The hospital had great WiFi coverage, so I managed these devices and files with my MacBook in the hospital room throughout the week.

Geeky Dad at Work

At least once a day while we were in the hospital, I copied the files off the cameras and onto my MacBook. I did not delete the files off of the devices when I copied them. That alone gave me two copies of everything.

Next, I moved all of the files on the MacBook into a single folder called “Abby Pics.” I used Microsoft’s excellent Live Sync service to instantly (and wirelessly) sync the contents of that folder with all of my other machines. That gave me two more copies of all these files—one on my home iMac and another on my work iMac—without me ever leaving the rocking chair at the hospital. That brought the total number of copies to four.

Then, I logged in to my home iMac from my MacBook at the hospital using MobileMe’s “Back to My Mac” feature. Remotely controlling the iMac, I initiated a Time Machine backup, which copied the new files from the freshly synced Live Sync folder onto my Time Machine backup drive. That was backup copy number five.

Once that was done, and while I was still remotely logged in to my iMac, I initiated a total system backup to my second backup hard drive using Super Duper. I use Time Machine for regular incrimental backups, but I use Super Duper once a week to clone my iMac’s entire internal hard drive. That’s the best solution for making perfect, bootable copies of Mac drives, in my opinion. And, it’s free! This gave me backup copy number six.

Once I felt sure everything was safe enough for me play a little bit, I uploaded the pictures to my MobileMe web gallery. That allowed me to show off pictures of my daughter to all of you (that’s the photo page of this website), while also saving my pictures to MobileMe’s web servers. That’s a great layer of off-site backup, and it gave me copy number seven.

Last, for good measure, I copied all the files onto my 4gb Sandisk thumb drive that always resides in my left front pants pocket. That’s not the most elegant solution, but it works. This rounded out my backups at copy number eight.

So there you go. Within an hour of taking my daughter’s first pictures and videos, I had eight perfect digital copies on multiple computers, hard drives, and flash drives. I think that’ll do.

Don’t risk your important data! Backup, backup in multiple ways to multiple places, and do it regularly! You only get one shot at these precious moments, and losing them will make you want to jump out a window. Or, at the very least, it will make your wife throw you out a window. Actually, that would probably hurt just a little bit more.

FINAL Baby Bump Picture!

Better late than never! I just uploaded the last baby bump picture of Maryalice, taken three days before Abby was born. Check it out in the photo gallery!

Crazy Mexican Wrestling!

Okay, this doesn’t really have anything to do with this blog’s subject matter, but this video cracks me up. It reminds me of about 25 years ago, when me, my dad, and my brother watched pro wrestling together while grilling burgers and making homemade french fries. We never saw anything like this, though.

Picture of the Day: My Girls

One of my cats, Phoebe, has been hovering around Abigail ever since we brought her home. Phoebe is very interested in whatever Abby does, and she gets quite upset when Abby starts crying. When there’s a total baby meltdown, both cats rush over to Abby and start crying along with her. It’s hilarious. I can’t tell if they are meowing to comfort Abby or to scream alongside her.

At any rate, here’s my favorite picture of the day: Maryalice taking care of Abby while Phoebe oversees the situation. I added a few more shots of us at home, too. Click the picture below to go to the gallery page. I promise I’ll sift through the 101 other shots of Abby at the hospital soon. I know you all don’t want to see every single picture I ever take of this child!

My Girls!

Supersize Me, Hospital Style

I’ve mentioned on thegeekydad.com that I’m going through an intense 90-day diet and exercise program called P90X. It is extremely tough, but effective. I’m working out six days a week and learning new ways of eating healthy and breaking bad snack habits.

I knew when I started P90X that Abby would be born right around half-way through the program. In fact, she was born almost exactly half-way through it, on Day 49 of 90. While we were at the hospital for a week, I obviously missed some workouts, but I was committed to the diet plan, even though I wasn’t home to manage my own food. I prepared by packing some P90X-friendly groceries for snacks and breakfast, but lunch and dinner left me wandering around walking distance of the hospital, looking for food.

I got by okay, as there was a Wendys (good salads and grilled chicken) and Panera Bread (good whole wheat bread and quality meats). I had to walk a mile to get to each of these, but I didn’t mind since I was missing my workouts. Compared to an hour of P90X workouts, a one-mile walk on a nice day was a breeze.

