He's here!

Please welcome Ozan Wood to the world with us! He was born yesterday, February 12, at 5:55 pm, and weighed 3.065 kg (6 lbs. 12 oz.). I've replaced the "Ozan watch" counter to the right with an early photo of our little man. I'll also post some below.

Here's my side of the story: Yesterday morning I taught my first class at Bahcesehir University, where I was invited to teach a couple of sections of a world-history class by a friend of a friend. (I hoped to post on that in more detail, but that's it in a nutshell.) After a successful first class, I got on a bus to go back home. When we got as far as Akmerkez, our friendly neighborhood mall, I decided to get off and have some lunch inside. I hadn't gotten as far as the front door when my cell phone buzzed, and then came the words every expectant father simultaneously longs for and dreads: "My water broke!"

It was great timing: Meltem had just had an appointment with our ob-gyn for a late-term ultrasound, after which she went back to her temporary lodgings at a cousin's place about 5 minutes' walk away from the hospital. She got home, sat down, and blorp! So right back to the hospital, whence she called me. Now since she hadn't started contracting yet, the doctor told her she had a good 18 hours to go. Still, I wanted to be there with her for as much of it as possible, so I got in a cab and said what I've always wanted to say to a taxi driver: "My wife's having a baby!" Man, did that guy unleash his Formula 1 fantasies. Every habit for which I curse Turkish drivers now became a virtue, as we zipped in and out of traffic with paltry centimeters separating our fender from the next guy's.

Anyway, I arrived at the hospital a few minutes before I left (thanks, Einstein!) and found Meltem – whose contractions had started in earnest! Obviously Ozan was in a hurry to come meet us. Too much of a hurry, apparently, because his gyrations managed to wrap his umbilical cord around his neck, necessitating an urgent Caesarean. (We had wanted to try a normal birth, but of course we weren't going to take any risks.) It was quicker than natural birth would have been, but I did get to pace anxiously in a waiting room for a few minutes (another thing I'd always wanted to do). Happily, everything went swimmingly, and I got to meet my boy as they carted him out in the baby box to take him up for a bath and some tests. Soon, of course, family members were pouring in and out of our room, and the traffic has slowed but not abated.

Mom, Dad and Ozan are tired but happy. Here are some views:



Mommy and child.



Is there anything cuter than a newborn?



The Wood family welcomes its newest member!

He's doing standard day-old-infant things right now, mainly sleeping on Meltem's breast. I gotta say his lungs sure work – when the nurses took him in behind closed doors for a bath and tests he was really giving them hell! (I hear you saying "It's cute now, but wait until he does it to you at home!" and you're right. Still, I have remarked that my usual tolerance for a crying baby lasts less than two seconds, whereas Ozan can scream right in my face and I just go awwww.)

I'll leave you with a picture of your faithful correspondent with his new pride and joy: