Baby Smyth

Whenever I get a spare moment I give Heather a call and ask if she's had the baby yet, knowing full well that I have made the call to her house and she has obviously not had the baby. Normally she joins this conversation by sarcastically saying, "I'm holding him right now." I say, "Oh really! What's his name?" Her line is normally quiet after that. Last Friday afternoon when she called me, I asked, "Are you going to the hospital?" She says, "Maybe." I'm waiting for her to say no, but that doesn't come, "Really? You're going to the hospital!" "I think so."

That was a around 2:00 p.m. Thankfully, I was already planning on being downtown with my store partners and decided to check in with Heather and Jeff after supper. She was still pregnant, and had already chickened out and got the epidural... which was actually a good thing, because they decided to deliver by c-section when the baby's heart rate was too high for too long.

I wasn't allowed in the operating room, so I was off to the couches in the waiting area. There were a lot of people waiting for babies that night, so I was thankful to see that there was a spot for me. I was getting a little cold, and decided to go back to Heather's room to grab my coat. It wasn't there anymore, so I knew Heather's operation was done, and went searching for my nephew.

Jeff was holding on to the baby and introduced me to Nathan Samuel Smyth, and passed him over to me. Ahh.

I stayed and visited with the new family of three and waited to take that first family picture. By now I had missed the last subway, and knew that I was stuck at the hospital for a couple of more hours. I got home around 7:00 a.m. and quickly wrote a couple of emails to family and friends.

I don't think that I fell asleep until 9:30 a.m. My alarm went off at 12:30 p.m. and I needed to get ready for work. With only a couple hours of sleep under my belt, I'm so thankful that I work at a place that sells COFFEE!! I also know that Heather and Jeff probably got less sleep. It's so nice to be on the other end of things this time around.

Congratulations Smyth family!!

Nathan Samuel Smyth
Friday, October 27, 2006, 11:58 p.m.
8 lbs, 3 oz
Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto