Raising Daddy

• 16Nov

  The Best & Worse of Times

  The Birthing Experience 2 Comments

  Every time I look down into my new daughters eyes I melt inside. Once you hold your own baby and look down at them, snuggle them close and really connect, you realize that you’ve pried open an entire Pandora’s Box of emotions that you couldn’t rid yourself of even if you ever cared to.

  Despite all these wonderful happy feelings, these last three days have been some of the worse in my life. My wife and I have easily slept a measly ten hours a piece over the past three nights. The first two nights at the hospital were riddled by constant visits from hospital personnel coupled with the most uncomfortable sleeping area in the world and last night we faced an infant with an insatiable hunger and a unending refusal to sleep.

  We arrived home yesterday, thrilled at the thought of a night of sleep in our own, comfy and familiar bed. The comfy bed served as nothing but an unachievable brass ring. There would be no sleeping in this house. In fact, we didn’t get Elizabeth to sleep for more than a few moments at a time until 5 AM last night.

  But hey, none of you care about any of that! You just want to see picture! Dozens have been taken, but it turns out I only have a few on my digital camera. Here’s my best shots.

  TIP: Click the image to activate the pop up effect, hover over the left or right of the photo to scroll the the previous or next.

  

  The last time Sara will sleep for 3 days!

  [caption id="attachment_25" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Elizabeth Close Up"][/caption]

  

  We watch Elizabeth sleep in envy.

  [caption id="attachment_27" align="alignright" width="225" caption="The new baby with her Aunt Amanda."][/caption]

  

  Elizabeth chilling after having her diaper changed

• 13Nov

  The Birthing

  The Birthing Experience 8 Comments

  We are happy to present to the world… Elizabeth Lain!

  She has five fingers, five toes and half a head full of hair! She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and is 19 inches long.  And Sara only took 25 minutes of pushing to squirt the little booger out!

  

  Elizabeth Lain Peden

• 13Nov

  First Night at the Hospital

  The Birthing Experience No Comments
  

  Sara Is So Uncomfortable!

  We arrived at the hospital roughly half past seven, last night. Registration went smoothly enough and when we finally settled down in our room, I was more than pleasantly surprised at how accommodating it was. I have to admit, it is roomier and more attractive than most hotel rooms I’ve stayed in.

  Sara was administered Cervidil by a cute, young nurse close to ten last night. I sat a few feet off to the side of the bed as the young lady hiked up my wife’s hospital gown, spread her legs and stuck her fingers down into her glory hole. Normally I’d find myself turned on. What red blooded American male doesn’t enjoy a little girl on girl action. But tonight I wanted to flee to the restroom. They’d just given my wife an IV and drawn blood moments before, and needles make me faint.

  For some reason, nothing seems even remotely sexy in a hospital. When we were registering, a woman in line began howling like she was the star of her own porno flick, I looked back to see she was simply almost literally giving birth in the lobby, not howling for joy. It made me realize that on the opposite end of sex is perhaps the most unsexy thing on the planet… child birth.

  

  My Window Seal Bed

  Last night was sleepless. Nurses came in almost hourly, monitors beeped and bright night lights installed into the walls shone directly into my face. I tried situating pieces of furniture in front of the brightest fixture in hopes of blocking a few rays of the artificial sunshine, all to no avail. The visitors bed resembles a large window seal, equipped with what couldn’t be more than an inch thick mattress. The old sweaty futon I slept on through college actually puts this mattress to shame!

  Poor Sara is restricted to her bed with nothing to entertain her but twelve fuzzy channels on the TV set. All she gets for breakfast is a small bowl of grits. Fortunately, the Cervidil seems to be doing its job. So hopefully before this evening we’ll have a new baby girl to hold.

  Today is shaping up to be a long day.