The Dancing Mommy

Last weekend Andrea and I performed (we're both dancers) a new duet titled "Duet for 3" - which, of course, is an obvious reference to the fact that Andrea is 39 weeks pregnant! It was really wonderful to perform with Andrea (and the baby) at this stage in the pregnancy and, I must say, Andrea was amazing. Everyone was so impressed with how well she can move and still dance this late in the pregnancy. I wasn't so surprised since she is usually in such great shape and able to do so much I was always sure she could handle doing some dancing and performing. After the performances she asked me if it felt like she was too slow and held me back some - but, in reality, she was slowed down just enough so I could keep up with her! I am going to post some of our duet onto YouTube soon and will post a link as soon it is up... : )

Watching Births

Yesterday Andrea and I met with Helen - our doulah - and we watched a number of excerpts from the show "House of Babies". We don't have cable or anything so we don't have the ability to watch this normally. Helen fast forwarded through alot of the episodes so that we could get to the "good stuff", meaning, the birth. Most, if not all, of the births that we watched were underwater, which is amazing. The baby's head will come out and still be under water, and because it is getting oxygen still through the umbilical cord it is fine until it comes all the way out. But, was most interesting about the different births was how different women reacted to being in labor, especially the last bit of labor. There was one women who could barely keep going, saying it was too hard. Another women was almost smiling between contractions as she seemed so content, even with the intensity of the last bit of pushing. And another women was almost methodical in her approach, as if she was doing a job and just trying to get it done. What was not different about each woman after the birth was how happy they were and how they beamed with joy as they held their newly born baby.

It will be interesting to see how Andrea (and I) do during the birth of our little one. I'll keep you posted...

CPR-in'

Today Andrea and I took a 1/2 workshop in Infant CPR from the Red Cross. We went downtown DC to the national headquarters of the Red Cross and, I must say, it was an impressive building - very new, modern - they had the nicest chairs I have ever seen in a waiting room - cool, cushion-y, cloth chairs with nifty little wooden trays that swung in front of you and to the side - like a very high end school chair/desk. Anyway, we took this class with just 3 students and learned how to give "Rescue Breaths" - which they use to call mouth-to-mouth, but I guess that got to many laughs - and CPR. We learned this both for infants and children whether they are awake or unconscious. So, we're ready for anything unfortunate that happens with our soon to arrive daughter. They didn't cover how to do any of this with an adult so I guess Andrea and I are out of luck if anything happens....But, if you're having a child, or have a child you should take a class, just go to www.redcross.org and find a class by you.

Messy, Messy -- WHEEE!

When Andrea and I tell people that we are going to be using cloth diapers people think we are totally nuts. I guess that should be expected when disposables have become the norm. But, with everything we know about how bad disposables are for the environment I as so surprised by people's reactions. It is true there are some people who think the water used to clean the cloth diapers balances out the amount of trash disposable create, but it also takes a ton of water to make the disposables and the difference ends up to be very little. And, it is 1/2 as expensive to use cloth (and that includes buying the diapers and washing them). I mean, we'll see, maybe it will be such a total pain in the butt that we will switch over to disposables, but I think we're both ready to be alittle inconvenienced. And, we now have these really cut diaper covers that we're totally ready to use!

Working with a Doula

So far, Andrea and I could not be more happy over our decision to have hired a Doula to help us with our natural childbirth. Andrea met once with Helen and then we've met once together with her. In addition to being a Doula, Helen is a Alexander Technique teacher and a Cranial-Sacral practitioner. Both of these are kinds of body/mind work that helps your body operate at its best. When we last met with Helen she did some Cranial-Sacral work with Andrea (which was very subtle) while I read a Hypno-Birthing script. Our goal was to help Andrea relax and release while we were both supporting her - Helen with her hands, me with my voice. Andrea certainly was able to let go and enter a deep state of relaxation - and, her face got so calm and gentle - she was really beautiful while lying there. Helen also gave us some reading to do about the birth cycle and they are helping us understand the stages and such. We meet again this Friday for more adventures in birth preparations!

Thinking about the birth

Andrea and I have been reading and talking about the process of the birth. It seems amazing what a body can do! Andrea doesn't seem to be scarred at all - which doesn't really surprise me because she is one of the toughest people I've ever known -certainly alot tougher than me. So it is good that it is her giving birth and not me...

So many people roll their eyes when we talk about Andrea doing a natural childbirth, but sticking a big needle into your spine seems alot scarier than giving birth. I know that is easy for me to say, but Andrea feels the same way, so I'm just trying to help us have the skills necessary to help her along. The hospital we're going to give birth at has some natural child birthing rooms that are very nice with big beds, birthing chairs, big roomy showers and a tub large enough for both of us to be in it. I mean, I know, it is probably going to be the most intense thing we ever do, but I'm kind of excited as well. I find the whole process fascinating and, of course, we'll have a little girl at the end of it all.

The Beginning

Welcome! This is my new blog - The Daddy Dance. It is all about becoming and being a dad. My wife (Andrea) is currently at 36 weeks, so we are entering the time when we can become parents at any time. While this is so exciting I find it incredibly scary as well. I mean, I think I will be a good dad, but I also get nervous about being good enough. It is certainly alot of the bigger responsibilities that worry me - ie. money, scheduling time, education. The day to day stuff I feel more confident about, but we'll see....

I'm sure I as go along and write about this process I'll tell more and more about myself, but for now it is enough to say that I am a working dancer/choreographer and a Feldenkrais Practioner (see the link to The Integrated Body to learn more about that). I live just outside DC with my wife and teach part time at University of Maryland College Park as well as some local studios. My dance company, The PlayGround, has a show coming up on April 27-29 (and Andrea's due May 6th). And, in addition to this blog I have a blog that is keeping track of my current creative project - My ocean is never blue at http://improvarts.alkem.org/myoceanisneverblue.

Best... more soon.