Baby Lessons, Volume 1

We've been home for a day and half now and we're settling in to some routines. Lauren is doing a great job as a new mom. We are both astounded at how strong our family has become in such a short period of time. I love my son more than I even imagined. Lauren is awestruck by him at least once an hour.

Before Oskar arrived many of our friends and family kept telling us that "our lives will change forever" or "(get ready) cause everthing is about to change". The undertones to this statement always left me with the sense that the change was overwhelming or there was some level of lament for the old life attached to it.

I've come to learn what those statements mean to me. When I pass these comments along to our friends and family who about to start a family of their own I will attach the following undertone. Actually I may just hit them with the specifics instead of such a broad stroke assessment.

"My son has caused me to rethink everything in my life. Past, present and future. In a single event my attitudes have changed, my opinions of my experiences have been colored a new shade, and my outlook for the rest of my life has revised. No adjustment period, no transition or training. It has been sudden and strong.

This is my first baby lesson. First baby and first lesson. It is fundamental.

I've thought about some of the great lessons that our new son has taught me over the past few days. Here are the highlights:

1. A healthy baby is truly a miraculous gift - I walked around the entire baby ward, including special care and premie care centers while we were in the hospital, and the thought of having to go through what some parents of newborns are going through makes me realize that we are truly fortunate.
2. A first child has superhuman powers - In one moment, without much effort at all and with no predetermined real intention, my son created a family for Lauren and myself.
3. Babies, like black holes, are HUGE sources of gravity - For the past few months leading up to the birth, our child has attracted family and friends from distance locations all over the globe and focused them on his arrival.
4. Witnessing the birth of a child is a life changing event - Nothing I have experienced in my life will ever compare to the moment I saw my son leaving his mother's womb and taking his first breath.
   
5. The love for our child and his need for my wife and I is the most perfect feeling in the world. I feel a part of my person that has sat quietly for my entire life up until now has come on line. Lauren is different from his presence in the house. My wife and I have improved.
6. We get to be kids again - Lauren and I get to show him EVERYTHING that life has to offer and we benefit from the experience of him experiencing the world for the first time.
   

I can't wait to learn the next round of baby lessons from my son in the coming weeks.