The Money Maker

Happy 3rd Anniversay Honey.

Today marks the 3rd anniversay for Ash and I. Over 8 years together and 3 of those official. That's not bad eh. Wow. 3 years and still married. A miracle. Ha! I kid. We're making leaps and bounds and growning our family. Life is good.

The 3rd anniversary is traditionally celebrated with Leather or Crystal. Not sure we need any more crystal thanks to the amazing gifts we received at our wedding. Plus I'm not really sure what to do with crystal stuff? Its so fancy. When I break it out, I think a butler should be serving me. Ash of course quickly quashes this and makes me go do the dishes. Leather... meh. Maybe a nice shoe? The third anniversary celebrates Ideas and Symbols. And thus today's thought...

I have a Symbol in mind. It's the future of Devin Haworth. Multimillionaire and international playboy. Its ok kid-o. We'll start small and work our way to the top. Can you guess what I'm thinking?

Enjoy the pic.



Dolla, dolla bill y'all.

How the day unfolded

As you may know, Ash was due April 13th. However, Dev was born Wednesday April 14th at 13:57.

Ash felt odd and weird around 10:00 that morning and thought she might be having the good ol' braxton hicks contractions that had been nagging her for about a 2 weeks period or so.

I casually went off to work that morning at 6:40 as I had been doing day-in and day-out, to attend an all day corporate meeting with my bosses, under the assumption wee-man was not in any rush to join us on this side of the world.

Somewhere around 10:30 or so, Ash started texting me and saying these weren't the usual braxton's she had been dealing with and that something was different, that she was "scared".

Luckily my mom had flown in from AZ the night before, under the guise that Devin would eventually be born at some point during her stay. So I told Ash to call my mom, because as a retired nurse, she could assess the situation and get back to me about what the heck was going on. Smart move if you ask me. So Ash calls my mom.

Side bar 1:
Jeff is at work. My mom is at their home in Mississauga with Paige. Sio is with Parker at a doctors office. I'm downtown at a conference. Ravi (Ash's brother) is somewhere over the Pacific or Atlantic. Lalitha (Ash's mom) is also downtown at work. Ash is at home... alone... and more than a little worried.

The Original Plan:
We planned to use midwives. We really like the one-on-one time you get with these professionals. The plan is to take our sweet time (because first time labours takes hours! so people say) and meet our midwives in Oakville at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. Get a room. Get drugs. Birth baby.

Time to go by timeframe:
10:40 - My wonderful mother calls my awesome brother and tells him he needs to come home because she needs the car. Jeff drops the hammer on the 401 and is home in about 10 minutes. My brother rocks. My mom leaves.

11:10 - My mother arrives. Assesses the situation and realizes "Sweet Jesus" Ash looks to be in labour.

Option 1: 911. No. Ash will have none of that because they will take her to the Milton Hospital which is not associated with the Halton Region's Midwives Association, with which we have two amazing midwives who have been assisting and coaching Asha throughout her pregnancy.

Option 2: Call the midwives and get their recommendation.

11:30ish - Ash and my Mom go with option 2. The midwives explain that they will be there as soon as possible, but they are somewhere in the range of being about an hour or so away. Ash is now in labour. The pain is excruciating. There's no reprieve from the pain. My mom is left to coach Asha through this ordeal on her own.

Side bar 2:
Let me explain a little something here too. My mom came to town in hope for Devin's arrival and to spend time with her two other grandchildren and at some point when Ash, Devin and I were happily at home, she and Jeff and Sio and Parker and Paige would gingerly drop in for a visit. Not the case. Jeff and I have talked about this a couple times now, but the fact is... my mom became Ash's labour coach.

It's like stepping into the Superbowl and taking the 4th string quarterback and saying "here kid... we know this is not what you prepared for today... but congratulations... you're now our starting Quarterback". She wanted to be an observer. Somewhere on the outskirts looking in. Alas, not that day.

Asha's Quarterback pecking order - Me (1st String), Lalitha (2nd String), Ravi / Jeff / Siobhan (Potentially 3rd String), Everyone else including Ash's mother-in-law (4th String).

Back to the timeframe:
11:45 - I'm now sitting at the back of the conference texting Ash like a mad man, but getting very little response. I think this strange, so I call my mother. She says Ash is in a labour. I'm thinking "cool", guess I should pack up my stuff and head home. No rush right? Talk to a couple people... walk briskly down to the subway... Next train departs to Oakville at 12:30. This is part of the original plan. Take train to Oakville. Get in cab. Go home. Get wife. Drive wife to hospital. Get a room. Get drugs. Birth baby.

