This has been a roller coaster year! There is one other thing I have been hiding from the community. But we will save that for another post. Today, I wanted to talk about an unbelievable, amazing event that has changed my life completely over the last month. In March, the Diplomat family became a little larger. It is time to meet Baby Diplomat!
To start, you should know which Diplomat this is. This is Bert (of course there is Uncle Lanny as well). I thought I kept a pretty tight lid on this. With subtle hints over the last few months that something exciting was happening soon. So I’m sure this is a surprise to many of you. Our bundle of Joy had a due date of April 14th. However, on March 26th, I received a call from my wife at work. She told me that she was pretty confident that the baby was on the way. We called and met with our midwife. It was confirmed. Baby Diplomat was coming three weeks early!
We arrived at the hospital at 3 PM and we told to expect a very long delivery. Expect her to arrive late the next morning, we were told. I’ll spare everyone the details; but let’s just say that things started slow and then picked up speed out of nowhere. In fact, my wife was so relaxed and prepared for a long haul, she told me to grab dinner from the hospital’s cafeteria! But when all was said and done, Baby Diplomat was born at 9:53 PM. She is healthy, mom is healthy, and that’s all that matters.
Speaking of mom. She is incredible. I left this experienced amazed by how strong she is. This was not easy and it helped put a lot things into perspective. If she can deliver a child and be happy about it, I need to stop complaining about the small things. Women are incredible for nurturing and caring for a child for nine months. I’ll never understand it. I respected women for doing it before; surely my respect level has increased exponentially as a result.
People have said that your life changes forever. It couldn’t be more true. In my mind, I couldn’t imagine a life without her. There isn’t a moment that passes where I don’t think about her. When we are together, I just want to hold her, comfort her, and watch her grow. Everyone who said it would be the best could not have been more true!
We are still figuring out the best sleep and life schedules. Recently, she has been fussier. Rather than sleeping on her own, she likes to be held. Of course I’m happy to hold her. It has just made blogging difficult! Just when I’m ready to start writing or work on an article during a nap, the plans change quickly. When she is finally calm late in the evening, exhaustion kicks in and we need to sleep. This will change as she grows. I’m working on finding the right system and balance of getting things done while enjoying this amazing stage in her life. Above all else, I don’t want to miss our bonding time.
I’ve been brainstorming some articles as well. Many of which will discuss frugally raising a baby. Most importantly, it will seek A LOT of advice from those of you that have successfully done so already. We have started a new chapter in our lives. This is going to be a lot of fun.
Oh yeah, of course we have some pictures here. I’ll add some captions.
-Bert
Photos:
I was able to capture this picture while waiting for a Doctor’s appointment! Nice and tired.
Fingers crossed. So far, she loves bath time!
Getting ready for her first, of many, photo shoots with mom
The city planted a tree in our front yard the week she was born. We call it the Baby Diplomat tree and will take a picture with her next to it every year!
A photo of Uncle Lanny with Baby Diplomat! The first of many meetups
Thought I would end this with one of my favorites. I could hold her all day long!
Congratulations!!!! I have had the same experience back in December with my son, it’s a “game changing” event for sure!! Congratulations again to both of you from Italy !!!
Thank you very much Stalfare! Welcome on your new little one as well. Each day seems to be better than the last one. I love every second of it 🙂 Hopefully the first four months went well for you too!
Bert
Very nice. Congrats Bert, Uncle Lanny, and the entire Diplomat family! Tom
Thank you so much Tom! An exciting new chapter in our lives, that’s for sure.
Bert
Bert,
Welcome to the parent club. Its a fun time, and a lot of work – just stay relaxed since that is all you really can do sometimes anyway. Enjoy the first few weeks, which are like a state of shock – and hopefully the baby sleeps. Sleep when you can, because once the start moving then the real work begins!
Great news all around!
– Gremlin
Gremlin,
Thank you so much. A lot of work is definitely an understatement, but I love every second of it. Shock is an excellent way to describe it. You can be as prepared as you want to, read every book out there, but it still doesn’t prepare you for it all. We are learning as much as she is. Sleep has been hit or miss. One night excellent, the next night poor. But we are trying to take shifts of taking care of her in the middle of the night. Hopefully she can stay this small forever.
Bert
Congrats Bert! Welcome to the club, it’s a life changing event for sure.
Thanks Bob! I couldn’t be happier to join the club. Luckily, I have a lot of great role models in this community to emulate 🙂
Bert
She is so beautiful. Congratulations
Thank you so much Lou!
Bert
Congrats buddy!
It’s hard to explain how awesome being a dad is..but looks like you already know! Glad Baby & Mommy are happy and healthy! All the best 🙂
Thanks Jordan. You’re absolutely right. It is a difficult thing to explain. I just know it is awesome. Nothing beats holding and staring at this little girl 🙂
Bert
Congrats! It is the best thing ever!!!
Baby Money Savvy Mindset made her appearance this past January !
Congrats to you as well Chris! I think we need to have some blogging community “New Parents” discussions on Twitter! I’m sure the conversations would be epic.
