A Lot of Work To Do To Catch Up

My friends Lisa and Tejal harped on me about not continuing my blog and when I logged in today, this is what I found. I must have written this right after Lucian's birth and never posted it but I would be sad if I never expressed these thought so here it is...


Written sometime in June 2008...

The juxtoposition of life and death has never been so apparent to me as it was this past weekend. I spent this past father's day fighting back both tears of joy and tears of sadness. Almost exactly 24 hours after experiencing the absolute beauty of becoming a father for the first time I learned of the passing of one of my best friends, Chuck Schwink.

You can't imagine the emotional roller coaster that the last month has been. As Lucian's due date approached, Chuck's health seemed to decline. I am quite sure that I cried at least once every single day in the month of June. So much happiness and so much joy. And in the midst of all of this I am also running an annual fundraiser for the foundation that I created in memory of my father who passed away only 18 months ago.

I think that is where it all began....this emotional roller coaster ride. You see, in August 2006 Christine and I got engaged. I popped the question about 1/4 mile from my parents house in a spot that had special meaning to me. My father was only the third person to know (after myself and Christine, of course). I can still remember how excited he was. As we planned the wedding and settled on a destination he was so excited to get to be wearing shorts and flip flops for a wedding. He would die only a month later.

I remember so many events leading up to his death that seemed to point to the powers that be that allowed me to spend even more time with him...(we spoke every day but often when I went home I spent a lot of time with friends). The first divine intervention (although a painful one) came about a week before our family was about to go to Hawaii for two weeks. On a short bicycle ride I slipped and broke my arm in a freak accident. There went all of the Hawaiian plans for excursions. But in hindsight it was perfect, Dad and I hung out the entire vacation.

On the last weekend that I ever saw him I had gone in for a WVU football game - which usually meant me being out and about - I got sick and ended up spending most of the weekend hanging out in my parents basement talking to my Dad and watching football together. Looking back, I was never so happy to have an injury or get sick.

The death of my father felt like getting my heart ripped out. My father was my best friend, my mentor, my inspiration. He would miss my wedding, the birth of his grandson, and all the memories yet to come.

The outpouring of kindness, friendship, and true love that was seen at my father's funeral will be with me for my entire life. The tributes and the the thousands of people that came to pay their respect was a testament to the man, the father, the friend, the husband.

My friend Chuck was there and I will never forget one thing that he said to me. I had just introduced him to one of my relatives as my boss and he pulled me aside and told me not to ever introduce him as my boss, that he was my friend first. And that he was. Chuck and I (and often our buddy Craig) shared a lot of memories from the various NACUBO trips we have taken over the last six years. From golfing some of the legendary courses in the country, to enjoying fine wines, to partying on his boat, the memories are many and some of the stories legendary.

And Chuck was there at my wedding, having fun, meeting friends and family from all over the country and always displaying his charm and charisma and the everlasting smile on his face. Little did I expect that upon returning from my honeymoon, three days later Chuck would be diagnosed with cancer....and a year after that he would no longer be with us.

So while I stand here as a new father, two of the people that I would have loved to have had Lucian learn from, laugh with, and love on his own are no longer with us. I know in my heart that they are hanging out together, looking down, maybe getting in a round of golf.....all the while smiling....two great men....two great dads.....two people I loved and miss.

What's in a Name?

Since there have been so many inquiries about the name of our son I will clear it up.

First, the pronunciation:

• Lucian is pronounced LOO-shun
• Xavier is pronounced ecks-ZAY-vee-er
  

Now the meaning:

• The names are of Latin descent and the meaning of Lucian Xavier is "The Bright Light."

And here is one more picture of our Bright Light

One Day Old.....Good Mornng Peanut!!

Well...we made it through the first night and we are just hanging out with Lucian today and enjoying Father's Day at the hospital (he is looking forward to watching his first US Open).

Here is the morning shot. I had another shot with a full head of hair but it was a possible "NIP" shot and we did not want to pull an Elaine.

Welcome to the World....

Lucian Xavier DeLorenzo was born at 6:00 PM on June 14, 2008

He is a little peanut at 5 pounds 5 ounces

He is 18 1/2 inches long.

He is definitely built for speed....just like his Dad!!

Christine is doing fantastic.

Predictions

2:50 PM ET - We are now 4cm dialated and the Doc is very happy with the progress. Time for delivery time predictions. In the sporting spirit I have put a challenge to Christine.

Tiger Woods tees off at 2:50. I have challenged her to have this baby out before he finishes #18. She laughed a little and then I think she wanted to smack me.

Let's hope for the best and get this boy out....it will be the bets Father's Day ever!