12:30 - Train departs Union Station. I read the Baby Whisperer to kill time.

Between 12:30 and 12:45 - The first of the midwives arrive. Ash is in full blown labour. If pain were likened to a volume control between 1 and 10... Ash is at an 11. 911 is still an option, but there's a 50/50 chance Dev gets born by the side of a road. The midwives and my mother spring into action and determine that Ash is going to have a home labour. No ifs ,ands or buts about it. Its baby time and the original plan is thrown completely out the window.

1:00 - Train arrives at Oakville. I get in a cab. I explain to said Cabbie my situation. Cabbie acknowledges and drives casually away. I'm ready to choke him out and take over the cab myself. There's no way the assault stands up in court. I was under severe duress.

1:00 - Ash is in our bed in labour. She's doing amazing. 2 midwives & one mother-in-law are there to help her get through this. Still NO DRUGS. NO HOSPITAL. Did I mention no drugs?

1:15 - My mother calls me and says in a very cool and calm voice (which is obviously the experience of a veteran nurse), "Robin" - that's when I knew something was bad... "Robin, your wife is in labour and your child is going to be born... here... in your house. How far away are you? Asha can't wait that long".

Now I'm not a smart man. I'm not exactly what you would call an attractive man. But I do like to think that I'm a man of action. And it was finally at that moment I realized what was truly transpiring at home. I thought we would have all the time in the world... Truth was... Ash was seconds away from delivering Devin. Totally Crazy! Home delivery was not part of this plan!

It was at this point, I "casually" explained to the driver, that if he did not start breaking land speed records with his mini-van... I would drive. If his wheels did not spin-out each time we had to stop at a red light or stop sign, his God could not save him from the wrath that I would deliver.

1:25 - The third midwife arrives. Ash has all of these people's professional experience and skills necessary to successfully do this delivery. Surrounded by amazing healthcare professionals, Ash focussed and set forth to deliver Dev. Did I mention no drugs?

1:35 - I arrive and provide pathetic attempts at breathing and coaching. Fact is... I'm about a useful as tit's on a bull.

1:57 - Devin arrives. Ash officially becomes the strongest person I have ever met.

Dev's first bath.

This one is for everyone who's far away. For the record, we are getting a heck of a lot better at doing this now. If it makes you feel any better at all... it was as tough for us as it was for him. Trust me.

Before and After

Shots of the nursey. It went from a completely non-functional office to something that is truly useful. DEV'S ROOM! The only question being of course, when will he actually sleep in the darn thing? Because here... are Dev's current happy sleepy spots.

Top 5 list of Dev's happy sleeping spots.

1. Between Mom's boobs.
2. Dad's chest (I would say pecs, but I think they departed many years ago).
3. Mom's arms.
4. Dad's right forearm.
5. Anything flat. Seriously... anything.

Back to the nursery. We went with a green one. I fear Devin is destined to be a tree hugger. Stay strong little man. Stay strong. Balance socialism and environmentalism with a wee bit of good ole capitalistic greed. Man... I might regret this colour...

Asha & I are proud to announce the arrival of Devin Haworth!

It's with great pleasesure that Asha and I get to announce the arrival of the newest member of the Haworth / Mony family. Our son, Devin Jag Haworth (pretty aweosme name!) was born the afternoon of Wednesday, April 14th. Devin came firing into this world like a bat out of hell with a swift 2.5 hours of labour. Asha is doing great and continues to recover at home now having to take care of two kids. ;) And two boys to boot. Yikes! Ash is the strongest woman I know. Love you honey.

Look forward to providing a bit more detail in the next blog... but for now that's it. Wow am I tired. Hope you all like the pic. He is as cute as a button. Look out ladies!

Picking a Name

Hello! I know... its been a while. We've been busy. The nursery is prepped. The house is looking to be in good condition and I think we have all the necessary baby items in order to bring wee-man back home. Now we're onto the toughest part of this venture. A name.

What's in a name? What does a name say about the child you are about to bring into this world. You don't want the name to be too sissy. I LOVE YOU MOM, BUT YOUR PICK COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER. See, in my case, I have the name Robin. I know - you may be shocked. BUT WHY DOES HE GO BY ROB? WHO IS THIS "ROBIN" ROB IS TALKING ABOUT? Robin... A wonderful name by itself.... but a tad bit on the feminine side right? I mean really... do I look like a Robin?

My mother (again I love you Mom), played it safe. As a male - I am Robin. If I were a female - I would also be Robin... But with a "Y". Thus, Robyn.

