Welcome to the family, Ellie

Dear Ellie,

Today was a pretty special day. Your mom and I are very excited to have you in our family.

Because you won’t remember much of what happened today, let me tell you a little bit about your first day with us. Manina was more than a little nervous when we showed up to the maternity ward early this morning. But, you turned out to be the easiest delivery of all of our children. Practically perfect.

Your brothers and sisters at home were very excited to finally meet you. Your Grandma Jan came over to babysit everyone, and started a contest to see which of your siblings could guess your closest arrival time, weight, and height.

When you arrived precisely at 2:30 in the afternoon, Mom and I looked at each other and chuckled because it was the exact arrival time Jacob had guessed for you. You were taken care of by Dr. Judd, who your mom thinks is the best doctor on the planet. I think he’s a pretty nice guy, and he’s done a good job with your other brothers and sisters, so we kept him on the job.

You were obviously curious to see your mom and me, because you were busy looking around for the first few hours with us. I’m sorry it wasn’t more peaceful for you; the doctors and nurses just had to make sure everything was just right. You got weighed (7 lbs. 12 oz), measured (20 in), and tested for a whole bunch of other things to make sure you were healthy. The verdict? Practically perfect.

I rolled you into the hospital’s nursery for your first bath. You seemed to really enjoy getting your hair washed and scrubbed, but I could tell you weren’t very happy about the shot they gave you in the leg. Sorry about that, but it’s for your own good.

After you got bundled up we took you back to Mom so she could see you again. You looked so cute with the bow on your head, so we had to take some pictures. You smelled so good after your bath that Mom and I took turns holding you for a while.

We called some of your very good friends, your grandparents, aunts and uncles. All of them were very happy that you’ve finally joined our family and are anxious to meet you in person. It was fun to hear from all of them.

But the most excited to see you were your brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the hospital wouldn’t let them come in. You see, everyone is a bit nervous about this swine flu thing that has been going around, so no kids under 14 could even come into the hospital to visit. But, a deadly flu virus wasn’t going to hold back your siblings. No way. When they drove into the hospital, your brother Jacob called me from Grandma Jan’s cell phone and made me signal them from the window. Grandma stopped the car (in a red-curbed, no-parking zone) and the kids came running across the hospital lawn to the window where they could see you. They stood on their tip-toes and pressed their noses against the window so they could see just how cute you are. They kept asking Grandma Jan to lift them up so they could see you better. I’m sure they can’t wait to hold you. I hope you’re ready.

Grandma Jan came in to hold you for a while. She kept saying how beautiful you are. You must have been tired from all the earlier excitement, because then you got very tired, and slept for a very long time.

It was pretty much just you and your mom for the rest of the night. That’s the way it should be, I think. Your mom will probably remember many more details from the first day, but one thing was clear: we are all very happy you have joined our family. We all love you very much already, and that will never stop from this day forward. It was a great first day with you. Practically perfect.

Love,

Your dad