Week 1

My good friend Chris asked me the other night how the whole hormonal rush that comes with fatherhood is going, and the fact is that that's not happening right now.
I'm not worried about it.  I've talked to several male friends who've done this before, and most of them have said that  it took them a while to develop an attachment to their new baby.
Besides, right now my parenting roles are primarily mechanical.  Cook, clean, fetch & carry, launder, stuff like that.  That's okay.  Kate is equipped to parent in ways that I'm not, for the moment. 
The fact is that the mechanical nature of our respective roles is the thing that Sam and I have in common.  His job right now is development.  He's doing his job like a champ.  All he's doing, for the most part, is eating, eliminating, and sleeping.  Sometimes he multi-tasks.  So, he'll eat and eliminate at the same time.  Or he'll sleep and eliminate at the same time.  He falls asleep while eating, but that's as close as he's gotten to eating and sleeping at the same time.
Every day he is a little more alert and a little more active.
Things I've learned about parenting in the first week:
Politically correct diapers suck, and not in the absorbent way, but specifically in the non-absorbent way (sorry Auntie Julie).
Prior to the diaper change, lay everything out within reach and already opened. 
As soon as you open up the diaper, cover the willy.
The physics of car-seat straps is a science unto itself, and the physical laws of the car-seat strap universe is different than ours.
Cats are more prone to jealousy over the baby than dogs (that one surprised both of us).
Do everything that comes up when it comes up.  My biggest enemy right now is tasks piling on top of each other.
Swaddling is not all it's cracked up to be.
Swaddling or diapering a live baby that doesn't want to be swaddled or diapered is immeasurably harder than doing it in class on the baby shaped piece of plastic.
Anything that allows baby management with both hands free at the same time (slings or little vibrating chairs) are worth their weight in gold.
Finding time to write a parenting blog might not be the most realistic of expectations.