BIRTH!

Maeby Nelline Jurgens burst into life on planet Earth at 7:05 AM on Wednesday, October 1st, after months and months of deliberations and planning on her part. We, her parents, had hoped that she'd acquiesce to emerge a few days earlier, but, being her mother's daughter, she took the path of recalcitrance - mostly in an effort to add to my burgeoning grey hair collection.

The birthing process itself consisted of a quick escalation in intensity of contractions on Tuesday evening, followed by a hurried voyage to the hospital, several hours of Jenn entrenched in the bowels of mother nature's sadism (she really, to her credit, handled the pain extremely well, and I couldn't be more proud of her - but it just about killed me seeing her in that much distress), and then the sweet sweet relief of the epidural - of which we are now ardent believers in. All hail the anesthesiologist and his shiny cart of magic!

After a short nap, our midwife woke us up to ask if we'd like to have a baby, to which Jenn replied with a cocksure grin: "sure." I, not being quite on the same page, and beginning to realize what "fatherhood" might actually entail, ran down the hall and dry-heaved for a few minutes in the water-closet, before walking collectedly back in and holding up my wife's head while she pushed (being the tigress that she is, she had both a grin and a look of sheer tenacity on her face throughout the whole pushing process): Maeby's hair was the first thing we saw, followed quite suddenly by the rest of her cute little body - a sight that met our eyes just as that quiet little cry she quiveringly murmurs met our awestruck ears.

The process came off without a hitch - no complications; and both Jenn and Maeby are doing very fine indeed. We feel incredibly blessed and fortunate, and our thanks go out to all our friends and family members whom we know were sending their prayers and good thoughts in our direction.

Now for the obligatory infant statistics . . .

name: yes, her name is Maeby (pronounced the same way as "maybe"); no, we're not naming her "after" the character on Arrested Development (even if it is the single greatest television comedy of all time) - we're simply stealing the name from smarter people like Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard; and finally, yes - we named her Maeby. Either like it, love it, or deal with it.

weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces

length: 39 inches

just kidding - 21 inches

temperament: calm and happy and sweet and content

looks: more adorable than any baby yet birthed by a human female (and yes, I am 100% objective on this - however, I won't say that she's cuter than a baby panda because, well, have you seen baby pandas?)

pictures: (note: these are all from her first day, a set that you can check out on Flickr by clicking on any of the below photos, or simply by clicking here, where you see pics taken throughout the day - some of which still need some tweaking, but are on the whole ready for public consumption.)

(further note: Jenn does show off some side boob in some of the shots where Maeby was learning to nurse, but it's nothing more than a little curvature - nothing nipply. You'll be okay.)

Maeby's first photo, moments after emerging from the birth canal. Honestly, the whole process wasn't nearly as horrifying as I'd imagined. I even cut the cord, which I hadn't planned on being up for.

I'm not sure if it's the resplendent peace of new motherhood, or the resplendent peace of the epidural that's making Jenn smile so coyly here - but we'll take it either way.

On the whole, she's a pretty quiet and calm kid, but when she does get upset, her little lower lip immediately juts out and starts in on a fit of quivers. I won't say that it's the most adorable thing ever, but it's a close second to that video of the baby panda sneezing that we've all seen on youtube. I'm not sure why I'm on such a baby panda kick right now, except that they're pandas! And babies!

This isn't my favorite finger-grasping shot that I've taken so far - but it was the first time she did it; and the other photos aren't uploaded yet.

Here I am holding her for the first time, completely at a loss. Interesting that I choose to wear that shirt on Tuesday, as it expresses what I was feeling at this moment rather aptly.

Check out that long dark hair. I hope she keeps it. So soft. And thick.

My two gals taking in a well-deserved rest a couple hours after the delivery (I've never liked that term, it feels like I need to sign for something. Like, "what can brown do for you?" You know?)

Our amazing mid-wife, who we were just thrilled with. She has a great record for avoiding episiotomies (if you're not familiar with that word, you're a luckier person than I am) - a record that got Jenn through the process without a single tear, cut, or rupture.

I've been shooting her in black and white a lot. She lends herself to it well.

Grandma Jurgens holding her newest grand-child for the first time. They look a lot a like, in my opinion, although she doesn't see it. We all see different progenitors in her face, although we all agree that she definitely has an Eskelsen mouth and her maternal grandfather's expressions (particularly those raised eyebrows.)

Nana's turn. Don't worry, JoAnne - I took this one in color, too! Just for you.

Wow, she's tiny. I don't have a lot of experience with babies, so I was kind of expecting her to look . . . I don't know, more like a six-month-old, I think.

editorial note: this posting came to you live from the hospital, where we're tucked in for one last night. I just discovered, a few hours ago, that they've got free wireless set up for everyone - so I broke out my laptop and got this all done in between feedings, rockings, and trips to the kitchen to get Jenn ice cream. Now, since I'm going to be up all night anyways (we've got a little nite-owl here), I'm going to get caught up on some homework! Hooray!