Fresh offspring...

Many congratulations Mike. Enjoy him while he's wee because you'll be shocked at how quickly he grows up. My older boy just turned 15 and it seems like yesterday that I was holding him just as you're holding your son.

Mike, congratulations! You look like you had a rougher time than him.

Thomas

Ah, bless.

Steve B

Just wait until he's staring you in the eye and then try and get your point across.
Enjoy him they are magic.
Don't forget madness is heireditary you get it from your kids.

Howard

Mike,

MAZAL TOV
and
congratulations,

Arye

Mike - "Congratulations" just isn't adequate. Your first eh? If you think you love him now, just wait a while It grows and grows until it fills you up completely. Welcome to your new life matey. Life before 2nd Feb 2004 belonged to someone else.

Congrats Mike.

Glad to see you are not a Jaffa

Ah, yet another child brought into the world. I'm sure you are more than prepared for the new adventures of child-rearing and the new house should provide a good environment for the rugrat to blossom. Congratulations to you and your wife.

Remember it's never too early for music The research shows classical to be the best genre, but I think any music is good. Also colours, lots of bright colours, should open the child's eyes -- LITERALLY!

best wishes to all the Hansons!

Mike, you'll never forget these days. Good Luck to the new Hanson Family.

Kind Regards
Geoff

Thanks for all of the good wishes, guys. I'll print all of these and take them into Jill, who's still in the hospital recovering from the c-section.

As to music, the kid will experience a broad spectrum, with as little "kids" music as I can possibly manage. I can guarantee you one thing: I would gladly kill my entire family before allowing "Barney" into the household. Nobody deserves that dreck!!!

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Congrats, Mike.

Feel free to pass on any wisdom as we're six months behind you.

Joe

[This message was edited by Joe Petrik on TUESDAY 03 February 2004 at 22:44.]

Congratulations Mike.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mike Hanson:
I can guarantee you one thing: I would gladly kill my entire family before allowing "Barney" into the household.

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In 2 or 3 years you will be watching Barney, believe me. But it ain't so bad. I took my daughter 3 TIMES to see the Barney show at Universal Studios last year. It wasn't so bad. Daddy Mike has yet to come out to play!

quote:

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Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
Congrats, Mike.

Feel free to pass on any wisdom as were six months behind you.

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That's great news, Joe! My only advice so far is to let your wife have the occasional drink. We're a little extreme here in North America, with our "Absolutely No Alcohol!" stance for pregnant women. If your wife wants to have a drink now and then (especially in the last trimester), then don't sweat it. Just don't let her have the whole six-pack, eh.

As things progress, I'm sure I'll become an "expert" on everything related to child rearing. I won't hesitate to pass on further bits of "wisdom" whenever it seems appropriate.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

If the mother feels relaxed and chilled, then the unborn baby will feel relaxed and chilled too. If that is helped by a glass of red wine, then that is absolutely fine. There is iron in red wine too. I would be wary of spirits though or beer.

Mike,

quote:

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That's great news, Joe!

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Thanks. I'm thrilled at the prospects, but at the same time worried about having just six months left to become an adult.

quote:

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My only advice so far is to let your wife have the occasional drink. We're a little extreme here in North America, with our "Absolutely No Alcohol!" stance for pregnant women. If your wife wants to have a drink now and then (especially in the last trimester), then don't sweat it. Just don't let her have the whole six-pack, eh.

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Suzanne is an epidemiologist, so she views the world as one big risk factor. And as long as the relative risk of drinking during pregnancy is greater than 1.00 (she, of course, bothered to look up all the relevant studies), she has imposed a drinking ban on herself. If anything, it would be me pleading with her to have a drink than the other way around. I'm tellin' ya, it's like being married to Mr. Spock -- if he were a chick.

Congrats again. Hope Jill is recovering well.

Joe

quote:

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Originally posted by Rasher:
I would be wary of spirits though or beer.

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Jill wanted a occasional glass of wine, which was certainly not a problem. Supposedly beer is fine too (especially Guiness, I've been told). I'm not sure about the spirits, although everything in moderation is probably OK.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

quote:

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Originally posted by Mike Hanson:
I can guarantee you one thing: I would gladly kill my entire family before allowing "Barney" into the household. Nobody deserves that dreck!!!

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

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We'll see

Congratulations.

Mike

quote:

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Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
Thanks. I'm thrilled at the prospects, but at the same time worried about having just six months left to become an adult.

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Don't feel so bad. I've been acting "childish" right up to the birth. Although the actual arrival of Bryn helped me change gears a bit, I still intend on continuing with much of the behavior that gives me my "impish charm".

quote:

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Suzanne is an epidemiologist, so she views the world as one big risk factor.

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For a while, Jill was reading that tome, "What to expect when you're expecting". As she related bits to me, I soon realized that most of the time its stance was, "We don't know for sure, so let's err on the side of caution." I started to tease Jill with such quips as, "We're not certain that exposing yourself to the sun won't cause the fetus to explode, so you should hide in the cellar just to be safe." After a while she realized that the book was largely reactionary nonsense, and she stopped reading it.

Listen to what everyone says, note what you perceive to be the useful bits, and then discard the other 99%. You'll still have lots of good material to work with. Ultimately, people have been doing this baby thing for a very long time, and we still exist as a species. Therefore, there's really very little to be worried about.

Don't let "warnings" bug you too much. Remember that they represent uncommon, worst case scenarios. For example, with all of the focus on SIDS, you would assume that at least 1 in 100 babies must suffer this fate. However, the stats are actually less than 1 in 2000. And most of those victims had additional complicating factors. It's unfortunate that so many people get distraught over such an unlikely possibility.

So don't worry, and just enjoy yourself. Remember that there are myriad people around you, from doctors or mothers-in-law, who will lend a hand when needed.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

congratulations, Mike. How is his first name pronounced?

Regards.

Phil

quote:

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Originally posted by Phil Barry:
congratulations, Mike. How is his first name pronounced?

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Thanks. Brynioch is "brin'-ee-ok". As to it's real origin, it was a handle that my wife's friend used on a BBS about 15 years ago. For those who don't appreciate that explanation, it's Welsh (bryn=hill). Since both Jill and I have roots in the U.K., that seems to shut most people up.

BTW, Jill's last name is "Mabey", while my original name (before adoption at 6 months) was Robert Leland Straight.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Mike,

my congratulations and best wishes to the whole clan. Shannon and I will be joining the club in about 7 weeks - if he is on time. Starting to get a bit nervous, just finished pre-natal classes; while I was supprised at how much I already knew, the delivery itself looks like it could be quite the extended ride.

Glad all is well.

regards,

michael

Welcome to the club.
Puts hi-fi into perspective, doesn't it.