Sunday, January 18, 2009

Seven years ago tomorrow

Seven years ago tomorrow our son was born. The day wasn't much different than today. Well, except I was younger, and had much less gray hair. I had just started my vacation and thought I'd have a couple of days to do some things around the house before he (or she, we didn't know at the time) came into our life. Jenn and I went out to dinner with my mom, had a nice big dinner and went home. Jenn went to bed early (any woman who has been pregnant would understand) and I stayed up to watch some TV (any guy...you know the rest). It must have been a great program because I was roused from my sleep by Jenn who wanted me to start timing some contractions.

After that things get kind of blurry. It's funny how time seems to flow differently depending on the situation. Take work for example; eight hours can seem like a lifetime. Having a baby born, though it can take 20 to 36 hours, can seem like it is less than a work day. Of course, I'm talking from the male perspective here. For the woman giving birth it may seem much longer. Until the drugs start flowing, I'm sure.

It's also funny the things you remember. I remember calling the doctor, my mom stopping by before going to work in the morning, the hippie on call doctor, taking a nap in an uncomfortable chair, getting breakfast (and feeling guilty Jenn couldn't have any, and a few other things I won't mention in case you are eating.

A few things do stand out. They had to have some neonatal doctors come in and wait for the baby to be born. It was more precautionary than anything, but there were some minor difficulties during the birthing process. Everything was fine, but it did make for a crowded room. Oh, I should mention that we didn't have a name picked out yet. We had narrowed it down to two and said we would decide when we saw him. Actually, now that I say that, we had some girls names ready too, but I can't remember them.

One of our favorite stories about the first day of his life is about gas. Isn't that always the way? He just had his first bottle and I was walking around with him and patting his back. He was so tiny, as most babies are, so I asked aloud to the room full of friends and family, "How will I know if he burps?" I figured something that little would make a little squeak sound when he burped. Was I wrong. He burped so loud he woke up the lady in the next room. I think he burps quieter now.

Now that little burper is seven and on his way to being able to beat up his old man. I need to start working out.

6 comments:

Florinda said...

Happy birthday to your boy, and thanks for sharing (some of) your memories of the day your life changed forever! (And he gets a holiday for it this year, too!)

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to your son!

Dreamybee said...

Aww, I bet that will be one of his favorite stories for you to tell when he starts bringing dates home, right after you've whipped out the naked-in-the-bathtub pictures. LOL.

Congratulations on 7 years with your son, and happy birthday to him!

Mike said...

Florinda: Thanks. Yeah, it works out nice for him this year. :) Plus, add the two days off due to weather they had this week and he gets a five day break on his birthday weekend. Not bad.

DC: Thanks! Now I have a ton more Legos to put together.

Dreamybee: Thanks. I'll try not to embarrass him too much when he gets older. Maybe. :)

Carly said...

Hi Mike :)

This entry was just adorable! Happy Birthday to your boy. I think the world is about to be a nicer place to raise a child, so I wish you and your family all the joy and happiness possible! Birthdays are so much fun, eat lots of cake!

Always, Carly

Mike said...

Carly: Thanks! I did eat lots of cake. And ice cream, and pasta, and chicken, and...well, you get the point. :)