Hello World

Well you made it. Today your mom woke me up early so we could head to the hospital, St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. Just off the west side of the lower west tip of Central Park. The day before I picked up a new camera and video camera so we'd get some good shots of the day. I mainly took video which you can view sometime. But I've put some pictures up here too.

Here's Mommy arriving at the hospital. She'll be staying for a few days so she has a suitcase.

Here she is in the elevator going up. I think she's a little nervous although she said she wasn't.

We had to fill out some paperwork beforehand. Since Mommy had a C-section or a caesarian section for Sophia, your birth was all planned. We just had to show up and Mommy had to undergo some surgery.

Here's Mommy on the operating table. That man is the anaestheologist. He makes sure Mommy doesn't feel any pain. And that blue 'curtain' keeps her from seeing all the stuff the surgeons are doing. I have pictures but I won't show them here. It's not too bad.

And here you are! You were born on 5/25/2007 at 11:04AM on a very hot and sunny New York day. You look quite different from your sister Sophia. She came out with a full head of black hair with some blonde highlights in front. You have almost no hair. And it's not black. It's a very light brown. The other difference is you are a little smaller than Sophia. She was 7lbs 11ozs. You were 7lbs 9ozs. But you came out 2 weeks early so you probably would have been bigger if you went for the full 9 month term. The other big difference is that Sophia definitely had some Asian influence in her face. Her eyes had a distinctive epicanthic fold that Asians have. You don't really have that. Your eyes aren't quite Caucasian but they're definitely not Asian looking. In fact with light brown hair you just look Caucasian.

You can also see your umbilical cord in the photo. This tube gave you oxygen and food and water. Now you are on the outside you have to start breathing, eating and drinking on your own. They pinch it off with a yellow clamp so no infecting material like bacteria can get up inside it. And then they gave Daddy a scissors to cut the remaining part of the tube off. You might also see some white creamy stuff on your skin. That is Vernix Caseosa. It's almost like a skin cream that protects your skin from the drying amniotic fluid in mommy's belly. You might also notice your hands are bluish. When you are born your blood goes to your body center first to make sure that is getting enough heat. That will go away soon. You also have 'stork bites' on your right eye. This is a very common skin lesion that goes away pretty quickly.

And here's a closeup of your face. I had to keep tickling your toes to make sure you cry. Crying helps you clear out your lungs.

After that we headed to a room away from the operating room. They cleaned you up a little and you had your first meal courtesy of Mommy - breast milk. Actually it was colostrum which is a yellowish sticky liquid. It has lots of antibodies to help you stay healthy. Soon Mommy's real milk will come in. Sophia had a hell of a time breast feeding but you are much better at it than she was. Mommy almost didn't need any help getting you started.

Tonight Mommy is on her own with you. Daddy is at home with Granny and Grandpa. We'll bring them and Sophia to see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Mommy and Caden. Good job everyone!