Firsts: First Time I Held A Child of Mine

Steve holding Amy moments after her birth Aug. 26, 1984

I'm afraid I'm going to be jumping around a bit as I continue my "Firsts" series of my blog. I apologize for writing about "firsts" so long, but once I started I realized how many of these there are, and they're all special to me. I'll get around to the other writing before long.

This "First" is the first time I ever held a child of mine. Yes, that's me behind that surgical mask, and that's my firstborn, Amy Elizabeth I'm holding. The date is Aug. 26, 1984 and we're at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. We've just had the baby. Boy was it rough on ME! All that waiting and worrying! ha ha - I'm saying that for Donna's sake, who had the easy job of just pushing the little bugger out.

Seriously - what a moment. I remember it was so powerful that all my emotions were rushing together and came tumbling out at once. One minute I was laughing and the next I was crying. What a miracle birth is. Anyone who doubts the existence of God should stand in a delivery room and watch their baby be born and all doubts would evaporate. I know I'll never forget the experience.

I was all prepped to take Donna to the hospital ala Ricky Ricardo. We had a bag packed, I was on "go" at all times once the date neared. I was worried because we had a 45 minute drive from our house to the hospital. But then as it turned out, Donna had already gotten up and showered before she woke me up to say, "Dear, wake up we need to go to the hospital now." Imagine being stirred out of your sleep by a sentence like that. In the end we made it with time to spare. In fact, Donna had to walk the corridors of the hospital for an hour or two before they prepped her for delivery.

Amy's birth itself was particularly surprising. For almost nine months our doctor and his staff told us they were sure Donna was carrying a boy (we didn't want to know in advance). As Amy began being born the first thing the doctor (Dr. Thomas Modi) said was, "Woh! He's got red hair!" I remember thinking, "Red hair? Where did he get red hair?" Then, a few moments later the doctor said, "Woh...he's a she!" I remember thinking, boy Dr. Modi sure says "Woh" a lot! I wonder what other surprises are in store for us? At any rate, having a red head, and a little girl was a surprise - and a happy one for her proud parents!

Look at the photo closer and you'll see that little Amy has forceps marks on her face near her eye. Thankfully those faded. You'll also notice we're in a real old-fashioned delivery room. Nowadays the couple waits in a room that looks like the family room of your house, then when it's time they simply turn on a few more lights and voila you have the baby right there. I do believe that would have made me feel more comfortable; like I said the whole episode was pretty traumatic on me :)

Ah well - what a feeling to hold that little bundle; to smell that sweet baby and to hold her. What a blessing. I know I will never forget it. Thank you Donna, and Amy, and Dr. Modi, and most of all, thank you God!