Category Archives: Beginnings and Endings

Alpha

Posted on April 13, 2010 | 2 Comments

Well, the pregnancy is over. I’m not the only person to be anxious in the countdown to birth. For nearly all of my life labour was a mystery. If I considered childbirth at all in my minds eye, it would have been a montage of television births, mostly consisting of “my water broke” moments with a healthy addition of screaming and “you did this to me” accusations. So I was anxious about the forthcoming childbirth – but I am no longer anxious about that, since it is over. Instead, I’m anxious about a thousand other things.

Atticus Sleeping

Atticus Sleeping

For instance: my son is sleeping peacefully right now in his bassinet. So peacefully, in fact, that I cannot even see his chest moving, or hear his breathing. And that scares the hell outta me.

He is breathing, of course, reacting quickly (and acting a little annoyed) to my touching his ear.

And so far – knock on wood – he is sleeping and eating very well. I think of these two activities as being intricately linked. Eat well, sleep well. Could be a slogan for a hotel chain that serves an excellent steak.

I could go into nearly endless details about breastfeeding technique. I won’t. Suffice it to say that it isn’t as easy as you might think. Breastfeeding is both completely natural and not natural at all. It takes time and practice to get right. But putting in that time and effort will net great rewards for mother and child. Aside from J’s persistence and research, we owe gratitude to one of our nurses from the Royal University Hospital – thanks Anita.

We do of course have a long list of other people to thank. I’ll mention them in future posts!

Oh, by the way, his name is Atticus. Atticus Henry Hutchinson Mowat. It’ll be awhile for that to roll off his tongue. Ours too.

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Posted in Beginnings and Endings, Labour & Birth

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A Last Name – Part 2

Posted on March 8, 2010 | 4 Comments

In the grand scheme of human language, surnames do not have a long history. Their use is sporadic and ill-defined throughout the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations – and typically they indicate clan membership, as opposed to an unique lineal relationship, especially among the aristocracy – but by the 5th century, the use of family names had been abandoned. The beginning of their use in English is traced to the Norman invasion of the 11th century, with common usage coming centuries later. In other places, the use of surnames is a new phenomena: Netherlands (1811), Japan (1870s), Thailand (1920), and Turkey (1934). In some places they don’t exist at all, including Iceland.

The current mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, adopted a new surname combining his original surname with that of his spouse’s.

In any case, my hope for the past year or so, was that a logical method for choosing a last name would present itself. Alas, I’m starting to suspect that J will go into labour and we still will not have decided.

J and I did discuss some interesting last names, each with their own particular rationale (for instance, J and I were engaged to be married in Banff):

  • Banff
  • Blairmore
  • Exley
  • Kelsey
  • Leapark
  • Snow, Snowdon/Snowden
  • Vaughn
  • West

But as the carefree days come to an end, J and I are gripped by the likelihood of giving our newborn the last name of Mowat or Hutchinson, and not something more…creative.

At the moment, the Hutchinson clan and the Mowat clan are in the same boat: no further sons to carry the last name on into the future, beyond the current generation: ie, myself and my brother-in-law Kyle. That really doesn’t mean as much to me as it once maybe did. Nevertheless, it is a small consideration to make, I suppose.

There are, I fear, even tougher decisions on the horizon.

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Posted in Beginnings and Endings, The Pregnancy

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A Last Name

Posted on March 3, 2010 | 4 Comments

Last night, J and I found ourselves in a discussion about last names. We didn’t have a problem coming up with some awesome and agreeable first names. We’ll both be happy with quite a few different ones. But we’ve struggled with the last name.

When J and I were married, I was fairly adamant that she retain her last name. I felt it was an important symbol of the type of marriage I expected.

But it has caused a bit of an issue about what last name our kids(s) should have.

One of the key points is that all of us – parents and kid(s) – should have the same last name. Which means that at least one person will need to change their last name.

I think for me this means a legal name change, but retaining the use of our current last names publicly. When we go to the airport with our passports, they all have the same last name, but we’d still get mail and such in our original last names. I suppose this might be confusing, but I see it as kinda like having an alias. Or being an actor with a stage name. Which is kinda fun.

I don’t think J is sold on that idea.

But the main point is what would that new last name be.

