babies. . .

Yesterday, a friend's daughter gave birth to her second son. He was born on February 7, 2012 at 12:47. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. He was 21 (3x7) inches with a 14 (2x7) inch head circumference. He is our friends' 7th grandchild. Even I, who am not a real believer in luck and numbers am pretty amazed by the glut of 7's involved in this child's birth. I hope he is lucky and that he brings luck to his family.

I was really happy that I was one of the first to get to see him after he was born. My friend kept me updated all morning and I happened to get off work at 1 p.m. so even though it was Tuesday and I had to get to bed early for ad night, I was able to go home, get V., change clothes and drive out to the hospital. By the time we got there, the new mommy was just being wheeled to her room and the new daddy was right behind her with the baby. Our friends. the grandparents had been there since around 10 a.m. and we were there around 2:15. A friend or relative of the new daddy had been there with them also. So when the nurses got mommy situated, we went in the room and baby got picked up and passed around to everyone to hold for a few minutes.

There is nothing like holding a newborn baby. They are so tiny and helpless and perfect and soft. No matter the circumstance of how they arrive, it's hard to think of them as anything less than a miracle. I no longer take a healthy birth for granted after a couple of people I know went through terrible experiences when things went awry. A full term, healthy, normal baby is a beautiful and awe-inspiring creature. I hope and pray that I get to hold grandchildren of my own someday. 

When V. and I checked in at the hospital to visit, a few people assumed we were new grandparents. We talked about how great it will be when we really are. It warmed my heart that V. wanted to go with me to see the baby. I don't know that he feels all that close to the new mommy but when I called him from work to see if he wanted to go, there was no hesitation. (I've seen him around kids and they all seem to love him.) As we were driving he talked about being in the delivery room for his son's birth in 19- but when his daughter was born 10 years earlier (in another country), he could only send "food and messages" in to his wife. And he said that he has had to adjust to a much more casual approach to handling infants than he was used to. Especially when his daughter was little, infants were seen as very fragile and susceptible to harm.

While I believe that is still true, if a baby is healthy, I think it helps them get strong and resilient and adaptable if you don't try to keep everyone away from them. I mean, of course you don't want someone who is sick giving the baby germs, but healthy friends and family should not be denied the chance to hold that little bundle of joy.