Your mom is resting right now in a part of the hospital called "Mother/Baby." This is where both moms and newborns recover from the hard work of birth together. Moms learn how to feed their babies, change their diapers, and hold them tight to keep them safe and make them happy.
I hear baby noises in the other rooms. I see families hugging happy dads in hallways. The smell of talcum powder floats from somewhere. New parents are kissing their babies and stroking their faces. After a day or two, they pack everything up and go home together.
But you and your mom aren't in the same room. The two of you have only been together a few times so far. Your doctors say that stroking your cheek or playing with your fingers will hurt you right now. Everyone congratulates us on your arrival, but the timing seems a bit off.
Your mom's friends and family didn't have time to throw her a baby shower. She didn't have time to build a nursery. She didn't get to see her belly grow big like other moms. And, even though it's not her fault, she feels as if she did something wrong because you couldn't stay inside her even one more day.
Despite all of this, last night your mom saw that I was very tired. She told me to go home and sleep in our bed.
I was sad to leave her alone for the night. I dropped off a small bottle of her milk for you at the NICU and said goodnight. As I bent down to kiss the glass of your isolette, you opened your eyes a bit and reached out with your tiny, tiny hand. I didn't want to leave you alone with all the wires and tubes and monitors and scary beeping noises, but I promised your mom I would get some rest and I know your nurses take good care of you.
So I left the hospital and went home. I even left our wonderful dog overnight at a kennel.
But I couldn't sleep. Instead, I thought about everything you and your mom did not get to have. I decided to play some music, hoping it might make me feel better. I played your mom's favorite song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. It always makes her cry and smile at the same time.
I played a song John Lennon wrote to his son, explaining that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." And I played a song by The Rolling Stones called "You Can't Always Get What You Want," where they reminded me that if I try, I might just get what I need.
That's all I remember before falling asleep.
It's morning, now. The sun is shining through the blinds. The time is later than I wanted, but I feel better now.
See, you're going to grow. Your mom will get her shower. The nursery will be built. In time, we'll get to kiss your face and play with your fingers and put you in a stroller to take you home and get to do everything else parents get to do.
And there won't be a single day for the rest of my life that I won't look in the mirror and see the luckiest husband and father in the whole wide world. Because with you and your mom, I have everything I need.
Love,
Dad
