PDXbucks: Happy Father's Day/7th Wedding Anniversary

In the limo on the way to the reception.

Nate and Elliott in the NICU

A while back I was telling a friend that Nate and I's wedding anniversary was going to be on Father's Day since we had gotten married the day before Father's Day, it was bound to happen at some point.

"Didn't think that one through, huh?" she said about our choice of date.

I responded by saying something about how great of a Father's Day gift it was for our dads, but was admittedly feeling overwhelmed by having two big events on one day. But I've changed my mind, now that THE DAY, tomorrow, is imminent, I'm thinking about how perfect this actually is.

Our anniversary marks the day be pledged to be together, to dedicate the future of our lives to each other and to our future and current families. So really, it is the day that laid the foundation to what we are now... A family. We are parents. We have a son. So how perfect is it that every once in awhile, we will get the opportunity to celebrate that growth in one day?

So tomorrow honors my husband. The man that makes us a family. The man that makes me a better woman and mother. The man that has an amazing magic touch with our son, who, I will fully admit, can be overwhelming at times. Nate is an amazing father, humble and inspiring.

I often think back to Elliott's birth. Nate must have been terrified, but he didn't show it. He was solid, steady and the most amazing support. More than I had ever hoped for. We hadn't even talked much about what things would happen in the delivery room... we were scheduled, at 30 weeks to start birthing classes and to soon start our prenatal sessions with our Doulas. I figured we'd work it all out then.

But that didn't happen. On Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, at 30 weeks gestation, my water broke and we were in labor. We were to start birthing classes that Monday.

There he is, supporting me all the way (and supported by our friend Susan, who came straight from her job as a nurse in another hospital)

Immediately after Elliott was born.

From the second he was born, Nate was in love with our little boy. He spent our time in the hospital shuttling between the NICU and my room (where I was stuck for the first 24 hours until a nurse could wheel me down) taking photos of Elliott with our camera and running the camera up to me so I could see him and the progress they were making with him before I got to see him.

Nate with Elliott right after Elliott arrived in the NICU.

When Elliott was two weeks old, he finally got to hold him. Every time he came to the NICU on his way home from work, I was doing Kangaroo Care with Elliott and when he wasn't working, he insisted we use the time for more Kangaroo Care. I'm still amazed by his restraint. He wanted to use the time we had to do what was best for Elliott, and spent those first couple weeks holding Elliott's little hand and talking to him as he slept in the isolette, since some days Elliott was already exhausted from Kangaroo Care or was DSATing too much to do it at all.

Nate stopped by the hospital every morning before he went to work to spend some time with his little boy, which was such a comfort to me, since I was usually exhausted from night after night of waking every three hours to pump. Knowing Nate was there with Elliott gave me the comfort I needed to get better rest than I would have otherwise allowed myself. So that first time holding his little guy was quite the sweet treat. And I remember how he argued with me about how Elliott needed Kangaroo Care time and I insisted he needed the chance to hold his boy.