The Birth of a Father
I can still remember
it like it was yesterday. We walked in to St. Johns hospital at seven a.m. on
April 5th, 2007, and headed straight for the maternity ward. My wife,
Val, was scheduled to have labor induced. I was going to be a father; this was
going to happen whether I was ready or not. A lot of things were running
through my mind. Would I be a good father, could I teach my unborn son the
right values? I wanted to be able to teach my son all of values that should be
instilled in all young men: respect your elders, say please and thank you, and
treat women with the highest standards. One thing was for sure; becoming a
father was a breathtaking experience that would change my life forever by
forcing me to grow up and become a parent.
Once induced,
Val’s labor progressed normally. The contractions started, she became more dilated,
and the contractions became closer together. Hours later there was a
complication, the baby’s heart rate dropped with every contraction. The doctors
established the best course of action would be an emergency C-section. I was reassured
everything would be fine, and that in a few short minutes; I would be going to
the operating room and talking with Val while we waited to hold our baby boy. I
just needed to be patient.
I waited restlessly
in our room with my mother, mother in law, and sister in law. I had so many
emotions flowing through my body. I was nervous, scared, excited, happy, and
sad. I knew my wife didn’t want to have a C-section, and I was concerned with how
she felt about the situation. It felt like hours had passed before I was
finally guided to the operating room. The room was cold, clammy, well lit, and
filled with doctors. I was horrified by what I saw, Val was lying on the
operating table with her eyes taped shut, a tube in her throat, and her arms
spread and strapped to the table. The anethistesologist explained to me that
the local anthistetics didn’t work and that Val had to be put under. A Warning
would have been nice because I was not prepared to see that, and it certainly
wasn’t the way we had expected our son to enter the world.
I am not sure how
much time had passed while I listened to these nurses, doctors, and surgeons
talk about everything under the sun while they cut, poked, prodded, and pulled at
my wife. And then I heard the most amazing sound in the world; it was a sound
no parent will ever forget, the sound of my son crying for the first time. Christopher
was born healthy with a full head of hair and He had her nose and my eyes he
looked like a perfect mix between Val and me.
I followed a nurse
to the scale in the operating room and watched as she administered several
tests, hearing,
vision, and APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration). Everything seemed to be fine with
Christopher, so the nurse swaddled him and handed him to me. This was the first
time I was able to hold my baby, the baby I had spent the last nine months
talking to, singing to, and watching move around in my wife’s stomach. The
moment I took him into my arms the most remarkable thing happened Christopher
instantly stopped crying and seemed so at ease. The unconditional love felt
between Christopher and myself was such an incredible feeling.
We were escorted to the nursery where we were greeted with many
smiling faces watching our every move. I sat in a rocking chair and talked. I
talked about his mother, the eagerness we had both felt in anticipation of his
arrival, the joy I felt being a father; it all seemed so surreal. Christopher
and I waited anxiously while my wife, Christopher’s mother, was in recovery; after some time had passed, we were finally given the opportunity
to go see her.
I cautiously carried Christopher down the hall way to Val’s
recovery room. I walked in to a faintly lit room full of monitors and beeping
noises. Val was barely awake and almost seemed in a panic mode. She had so many
questions about his health and if there were any unexpected complications
during delivery. Confidently, I told Val
that everything was fine and showed her our perfect baby boy. The smile on Val’s
face when she saw Christopher for the first time could have melted an ice berg.
We were finally able to spend our first moments together as a family.
We headed back to our room equipped with a T.V., DVD player,
a couch that pulled out into a bed, and a view of the parking lot. Over the
next few hours a lot of family and friends came to visit the newest member of
our family, and to sign the matte that would surround his baby picture we would
hang in our house. After visiting was
over, a nurse came in and bathed Christopher, got his footprints, and combed
his hair. When our nurse had finished, she asked me if I had ever changed a
diaper before. When I told her no, she was pleased to tell me the correct way
to do it, watching meticulously to make sure it was done properly.
After such a long, hectic and exhausting day, we were ready
for bed. It felt like I had been sleeping for a matter of minutes before
Christopher awoke for the first time that night, and I knew from that point on
there would be many sleepless nights to follow, but also that the sleepless
nights meant I was a father now and had more to think about than just Val and myself.
My priorities had to be reorganized and I needed to start putting my family
first.
Here is what I got back......
Let me give you all a piece of advice when you go to school if you haven't started yet. Take all of your work serious. Read your written assignments out loud to yourself and take advantage of all of the resources you have available to you. I probably could have avoided this F had I payed closer attention to my sentence structure....
