Our First Born: Daddy's Little Girl

As I write & post things concerning the twins who are yet to come, I didn't want to leave out the beautiful child we have already. She's a true joy to me & I would be remiss if I didn't honor her & give her equal time. I started the "Equal Time" campaign with the first WHAB TV post of my daughter's first-through-thousandth words (see "WHAB TV Episode 1: Baby's First Words"). Now, I'd like to share how she came into the world.

On September 10th 2003 at 8:57pm, our daughter was born. We arrived at the hospital very early on that day. My wife (of course!), her parents & my mother were all there awaiting the blessed event. Unlike days of old where the father was confined to the waiting room, we were actually in the room with my wife. I kept a minute-by-minute log of what happened that day. I may share that in a later post, but will summarize now.

We had planned on going the natural childbirth route, but had to go with Plan B (C-Section) because of a failure to dilate. At 8:30pm, my wife asked for a C-Section. I was given hospital scrubs to wear in the operating room. I quickly changed & the nurse came to wheel my wife into the operating room to have the procedure. I was told to sit outside the room while they got everything set up, but was assured that I would be allowed in the room to see the birth of my first child. Several minutes went by, but it seemed like hours to me. Honestly, I started to become impatient & a little angry at this point. When a nurse came out, I stopped her & asked when I would be allowed inside. She peeked her head in & asked "When can daddy come in?" I couldn't hear the answer, but it certainly wasn't "By all means, come in now!" I was told to wait & it shouldn't be much longer.

The next thing I knew, I was hearing a baby crying! "That can't be my baby", I assured myself. There were several operating rooms in this area & I was sure that these were the cries of someone else's child. Not so. The nurse emerged & waved me in. I could feel the heat of my anger radiating from my ears. However, as soon as I stepped inside the room, the sight of my beautiful baby girl quickly calmed the storm.

As I walked toward the first sounds of my baby girl, I had the same out-of-body feeling that I got while sitting in the sanctuary hours before my wedding. I truly believe & expect to have this feeling at every major "life moment". Perhaps I'll have a double dose when the twins are born.

I was instructed by a nurse to sit down so I could receive my child. As the nurse handed me this gift from God, I was struck by how hard she was crying. I studied her face, eyes pursed shut, as I held her. I began to talk to her, call her name & praise Jesus all at once. Something happened that I will never forget...as my daughter heard my voice, she stopped crying, turned her head toward me & opened her eyes! My face was the first she saw. I believe she stopped crying, in part, because she recognized my voice, but mostly because she had made contact with the man with whom she would have a spiritual bond for the rest of her life.

I praise Jesus for this wonderful memory & I look forward to sharing it with my daughter when she can fully understand.