Holy cow, that went fast! I suppose we should have expected the pregnancy would go by fast since that’s what all our friends told us, but nine months goes by really, really quickly. Breaking it down, you really spend the first three months either not knowing you’re pregnant or trying to keep the news a secret until you’re 100 percent sure. Then you spend the next three months telling everyone who will listen, which is super exciting. And by the time month seven kicks in, you’re thinking, “OMG! The baby is coming! We don’t even have a crib yet!"
Even though we’re now just a few days away from meeting baby, it didn’t feel real to me until I installed the car seat last week (I needed to make sure it fit!). Carrying the empty car seat down four flights of stairs, across the street and into the backseat of our parked car got me really excited, jittery and emotional all at the same time. After strapping the seat in successfully, I had that moment of “Oh this is very real, and I’m no. 1 dad right now for installing this thing,” which was a great feeling that I won’t soon forget.
We’ve established a great parental leave policy here at Foursquare: eight weeks paid leave, for both moms and dads, which you can either take all at once or split up over baby’s first 12 months. Our plan is for me to take a big chunk of it up front (at least six weeks) and try to spend as much of that time as possible in the Hudson Valley (we have a house near Kingston, New York). I feel fortunate that our parental leave policy is so generous, and I’m really looking forward to getting to spend a lot of time with Chelsa and “Lil’ Guac” as we adjust to being a family of three (or five if you count the cats too!). I’m planning on trying to “disconnect” as much as possible while I’m on paternity leave, and I’m thankful I have such a strong team at Foursquare that makes it possible to not stress about being off the grid for a few weeks.
I know Chelsa is going to make a great mom: She’s smart and sharp and strong, and the perfect mix of dreamer and doer. She’s going to be the perfect role model for “Lil’ Guac.” I can’t even express how excited I am to see her in action with our baby. Meanwhile, I’m really looking forward to being a dad—to show our kid as much of the world as we possibly can, trying to teach him or her something new every day. It’s been nothing short of inspiring watching my best friends turn into parents these past few years, and I’m so excited that Chelsa and I get to experience that together starting, well, any day now!
