I'm a dad
On September 23, 2007 at 6:21 a.m., I became a father. My son, Joseph Alessandro, arrived after 41 weeks of pregnancy, 23 hours at the hospital, 12 hours of active labor and a quick 10 minutes of actual pushing.
It was, in a word, amazing. I know, I know. Everyone who has had a child has said that. But, there's a reason. It's true.
I can't really describe much of the experience without sounding trite and...well, corny. The actual childbirth was part Discovery Channel documentary, part Family Channel drama and part episode of MASH. The event was all...miracle is such an overused word. Let's just say it was the most emotional, wondrous incident I've ever lived through.
Joseph and mommy are doing quite well. We got home only today in the afternoon. That was a lot longer in the hospital than we anticipated. There was nothing wrong, but it's Johns Hopkins policy to keep mother and child two nights. They are extremely cautious, health and safety conscious. It makes you feel very secure.
Joseph has a blend of our looks, though Rae thinks he looks more like me. He has what appear to be light brown eyes, but as a newborn, they could shift still. Personally, I think they're going to go hazel. He has long, dark, straight hair so far, and his skin tone is pretty close to that of his mom's.
He's absolutely adorable. So much so that hospital staff occasionally seemed to be caught by surprise. Rae thinks they're good at that by now and probably do that with all parents, but I think it was genuine.
So now we're home. He's feeding every hour and a half to two hours, which is wearing on mom, but she's holding up okay. But that leaves me to do, essentially, everything else. On top of that, I have a book deadline for Palladium at the end of the week. I have to get the last few items from my writing partner, merge it all together, edit and prep for send-off by Saturday. Fortunately, I have the week off. I have a feeling it will go all too quickly.
But I'm happy. Happy on a level I've never been before.
Even though it feels like the end of something, and that we've reached a destination, I know it's just the beginning. I look forward to the trip.
It was, in a word, amazing. I know, I know. Everyone who has had a child has said that. But, there's a reason. It's true.
I can't really describe much of the experience without sounding trite and...well, corny. The actual childbirth was part Discovery Channel documentary, part Family Channel drama and part episode of MASH. The event was all...miracle is such an overused word. Let's just say it was the most emotional, wondrous incident I've ever lived through.
Joseph and mommy are doing quite well. We got home only today in the afternoon. That was a lot longer in the hospital than we anticipated. There was nothing wrong, but it's Johns Hopkins policy to keep mother and child two nights. They are extremely cautious, health and safety conscious. It makes you feel very secure.
Joseph has a blend of our looks, though Rae thinks he looks more like me. He has what appear to be light brown eyes, but as a newborn, they could shift still. Personally, I think they're going to go hazel. He has long, dark, straight hair so far, and his skin tone is pretty close to that of his mom's.
He's absolutely adorable. So much so that hospital staff occasionally seemed to be caught by surprise. Rae thinks they're good at that by now and probably do that with all parents, but I think it was genuine.
So now we're home. He's feeding every hour and a half to two hours, which is wearing on mom, but she's holding up okay. But that leaves me to do, essentially, everything else. On top of that, I have a book deadline for Palladium at the end of the week. I have to get the last few items from my writing partner, merge it all together, edit and prep for send-off by Saturday. Fortunately, I have the week off. I have a feeling it will go all too quickly.
But I'm happy. Happy on a level I've never been before.
Even though it feels like the end of something, and that we've reached a destination, I know it's just the beginning. I look forward to the trip.
posted by Dark Lord at 4:58 PM
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