When my son was born back in 2002 he was born 2 months early. My wife thought she was having Braxton Hicks but instead she was going into labor. She ended up staying at the hospital and in bed rest for 6 days straight. The concern was that my son would be born without the ability to breath. His lungs were not developed yet and as you can imagine it was quite a scare.

Every day at around 4:00 PM my wife would go in into labor and the nurses would rush in and give her some medicine that would make her feel terrible but would work and the baby would stay in her giving us more time to get the lungs developed as they should. On the 6th day again around the same time the baby decided it was time to come out and as soon as he was born we heard the cutest yelp you have heard, there were 4 or 5 special doctors in the room and several nurses , more than usual that were also present. However, he came out and was breathing on his own. Born at 32 weeks and although he did have to go into the NICU for 3 weeks due to him unable to feed without a tube, he was relatively healthy.

My wife never left his bedside with the exception of non-visiting hours for the entire 3 weeks, I came at lunch and after work to see my new son born 4lbs 10oz. He was the tiniest thing I had ever seen.

He is going to be seven in a few weeks and is a healthy boy. I wrestle with him, play ball, and he has no health issues what so ever. I thank the Lord everyday for giving him to me and how special he is to my wife and I.

To all you dads out there just give your kids a hug and tell them that you love them. Take time out and just let them know they are truly the joy in your life.