Father Hood, Part 1: Dawn of the Dinosaur
ELAN (elan) Noun.
1.A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something;
2.A distinctive and stylish elegance; a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste;
3.An enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness; sprightliness, liveliness, spirit, life - animation and energy in action or expression.
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December 22, 2009 at 3:26 PM saw the coming of Elpidio Antonio (Elan) Lopez, the latest recipient/casualty of the belligerent Lopez surname this side of Luzon.
His arrival into this world was a bit much like his dad's everyday dealings. There was lots of hype during the intro as Nel was into labor the day before, and stayed for at least 20 hours in the labor room without the benefit of a companion except fellow mothers-to-be bellowing in pain. During the actual arrival, i was still caught off guard. After conferring with her OB, who advised us that Nel (despite being in the labor room since the day before) is still in the early labor stages and that the baby wasn't expected until evening of the 22th. I promptly decided to take some much-needed sleep, which my nephew enthusiastically supported. I awoke at 3:45 pm with the urgent page to proceed to the recovery room.
Recovery room? Did i miss something? Sprinting like Harry Potter did in the Room of Mysteries, i arrived to see the OB removing her gloves. Upon seeing me, she cackled "Tapos na!" and pointed to my still-high-on-drugs wife. So much for the moolah we forked over for birth class.
Before you all wag your fingers and say "shame!" do understand that the hospital's policy is nobody but the mom and medical staff are allowed at any of the facilities. I guess this was a sign of things to come for my fatherhood, i consigned myself with the belief that they nel will be in good hands. True to form, the medical staff called when it was over.
Oh well. I was never much of a fan of operating room drama anyway. They always say that witnessing the acual birth process is a life-changing experience. I don't disagree, but isn't the kid himself the real life-changing experience and not the trip through the tunnel?
Besides, nel's mandatory attendance during the birth should be good enough for both of us. I doubt she'll want me to post photos of her drugged up and bloodied, while my kid gets slapped around.
Going back to the story, he came out 3:26pm and i arrived minutes after the operation was concluded. Elan was whisked off to nursery immediately after the first breastfeed, so i wasn't able to get a glimpse of him. I asked nel how she is and how is the baby but she only managed to slur "cheers!" before she was whisked away in similar fashion.
Now i have to wait for an hour for the nursery to open to see my son, who i fondly called "dinosaur" due to his uncanny resemblance to the Jurassic Park logo during an early ultrasound photo session, and 4 hours for my wife to return to her hospital room sober.
Birth class didn't have an answer for my obvious question: "Now what?"
1.A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something;
2.A distinctive and stylish elegance; a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste;
3.An enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness; sprightliness, liveliness, spirit, life - animation and energy in action or expression.
---
December 22, 2009 at 3:26 PM saw the coming of Elpidio Antonio (Elan) Lopez, the latest recipient/casualty of the belligerent Lopez surname this side of Luzon.
His arrival into this world was a bit much like his dad's everyday dealings. There was lots of hype during the intro as Nel was into labor the day before, and stayed for at least 20 hours in the labor room without the benefit of a companion except fellow mothers-to-be bellowing in pain. During the actual arrival, i was still caught off guard. After conferring with her OB, who advised us that Nel (despite being in the labor room since the day before) is still in the early labor stages and that the baby wasn't expected until evening of the 22th. I promptly decided to take some much-needed sleep, which my nephew enthusiastically supported. I awoke at 3:45 pm with the urgent page to proceed to the recovery room.
Recovery room? Did i miss something? Sprinting like Harry Potter did in the Room of Mysteries, i arrived to see the OB removing her gloves. Upon seeing me, she cackled "Tapos na!" and pointed to my still-high-on-drugs wife. So much for the moolah we forked over for birth class.
Before you all wag your fingers and say "shame!" do understand that the hospital's policy is nobody but the mom and medical staff are allowed at any of the facilities. I guess this was a sign of things to come for my fatherhood, i consigned myself with the belief that they nel will be in good hands. True to form, the medical staff called when it was over.
Oh well. I was never much of a fan of operating room drama anyway. They always say that witnessing the acual birth process is a life-changing experience. I don't disagree, but isn't the kid himself the real life-changing experience and not the trip through the tunnel?
Besides, nel's mandatory attendance during the birth should be good enough for both of us. I doubt she'll want me to post photos of her drugged up and bloodied, while my kid gets slapped around.
Going back to the story, he came out 3:26pm and i arrived minutes after the operation was concluded. Elan was whisked off to nursery immediately after the first breastfeed, so i wasn't able to get a glimpse of him. I asked nel how she is and how is the baby but she only managed to slur "cheers!" before she was whisked away in similar fashion.
Now i have to wait for an hour for the nursery to open to see my son, who i fondly called "dinosaur" due to his uncanny resemblance to the Jurassic Park logo during an early ultrasound photo session, and 4 hours for my wife to return to her hospital room sober.
Birth class didn't have an answer for my obvious question: "Now what?"
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