Voila! In your hands (or computer) is Update #4, appropriately named “The Birth,” because it is official! Our lives have changed. We are not the same Besser family who left for Europe three months ago. We are officially parents! Yikes! Be afraid! Professor Dr. Hubinont (Belgians love titles!) decided to induce labor at 8:15am (Central Europe time) at Universitaire Clinique Saint-Luc in the commune of Woluwe, Brussels, Belgium. After ten hours of hard labor, Kathy was not dilating, in a hell of a lot of pain, and not winning at cards with the Nursing Staff. So a Cesarean section was deemed necessary, bringing August Dane Besser into the world at 6:15pm. It was a tough start for the kid, actually, as his head was wedged into Kathy’s pelvis so tightly that it required three doctors’ efforts and 4 minutes to extract him. He also had a little trouble breathing for about 15 minutes, but then he was just fine. Kathy and baby are both fine in fact. Thank goodness Kathy’s mom, Patti, was there with us. We relied on her delivery room nursing experience to know what card games to play and that Kathy needed a C-section in a hurry. We knew we were in good hands when we noticed that the operating room had the machine that goes “BING!” (Those of you who have seen Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life” will understand this obscure reference.)

We stayed in the hospital for a week. Notice the verb – stayed – I did not say that we slept there – that would be lying. I was on the floor and Kathy was in a bed, but neither of us really slept. And it was time for Paul to understand some things about pregnancy and babies. Like, when a pregnant woman walks around, a gentle swaying motion is created in the womb, and the baby sleeps. At night, when she is still, the baby is awake. We are learning that the transition from sleeping during the day to sleeping at night is a slow process! But we are all learning about each other, and it is great. He is a good kid. He is not that fussy and is recovering well from when I dropped him (just kidding). The hospital was great – a much better post-natal experience than we would have had in the U.S., we think. The nurses and doctors were very attentive. An example of this was the second night at 3:30am, when we were struggling to get Dane to latch on. A nurse appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Kathy’s breast, grabbed Dane’s head, stuffed the former into the latter’s mouth, massaged the former for a few minutes, issued the obligatory Voila!, then turned and was gone in a flash! C’est magnifique!

The Belgians believe in having the mother and child stay for a week – standard. So when you leave the hospital, the mother is relatively rested, mother and child are in somewhat of a routine, the milk has come in, the baby has learned to latch on, the cord maintenance is complete, and the father has been repeatedly tested by three shifts of nurses on his ability to change a diaper and bathe a baby. A bonus feature of the hospital was the fact that they had TV and Cable! Yowza! I got to watch two X-Files episodes back-to-back without commercials and Beavis and Butthead on MTV, undubbed, every night.

The front runner for Dane’s nickname is Squeaky. He continually lets out little cries and squeaks while sleeping or being picked up or while sucking on my pinky (sometimes the only way other than a nipple to get him to relax when he is tense). He has (relatively) long reddish-blond hair and dark blue eyes. I am told that he looks like me (now called Daddy) but my hairline is not nearly as receded and he fortunately does not have the dreaded Besser chin…. yet. He loves baths. Well, he loves floating in bathwater, at least. He is totally calm while immersed. He knows us both by voice and smell, and allows us to calm him. He repeatedly falls asleep on my chest or in Kathy’s arms. Scary aspect about Dane – he is a gas machine – easy to burp and plenty of “boopses.” We, the parental units, just love the little guy – he is pretty damn cute, and definitely lovable. Especially after a visit to Kathy the Chuck Wagon! He runs through a series of involuntary facial expressions that Kathy affectionately calls “facial gymnastics,” whereas each limb is completely relaxed.

Now, of course, Kathy and Dane are home, and Kathy’s parents have returned to Sacramento. It was great to have them. They were so helpful. Patti and I were Team Delivery, supporting Kathy throughout the birth, together. And Patti and Paul are so low maintenance. We are sorry to see them go. Kathy is doing extremely well. She has shined through this experience and is an inspiration. She accepted the challenge of childbirth, faced it with her head held high, and graciously kicked its ass!

I would like to thank all of you for your support. We have received an outpouring of congratulations over the last two weeks. Patti and Paul Holland were there in whatever capacity we needed them. Also, both IMEC and AMD sent beautiful floral arrangements, and our new American friends in Belgium, Laura and Joe, came by every day to help us get started. And so many of you have called or written emails or sent cards to congratulate us. Thanks. We look forward to seeing y’all in early September!