It happened...

[Folrig]

I'm a dad!

[Warning! Impending father talking about his child.]

Nearly two months ago my wife and I had our first born. A little baby girl who is awesome! The pregnancy was difficult, and the delivery abrupt and terrifying. She had a prolapsed umbilical chord, which meant she (my daughter) wasn't getting any blood flow or oxygen. Because of the stage of delivery, the doctor decided the best course of action was to pull her out with forceps. This led to my wife having third(?) degree muscular tearing and a lot of very bright red blood.

When they ushered me out of the delivery room with my daughter there were eight people standing around my wife's delivery bed. I can honestly say I had never been more afraid at any point in my life thus far. But, praise God, after, quite possibly, the longest hour of my life sitting in the nursery with my daughter they let us back in to see my wife. She was stitched up, resting and pale from blood loss, but she was doing well. I know she was fine now, but over the following week I would be teetering on the emotional edge. It took nearly a month for her to get all her color back in her face.

Even though everyone is healthy, it can still be kind of rough to look back on. Now, I don't know what I used to do with my weekends. I sleep and catch up on chores :P My daughter is absolutely fascinating. I know a lot of guys who don't like this stage of development much because the baby doesn't do much, but I just like to watch her. Oh! And she started smiling in the last few weeks. That has been all kinds of fun. She has always been pretty "alert", looking around, and it gives off the impression that she can see more than I think she can actually see. At this point I *think* she can see faces well enough to recognize them. I'm not entirely sure. She will stare at me, but then she will also stare at the wall sconce. It also doesn't help that her "default" expression is a furrowed brow that could say: "What are you doing?", or "Why did you just do that?", or "Who do you think you are?" I'm sure you can guess that I don't get a whole lot of sleep. Although, she did sleep for five hours in a row a couple nights last week. Can I say, "Wow!" I did not know I could value five hours of continuous sleep so much.

It's been fun. And I expect it to continue to be fun. I don't really play video games anymore, unless it is on my phone, on the train. While I miss gaming, it is a sacrifice I seem to not mind making. One day maybe I'll get to play again, hopefully when RTH shows its face. My Mario Kart skills are going to become absolutely dreadful.

Even through the sleepy haze I'm still here watching. I've said it before, but this is a wonderful community, and I'm glad I got share the birth of my daughter with you guys.

[Wafflewaffle]

Congratz on the parenthood dudeson! I just had Quadriplet chickens in minecraft and im super happy, i cant imagine just how happy and proud you are.

Here's hoping she grows into a strong sucessful women that will buy you plenty of steam games for chrismas.

[Gormador]

Congrats man ! To your wife too ;-)

[Marasambala]

Congratulations! Babies are amazing, and things only get more interesting as the brain develops. It's so cool to watch for that moment when they suddenly shift to the next higher level of thinking. No matter how much you know, they always seem to be one step ahead. :D

[VegasGoat]

Congratulations! Glad everyone is OK. I enjoyed and continue to enjoy every stage of my 2 girls. It's definitely amazing to watch them develop.

The infant stage is great for video games, by the way. She should nap a lot, or you can just rest her in your arms while you play. It's when they start crawling and walking that you have to give it up a lot more, although I still managed to fit in an hour or so most nights.

[Folrig]

Thanks guys!

My wife was surprised at her development too. She said she was surprised how quickly my daughter was able to wrap me around her finger. I don't see it though :)

I haven't mastered the game-while-she-sleeps-on-me thing. There always seems to be somthing that needs to be done. I think once we get into more of a rythm, gaming could happen.

[Shadowhawk36]

Congratulations on the birth man! Hope that everything continues on this excellent path and that you and your wife live happily together as your daughter develops :)

[FlowerChild]

Congrats on the proven integrity of your precious bodily fluids man!

[Folrig]

Thanks Shadow!

So, um. FC. Are...are you suggesting that if I drink tap water...then I am a communist?

[FlowerChild]

So, um. FC. Are...are you suggesting that if I drink tap water...then I am a communist?

No, as you've already proven the integrity of your precious bodily fluids.