The Arrival

But despite those bumps in the road, I managed fine and still found moments to revel in the fact I was creating a human being. I couldn’t really grasp the real meaning of what it meant to start a family. I’d never done this before and so I was more excited than scared at times. My only fear, as the due date approached, was labor and all the pain associated with it.

Fast forward to the day my son was born. After an eventful morning and a long day of waiting till I reached the glorious “ten centimeters”, I handled my emergency C-section pretty well, if I do say so myself. I was TERRIFIED of having surgery, but I wanted them to do whatever they had to, to ensure the health and safety of me and my "Babah". He arrived at 9:20 p.m., on November 2, 2008, a healthy, and whopping (LOL!) 5 lbs. and 11 oz., and 19.5 inches, with all his ten toes and fingers, and a cry heard around the hospital. That's a picture of him up there in my wrap. He's a bit shy :)

Let me tell you something about labor and all the “after” stuff. Any ideas of immediately falling in love with your child upon first view, is a delusion (at least for me, and as I’ve found out, for many of my girlfriends too). It’s a romanticized notion. Yet you will fall in love, just not as fast as you think. Once you meet your baby, you are in shock from all the pain, fatigue, and the fact you just created a whole new being and an organ (that’s the placenta). You will just want to rest and catch your breath for a few minutes and absorb everything. Like, wtf just happened? Or be like me, I really, really wanted to see my placenta, but because they spent so long stitching me back up, my doctor forgot to show it to me. Why the fascination? Dude, it’s supposed to be like 2 lbs or something. I mean my baby lived in that for nine aching months, I just wanted to see his digs.

But there’s nothing quite like meeting the newest addition to your family like that first time. Tears will stream down your face when you hear your baby’s first cry. Giving birth is a miracle—and one crazy affair.