Now, here’s what I found disappointing. There was a single restaurant in the lobby of the hospital. One single food establishment was allowed to set up shop inside a hospital. Can you guess what it was? Here’s a clue: you actually don’t deserve this kind of break today, especially if you’re in the hospital.

McDonald’s. Serously, a McDonald’s in the hospital lobby. Granted, I took advantage of it for its diet soda fountain, but I didn’t saddle up for a Bacon Egg and Cheese McGriddle while thousands of people fought for their lives in the floors above me.

The most striking image for me was one gentleman who stood beside me in line as I waited to pay for my soda. He had ordered his breakfast, something with sausage and butter and gravy and lard. He was waiting patiently, despite the heavy load he was carrying: his oxygen tank. Seriously, he had an oxygen tank slung over his shoulder. I’m sorry, but if you’re chained to an oxygen tank that’s piping fresh air directly into your nostrels, I’m reasonably sure that a McSkillet Burrito with Sausage is not what the doctor ordered.

I’m no doctor or fitness expert. I’m not a physical trainer, and I’m certainly not a vegetarian. I love food. I love to eat food. I would often love to sit down to a burger or pizza feast of grease. Sometimes, I still do. But if a health care provider has one shot to send a message to the public about what is or is not a decent meal, I hate to think that McDonald’s is the best they can come up with.

For more on the fast food industry, and McDonald’s in particular, be sure to check out the excellent documentary, Supersize Me, on DVD. It’s an eye-opening, funny, shocking, and entertaining look at how America’s food tastes have changed in the age of McDonalds. Defintely worth watching.

Abigail is Home. Finally.

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. As many of you know, we had a bit of an adventure with Abby. We went to the hospital in labor at 9:15 p.m. Monday night, and Abby was born at 3:19 a.m. Tuesday morning. The entire labor experience was a dream.

Minutes After Delivery

Seriously, that’s not just me being a stupid man about the whole thing. Maryalice was awesome, and she didn’t feel a single contraction until she was 3/4 of the way advanced. She’s a champ.

There were a couple of hiccups during the actual delivery, but everything came out fine. We were moved to the post partum wing by 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. Abigail was a beauty, and Maryalice was resting comfortably. We met our pediatrician, and got a great report from all of Abby’s initial tests. She was perfect! They told us then that 48 hours is the normal stay after delivery, so we expected to bring Abby home Thursday morning. Sadly, that plan got … er … backed up.

Abby couldn’t poop. There, I said it. Tuesday came and went, and then Wednesday, and there was still no poop. Apparently, this is really big deal. At first it was kind of funny, and we made “shy pooper” jokes about it. As time went on, however, the humor wore off. When they moved her in to the NICU Friday afternoon, the joke was over. Our pediatrician sat us down and explained all of the different things that it could be. He was patient, detailed, and above all, very concerned. This was serious.

My three-day-old baby was in ICU with wires and tubes coming out of her, getting her nutrition through an IV. That’s something no father should have to see. I took pictures of it, but I won’t look at them often.

Several doctors, surgeons, and pediatricians were consulted, and they ordered a barium enema for Friday afternoon. This procedure would include her third set of x-rays in two days. While she was having that done, Maryalice and I had to go clear our things out of the family room the hospital let us sleep in the previous night, after Maryalice had been discharged and kicked out of her hospital bed. I called the NICU nurse an hour later to see if Abby had been brought back, and if so, how she did.

The nurse replied, “Oh, she did great. She had a huuuuuuuge poop. Seriously, it was everywhere. She splashed us all.” Great news! The barium enema served a dual purpose. First, it would enable them to take detailed x-rays of her entire digestive tract, to see if there were any abnormalities or physical problems. Second, like any enema, it would hopefully loosen her up and bring forth some glory. It did. It did a lot. Over the next 12 hours, she cleared out nine months of pre-natal ingestion and four days of milk. Just as exciting, the barium films showed absolutely no problems at all! She was cured!

The Geeky Dad ... Finally

Leaping for joy at our daughter’s newfound ability to stink up our house, we were finally able to bring Abigail home on Saturday afternoon. Maryalice (who literally hadn’t slept more than five hours the past five days) and I joked, “Hey, maybe now we can get past the hospital/emergency/far-from-home/health-concern exhaustion, and just settle in to the normal new-parents-at-home level of exhaustion. After the week we had, that will be a welcome relief.