Yes, that’s right…I’m a dad After nine months and one day ahead of schedule, Paul Joseph (“PJ”, of course) joined our family. He’s a little tank too, weighing 9 lbs 4 oz and measuring at 22.5″ long. He’s got blond hair and blue eyes, just like his proud papa!

We went into the hospital for a checkup, and ended up being admitted. My wife is so strong, such an amazing lady…she endured an endless stream of contractions that were causing an immense amount of pain, but weren’t getting us closer to delivery. Finally she agreed to an epidural, and that allowed her body to relax enough for the process to get going.

No matter how many books you read, how many videos you watch, and how closely you pay attention in Lamaze class, there is nothing to prepare a man for childbirth. There’s so much uncertainty, so much helplessness, so many feelings of inadequacy. This is the woman’s job, and all the guy can do is try to be as supportive as a husband has ever been. To watch my wife in pain and travail through labor is the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve seen as far as I can remember, but its fruition is such joy that all those things seem in the distant past.

One observation I’ve made about women, and you can disagree with me if you want, is that they are 1) more in touch with their emotions than men, and 2) far less able to handle sudden changes in emotion than men. Sure, the stereotype of women being tougher emotionally is true; but a guy can be mad one second and happy the next, with no trouble switching gears. Those roles were reversed last night.

Stacy’s travail turned to joy, although some pain lingered. Once things settled down, however, I found myself finally able to decompress and sob through the flashbacks of her pain and disorientation. She’s so amazing. For her labor we’ve been blessed with a perfect little (big) boy, exactly an answer to prayer, and to see the two of them together wells up feelings I never knew I had.

I was a loner for 35 years. I had my own room as a kid, always kept my personal space regardless of friendships and relationships, and lived alone for a long time before getting married. I wasn’t sure I would be able to change and put a wife before myself, or a child for that matter. Obviously Stacy changed my mind in respect to marriage. When little PJ reached up with both hands and grabbed my finger last night, less than five minutes after being born, I was reassured that things will be okay there, too.

I didn’t spend any time preparing emotionally for fatherhood. How can I? There’s no possible way to do so. Instead I chose to be totally blindsided, with no preconceptions and no expectations. It was the best way to approach the birth of our little (big) guy. Now the only variable is how Scooter’s going to take to him. He’s a pretty understanding bird…hopefully he’ll be as awestruck with little Paul Joseph as I am.

Now, at the risk of sounding like an Academy Award winner, there are some people we’d like to thank. First and foremost would be my employer, Candace, whose experience and guidance have brought us through this whole amazing event. She was with us through every step of the way, counseling us and providing lots of much-needed backup. I can’t even describe the degree of comfort and help she brought to us this weekend. The Muggerud family is our family, I’m just fortunate enough to work for them as well. Second would be the nurses at the hospital. They’ve gone the extra mile to insure our comfort, and every need is met. One in particulary, Jody, even stopped in to talk to us at the end of her shift, even though she’d had to stay over an hour later than her scheduled time off. When she came in the next morning to find that we’re parents, she came to greet us with congratulations.

Obviously, my head is still swimming from the whole thing, and I need to cut this word dump short and get back to my family. Thanks for your prayers throughout our pregnancy and delivery. To those of you who loved the nickname we’d given him before birth, “Klaus”, thanks. To those of you who said we’d be nuts to name our kid Klaus, your fears can be abated. And to those of you who thought it was unfair to keep his real name a secret until his birthday…well, now you know.