Many of you know that on March 8th, at the age of 35, I became a father. I mentioned our daughter briefly in one previous post, and she's now just over two months old. As any parent can tell you, the first few months can be pretty tough, and sleep becomes a luxury -- but there are other luxuries that aren't mentioned nearly as often, but are even more important. One of those luxuries is simply time with my beautiful daughter.
To give my wife a few extra hours' sleep, I usually take the early morning feeding (about 0600 or 0630), and feed her from a bottle. I gently pick up our little Monkey from her crib, and hold her while I warm the milk and get things ready. She usually barely stirs at this point, and settles into my arms and chest in a way that only a baby can -- it's amazing how they just fit. The house is completely quiet, and it's usually still dark outside, and it's just me and my little girl. I couldn't manipulate my regular camera with her in my arms this morning, but was able to reach my phone -- but this is what I see as I look down:
Now, somehow, I'm supposed to wake her up and feed her -- but I often end up just staring at her for a long time, marveling at our miracle child. To make matters worse, shortly after picking her up, as she relaxes, her arms move to her sides -- and about nine times out of ten, she actually holds my finger:
Trust me, as a new father, this is enough to melt your heart and bring a tear to your eye. Running, races, training, and cancer fade into the background, and only my daughter and I exist for those moments. And it occurs to me that as I hold that same hand to walk her down the aisle 20 or 30 years from now, I know -- this is a moment I will always remember.
10 comments:
how precious.
Little stories like that always stir the 'I want one of my own' feelings deep inside. I never got that with any of my four, being the youngest was 11 months when I be-bopped into their lives. He was 2 1/2 by the time I became Mama.
Enjoy those moments.
Michael,
Thanks for your comments in my blog. They are always welcome.
"cancer fade into the background, and only my daughter"
This is a statement I would not expect to read. Your daugther is definitely bigger than cancer (one more reason to kick its butt).
She is beautiful.
Your daughter, as well as those special moments are beautiful.
Cherish them because they do grow so fast. My oldest will be 9 next month.
Oh Michael, she is perfect. You are one lucky man. :)
She's so precious! What a blessing it is to have a little one in your arms, savor the moment because there WILL come a day when you'll wish she was small again!! They grow up fast, too fast, so enjoy your early morning moments with her. Soon enough she'll be asking you for a cell phone, pedicure, hybrid car, expensive jeans, gift cards, salon appointments, and on and on and on!
Beautiful moments ... and many more to come. Enjoy them!
I got three little girls. They're now 4, 5 and 8, loud, fight, scratch, scream, whine, cry, make messes etc, etc, etc. So, enjoy those special quiet moments now while you can. Breathe them in like air and let it warm your soul. It is those times I miss the most.
She is so beautiful. Makes me hope someday I'll have similar experiences.
she is so beautiful, michael. these times go so fast, everyone is right. you're doing the right thing - cherish each and every one of them.
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