Scrub-a-duba

You may be curious why the posting hiatus. The simple explanation: New Parent has turned from a theoretical exercise into a practical experiment. Penelope Jane finally joined us on July 15, 2006.

Weighing in at 9lbs 1.5oz, Penny ensured that fun was had by all in the labor and delivery room.

All you may ask? Well, since you asked, no, not actually. One of the participants arrived improperly dressed, which is the subject of this installment. That's right, one of us was not like the others.

This was not actually brought to my attention until after the fact, when one of the principals, the mother, remarked that during a lull in the action she looked around and noticed that all of the people in the room had on surgical scrubs. All, that is, except for the father-to-be.

There we were, the mother in the hospital gown, the nurse in scrubs, the doctor in scrubs, the doula in scrubs, and the dad in the tee-shirt and shorts that he had been wearing for the past two days. To top it off, he had made a bad choice in footwear, choosing sandals, which had been discarded earlier in the day.

So, make sure you have this pictured just right. The dad was barefoot in dirty, days old clothes.

Whatever happened to the dad rushing out of the delivery room, fully clad head to toe in the latest in hospital fashion to give the good news to the family (see, for example, the closing scene of Parenthood).

For the fashionista fathers among we have just this small bit of advice. If you want to fit in, if you want to be one of the cool kids, if you want to get really comfy, be sure to arrive prepared with your very own set of scrubs. Apparently, everyone is doing it.