Babies and new Daddies

My cousin Chris and her husband Shad had their first baby last week. I took the girls to the hospital to see baby Sedona and when I held her for the first time, I exclaimed, "Oh, she's CUTE!" Apparently it was said with a little too much force because Chris was like, "You act surprised! She is my kid, after all." Apologetically, I said, "well, most babies look a little squished and jacked up for the first few days, but she's adorable!"

That's me. Queen of Tact.


Sedona has the most beautiful black hair and delicate little lips. One of my favorite things about the visit was hearing Shad talk about his baby girl. He was so proud of her and excited to describe each of her fine features. He's the one who put the bow in her hair, people! His face was full of excitement and pride as he described the details of her birth. I said, "isn't it amazing how you can just sit and stare at them and never tire of it?" He said, "Oh, I know! After she was born the nurses were giving me a hard time because I was just sitting there marveling at Sedona and apparently getting in their way. I was like, 'Back off! This is my first kid!'"

It brought back a lot of memories of when my girls were born. There's really no words sufficient to describe the feeling of watching your husband love your child. It adds a whole new layer of love to see this man you love hold the child you created together. To see him hold her so gently and marvel at her beauty.

This is one of my most favorite pictures from Lily's birth:


When Lily was born we were fortunate enough to have a room with two beds but only one patient. Dan got a real bed to sleep on (I know Shad, you're totally jealous!) and a place to lay and snuggle with his new baby.


This is an image from Lily's birth that is seared in my mind. I remember looking over and thinking, "Man, she looks just like her dad!"

Amelia's birth was pretty amazing because I got to see how excited and proud Dan was of me giving birth the old-fashioned way (no, not drug-free, but vaginal instead of cesarean.) He was busy taking pictures with his right hand while he held one of my legs with his left hand. That's my man!


Amelia had to be on oxygen for the first day or so because she aspirated some meconium at birth and her lungs were a little gunked up. They held her hostage in the nursery and we were both so anxious to hold her. We finally talked the nurses into letting us hold her in the nursery with the oxygen mask held by her face.


Finally, we got her into the room with us and once again, I enjoyed the image of Dan laying there with his sweet girl.

Seems like I'm the only one not having a baby this year (and I'm totally OK with that!) Congrats also to my cousin Jen & Dalin and baby Patch, Lee & Kris and baby Dallin, Matt & Mindy and baby Tessa, and two more cousins for Lily and Amelia arriving this summer.

It's definitely spring, time for new life.