In my previous blogs, I mentioned that my wife Heidi and I were expecting our first child. On June 2nd, at 5:33 pm we welcomed Zeke Edward Battier to the Battier family!!!! Zeke weighed 8 lbs 3oz and was 21 inches long. He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! This is my wife's and my first child so the entire pregnancy and labor were totally new experiences. I am so proud of Heidi for going through labor; she is certainly a lot tougher than I am! I don't know if I could have done it. I was with her the whole way, coaching her and reminding her to breathe, haha.
We promised each other that we would not find out what sex the baby was going to be. We figured that this is one of nature's great surprises and we wanted the anticipation of not knowing whether or not we were having a boy or a girl. When Zeke finally popped out, I lost control of my emotions and cried for five minutes. I was just so happy that my child was here and that Zeke was a happy (and big!) boy.
It truly is an amazing process and I never knew that I could love something as much as I love my son (and he's only been here a week!).
Of course we are getting used to a new routine. We don't get as much sleep and we don't get to do as much as we did before. Zeke is now the boss, but you'll hear no complaints from us. I am excited to wake up every day just to see how he has changed overnight.
People ask me all the time if I want him to grow up to play basketball. I only want two things from my children. First, I want them to know right from wrong and secondly, I want them to do whatever makes them the most happy and fulfilled in life. If that happens to be basketball, then I would be happy. But I would be just as satisfied if Zeke wanted to be a concert pianist or doctor or artist. As long as he knows right from wrong, is a good person and is happy.
I'll send you pictures from time to time to show how fast Zeke is growing.