Kaniz & Abbas +2

Pratiksha, Rahul and a few other cherished friends were kind enough to organize a baby shower for us this weekend. Thanks to everyone for your time, generous gifts, advice and well wishes! It's nice to know that we have so many wonderful friends around us (who will be just as understanding as they are wonderful when we turn into recluses with +1's arrival). A special thanks to Maria (from NYC) and Melissa (from Boston), both of whom made it to the event despite winter storms and flight cancellations. Thanks also to Allan who was kind enough to rent out the party room at his condo building. Lots to say about the baby shower, but it's a little late tonight.. so in the meantime, here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Saturday was the second and last of our prenatal classes (Child Emergency Care & Baby Care still to come). We wrapped up with a group discussion on what both parents will go through emotionally come the first few weeks after delivery, what types of interventions can occur during Stage 2 of labour, breastfeeding basics and finally a hospital tour. I was really excited about the tour and, while WCH is a very old, somewhat decrepit hospital, I'm still happy we chose it as I've had nothing but great care from the doctors. The good news is the L&D ward is closing and moving to Sunnybrook by 2010, just in time for our +2 ;-) I'm sure there will be some fancy rooms and amenities. We made some progress on the nursery as well. Abbas put the change table/dresser together as well as a nightstand for me next to the glider. It all looks great and I can't wait for the crib to complete the room. Another date of significance...my last day of work...March 20th! I can'...

Phew - it's been another hectic week. I was out of town on Thursday and Friday , but that gave me a chance to catch up on some over due reading and finish The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer (by Dr. Harvey Karp). As the title suggests, the book is all about soothing fussy or colicky newborns and only covers the first three months. While the information and strategies in the book will be invaluable to new parents, I think the entire book could have easily been a two-page pamphlet - but then again, you can't really sell a pamphlet for $15 US (or $21 CDN). A lot of the book is Dr. Karp's explanation of why some babies are fussy and why his theory on soothing babies is better than others. Essentially, his view is that human babies are missing a 'fourth trimester' which they need to develop some vital skills (e.g. self-soothing) - so in order to help our babies, we need to provide conditions that closely mimi...

Tonight, Mommy and Daddy took me out to my first sporting event - a basketball game! Well, Mommy bought tickets for daddy and I just snuck in. It was a lot of fun... well, I couldn't really see much (my Mommy's tummy was in the way), but it sure was loud! We got to watch the Raptors (my fav team) beat the Nets - it wasn't even close! I thought that Vince Carter guy was supposed to be pretty good? And afterwards, I got to eat some yummy ice cream! I can't wait till I can actually get to see a game, not just listen to it.

Phew, what a busy weekend. Aside from the continual list making, to-do's doing, and general running around, Abbas and I had our first (real) prenatal class on Saturday. It was from 930am to 430pm...because we opted for 2 Saturdays instead of 6 weeknights. While we didn't learn a ton (Abbas and I knew a lot of the stuff we talked about), we still really enjoyed it. We learned (and got to practice) some breathing & massage techniques and shared some fears / thoughts with other to-be parents in the class. We also watched 2 videos that focused on Stage 1 labour and how both the moms and dads are feeling rather than Stage 2 labour which is really just the pushing. All in all, I thought it was well worth getting up early on a Saturday for and I am looking forward to the second class this Saturday. On Sunday we met up with our +1's partner in crime, the Huda +1. Our good friends Minaz and Muslim are due right around the same time as us and so it's been great to share exper...

Given that Kaniz is a Hillary supporter (I know I know, we can't all be perfect), it's a pretty good bet that +1 is going to be an independent thinker, if the above picture is any indication. I'm not even sure how +1 managed to get all those people to hold up those signs! :) +1 also found this neat video on YouTube with an Obama speech turned into a music video - enjoy!

Boy, it's been a busy week for Kaniz and I, so the +1 blog didn't get any love (much to the dismay of our regular readers, I'm sure).. but now that it's the weekend, we'll make sure everyone gets caught up. First of all, people started buying gifts for the +1 off of our Babies R Us (BrU) registry, and unlike other store registries where the gift recipient can choose to pick up purchased items from a local store, BrU's registry is a little retarded (as are most of their store staff, but that's another story). If you buy an item off a BrU registry online, you have to pay for shipping.. and if you buy an item in-store, you have to handle the delivery yourself. Anyway, I digress... Here's a picture of few of the items we've received so far (change pad not shown) - +1 thanks all the aunties (Namgyal, Maria, Mashad & Iris), uncles (Jeff, Ted, Hasnain & Eli) and grandma Rizvi! Second, Kaniz and I used our store credit at Moms To Be and bought an awe...

