Welcome Baby Andrew Alex!

So much to say about the beautiful baby boy that we just had, so the only way to tell it is to break it down into sections so that everyone who's heard the stories and skim through the headlines and move to the next section!!!

Induction into the Hall of Pain.

We were admitted into the hospital for induction at around 7 pm, and it was relatively low key. She was given a medication that released minimal amounts of medication to soften the cervix over a span of 12 hours, and it was a mild method of induction that would not be too intrusive to her asthma or gestational diabetes. So, we were still unsure what was going to happen, and the possibility of it not working was certainly present. What we did know was they did not intend to let us leave until the baby was born.

The room itself was quite nice, very large, with a lot of automated things that allowed mom to do almost everything for herself, or at least find the proper assistance to do so. Huge bathroom, and a daybed for Dads who like to sleep under airvents that blow out cold air, even if the thermostat was somewhere in the 70s.

Woke up at around 6:51 in the morning, when my brother called and asked if we had the baby yet, and whether or not he should be driving up later. I said no, and quietly asked him why, dear god, did he call me at 6:51 in the morning to ask me that. My wife's contractions were starting to hurt a little, and since I was awake, I just chatted with her. At that point, they were still pretty mild. There's a machine that monitors the baby's heartbeat and the mom's contractions, and as the morning progressed the contractions get longer, and closer together. At seven something, my mom called again and still, I couldn't give them any estimate.

Then, it got more and more painful and I rang for the nurse, and she checked - 2 cm, still a while to go. Our doctor, who is actually on vacation, was on her way, she said. A request for an epideral was put in, and although there was a fair amount of bustle and hustle, I honestly don't think that the nurses were very concerned at all. I think they were expecting a long labor.

Boy were they wrong. The doctor came in and before long, she was rushing around with an English muffin in her mouth. I remember her shock when she checked my wife and said, "Wow! You're 8 cm and I think I feel some hair!" The epidural guy, who had spend the majority of his presence explaining the side effects of the epidural, was sent packing because my wife had already starting pushing. I felt really horrible because my wife was in such enormous pain, and all my little compliments and reassurances were heart-felt I'm sure, but completely useless in the grand scheme of things. I have to say this though, at the risk of sounding like a complete jackass - she was making me confused because she kept saying, "Oh my God!", as in, "Oh my God, this hurts like a mother****er, everyone needs to help me get this baby out, NOW!" But I heard, "Oh my God!" which are the exact same words, similar in tone and intensity, that she uses during certain activities that lead up to conception. I wasn't aroused, mind you, but I sure was perplexed.

After a few pushes, I saw a roundish head of hair emerge, and I just got excited. I told my wife, who was busy with other things, that I could see the head. The next push and his entire head was out, and the doctor started to clear his airways, making sure he could breath. And with the final push, the baby slipped and slid out... I think the image of the baby there will sear into my mind forever. A bunch of stuff happened after that - I cut his cord, the baby was placed on the new mother, the doctor did some weird biological show and tell - "This was the sac that the baby was in. The sac was much cleaner at the time, of course..." But I was pretty much out of it. Then when I had to hold the baby I just lost it. Alex was looking at me and I just lost it. I've never seen something so beautiful and important and precious and wonderful as my son, looking back at me.

First Impressions

Changing diapers ain't that bad. My first experience was kinda strange - a nurse was helping me change his diapers and he decided to mark the virgin experience by peeing naked. Talk about the Fountain of Youth. Ouch. Everyone was complimenting us on the baby, that he was just beautiful, nice color, great hair, outstanding diction, and long appendanges. Big feet and long fingers. Nice curious eyes that wander all over your face to study you, and almost instantly thereafter, forget you.

Babies have this floppy head thing that makes everyone nervous. I did get over the initial fear of him popping his head all over the place, but it's still there. A lot of people came the visit the first day, and I had to go run some baby errands, like posting his birth at our workplace and calling people. I was sidetracked by my brother getting lost and me having to get him, and then buy my family lunch, but I was more concerned about leaving my wife at the hospital. But it worked out fine.

And I kept saying to myself - Boy, this isn't too bad. Cute baby, diapers aren't too bad. Crying is minimal...

Sleep Deprivation

I couldn't sleep because of the stupid climate control. I think they secretly made the vents noisy and cold so as to keep the babies asleep, what with all the noise and cold air. Don't ask me how that works. My wife couldn't sleep because she would feed the baby a lot, and make sure that he was taken care of. He got a lot of shots this last few days, feel kinda bad for the little sponge.

etc.

Okay, I'm losing my format quickly because I am getting really exhausted now. It's 2:30 in the morning and Alex has been crying on and off for the past few hours, and really fussing a lot. So I'm just barely keeping any sort of focus about the entry. So I might as well just be random about it.

Random Thoughts

Alex's head smells really nice. Like baby. Soft, warm, babyhead.

His nails are capable of slicing through diamonds.

He cries based on how tired you are.

He eats like a maniac. He eats like a frequent buffet luncher. He eats like a fish.

He doesn't poop in proportion to what he eats. That perplexes me somewhat.

I enjoy being a father - it is still a very surreal experience, but I like taking care of him.

He likes to be held a lot, and that is not always condusive to people with only two hands.

I should end this post. Only took me seven hours to write.