Brown Reproduction Project:Successfully Completed

Stephen, Maryann, and I arrived at Kettering Hospital on Wednesday evening around 7:30 p.m. We went back to the delivery suite and found Angela comfortably biding time (thanks to an epidural). We had a very enjoyable time visiting with each other for a couple of hours until the nurses came in and announced it was time for her to start pushing. Maryann remained in the room to assist, while Stephen and I lurked outside the curtain of the room, too anxious to sit and wait in the lobby.

After only about 45 minutes of pushing, Angela delivered a very healthy baby boy, Rowan Christopher Brown, on Wednesday night just before 11:00 p.m. He weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and measured 20.5 inches in length. And most importantly? He totally didn't have that creepy, E.T.-ish newborn look going on. He is actually quite handsome!

Seem a little too simple, uncomplicated and drama-free? After all of the horror stories I've heard about childbirth, I was absolutely flabbergasted at how smoothly and quickly everything seemed to progress. During the midst of her labor, I could even hear Angela occasionally laughing and chatting. Wow. Angela was pregnancy valedictorian, and I do believe she's now earned the title of birthin' valedictorian, as well.

Although we didn't witness the birth visually, just being able to listen in was amazing. When I heard the first cries out of my nephew's mouth, I was flooded with awe and love. Forgive me for sounding corny, but it truly was one of the most special and spectacular experiences I've ever had.

Congratulations to Angela & Jeff! And to our nephew! Kid, you're going to have a pretty darn good life. Chances are, your mama is probably going to turn out to be parenting valedictorian, too. (Which will probably also annoy the crap out of you much of your life because that will mean she knows how to set rules and stick to them and, let's face it, rules suck!) For more updates and stories on the little squirt, you can visit their blog. For more photos, click here. (FYI, the website I use for online photo sharing, Picasa (by Google), allows others to download the photos at full quality. So, if you want to keep any of these pictures, feel free to download them. Picasa also has a companion program called Hello which works like an instant messanger through which you can quickly and easily share your pictures with others. I really like it and highly recommend trying it out if you haven't already.)

Let the parenting officially begin!