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May 14, 2010.  A day that forever changed me. That was the day my little daughter was brought into this world. The day I became a dad. I can still barely say the word and believe it. Nevertheless, the fact remains, I’m a dad. My little girl was born at 11:24 am by C-section.  She weighed 7lbs 8.6ozs and was 19.5″ long.  Here we go, let’s get an obligatory picture out of the way:

Her mother woke me up at about 1:30am that morning saying she had been having some “bad cramps” since about 1:00. Those bad cramps turned out to be contractions. By 1:30 they were already coming about every six minutes and were lasting for about one minute or so. Being the Lamaze-trained father-to-be that I was, I knew that if we got closer to four or five minutes between each contraction, it was go time. Well, we hung around the house for a while and finally, around 3:30, decided to call the hospital to see what they thought. They said we should “come in to be evaluated.”

Well, thankfully, I’d been finishing our hospital bag packing between contractions and we were all set. We threw the poor puppy into her crate, loaded the car, made sure the car seat was in place, and took off for the hospital. Sure enough, we get there, they take Kirsten into a triage room, and about a half hour later, the doctor gives the word that we’re going to have our baby that day! I was in total shock! I could little understand at that point, that later that day, I’d be holding my precious little one in my hands.

We’ve already been home for a full week and things are going pretty well. She’s not the greatest sleeper in the world; preferring instead to be the most active between the hours of 10pm and 6am. She naps all throughout the day. This is good for Kirsten, who is staying home with her for eight weeks, it allows her to get some basics done… like showering. It’s amazing how God programs us for parenthood, however. I might feel like a zombie for a little while after getting three to four hours of sleep, but somehow, it’s always enough. I can function that day when I really need to.

I can say that I wasn’t prepared for fatherhood. Prior to her birth, when people would ask if we were ready, I’d respond: “yeah! I think so! As much as you can be anyway.” I didn’t really know how accurate that statement would be. There’s nothing, no class, no parental wisdom, that can prepare you for the feeling you’ll have when you first see your son or daughter and instantly, you’re changed. I know I am. I melted that first time she looked at me, and I think I’ll keep on doing so throughout her entire life.