The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

I have a confession to make.  I haven’t written anything about this because I haven’t had the words.  It’s kinda difficult to express feelings you haven’t felt before, and it’s even tougher to make those feelings make sense to your readers.  That being said, I think I’m gonna give it a shot and let you know what’s been going on as of late.  As with every story, this one has a beginning, and that beginning will start on March 6th.

March 6th was a day like every other one has been for the past few months.  Wake up, make sure the wife is okay, and start cleaning up.  I hadn’t had a chance to really clean anything because I’d been busy with work.  So, I spent the most of the day getting to work on the living room, the kitchen, and the office.  Megan’s room was pretty much ready, so I wasn’t really concerned about that.  A bit later on, my wife woke up and started moving around a bit.  She did what she could, but at nine months pregnant, it wasn’t much.  She went to take a nap around 3 or so, and I followed suit.  I woke up at 5 and went back to work on the office.  She got up a bit later and the unexpected happened.

Her water broke.

I wasn’t quite aware if that was what it really was, so I asked the one person who I knew I could turn to for advice: my mom.  She put my sister on three way and I asked how I would know if it was the case.  She told me, and I responded that I think this is what happened, but I didn’t know.  I told her that I was just gonna take her to the hospital, and they wanted me to keep them posted.  I also posted the following on Facebook and Twitter:

At the hospital. May have a water breaking situation. Will keep you all posted.

A few hours later, it was confirmed; her water had indeed broke, and Megan was on the way.  Sleep was gonna be nonexistent for the rest of the night.  We got admitted, and prepped, and the on-call doctor said that they would wait until the morning until her regular doctor came in.  So, the rest of the night was spent making sure my wife was as comfortable as possible and getting myself ready.  I ended up having to drive back to our apartment so I could get the stuff I didn’t get in time.

The next morning, we were greeted by the anesthesiologist, who gave us the rundown of what we had to expect.  They then took her to the delivery room, and I was left in the other room to wait.  And, while waiting, I did exactly what I did the day I got married: I hyped myself up.  To the outside observer, I had to have looked ridiculous.  I didn’t care, though; I was ready for my daughter to get here, and I was getting myself ready for what I was about to see.  A few minutes later, they came and got me and led me to the room.  When I walked in, my wife was laying on the delivery table, and she looked like she was being crucified.  Her arms were outstretched and strapped to the table.  The doctor told me to stay on the side of the curtain that didn’t show what they were doing.  They asked me if I wanted to see over the curtain, and I said yes.

At 7:54, the next thing I saw was my daughter’s feet.

Shortly thereafter, I saw her pee.

I followed the nurse over who had her and I marveled at her as they went through cleaning her up a bit and wrapping her in her receiving cloths.  I then got to carry her to the nursery.  For those few moments, I was the happiest person in the world.  They did the weighing and measuring, and I got to stay with her most of the time.  I saw her get her Vitamin K shot as well as monitoring her temperature.  Then, they kicked me out because the pediatrician needed to examine all of the babies.  I sat outside and watched her from the nursery window.  I also saw them wheel my wife past; we made eye contact and smiled at each other.

Later, I went back and forth from the nursery to the room as I split my focus between the two of them.  They eventually wheeled her in, and we got to spend some one on one time with our baby girl.  They wheeled her back in to clean her up and run a hearing test on her.  They also said they would keep her in the nursery overnight while we tried to rest.  Thankfully, the next day was Mardi Gras, so I didn’t have to go to work and was able to spend more quality time with her before returning to work the next day.

Now, I could go on and on about this, but I don’t think I will.  I’ll just say this much; I love this little girl more than life itself.  Having her in my life is the greatest thing I could have ever imagined, and it’s something I will cherish for the rest of my life.  I’ve posted at least one picture a day on Facebook chronicling her story from day one to day 365, and I got that idea from Dan Patrick.  He said that the baby would never change any more than she will in the first year of her life, and I’m seeing that up close and personal.

I don’t know if I’m going to get everything right; in fact, I know there are gonna be some things I get wrong.  However, the fun will arise when I learn from my mistakes and see her smile at me.  I’ll then know that it was completely worth it.  Why do I say that?  Because it’s worth it now.