Fletcher Augustus DeRouen

A diary for our son, by Joe and Andrea DeRouen

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

Just a day after Christmas, and I'm all worn out. Andee and I had a great time spending our son's first Christmas with him. Though Fletcher isn't quite of the age to enjoy ripping open gifts, we got more than enough enjoyment on his behalf. We opened gifts for Fletcher from his Grandmother Barbara, Grandfather Larry, Aunt Becky, Great-Grandmother Tillie, Grandmother Judy, Great-Aunt Pam, and Uncle Will, as well as just a few (okay, a lot more than a few) from his parents, aka us. A good time was had by all, and Fletcher was able to add new clothes, rattles, activity sets, blankets, and mobiles to his ever-growing collection of stuff. Merry Christmas!

.: posted by Joe 9:43 PM

Thursday, December 20, 2001

Today is Thursday, my fourth day of being a stay-at-home dad. Just one more day to the long holiday weekend! Boy, if I ever even remotely thought that stay-at-home mothers had it easy, (which I didn't, actually) then I apologize profusely. I'm thankful that, because I work at home, one of us does get to caretake Fletch rather than send him to daycare, but boy am I exhausted! Happy, certainly, even thrilled to have such a wonderful little boy in my life, but exhausted just the same!

.: posted by Joe 8:05 PM

Monday, December 17, 2001

We just got photos in the mail today, reprints of some of the ones on the website - I have to say that Fletcher's brightness (not to mention cuteness) shines through on Kodak paper just as well as it does in digital form. Images on the screen are great, but it's also nice to have something to go in the photo album!

.: posted by Joe 11:20 AM

Friday, December 14, 2001

Christmas is just around the corner and it's amazing to think that, this time next year, Fletcher will be excited and frantic to see presents under the tree, barely able to contain the urge to rip them open and play with the toys beneath the wrapping paper. This year, however, we'll just have to be content to be the proud parents of the world's most beautiful and intelligent two-month old baby boy. And because he's not yet old enough to enjoy ripping open his presents, I guess I'll just have to do it for him!

.: posted by Joe 1:04 PM

Saturday, December 08, 2001

Today we took Fletch for his second round of shots. Yes, that's shots. Plural. Four of them. My son was sound asleep just a half a second before the nurse gave him the first shot, but wide awake the instant the needle penetrated the skin. Ouch! Fletch wailed and wailed, getting louder and more frantic after each shot.

He needs these shots, I told myself, but deep down (okay, maybe not so deep down) I just wanted to grab him and run away, leaving the befuddled nurse to wonder what she'd done wrong. She hurt my son, that's what she did wrong. Sure, her intentions were good, but try telling that to a nearly-seven week old little boy. He cried, and I cried with him. And, afterwards, I held him and told him I loved him. I loved him enough to let some woman he didn't even know give him shots that may later prevent him from getting polio or other equally serious diseases. A little hurt now to avoid health risks later on.

But all he knew was that he was in pain. The pain passed, of course, and he's now sleeping soundly in his crib, the vaccination forgotten. But my heart still aches for him. Sometimes, I guess, love can hurt just as bad as a shot - maybe even a little more so.

.: posted by Joe 7:46 PM

Sunday, December 02, 2001

I haven't been able to update this diary in several days because AT&T's @Home Cable Modem network disappeared. Apparently it was owner by Excite, and Excite just went bankrupt. And to make a long story short, we were without Internet access for three days while AT&T established a new network. What joy!

What said, while AT&T isn't a joy, my son Fletcher certainly is. I see changes in him every day - everything from new sounds (he likes to "talk" to stuffed animals to his ever-improving ability to grab and yank at my beard. I love him more and more each and every day and am enjoying learning all about my beautiful baby boy.