Bert
Congrats Bert, that is fantastic news! I’m glad to hear everything went well. She almost shares a birthday with me as mine is 25th.
Thank you Deluge! Happy belated birthday as well. It’ll be easy for me to remember your birthday now haha
Bert
CONGRATULATIONS!!! SIMPLY AMAZING EXPERIENCE! I’m glad your getting to experience the journey yourself.
Thank you so much Adrian! I love the enthusiasm. It is the most rewarding thing ever 🙂
Bert
Congratulations Bert to both you and your wife on the addition to your family! Congrats to Uncle Lanny as well! My boys are about to turn 21 and 18 but I still fondly remember those days of holding them and them napping on my chest (and was a great excuse to watch football as I couldn’t disturb the baby!).
Enjoy all of the great times that lie ahead!
Thank you DivvyDad! Having her nap on my chest is my favorite part so far 🙂 I wish it were football season; however, I’ll settle for baseball and playoff basketball.
Bert
Two words…playoff hockey! There’s even an Ohio team that is still alive!
haha the Blue Jackets are on thin ice right now 🙂 But playoff basketball has done great so far.
Bert
Congratulations Bert. Super happy for you. This post just made my day. Wishing you and your expanded family all the best!!!
Aw thanks DP. That’s too kind of you 🙂
Bert
Congratulations Bert!!!!!!! She is adorable! My best wishes to you and your family! Congrats again! 😀
Thank you MDD!! That’s very nice of you to say. Now the fun truly begins.
Bert
How awesome! Congrats. We’re only 10 weeks behind you from now if all goes to plan. Fingers crossed 🙂
BHL,
Thank you so much! You’re getting close to the home stretch. How exciting! Is this your first child?? Just know this. Whether it goes to plan or it is vastly different than you picture that day, just sit back and enjoy it. It’ll be a day you never forget, so make sure you enjoy it!!
Bert
Congrats Bert to both you and your wife, not to mention Uncle Lanny! Coincidental that the city decided to plant a tree in your front yard the week Baby Diplomat was born. It will be exciting to see Baby Diplomat and the tree grow together, along with your dividends as well.
Kody – Thank you! We are taking a picture of her next to the tree every year. We talked about doing something like that regardless. I’m just happy the city took the expense off of our hand!
Bert
Congratulations Bert ! ! !
A man never really understands true unconditional love, until he holds his firstborn.
I’ve had many titles in life, but the best had always been “daddy”. Of course that is now rivaled by “grandpa”, as we were blessed by the arrival of grandchild number 10 recently. But enough about me.
I assume you’re already working on a 529 plan, and a wedding fund (they aren’t cheap!)
You are a blessed man!
Boyd,
The 529 plan is definitely on the horizon! We just have to get her final documents, but it should be rolling soon enough. Congrats on grandchild number 10. That’s a nice milestone right there. Seeing how much my mom and her parents enjoy being a grandparent, I can only imagine how much fun it has been for you.
Bert
Congratulations , from Italy.
Thank you Claudio!
Congratulations!
Thanks Dividend Vet!
Congratulations Bert! Baby girls are awesome.
Thanks Seedling. That they are!
Bert
Congrats Bert! We have sma angel with 7 months counting now. Its amazing and wonderful thing. Enjoy 🙂
P2035 – It is freaking amazing. I love it. Congrats on your little one as well 🙂
Bert
Congratulations, another reason to stay on course ????
It is the best reason/motivation that you need.
Bert
Great news! Congrats on the new addition. Will look forward to read about baby Diplomat’s future dividend income portfolio! Enjoy these days as time flies by.
Keith,
Thank you so much. I can’t wait to get Baby Diplomat’s portfolio going here. It is going to be a fun journey and I have your roadmap to follow 🙂
Bert
What an amazing news Bert. Congratulations on your family expansion. It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world being a dad. Wishing you nothing but the best for your little girl and ofcourse the rest of the family.
Thank you so much Mr. Robot! Six weeks in, I can confirm that it is the best feeling 🙂
Bert
Congrats Bert!!! I remember the feeling when our baby-girl arrived last September – you know that you can’t describe it in words. I’m really happy for you.
Oh, and remember that if it seems hard in some evenings – it will feel much better in the morning. That’s an advice that I’ve got and it couldn’t be more true 🙂
Best of luck with raising the little one – she looks adorable!
BI
Thank you very much Broke Investor. That is some great advice right there! Another one that has helped me shape my mindset when I’m up in the middle of the night is as follows: Enjoy the time together and consider it a bonding opportunity, even if she is crying and being fussy. It is a great time for you to spend together and they are learning that you are caring for them
Bert
Wonderful news, Bert. Congrats on the new addition! Hearing about it was a great way to kick off the month… even better than a dividend income report. ????
Love the idea of a picture next to the tree each year.
Thank you very much ED! Hopefully the end of your month followed suit in terms of strength. Right now, our daughter’s growth rate is much greater than the tree. But I think it’ll catch up eventually haha
Bert
Congratulations to all! I didn’t know Lanny was the uncle. Enjoy following your journey for dividend growth.
Thanks Debra! Much appreciated.
Bert