Best. Day. Ever.

Congrats.

Let her sleep on your chest, it's the best feeling in the world. (And before you know it, she'll be 2 1/2 and say "No Daddy, I don't need to rock. Night-night.")

 

Congrats, Rhody. My eldest is 25 but I still remember the feeling of utter elation when he was born. And holding him.

 

That post made me cry

 

Won't somebody think of the children?

 

Rhody, congratulations. Enjoy every moment because each goes by so fast. She's only an infant for the blink of an eye. Before you know it, she'll be in 6-month clothes, and then 12-month clothes, and then she's no longer your little baby — she's a toddler with her own ideas about the world.

Love her. Read to her. Be her hero. Teach her how a man treats a woman by treating Mrs. Rhody right (she'll get it long before she can articulate it). Be her shoulder to cry on. Comfort her in the night when she's sick or scared. Play with her, even when you don't want to. Be firm but not domineering. Tickle her. Burp her and change her diapers. Read to her. Read to her.

Love Mrs. Rhody, and don't let the romance die just because you're new parents; your relationship needs nurturing, too. Give Mrs. Rhody time alone, and take time alone yourself. Being on 24/7 is a recipe for ... well, not disaster, but tension in the household.

Buy John Rosemond's "New Parent Power" and take from it what works for you.

Realize that your baby is her own person, even as an infant. She'll seek and find her own water level long before you realize what it is. Embrace that. She's yours, but you don't own her.

Take pictures. Take video. Burn them to CDs and DVDs.

Be a man. Be THE man.

Love. Love. Love.

Congratulations.

 

And get some sleep.

Yeah, right ...

 

Cool as hell, rhody. Do right by her, as I'm sure you will. Nobody will ever depend on you more.

 

Just got home. We live 15 minutes from the hospital. Mrs. Rhody was sleeping so I dropped the baby off with the nurses.
It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't want to leave her. While it sucks now, I feel like it will be worth it when I'm not dead-ass tired tomorrow as everyone comes to visit.

 

Congrats Rhody, and Mrs. Rhody. And it is absolutely true. They do grow up before you know it.

And while you'll never stop worrying about them, it's perfectly all right to take a break. It's the toughest job in the world. But it's also the most rewarding.

 

Congratulations. Cherish every second with her.

 

Congrats Rhody to you and your wife!
You're 15 minutes from the hospital? I didn't realize you lived in Lake Tahoe.

 

At which point you will realize, possibly once more, that time is fleeting and she will be 10 ... then 14 ... then graduating ... before you know it.

Enjoy every moment and many congratulations.