Julian!
He was born June 19 (Happy Birthday, Diego!) at around 4 a.m. with Nan's lips and sideburns and, I think, Dawn's nose. I've only heard the stories, but it sounds like Nan and Dawn handled things gracefully, given the fact that Julian came earlier than expected, and everything went perfectly. And now we have a Julian! I'll spare you all my commentary and just show the pictures...
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Of course, he's the most beautiful baby in the world, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his grandfather. He just is. One thing that the pictures don't show is that he dances when he hears Beatles songs, speaks four languages, writes with both hands forward and backward at the same time, and makes the cutest faces when we tell them about what happened in Congress today. And this is just the first 24 hours.
I spent hours with Julian R. Bozzolo this afternoon and once again, after 20 years, experienced this amazing moment of loving someone at first sight.
Columbus is the place to be. Nan and Dawn look/sound/act as very experienced parents and they are a pleasure to watch. I think Julian knew we all needed this so he showed up early just to please us. That's the kind of guy he is. Already the best.
Dad Guille.
When you grow up, little Julian, and you get curious and pull up an archive of this blog on your... uh, technological device of some sort, I'll want you to know this:
That your dad told me the news of your arrival just as I was getting off the train from New York City back in Philadelphia, and as I saw his name on my phone I knew it was a great day because why else would he be calling me so early, and I just listened to the news roll out of his tired excited head and grabbed my bags and then there I was stepping off onto the muggy platform of 30th Street Station at 8:30 in the morning and I couldn't think what to say but kept on listening and thinking and even after he had hung up you were still there, you stayed with me all day, you and your new family and there they were before I knew it becoming parents and there you were a baby boy and there we all were, arriving somewhere totally different all of a sudden.
All that on just your first day here. I can't wait to meet you, Julian.
Let me take a moment to thank all of you for offering help, best wishes, flowers, thoughtful emails and blog posts, and for just being you. The support has been overwhelming. Knowing Julian is entering a world of family and friends soaked with so much love is…well, it’s beyond words.
I’m taking Carl’s wonderful advice—I’m documenting the experience as I remember it. Before jumping into this, I’ll you offer this caveat: many of you know that Dawn and I frequently disagree when we recall events we experience together. This time, since our shared experience involved very distinct roles (she had a needle in her spine and a person coming out of her; I didn’t), the danger for conflicting narratives is great. Feel free to consider Dawn’s version more valid than my own.
Alex “Axel” Lundry, Prince of Polls, was spending the night with us after wrapping-up a weekend with Julia in Columbus. Julia had left for DC earlier that day, a decision I’m sure she regrets with great pain, so it was just four for dinner: Nan, Dawn, Carla, and Alex. We had Mexican (a decision Dawn would later regret).
On the way home, we stopped by McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. We spoke of merry things, like life after a baby and how COMPLETELY unprepared I was. We stopped by Carla’s apartment to drop her off. As she closed the door, Dawn quipped, “I’ll call you if I go into labor.” Carla laughed and went inside (a decision she would later regret).
When we got to our house, Alex and I got out first and got as far as the gate. Dawn interrupted a meaningless conversation and said, “Um, I think my water broke.” Alex and I laughed nervously, looked at each other, and couldn’t believe our ears. “Are you sure you just didn’t pee on yourself?” I asked. She stepped towards us so that we could clearly see that her pants were totally soaked.
That’s when the adrenalin kicked in. My heart started pounding and we went inside carrying intense anxiety. On the outside, I remained calmed. I didn’t want to scare Alex who is generally so delicate and emotionally fragile. Dawn was mostly concerned that we didn’t have anything packed and ready for the hospital. Alex and I quickly checked our resources (Google) and read that once your water breaks, it’s just a matter of time. This was going to happen; there was no stopping it.
We got to the emergency room at 10:30 pm. We called Dawn’s parents on the way because Dawn’s mom was staying in Columbus with Dawn’s sister’s family for a museum trip. We called Nora and Guille shortly after I parked the car.
We were admitted around 11:15. By then, Dawn started having contractions. She was checked out in triage and it was determined that she was pretty far along already and her cervix had started dilating. We were taken to the delivery room around 12:15. At that point, the contractions started getting worse pretty quickly. Dawn asked for the epidural, but they had to draw blood and test it first. That took another 30 minutes. Then, she got the epidural, which took another 20 minutes and then another 20 minutes to kick in. Her cervix was checked again and they told us it would likely happen around 6 am. I went to the waiting room and called the parents who were all waiting, no doubt with great anxiety, for news. I was terrified, but was hiding it very cleverly.
When I got back, Dawn’s meds were really kicking in, but Julian had moved along a lot faster than anticipated…
By the way, during all this time, Dawn and I were trying to settle on a name. We got it down to Luciano and Julian. Dawn chose Julian. I agreed. That was that…and with no time to spare.
