don't get tim lahayed

i was talking to my friend christophe the other night, and i suddenly realized that there are details about isaac's birth and life so far that have somehow been left behind. not the whole picture by any means, but subtle, significant nuances that add a little texture.

1. when isaac came out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. we could not see this of course, b/c during a c-section, all the blood and surgery and stuff is neatly tucked behind a sterile veil, yet as we listened to the sounds of delivery, the beeps, the buzzes, the flow of air, we heard a distinct voice, the voice of dr. lim, say, "the cord is around his neck." there was no panic in his voice, no concern, just a very simple statement of fact. i guess after delivering approximately 8,000 babies, there are very few things that surprise you.

when he came to visit us a couple days later, he told us that the blood in the cord had also thinned out, the result of annie's contractions while isaac was in the birth canal. we expressed our deep gratitude for his wisdom in taking our son at the right time, and he replied, "i have done this for long enough; i don't wait for trouble to find me." oh, if only the same thing could be said about kirk cameron and his career choices.

2. isaac loves to look at light. i don't know why this is, i would assume it has something to do with the contrast and intensity, but i often wonder what he is thinking about as he stares. it must be a strange experience to be in the womb for so long with a pretty unchanging view, then to be thrust into the world, full of color and brightness. sometimes it looks like he is trying to take it all in at once, and that his head just might explode with all the stimulation.

3. out of all the creative and sometimes bizarre baby products we have around our home, the one that takes the cake so far is the one i have affectionately dubbed "the baby straight jacket". designed as a swaddler, it is supposed to recreate the feeling of the womb. all i know is that it involves multiple layers of velcroed cotton, and the first time i saw my son in it, with his arms pinned at his sides, i thought the men with white coats had paid him a visit. it does help him sleep though, so i don't feel nearly so bad about it anymore.

otherwise, he continues to grow fatter everyday, we are pretty sure that he is beginning to smile on purpose, and we are trying to drink it all in.

"life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and take a look around once in a while you could miss it."

--Ferris Bueller, 1986