The cutest baby EVER

This is Philip shortly after his birth on October 20th, as captured in a photo by our friend Pete.

There is much, much more that could be said about the past few days. Liz has forbidden me from publishing a play-by-play account of her cervical dilation stats and those sorts of details, so I’ll just offer a few brief observations….

1. Liz did a fantastic job during labor, following the nurses’ and doctor’s instructions very closely throughout the ordeal despite her obvious fatigue and pain. I think her athletic background was very helpful in this context. Beforehand, I had been skeptical as to whether labor is any easier for athletes, as some women had told me. However, as things got underway and periods of intense activity alternated with calmer recovery periods, it became clear that Liz’s years of experience in pacing herself through long, difficult interval workouts were somewhat relevant.

2. The moment of delivery was quite a surreal one for me. As Phil emerged, my first impression was that he looked extremely purple and very flexible, to the point of having no bones at all. It was as if the doctor had just pulled out a rubber doll. Once Phil got cleaned up and I could actually touch him, he seemed a lot more alive and a lot more attractive.

3. Both mom and baby are recovering quite well. Phil appears to have inherited his mother’s tendency to sleep a lot and say little (except when we change his diaper, which he hates). His aptitude for and interest in breast-feeding appear more than adequate. As for Liz, she’s hobbling around as one might do after a particularly rough marathon — the main difference being that they don’t give you a baby when you finish a marathon. Which is a good thing, since if they did we’d collectively have 16 kids rather than just one.