In the Delivery Room
On 14 April 2003, I braved myself to go into delivery room with my wife despite the stories I’ve heard about fathers who fainted upon seeing their wives giving birth.
But I told myself, even if this happened to me, at least I tried before giving up. Furthermore, my wife needed my support and encouragement.
In the end, I was glad I made that decision.
I was there to witness the major turning point of my life as my wife was giving birth to Jane. At that moment, I first realized that giving birth to a baby is a miracle of life. And also only then I realized all mothers are unbelievably great when they take the risks to become pregnant and give birth eventually.
I would strongly advise all fathers-to-be to accompany your wife when she delivers. Otherwise, you will miss all the excitement. Believe me, you will appreciate your wife and your children more if you do.
I’m grateful that Jane was delivered without much complication.
This was the first time I saw a newly born baby. Jane was quiet for a while before she cried aloud. The nurses did a routine check on her and cleaned her with a towel.
Only then my wife got the chance to hold Jane and had a good look at her, for the first time, while she was still in delivery room. By then my wife was already settled down from an exhaustive labour.
It was a wonderful experience to witness your own baby coming to this world.
Our lives will never be the same again with Jane around. She is the centre of attraction and attention. She got all the attention when we had visitors to our house.
We hardly saw Jane with her eyes open for the first few days after delivery. It’s simply because the only thing Jane could and would do was sleep.
My wife and I were waiting anxiously for Jane to open her eyes so that we would have a good chance to look at her and to make sure that she has double eye-lid.
To our delight, she has double eye-lid. Not only that, Jane indeed has a pair of beautiful eyes.
I always observe Jane when she is sleeping. Her face is full of expressions when she sleeps. Sometimes she will smile, stick her tongue out, roll her eyes with her eye-lids closed, squeeze her lips, or even frown for reasons only known to her.
The First Few Days at Home
During the first few nights after my wife and Jane were discharged from hospital, Jane was not able to sleep well throughout the night. She cried all night long. My wife and I really did not know what to do then.
But we received a lot of speculations as to why Jane could not sleep well the first few nights from our relatives and friends. The most logical explanation to me was she was trying to adapt to a new surrounding.
After a week, Jane was fine and back to normal. But she still woke up every two hours.
For a baby like Jane, the only way of communication is through her own language: cry. She will cry when she is hungry, when she is not in a comfortable position, when she needs attention, when she needs somebody to talk to, and when the diaper is wet.
One funny thing is I will not be disturbed by Jane’s cries. Her cries are more like music to my ears. The cries sound exceptionally nice and they are not annoying to me at all. Isn’t it strange and mind-boggling? Furthermore, whenever she cries, she will cry at the top of her voice.
The Joy of Fatherhood
It is life’s most valuable experience as you see your baby grows. I feel extremely ecstatic when Jane would show slight developments along her way to growing up. Developments like when you play or talk to her, she will respond to you with a very sweet smile. Or when she just starts to talk to you with her first words like coo…, oo… and ah….
When Jane feels excited, she will kick her legs and swing her hands vigorously. It’s like a dog swinging its tail when its owner comes home.
Recently, my wife was trying to train Jane to use her hand to touch a toy which was placed in front of her. We were so happy that Jane was able to do it by swinging her left hand toward the toy. It’s an amazing development.
Call me crazy if you want, I like to smell Jane: face, head, body, hands or legs. I like her smell which is so natural and refreshing. The smell is so ‘unpolluted and untouched.’
Besides that I also like to touch her skin which is soft, smooth and fine. Skin complexion of a baby is the dream of every woman. It’s as smooth as silk. It’s so nice to touch and cuddle.
If you notice, I like every single part of Jane. Be it her cries, her skin, her smiles, her growth. I don’t know why. But that’s how I feel about Jane.
Jane is now two and a half months old. She is starting to respond to external objects and she would smile when we play with her. I am looking forward to seeing more exciting developments when she grows up.
I must thank my wife for giving me the best gift I’ve ever received, that is our baby, Jane.
I am also very thankful to all our relatives and friends who poured in with fantastic gifts, tips and tricks of parenting, and support during my wife’s pregnancy, as well as before and after delivery.
It’s wonderful to have Jane in our lives. She brings so much fun and excitement to both of us.
More importantly, being parents to Jane teaches us not to forget all the sacrifices that our own parents have done for us when we were small, which we sometimes take it for granted.
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In his bid to be a better parent, Abel Cheng runs a website and blog for parents at Parent Wonder.
