8:55pm

Well, she's here....finally. After nine months of planning, stressing, anxiety and insecurity the little person who has been growing inside of my wife has finally decided that December 10, 2005 is the day to be born. About two weeks early, tipping the scales at a respectable 7.0lbs and 19.5". Not too small and not too large, as Goldilocks would say "she's just right."
There are so many feelings to describe, so many emotions to uncover and not enough time to get to them all. Today has been a roller coaster of sorts, excitement, boredom, back to excitement and then finally exhaustion. Now remember these are my feelings, my wife probably had a few less of the excitement and a few more of the exhaustion.
The nurses, especially Emily who was there when my wife gave birth, were really amazing. The blend of caring and expertise that they showed during the whole birthing process really showed the kind of people they are. I hope that one day I can be as good at my job as they are at theirs.
There is nothing in the world that I would be willing to exchange this experience for. Just being able to be there while this was happening was enough of an experience but to actually feel as though I was a part of it made it all the more special. Now before anyone gets their feminist radar fired up, I know that I didn't give birth. I know that I couldn't give birth, I would of opted for a scheduled caesarian with whatever knock-out gas that is available. But I just felt it from my wife that she needed me in there with her. Even though all I did was hold her hand and occasionally kiss her forehead, those small gestures let her know that I was watching out for her and let her concentrate on getting our daughter into the world.
Now I know that a lot of fathers-to-be are worried about seeing the blood or that they will pass out or that their wives are going to be in too much pain. For me I was worried that I wouldn't make it because my wife would become some other person. During our childbirth classes I had one thought burned into my brain over and over again. My wife was going to become this snarling, curing, angry, spiteful woman once the birthing process started. Thankfully, this image was totally off base. My wife was the same person that she always is, she never cursed or screamed "You did this to me!!" like I had seen in a few thousand movies and TV shows. She was in pain, that was obvious, but she also had this amazing air of calmness about her. Whenever I felt anxious about her being in pain or the amount of blood or whatever else I may of been anxious about all I had to do was look into my wife's eyes and I just knew that everything was going to be okay.
Looking at this perfect blend of my wife and I is just so amazing. All the anxiety about everything melted away once she was placed on my wife's tummy. To be able to see your baby open her eyes for the first time and to look at your wife as she sees the baby for the first time, those are the moments in life that make everything else worth it.