We're having a baby! (Baby shower)

Hi friends and family!

A year after Vicky and I got married, we got some good news: we're going to have a baby.

He's due to arrive during the first week of September. We're so excited to meet him. We

We wish we could have a baby shower/wishing well event, but our friends and family are spread out over 12 time zones, so coordinating that shindig would be tricky. We considered an online registry, but that won't work well for us because shipping to Taiwan is expensive and customs can be difficult.

So instead, we're going to do this:

(1) Tell us what you think we should get for Baby Rios. We're new to this! Um... help!

(2) We'll use your gracious donations to buy the standard baby kit and to help pay for Vicky and Baby Rios' 21-day stay at a post-partum center.

(3) Please pass on any parenting advice you have! Especially if you want to recommend books!

(Post-partum clinics are a tradition in Taiwan. After the birth, mom and baby stay in a place where they can rest and receive assistance from nurses and doctors 24-7. Taiwanese customs require mom and baby to stay in this building for at least three weeks! Visitors can see the baby -- but only from a safe distance. During the stay, both parents receive classes on breastfeeding, childcare, and health.)

After mom and baby are ready for it, we'd love to have a video call with you to catch up and to show you the baby booger suction device that you helped us buy. (I had no clue those were a thing. Gross! But my sister Sarah, a supermom, tells me that they're mandatory.)

People who donate huge sums of money will be able to select the name of the child. We beg you to choose a Unicode-compliant name that does not contain emojis and can be pronounced by at least one billion humans who are currently living. Sumerian, Linear B, Demotic, and APL are OUT -- yes, Marcos Ojeda, this line is here because it's exactly the sort of thing that you would do (and that is why we are friends).