A Very Special Episode of "In the Wings", Guest Starring Dain(s)

Hello friends. Over the past 7 or 8 months you've been visiting this blog to read the musings of a woman experiencing the joys (and pains...and nausea) of being pregnant. The lovely and talented Marie did her best to give everyone insight, from her obviously unique perspective, into the thoughts and feelings of a pregnant woman who definitely lives her life in her own way. Whether it was the Great Crib Argument, the Diaper Bag Decision, or the Cloth Diaper Husband-Persuasion (still not buying it, by the by), loyal readers have come to get to know my wife (yes, Marie is not typing this), myself (yes, Dain is typing this), and even a little about the personality of a little dude known as Boogie.

So, guess what?



Dang, wrong picture. Although not a bad one. Here we go:



Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Dain Stanton Meyer III, the little guy once known as "Boogie" and henceforth known as "To Be Determined". He was born at 1:52 AM on October 25th, 2008 at Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva, IL. He weighed 6 lbs, 15 oz and measured 19 inches of length.

And he was 5 weeks early.

I'll have Marie fill in the details when either (a) we figure out the wireless Internet at the hospital or (b) she comes home, but needless to say, his arrival was a complete shock. Basically, Marie's water broke (unbeknownst to her) around 4 AM on Friday, 10/24. She called her doctor later that morning (like around 7), and the doc thought it would be best that Marie go in and get checked out. 20 hours, several bags of labor-inducing fluids, 1 epidural, and 1 c-section later, we have the man you see above (the little one with the full head of hair).

Little D (current frontrunner in the nickname sweepstakes) was born early, so his lungs aren't quite where they need to be. They had to help him breathe when he was first born (I felt terrible that Marie wasn't able to see him or be with him right away, but I'm glad she didn't have to see that), but eventually he got the hang of it and now, 33 hours into his life here on Earth, he's breathing just fine on his own. He'll probably need to stay a week or so before we can bring him home, but all of his doctors and nurses are pleased with the progress he's making (in fact, his pediatrician stopped by on rounds yesterday and wondered why he was in the special needs nursery due to his size and health).

Marie is also doing well...she had a pretty rough day Friday into Saturday morning, but agrees that the happy ending was worth it. She'll be in the hospital probably until Tuesday morning, at which point she'll be discharged. Knowing her, she'll probably spend about 5 minutes at home before turning around and heading back to see the boy. There are some unique circumstances she's forced to deal with, but I'll let her fill you in on those details.

So, he's here. Didn't want to wait a year to trick or treat, I guess. He's awesome: never cries, sleeps like a champ, and has the potential look of a billionaire Nobel Prize Winner / Superstar Athlete.