Here We Go

12:10 PM ET - This baby is determined to be born the natural way. Christine's water broke at 10:45 am, about 15 minutes before the doctor was going to come in and do it himself.

Coincidentally, her brother Greg and his girlfriend Erin showed up from San Diego at 10:30.....I have been here for 48 hours with nothing and they get here and fifteen minutes later she goes.....go figure.

They put in the epidural at 11:00 am so we are mostly pain free. I have my finger on the button for when she acts up and needs to have some meds pumped in.....LOL.

Contractions are getting intense and just about 3 minutes part and Christine is doing great.

Cross your fingers.........as much pain as I am sure it will be we really want a natural birth.

4th and 1

8:30 AM ET - Okay its gameday sports fans. It is 4th and 1 and we are moving forward with the final phase. Our Doc is ready and gave us the gameplan for today. He put the final gel in to soften up the cervix at 7:30 this morning and will be back at 11:30 to break her water and get things moving along towards a natural childbirth. This is the final step before deciding to do a C-section

No matter what, our Doc says we will be having this baby today!!

Christine is a little sore and tired but doing great and ready for the final push. They are managing her pain and we are all managing to keep her spirits up.

We thank you all for your support and well wishes and please feel free to leave comments here on the blog and I can read them to Christine.

We love you all!!

So Much For Naming Him Jason!!

2:00 AM (Saturday) - Friday the 13th has come and gone and this movie is still stuck in the same plot twist. I am certain that the boy did not want to come out on this day.

I can't believe we have actually been here for almost 40 hours with very little change (other than doctors and nurses). We are on our third doctor in rotation and our 5th nurse. Everyone is so kind....and sympathetic. There have been a few couples who have barely been here for a couple hours and had a baby.......the STOP and DROP.....damn overachievers!!!

We have faced a sore back, stiff neck, headaches and aching legs........and that is just me!

My little Christine has been put through the ringer but she is tough and is holding tough and really doing an amazing job. I could not be more proud of her. She is getting some pain meds that have helped with the contractions and her spirits are high.

The waiting game has been tough but I do have to thank my good friends and ESPN and NBC since I have watched all 11 hours of coverage of the US Open on both days as we just do a lot of sitting and waiting between pee breaks, blood pressure checks, and bed postion rotations.

The Docs have given us a 4-down plan and we are on 3rd and long right now as far as trying to have a vaginal delivery. The next decision is whether or not to go for it or PUNT and do a C-section. It will really be up to how much more Christine can endure.

I am very hopeful that the next post will be to welcome our son to the world on a beautiful weekend morning!!

The Calm Before the Storm

1:30 PM ET - After about 90 minutes of very painful contractions the doctors gave her a shot to take the edge off the pain. It put her to sleep for a little while so she can rest before the next phases. They are going to be checking in around 4:00 to see where we are and when an epidural can be administered. Spirits, anticipation, and pain levels are high.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers!!

Tick Tock

11:00 am ET......The waiting game continues...Christine is acutally dialated now and they started pumping the drug Pitocin into her IV to bring on contractions to help move the labor along.

They seem pretty confident that this will bring us a baby sometime this afternoon but I am just hoping the baby is here before the final pairing tees off in the US Open on Sunday (just kidding honey!)

Christine (yes she let me take this picture) is doing great. She is such the trooper. She is anxious to be a mommy and doing anything and everything they tell her without any complaints (she is leaving all the complaining up to me).

She still has her sense of humor as she just asked me what I was doing and I told her I was updating the blog for everyone her reply was, "that's great, I am just sitting her having contractions!"

For those of you wondering, yes, she has asked for every pain med available.

We love you all and I guess this will be an extra special Father's Day!!

Game Day

Well its 4:00 am and we are waiting for the baby............kind of sounds like the beginning of a Bruce Hornsby song or something. With a due date of July 4, I must say I was a little out of sorts yesterday at noon when Christine called me from the doctor's office and said they were sending her to the hospital.

The first few hours were a blur as I raced to the hospital, raced home to get her mom and her bags and then back to the hospital, and then paced around until about 6 pm.

That is probably when the reality hit me that this is going to be a long haul. They call the room at the hospital a birthing suite, but it is not set up so much to be a suite for the dad's...unless you are a midget and can fit and sleep on an uncomfortable pleather loveseat.

The only saving grace was a flat screen TV where, yes, my wondeful wife let me spend the day watching the US Open and the NBA Finals.

Christine is doing amazing as we wait for the inducing process to take its course. She is getting some rest now as I get in this quick update and we hope to get started with some more aggressive processes in a couple hours.

We both can't wait to meet our little guy. More to come later today.