So Many Memories

There are so many things that Maya has done already that I will remember forever. Plenty of firsts.... . But also just other "awww" factor things that she has done that I will never forget, and all the times she has made me laugh. -

When she was born and the doctor gave her to my wife. Her first cries I remember. Her bottom lip would stick out in this pouty look on her face.

The first time she squeezed my hand.

It was just me and her at home, and I was holding her, she was just a few months old, and she was just staring at my face. Just checking all the features of my face out, and it was like I could see her little brain just processing all the information.

The first time I made her laugh.

After a nice warm bottle of tasty formula, Im rocking Maya and watching tv. About twenty minutes after she polished off the bottle she looks at me and throws up all over me. It was projectile too, like a stream of formula coming at me. I jump up and Im holding her at arms length, and round two of vomit comes out. Ahhh, yeah.

Watching my Dad play with her.

I picked her up from daycare one day and she was sitting on the far end of the room behind the teacher. She saw me in the doorway, smiled and started bouncing on her bottom. She crawled over the teacher and all the way across the room to me. When she got up to me she looked up and stuck out her hand. Makes the heart melt.

more to come...

So Now What

Newborn babies dont come with instructions.

Other than feed regularly, change diapers, keep them clean, keep them safe and warm, and love. Love like you will love nothing else in your life. You will too. It is just like a switch that has been turned on inside you, instant connection. I love my parents, I dearly love my wife, but this is different. I know my wife feels the same way. I would even say that her bond with Maya is different; she carried her around inside her for nine months. That is a special thing, a new life growing inside of you. So yes, love. We want to do everything right, even though we really dont know what to do. This is where your parents knowledge comes in handy. We peppered both of our parents with questions about what to do. They were glad to give advice. I think it makes them feel more a part of Maya's new life too. It is a good thing.

I think we are starting to get the hang of this kid thing now. It is constantly a work in progress, but Maya is a very good baby. Somethings have been difficult. We had trouble feeding her the first few days. The natural breast feeding just wasnt working so we went with bottles. It actually made it easier on my wife and I. I know the breast milk pushers would be against bottle feeding, but hey we tried (she tried) and it didnt work out.

After I went back to work, I would come home sometimes to a crying baby, and a crying wife. It was hard sometimes. Her mother stayed with us and helped for a few weeks and then my Mom took a turn helping out, which was great, but we had to eventually do things on our own.

Maya daily routine was basically wake up, eat, sleep. I think we will get the hang of this.



"The best thing about kids.....is making them." - Rodney Dangerfield

Super Bowl Sunday 2005

Sunday, February 6, 2005. The Super Bowl! The biggest event in the sports year. Everything about it is huge. The game, the spectacle, the halftime show, the commercials, it doesn't get any bigger than this. So, how appropriate that this would be the time when Maya decided she had been cooped up in her mommy long enough and was ready to join the world.

Maya's due date: February 7, 2005

The game was between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. It had the makings for a good game. The Patriots were looking to win back to back titles and their third in four years; the Eagles, with Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, were looking to finally bring a football title to Philly. I really had no rooting interest in the game, but I was looking forward to at least watching the game.

Claire says her back is feeling funny

It was always in the back of my mind about her being born on the Super Bowl. I actually thought it would be kind of neat. I declined an invitation to a Super Bowl party, because I had a feeling she would arrive that day. Claire looked like she was about to pop at any second, so we took it easy that day, went to church, went for a walk, stuff like that.

What we think are contractions, start that afternoon. Or it could be just gas, who knew?

Game starts. I'm watching the game and keeping an eye on Claire at the same time. She is pacing around, asking me how long it has been since the last time she asked me how long has it been. Maya's getting ready, and she is letting her Mommy know, more and more.

Call the doctor, explain the situation, doc says if you feel the same way in an hour head to the hospital.

One hour, we have a good little drive to the hospital, so we decide to leave at halftime. We get to the hospital, get all checked in to the room. Claire gets all set up in the bed and hooked up to all the monitors and stuff. I get in the uncomfortable "dad" chair/bed next to Claire and the nurse comes in. She checks Claire out turns to me and says "You probably want to watch this...". I'm thinking, What? Is it time for the baby?? Where should I stand, where is the doctor......

She picks up the remote and turns the TV on.

"It might be a while." she says. Now the game is back on, although I really didn't watch. I would occasionally glance at the game but that was it. I was excited about meeting Maya.

This guy comes in with a cart, on the cart is a case, in the case is a very long needle. He proceeds to have my wife lay on her side facing me, she holds my hand, and he sticks the long needle in her back. The epidural shot. It looked extremely painful to me, but to wife it was the best thing when it came time to push.

I think the game is over.

Some commotion starts in the room. Doctor comes in then leaves. Nurse comes in, now is the big moment. The nurse tells me where I should stand. Doctor comes back in, here we go. It didn't seem to take long at all. But I didn't really do anything. The real work was all done by my wife, I held her hand and her leg and talked to her offering support. I was more like a cheerleader on the sidelines (without the pom-poms).
She was the main player, and she did an amazing job too.
At about 1am Monday morning, Maya arrived.

Seven pounds, two ounces. Our adventure begins.

We were the big winners that day....
not th Patriots.

Little Star

This is Maya.

She is 2. As you can see, she is a talented little person. Watching her grow has been an amazing experience. There are so many things that she does everyday that just make us laugh. So, I have decided to write about her. Before I start though, I will have to take you back to the beginning......