…Dawn’s contractions were getting much worse so she asked for an increase in epidural. “That’s the baby coming out!” the doctor replied. “It’s time to start pushing.” About 20 minutes later, the head was visible. More pushing. Finally, his head was all the way out. To my surprise, the rest of the body came IN BETWEEN pushes, so Dawn and I were COMPLETELY unprepared for the gush of fluids that exploded out with his arrival. I actually jumped back away from Dawn to avoid getting wet. The doctors laughed, but I was only thinking of how relieved I was that Julian had a face on his head.
He came out crying, looking beautiful and slimy and intelligent (I can just tell). They asked if I wanted to cut the cord. I said, “No.” “Are you sure?” they asked. “Yes, I’ve seen enough here.”
Dawn and I waited to hold him as they cleaned him thoroughly and checked him out. The staff did their thing, cleaned up Dawn, and left us along with Julian for about 20 minutes. He was already hungry, licking his lips and moving his tongue around in hopes of finding a nipple. How do they know?!? He tried opening his eyes for a few minutes through the sticky gel they give him to prevent infection. He quickly fell asleep and we rested for a bit as we waited for our escort to the postpartum unit.
Well, there’s a lot more, but I honestly can’t remember because it was so scary, dramatic, exciting, and new. Dawn was like a machine. Everyone was thrilled and amazed at how quick she was moving along and how perfectly she handled everything. It was totally flawless. They were less impressed with me. I kept yawning through the whole thing. In fairness, I was totally wiped out after crashing from the initial adrenalin rush. Thank goodness it only took 6 hours. If it had been longer, I would have had a heart attack.
Anyway, Dawn was great and you should all be proud of her. I have newfound respect for her and all females everywhere. You win. You’re better than us.
Love you all.
Thank you Nan for taking your time to document the occasion and express your feelings, emotions and thoughts that you had at the time. The birth of your first born is undeniably a unique experience and its memories will stay with you for ever but sometimes is hard to clearly re-live emotions. It was certainly beautiful for those of us not being there, to have the chance to know what went on inside you.
Julian is like a little jewel. Tiny and adorable. He will very quickly fill up your lives so no time will go by before you ask yourselves how you could possibly have had a life without him.
Dawn, I am proud of you!
Love you all.
Es muy lindo, Julian. A primera vista es parecio a su madre, aunque algun detalle Bozzolo ya se deja ver.......
Felictaciones a todos, a los padres, a los abuelos (¿cómo debe estar el abuelo Bozzolo?) y a los tíos..... difruten mucho...... que crecen rápido.
Ignacio
You think he's cute from the pictures! He's so much better in person. I seriously can not stop looking at him. The expressions he makes are priceless, once you hold him it is impossible not to love him. I'm so lucky to be around!
P.S. Dawn, you're my hero of the month
I´m SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!! JULIAN IS THE CUTEST BABY!!!! (he is in the same category than my own). Nan, while I was reading your post I kept thinking to myself "He is going to be a GREAT father"...I have no doubts about that, I just know.
Dawn, as you know I couldn´t have the experience of a natural birth,but I know it´s not a simple thing, judging by Nan´s descriptión you were amazing...I agree with everyone else: I´m proud of you!!
Guys, I couldn´t agree more with Nora ("He will very quickly fill up your lives so no time will go by before you ask yourselves how you could possibly have had a life without him."), those are the exact words...Enjoy every second!!!!!
I love you very very very much!!!!
I added two more pictures--it had to be done because they were adorable. Alex says that babies Julian's age aren't physically capable of making a smile--I guess this is just an early sign of how he's going to spend the rest of his life blowing people's minds and turning their truths into mere fairy tales.
I can't wait to meet him!
I just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words, love and support. This is such an amazing and exciting time for Nan and I and knowing that there are so many of you that love Julian already is incredible.
Nan, you have been so wonderful and supportive through all of this. I could not have done it without you. Your love for Julian takes my breath away... you already are a wonderful father!
Julian, I've loved you from the very moment I found out you were on your way, but since you have arrived I know now that my life is complete. I simply can't get enough of you.
Love,
Dawn/Mom
I thought i was going to be able to post something, but honestly, Julian has left me speechless. All of us can say that he is beautiful until we are all blue in the face, but it still won't do him justice. I can't wait to see him!!!
Nan/Dawn, none of your story of that night surprises me at all. The two of you can handle any situation flawlessly and make it seem so easy, which we all know it's probably one of the hardest moments anyone can go through, emotionally (nan) and physically (dawn). Bravo.
I can't wait to see you all!!!
besos,
-n
It's been a whole week since I first saw Julian and I can't spend more than 15 minutes without checking the blog or email to see if there are any new pictures or see again and again the old ones. Looking at that face keeps me going through the day...
Everybody is full of praise for Nan and Dawn for how they handled everything, and having been there with them when Julian wasn't even 24 hrs old I can tell you that words don't do justice to the Two Coolest Parents ever. I'm extremely proud of you and I can't be thankful enough for this gift to the whole family...Best times ahead, SO much to look forward to.
Love you all,
DAD
Nan and Dawn shall now be dubbed TCP for Two Coolest Parents.
I'll try to add new pics frequently. I just added three new ones from Mom and Carla's phone camera.
Photos of Julian
FYI: I added the link to the photo album on the sidebar of the main blog page for future linking.
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