There are five main methods for giving a child its last name:

  • Use the father’s last name;
  • Use the mother’s last name;
  • Use a hyphenated version of the father’s and mother’s last name;
  • Sons will get the father’s last name and daughters will get the mother’s last name (or 1st kid gets father’s/mother’s last name, 2nd kid gets the other’s); and,
  • A completely new last name will be created (using, or not using, elements of the parents’ last names).

Recently J has said that the fourth idea might have merit.

All along I have been advocating for the last idea: a completely new last name – the problem remains, however, just what would that last name be?

I’d be curious to find out everyone’s opinions on this issue.

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Posted in Beginnings and Endings, The Pregnancy

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Saskatchewan’s Top Baby Names

Posted on February 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

An article from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix breaks down the numbers and names of babies born in Saskatchewan in 2009.

The 14,465 births in Saskatchewan in 2009 were the most in the province since 1992, when families welcomed 14,992 new babies. There were 492 more babies born in Saskatchewan in 2009 than in 2008.

I’d say there are some surprising names in the mix. For instance the 17th most popular girls’ name: Nevaeh. And there’s still a good mix of classic names (Alexander, William, Elizabeth, Sarah). And I’d some are following recent trends, such as Lily, and Logan. But all of the names are pretty nice, actually. But we won’t be using any of them.

Here’s StarPhoenix reporter Janet French wrestling with the name game.

Here are the top-20 names for each gender, followed by the number of babies given that name:

Male (Female)

1. Ethan 93 (1. Emma 82)

2. Liam 77 (2. Ava 69)

3. Carter 72 (3. Olivia 66)

4. Jacob 65 (4. Emily 65)

5. Aiden 63 (5. Brooklyn 54)

6. Logan 62 (6. Chloe 52)

7. Hunter 55 (7. Madison 48)

8. Ryder 54 (8. Alexis 46)

9. Noah 53 (9. Hailey 44)

10. Owen 51 (10. Hannah 42)

11. Lucas 51 (11. Ella 41)

12. Benjamin 48 (12. Grace 40)

13. Matthew 44 (13. Lily 40)

14. William 43 (14. Elizabeth 38)

15. Joshua 43 (15. Addison 38)

16. Alexander 42 (16. Taylor 38)

17. Mason 41 (17. Nevaeh 36)

18. Carson 40 (18. Avery 35)

19. Jayden 40 (19. Abigail 33)

20. James 39 (20. Sarah 33)

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Posted in Beginnings and Endings, The Pregnancy, Third Trimester

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Creative Fire

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

My awesome business card!

When I sleep I see words. Big words. Little words. Entire phrases like: “total shareholder return is the amount investors receive in capital gains and dividends.” Or even whole one-sentence paragraphs: “the material risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information and statements contained herein and the material risk factors or assumptions that were used to develop them include, without limitation: our assumptions regarding production levels, sales volumes…” (That makes perfect, if long-winded, sense by the way). And last night I was even editing and recomposing the sentences I was speaking as I was speaking (which is not, by the way, effective communication, just ask J).

I started my new job at Creative Fire two weeks ago. This is a particularly busy time of year, with multiple annual reports nearing their deadlines and a myriad of other projects somehow occurring simultaneously. It is a bit mysterious in an awe inspiring sort of way. And I’ve jumped right into the thick of things. It has been awhile since my composition and correction skills have been so thoroughly exercised, and I feel a bit like I’m drinking from a fire hose, but I’m thrilled to be a part of it. Oh, and it hasn’t been all net earnings and disclaimers (that’s just the fun stuff!), there is a somewhat surprising range of production going on that draws on the breadth of my writing skills.

My Desk - I'm a Mac!

It is a vibrant place. Plus, the coffee is fantastic: it comes from a Starbucks machine that grinds fresh beans, brews, and pours right before your eyes (I didn’t get a picture of our machine, but it looks like this). And yesterday a great lunch from Souleio was provided for all the staff.

And while I’ve been adding to the overall effort where I can, I’m also learning the ropes. For instance, I’m back to working on a Mac for the first time in eight years. That’s not a huge issue, since it is pretty intuitive if you know even a little about Macs. I’m actually enjoying the Magic Mouse quite a bit (Apple creates great products with a quasi-futuristic feel to them). I’ve also been given access to Lynda.com – one of the things that I felt I might miss from the U of S.

Anyway, these are just little extras – but for me they matter, and I’m immensely enjoying them.

And I think it works. I mean, I think it helps the staff feel engaged, appreciated, and creative. I know I feel like my brain is on fire. I mean that in a good way!

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