Daddy's First Post

So "we've" been blogging for months now, and truthfully, I've never been a part of the creation of ANY of the posts. Mostly, they still have been reflections of our life experiences, just through the eyes of Amanda. Notwithstanding, all of the posts have been pretty accurate depictions of what is was like waiting for our first son to arrive (except the picture where Whiskey was frolicking happily through the snow during 'the Blizzard of 2010'; that was more of an optical illusion, as that dog would NEVER voluntarily put himself into a position where he is anywhere within a 50 mile radius of snow). Continuing, the extent of my involvement in these blogs so far has led to me reading them and reflecting on the happenings around us. I'm not much of a blogger; never claimed to be, never will... be forewarned. I don't have a twitter account and I only use Facebook so I can harvest my crops on FarmVille. My MySpace account was created to connect me to the outside world while I was serving in Iraq, and truthfully, I've barely signed onto it since I returned on Father's Day 2006. I have Blackberry Messenger on my phone, and my contact list is a whopping 1 friend long. The point is, this blog post may very well break every blog rule that ever existed- blog length, blog content, blog etiquette... anything goes.

What I AM aware of however, and what I do know is that the birth of a child is anything but predictable. To enlighten you on my initial thoughts as to how this whole process was going to play out, I've highlighted several key points:

1. I prepared myself for an annoying experience with my mother-in-law in the delivery room.

2. I prepared myself for an excruciating experience with my wife. I truly thought she was going to become the chick from the exorcist.

3. We arrived at the hospital at about 1:30PM on Tuesday, and I projected a delivery in the next few hours.

4. We talked about a natural birth, and every nurse and midwife said it'd be no problem.

5. "Daddy" is expected to stay with "Mommy" during recovery, and there just HAVE to be comfortable pullout beds for him... I just KNOW it...

As you may well be pondering already, this experience for me(US) was anything but surrounded by predictability. At about 10:00AM on Tuesday, I read a text message for Amanda from her mother... "I'm coming over no matter what Justin says". Shortly after that, no matter how much I tried to convince myself in my mind that her presence wasn't a necessity, I soon realized that she was nothing less than a God-send. Kim was THE MOST SUPPORTIVE person for me from START to FINISH. Had I voiced my opinion on her initial arrival at our house, I may very well not have had what I needed to make it though it all. In the words of Kim Wilson, we were, “the best birthing team in the whole world.” To further impress me, Amanda handled her labor pains with ease. She took to our encouragement and suggestive remarks and quickly fell into a routine as each contraction came. There were no expletives or flying medical supplies… just courage, concentration, and steadfast heroism. Needless to say, I have a new found respect for my beautiful wife. She is my HERO. As time went on throughout the day on Tuesday, I glanced at the clock; and each time I did, my nerves got more and more anxious and my body fell more and more into a drunken stupor, completely deprived of rest. Kim and I took turns on labor watch, and eventually we were into our second day of events. It was determined that a natural birth was not possible, and thus a Cesarean style delivery would be performed. Not only would Amanda receive a life-long reminder of her birthing experience by way of an incision, but her delivery was performed while she was under full general anesthesia. She met Cody for the first time in our recovery room after he was born at 7:42AM - 8lbs 8oz. While I am inclined to return home for my own selfish reasons (a perfectly comfortable, personal queen sized bed), I feel I owe it to Amanda to stay with her and assist through some if not most of the evenings here at the hospital. The accommodations here are more than generous for the spouses [sarcasm]. I can’t wait to conclude this blog and sleep on my spring loaded mattress as it jabs me in the sides while I sleep [more sarcasm]. At least the hospital food is awesome [I need not comment on the sarcasm here]. Concluding, this pregnancy and delivery of our first child has been anything but predictable for me. I think though, what I’ve learned is that it’s the unpredictable things that are the most memorable in the end. I’m so excited for all of the future surprises that lie ahead, and if I can add one more thing… I LOVE my newly renovated family. 