My, my, my....It seems every time I get on here I am having to apologize for my lack of diligence in keeping up with this thing. Hopefully everyone understands...our little family has been on an eight state whirlwind tour since July 14 and this is honestly one of the first times I have been able to take a few moments and give everyone a little peek into our world.
Anywho, let us begin with the very date mentioned above, July 14, 2008. Not only was it the day that this here blog would finally have a continuous stream of stories put on backlog, but it also doubled as the day of our beautiful little girl's birth. Miss Adalyn Paige Merritt entered the world at 11:37 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, with a weight of 7 lbs. 3 oz. I didn't really get the best of looks at this exact time, because there were many things going on and my senses were working on overload. So I would say our first meeting was probably around 11:41...my daughter was getting blasted with heat (I'm told that it was only a few degrees cooler than when NASA launches a space shuttle) and she was having just a little bit of a good cry. After being told that the doctors could "take it from here", I left Amanda's side and went to say hello to the little one in the corner. Throughout Amanda's pregnancy we bought into what everyone had told us about talking to the baby while still in the womb. Amanda read to her and I held numerous chats and talks. I truly do believe that it paid off because when I spoke my first words to her, a very choking hello, she was instantly calm and turned her head towards me. Her eyes were open and very much alive; if it is possible to see a look of recognition in a newborn's face, it was there! She had a look that said "Hey, I know that voice!", and I finally met our little Ooph! The best part of all this was that Amanda got the very same reaction the first time they were given moments alone!
We were given an hour to spend with her and after that she was to be whisked away to the nursery for a couple of hours, where they do all sorts of things to the new babies. What those things are I don't know (maybe she met the Wizard of Oz, or Willy Wonka, or they just shot her up with all the extra cuteness they had in stock) but one of my favorite parts of her beginning is this part:
(Without written consent from the nursing staff, I have substituted real names with generic ones)
(ok, that was a lie, I just don't really remember their names)
Nurse 1 accompanied me to the nursery to check Adalyn in. I brought her in amidst oo's and ahh's and when all that was settled down, the nurses started the process of checking her in. Nurse 2 turned to Nurse 3 and asked "9?". Nurse 3 responds, "Oh no, she is most definitely a 10". Nurse 1 and Nurse 2 both look at each other with raised eyebrows and say in tandem "Really?" Nurse 3 says "Oh yes, most definitely." I pipe in with a question about what all this 9 and 10 business is and Nurse 1 explains that it is a scale of awesomeness. That is not made up. Actual words were "scale of awesomeness". I didn't know what to do but stand there and feel pretty proud so while they finished up, I beamed some more and kissed her goodbye. After several more oo's and ahh's and paparazzi flashes, Nurse 1 and I left her behind and as we left I commented that it was very nice of those nurses to say what they did with me around. Nurse 1 tells me that while yes, it was nice of them to say, there really is a scale that babies are measured against and that in all her years of being in that hospital, she had never heard Nurse 3 give a baby a 10!! She was more responsive, alert, rosy, and on and on, then Nurse 3 had ever seen...and trust me when I say that Nurse 3 wasn't going to easily be confused with a recent college grad, if you get my drift.
So, what all this amounts too is that we are the parents of a perfect little girl. A 10 out of 10. I have so many more little stories and snippets that I want to share, but one post is not nearly enough. I will use my next several to update you on what the first several weeks were like and by then you should feel a little more up to speed. For now I leave you with some snapshots. Au revoir!
Both of us awaiting one very big moment!
Little Ooph quite awake and wondering what all the commotion is!
One of her many power naps!
I'm quite proud of this one...and the picture isn't too bad itself!
Sorry I didn't add more right now, but I will be supplying a link to an album as soon as I can compile all the photos together. Also, Amanda and I are trying to find the best shots to supply to People. We have heard rumors that Brad and Angelina were paid $14 mil for pics of their little bundles of joy...HA, People Magazine doesn't know what a deal that is. I feel very confident Adalyn Paige will demand much more!!