Today, +1 took the 'rents to go see grandma Rizvi and the West Side Crew in B-Town (Brampton, for those of you aren't in the know). We had lots of fun hanging out with the entire gang!

Like most parents, Kaniz and I have been reading our fair share of pregnancy and baby books.. so I thought I'd post a quick review of Be Prepared: A Practial Handbook for New Dads since I just finished it! Overall, I think the book is well worth the $14US/$16CND price tag (thanks to Rahul & Pratiksha, I got mine for free). The book covers your baby's first year and is divided into 2-3 month sections (e.g. the first week, 0-3 months, 4-6 months, etc.). Each section discusses how your baby is developing, the type of issues they may experience and practical tips for dealing with these issues. A few examples: First week: what your newborn will actually look like, how to do a basic diaper change 0-3 months: how to deal with your partner's mood swings (basically ears open, mouth closed) 4-6 months: taking your baby's (rectal) temperature - ouch! 7-9 months: babyproofing your living room, kitchen, bathroom 10-12 months: how to travel with your baby (if traveling with bot...

So I promised a more entertaining post today, but unfortunately I don't have any fun news to write about.  Luckily, a friend of mine sent me this awesome e-mail from another friend who just had a baby ( ok , so my friend actually sent it to Kaniz who forwarded it to me).. but basically, this couple ended up having their baby at home in the bathroom, with the dad doing the actual delivery! Not as crazy as the woman who gave birth in a car near Dundas /Highway 427 , but still pretty crazy. Here is the e-mail (verbatim) from Dr. Dad (names have been changed): ...still thinking about Monday and it was pretty CRAZY. What's even crazier is that all of the following occurred between 9:15 am and 9:59 am. Julie was in the bathroom and couldn't move because she was in sooo much pain, while I was running around our tiny apartment literally like a chicken with it's head cut off - running back and forth from the bathroom to the balcony area in order to get reception on the mobile...

Tonight Kaniz and I went to our first prenatal class at Women's College (WC), which was actually more of an information session where the audience (pregnant women and their partners/friends) could ask questions of a panel comprised of an obstetrician, a family practice doctor, a couple of nurses and an anesthesiologist. Overall, I would say the session was fairly informative since we were able to ask questions specific to the setup at WC. A few interesting notes: Cord Blood : If you've sat in an Ob-Gyn's office waiting room lately, you've probably seen some sort of literature on umbilical cord blood banks. Cord blood is blood from the placenta and the umbilical cord, and the idea with saving or banking this blood is 'biological insurance' in case your baby is diagnosed with a blood or immune-related disease. This procedure isn't covered by OHIP (universal healthcare system for the province on Ontario, where we live) and can be quite expensive ($1500 upfront ...

Just like daddy, our +1 makes friends easily - so even before making his/her debut, +1's got a pretty cool group of friends. Last Wednesday (my birthday!), I picked up Kaniz (and +1) after work and we dropped by K&R's place to see Safiya (+1 crew member #1) before her big trip to Dubai and India. She was a little busy watching Dora (as you can see from the picture) but we got to hang out for a bit while her parents finished their trip preparations. After dinner that night, we ended up at Javed & Nishat's for dessert and had a fantastic time hanging out with Rayn (+1 crew member #2) & Co. For an 18 month old, he sure knows how to smile for the camera! Here are some more shots for you to enjoy!

Ok, so I hope you've come back after Abbas' corny post, although I have to admit, the graphic of the software box with him on it, is pretty darn good! Must be why I love him so. So, we bought our crib! We had our hearts set on the BabyMod Parklane from Walmart.com (only) in the States, which is very modern looking, the right price for us and got good reviews on Apartment Therapy. (The other option I had listed previously was the StorkCraft Ariel , also from Walmart - a little more traditional looking but we had decided against it.) I still think both of these options are great though, especially if you live in the US. Anyhow, on the spur of the moment, we decided to stop at Nestings , a very cute store on Yonge to check out their showroom. We walk in and I see "Winter Sale 20% off" on practically everything! We spotted the AP Lollipop Crib in Weathered Black, off in the corner and we both really liked it. It seemed to combine both the modern look and the traditional ...

