It's a Boy!

Hello all, It is with great pride and joy that we announce the healthy arrival of our son Ocean. (Nathan types this one-handed as he sleeps bundled in my lap now 39 hours old). Ocean had a very successful natural birth Friday the 29th at 7:23pm coming out less than 4 hours after arriving at the hospital! Sonja shocked the hospital staff as well as the rest of us by her capacity to endure the pain of labor unassisted by meds all while managing to retain that warm and infectious smile of hers. Sonja and baby are recovering very well and we were able to return home 24 hours after. Ocean came out very alert at 7lbs 15.5oz though that was after he pooped, which looked like 1/2 oz - so probably born at 8lbs even. Part of the reason we believe Sonja had such a quick and successful delivery was all the yoga and walks we got in. Ocean didn't cry much for the first few hours out and is often relaxed and contented to just stare into our eyes. We even caught him smiling 2 times (which of course forces us to conclude he is developmentally advanced). Although he has seemed to enjoy peeing on dad twice already...

Little Ocean has been taking up so much of our time that we're only now getting

around to sending out the announcement! We're home, WAY more sleep deprived

than ever (even in residency....), but also happier than we've ever been!

Here's Sonja's version of how labor and delivery went:

Contractions started thursday around 10:30pm (sonja just thought they were cramps) so went to bed, fell asleep at midnight & woke at 6am Labored at home- ate breakfast, went on a walk, watched a movie, ate 5 bites of mac & cheese, took second shower..... all the while w/ contractions getting closer. Finally Nathan convinced Sonja to call the doctor - went to clinic after telling dr "I'm only calling to reassure my husband cause I'm not too uncomfortable". In clinic - 7cm/ 100% effaced/ 1+ and bulging bag!!! Dr checked twice cause she didn't believe it! We raced to Swedish - I was 8cm in triage.... labored in tub, birthing ball... pushed 1 1/4 hours... had a beautiful boy with 9/9 Apgars! Dr used a vacuum at the very last push and cut an episiotomy (way old fashioned!!) but all is well in the end!

We feel so blessed. Love you all,

My Boys Can Swim!

I am very happy and excited to announce that my wife and I are pregnant. Baby is due in August. We are going to do our best to stay surprised about the sex until birth. OMG I am going to be a father!!! I need a drink.

Father's Day

So Father's Day is coming up this Sunday and so I thought I would tell a story about a Dad I met recently.

Last Friday I tripped up to the San Juan's of Washington State with my wife on a retreat/vacation with some of her workmates. In Anacortes we parked our car in line to wait for the ferry and up ahead of us we saw Sonja's colleague, Jeff, who owned the house we would be staying at for the weekend.

So we stood outside our car as the sun went down and got to know each other. The wind comming off the water was cold for a June day so I grabbed my sweater.

Jeff had a 10 yr old son, Tai, who stood by him with a big smile and curly dark hair. When I was Tai's age I was in that transition from boy to man. From my memories of being age 10 I expected that this boy or his father would probably not behave in certain ways. So I was unprepared for what happened next.

Tai told his father he was cold and with a smile reached under Jeff's fleece jacket. Jeff very naturally then pulled it open to allow Tai to cuddle within the strechy fleece as we continued our conversation. Jeff was like a "kangaroo Dad" then with Tai's head popped out of his jacket. This was so amazing to me. A 10 yr old and his father just were more restrained and "cool" than this in my experience. Openly affectionate is just not something I see much of. And I think that should change.

Before the ferry came, Tai challenged his Dad to a game of "catch me if you can." They then proceeded to chase each other as fast as they could up and down the rows of parked cars laughing as they went. And they did this for about 10 mins! The love and respect I witnessed between this father and son was healthy and inspiring. This is true success in my mind.

Over the rest of the weekend together I experienced the capacity and capability for Jeff and Tai to care for each other. They kidded, wrestled, hugged, touched, and laughed all weekend. Tai turned out to be much more mature, confident, and intelligent than I was at that age. He and his father both taught me a lot.