USA Today ran an interesting story on signs of an impending baby boom:  Is this the next baby boom?

“A record number of babies were born in the USA in 2007, according to early federal data released Wednesday that some demographers say could signal an impending baby “boomlet.
…
The last time the number was this high was in 1957, in the middle of the baby boom years; about 78 million Americans were born from 1946 to 1964. Demographers have been monitoring gradual increases in recent years; data for 2006, which won’t be made final until September, show a 3% increase over 2005. That’s the largest single-year increase since 1989. — USA Today, July 16, 2008

I’m proud to say that I added to that statistic in November with a baby boy.  Within my office, there are three other new dads in the last 6 months who work in my department.  We give each other the the bleary eyed nod passing in the hallways.

My wife has been pretty fabulous taking care of the little drool machine, and the pink tornado that is my daughter has really warmed up to the newest competition for our attention so I’ve probably managed to get a lot more sleep that most new dads.  That being said, I still need my morning cup of coffee before starting the day.  Maybe Starbucks won’t need to close those 600 stores after all, they just need to add an express lane for new parents.