Ok, so not really a +1 related note, but I did turn 30 today and figured it deserves a quick mention. Since I have a tendency of forgetting how old I actually am, having a kid this year may help me remember in the future. Now, I'm not a math major, but I am studying for the GMAT, so here's a quick formula I came up with.. x = y + 30, where x is my age, y is +1's age. Brilliant, I know. Not only am I getting older, I'm getting wiser as well. If you don't think the above is funny, just be glad I didn't use my Abbas 3.0 release party joke !

A quick update on all the 'baby stuff' that Kaniz & I have been accepting on behalf of our +1: Adam Pratt, one of my Adobe colleagues, gave the +1 his/her first outfit (we've received others, but they were hand-me-downs). No doubt anyone who knows me will be shocked by the shirt's tagline, but I must admit there's some truth to it. Thanks Adam! Another first in the nursery - our first piece of nursery furniture. The Luca glider got delivered last week while I was at Macworld. It looks fantastic! Can't wait to get some quality 'gliding' time with the +1. On a side note, check the vignetting on the picture, taken with our new Nikon D80 - not sure how to avoid that, but I'm on the case. Kaniz organized a surprise brunch for my 30th birthday on Sunday at the Stonegrill on Winchester in downtown Toronto. I can't believe that I completely fell for it and was stunned speechless for a good five minutes. Just for the record: I'm not 30 yet though ...

Since Blogger lets you post to your blogs using mobile devices, I figured I'd try it out with my Blackberry. So here's a picture of Kaniz, sitting across from me, patiently waiting for her ultrasound appointment. And as I was typing this out, she just got called in, but I have to wait out here until they call me in. I'll post the latest ultrasound pictures if we manage to get them off the lab tech!

After years of taking pictures with a traditional point-and-shoot digital camera, I finally decided to buy a digital SLR.. but hey, it's not for me, it's for the +1! ;) And since I'm in San Francisco this week (for Macworld), I figure now's a good time to get the camera so I can get used to it before +1's world debut. If you know of any good baby photographers with online portfolios, I'd love to get some creative ideas (so please send me an e-mail, or leave a comment here). If all goes according to plan, I should have the camera tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

On Saturday afternoon, Kaniz and I test drove the whole toddler thing, thanks to our friends Pam and Junya (and their 15 month old son Noa). While the 'rents were out at a movie, Kaniz and I tried our best to keep Noa entertained. This involved: feeding him (a cup of applesauce, two crackers, some chicken and a sippie cup of milk); changing him (one #1 diaper, one #2 diaper); and chasing him (for a little guy, his legs sure move fast!). Kaniz and I love Noa - he's a really, really good kid. Very happy, very active and very easy going (must take after his dad), but babysitting him for 3 hours was about as much as we could handle. It's incredible how much attention toddlers need, and I have to wonder how parents manage to take care of their kids 24 hours a day. Is this some sort of superhuman power that manifests itself once you become a parent? In our case, I think the fact that we were looking after someone else's child added to the challenge. It's like when you bor...

Yep, knock another 'to do' off the +1 list! We had initially thought about registering at Moms To Be & More, but since Dear-Born Baby offers an online registry, we ended up registering at Dear-Born (& Babies R Us ). The actual process of registering was less painful at BrU since we had a fancy scanner, but the DBB staff handed us a clipboard and a pen and set us loose. Aside from the above two stores, we're convinced that our +1 will be a huge IKEA fan, so we'll also accept gift certificates on his/her behalf. ;)

I've gotten a few questions from friends about the best way to set up a website for their own +1s so they can easily share photos/videos with family and friends.. so I thought I'd write down my thoughts here. While there are hundreds of ways (literally) that you could go about doing this - from designing your website from scratch and hosting it yourself to customizing ready-made templates and paying a monthly fee (e.g. Babyjellybeans ) - I think the easiest (and cheapest) way would to be to set up a blog. Here's why? It's free (on sites like Blogger, Wordpress, etc.) It's easy to customize the look & feel. You can choose from lots of different templates (or search the web for others), and even change the colour scheme for the blog to match your baby colours ( see post on Kuler ). It's easy to add text/posts. If you can log in to your Hotmail or Gmail account and write an e-mail, you can post text. It's easy to share photos and even videos. For example, y...