Welcome to the world, my Daughter: Evelyn Anne Jai Butson-Fiori at 10:20 am May 10th. She weighed 2,365 grams or just over five pounds. Evie is the tiniest little thing I have ever seen, so delicate and so lovely. It is amazing how much my life has changed these past 24 hours, it was just 36 hours ago I was trying to fall asleep.
It was Monday evening, I had just had my dinner with Dr. Samit (who would be the one to deliver Evie) and his collegues Anjani and Sai. I returned to my hotel room and began going about my routine, flossing, brushing my teeth and washing my face. I then retired to the bed and made a few last minute skypes to Thomas and attempted to reach a few others. I proceeded to watch T.V. to make the time go by and make me a bit sleepy, they were running a repeat of a Family Guy, Ironic as I would soon become a family guy. I just hope I am not as moronic as Peter and my child won't end up like the unloved and unwanted Meg. No chance of that happening with Evie, I then shut the T.V. off and went to sleep.
I hadn't been feeling well during the day, I had burning heart burn and just thought it was the spicy food and the few too many espresso's. I took some medication and that didn't help, I still managed to fall asleep. However at 5:22am to be precise I awoke with the worst headache and indegestion I have had in a long time. I drank some water to put out the fire that was in my stomach and in my throat, and took an asprin to aleviate my throbbing headache. I tried in vain to drift off, finally around 6:30 I fell asleep and my headache had been reduced to a dull pound.
The alarm went off at 7:30 am, just an hour after my fitfull fall to a very short rest. Even though I new it was a very important day I hit the snooze, ten minutes later the alarm went off and I sprang outta bed in a panic because at that very moment the alarm went off I was dreaming of missing my daughters birth. I jumped out of bed so fast and was so paniked that my head started its deep bass pounding, I took another asprin and jumped in a very warm shower.
With all that was going on I was relatively calm, I went downstairs and had breakfast and an espresso. The coffee had a very soothing effect on my headache, It might have been because my regular six shots a day had been reduced to two. And that my friend, wasn't cutting it for this caffeine addict, something that I should cut back on now that I have a child.
I then went back upstairs, made sure I had my camera and a shirt that would easily come off so I can have my new born child on my chest as soon as possible. The bonding of a father is very important to a new born, especially when there is no mother to be breastfeeding. I wanted my child to smell my scent, and feel the warmth of my flesh so that she will feel connected to someone.
Once I had all the essentials I made my way down to the lobby to await my ride to the hospital, I waited and it was getting closer to ten o'clock and I was getting nervous. I called the driver and he said he was two minutes away, once he arrived i asked him to go as fast as he could. It's India, so you could imagine the traffic, it seems as if they have no laws when it comes to the streets. Or no one abides by them, they don't even have lines in the road, everyone: car, person, tuk tuk, bike and motorcyle jockies for the best position and honks to make sure no one collides into each other.
We arrived at the hospital and I ran upstairs to the third floor to the operating room, as I turned the corner the doctor was coming out of the operating room and he said with that calm smile Dr. Samit always has: "Congratulations Davide, you have a baby girl." I was in shock, and speechless. I watched as they cleaned, outside and inside my very little girl. The nurses obviously had done this before, Evie was handled expertly from side to side, upside down, upright and a myriad of other positions. Suction, needles, clamping and trimming (umbilical cord) It was like a well rehearsed puppet show, and Evie was the delicate marionette.
After getting over the shock, each moment passed like an eternity, and each moment that passed the depth of what was taking place was hitting me. Slowly at first and then when she was in my arms the enormity of what was my future and my responsibility started to make appearances in the video I was forming in my mind to play back at a later date. I tried to be present to her, to the precious gift that was breathing and sighing on my chest. I started to edit the video in my mind with a voice over saying, "she is so small", "I hope I can do this".
It wasn't until they asked me if I wanted to give her the first feed of her life that all that editing and re-writing of my precious minds-eye memory video vanished, I just took Evie in my hands, sat her up and introduced a bottle to her lips. As soon as she began to drink, I said "I got this".
It's been exactly 12 feeds later, 9 diaper changes and I am elated. I do have this, I have no idea how it came about. I have never changed a diaper in my life, I have never fed a child in my life. But I got this and I got it good. She is amazing, I have to wake her up for feedings or she would just sleep. If she does cry, I pick her up and it stops. Her cries are musical, I am serious, they are looked forward to not like the cries you wish would stop when flying 30,000 feet in the air on a 12 hour flight cries. This is beyond what I would have expected, I have to say I didn't cry when I first held her. I only cried when she woke me up at 3:30am and I picked her up and she stopped and looked up at me and then slowly closed her eyes again as if to say "great, I was wondering where you were".
I am still scared outta my mind I might break her, do the wrong thing or just plain screw it all up. But I love this tiny little girl, more than I could ever imagined.
....I GOT THIS!
it's so incredible to see her, after such a long, long wait. You were right te be persistent! Que votre vie soir belle, merveilleuse et magnifique
Posted by: olivier et azota | May 13, 2011 at 08:24 PM
Hey Davide..
Congratulations..and best of luck for a long and very successful journey towards Parenthood.. Evelyn just looks so precious, gracious and ready to go.....
Posted by: Sai Raj Jaiswal | May 12, 2011 at 09:49 PM
Davide - You have a very serious gift of writing..and that baby girl - what can I say except BEAUTIFUL!!! Your Mom would be sooooo proud and grateful to God above that he gave you such a wonderful gift! Take care and enjoy!!
Posted by: Mary Bartlett | May 12, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Davide Congrats she is Beautiful! You are going to be a great Father
Love, Kimberly
Posted by: Kimberly Lemon | May 11, 2011 at 09:48 PM
She is just precious!
Posted by: Tammy | May 11, 2011 at 08:51 PM
OMG What a precious picture!
Posted by: Bill MacKenzie | May 11, 2011 at 08:15 PM