The two are far too close in proximity to each other to really decipher one from the other. Go ahead, ask Robyn Regehr (defenseman for the Calgary Flames - click here) how happy he is to have a girls name? I'm pretty sure him and I are on the same page. I love you Mom. Dad - where were you when the name was being handed out? And yes - I love you too Dad.

Now on the flip-side, there's going to far with a name. Masculinity. BRICK, AXEL, MAXIMUM, POWER. I AM MAN AND HEAR ME ROAR! That would be compensating just a little too much. Right? We've got to find a common ground. Something in between.

So what are we going to call wee-man? Captain. I still love it, but its just not appropriate. We need something that embraces Ash's wonderful Indian and Hindu background, while simultaneously embracing my (what the hell am I again????) English / Scandinavian / Norwegian / Catholic heritage? Wow - based on that description its amazing I'm not translucent. I really need to talk to my parents about our ancestry.

We have come close to picking one... but kids can be cruel nasty little creatures. Not all kids. But man... put a pack of them together and watch them cripple the greatest of men. The things kids can pick on is crazy. Have different shoes than the rest - BAM - you're a loser. Don't like the same soccer team as them - BAM - you're an outcast. Don't listen to the same music as me - BAM - you're a DJ. Ha! I have to think at some point even Superman must have cried as a kid because he was so different than everyone else. But he also has kick-ass super powers. Ok. I'm now officially crossing my fingers for a healthy child with super powers.

Peer pressure. It's sad it still works even in your 30's. Would have thought I (we) could have gotten past that... but alas... once you give a child a name, she or he is branded for life. You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose. And you can't pick family. For that matter... you can't pick a name either.

I still love you Mom and Dad.

So this weeks conundrum like many weeks before continues to be - what the hell are we going to name our son?

Seemantham / Valaikappu - Thank you, thank you, thank you

Its been a while and I apologize for that. Ash and I have been crazy-busy getting things together for the wee-man's arival: entertaining, painting, building things, visiting, and well... resting. No excuses. I need to keep this bad boy updated. My bad.

The seemantham & valaikuppa was on the 14th of February. Tremendous thanks to our families for all of their help and assistance. It could not have happened without so many people stepping forward. Mom, dad, mom2 (Lalitha), Ravi, Jeff, Sio, Sandhya, Swara - god, there's so many people to thank... so many. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It was an absolutely wonderful ceremony and I can't believe the number of family and friends who were able to attend. And the generosity - oh my lord - the generosity. There is nothing this child needs that hasn't already been given. That said - I think its time to start his educational fund. ;)

Thanks to Nisha and Pierre, who took the time to snap a number of pics. If you would like to peruse the pictures, just click here.

For those new to this Hindu ceremony, here's a little background for ya:

Seemantham:
According to ancient scriptures, the soul enters the baby in the womb around the 20th week of pregnancy. Seemantham is a prayer for the arrival of a good soul into the womb of the mother, and for her and the child's health. From the day of formation in the mother's womb, a child grows in different steps, each within a stipulated time frame.

According to the Vedic scripts, the birth and death is a pre-planned one by the almighty and as pre-planned, the child grows in a way that is linked to many factors, which include genetically considered factors such as: features, intelligence, height, weight, etc.

Accordingly, though brain formation occurs much earlier, the memory cells are said to begin its activities after the completion of seven months of pregnancy. Then onwards, a child can record the sounds and vibrations from the surroundings and hears every spell around it. So as to format the brain in a fittest condition, they used to perform Vedic recitals of relics and verses named "Udhagasanthi" or "Uthakashanthi" Japam, a soft but powerful mantra recital for about 1 and half hours.

This specific function of Japam is to give a solid state of mind for the child to be born, a positive vibration from the recited Mantras that give enough strength to the child in the womb, and to create an atmosphere conducive to the earthly possessives on his/her birth. This also increases the mental strength of the would-be mother, encouraging her, through the supportive gathering members blessing the child and mother for a normal delivery.

Valaikappu (bangle ceremony):
It is believed that when the mother is kept happy and healthy, she will produce a happy and healthy child. In the fifth month of pregnancy, there is a social ceremony called Valaikappu (literally it means bangle or protection). The pregnant mother-to-be is be-decked in new clothes, her hands dyed with henna (a cooling agent), her hair strung with sweet smelling flowers (aromatherapy) and her arms are decorated with glass bangles.

Relatives and friends sing for her while the bangles are put on her arms. It is believed that the tinkling of glass bangles on the mothers arms is soothing (sound therapy) to the baby. The sounds of a stringed instrument (especially the veena) are considered very auspicious for the baby. Chants and hymns are very nourishing spiritually for the baby.

Pretty cool eh?