Gear, and certainly of a different kind

Today, I awoke to my own home for the first time since last Friday. The only difference is that now I need to find all of the directions to the various machines that baby Booz, now Madeline, or Mads, as I have taken to calling her, needs: breast pump (more Kelly than me), steam sanitizer (you may laugh, but we do not have a dishwasher), feeding pillow, digital monitors, rock-n-play rocker, car seat and base, etc. Today, I set up the steamer. I am amazed that I ever lived without one. For one, I will be steaming all of the tops to my water bottles. Yeah, crap that I did not think that I needed but now like.

The other contraption that I cleaned and prepared today was the Medela Breast Pump On-the-Go Tote (reserved). I used the First Years Steam Sterilizer, and earned a two-fer: learned how easy the steamer is (think rice cooker without the starchy finish) and the strangeness of setting up a breast pump for my wife. You will agree once you see the picture of the actual pump, hidden away inside a stylish black bag for obvious reasons.

Does anyone else see the strange, paradoxically alien-like and yet familiar shape of the pump itself?

I keep reminding myself that I am here for Kelly and the new greatness of our house, Mads. These contraptions scare me, but nothing scared and scarred me like our ride home from FCPS central today (more on that later). I started singing Taylor Swift to my daughter. I realize that this whole kid thing comes with amazing perks: more patience, her smiling face, a bit more maturity, a newfound respect for life. What I did not consider were the future trips to Forever 21 and singing along to pop icons. I immediately came home and listened to Clif Rodriguez's soundtrack from Drive. I figured that move would balance out my world.

Seriously, Taylor Swift. What happened to me over the weekend?