Let’s see… where did I last leave you in the final moments of Noah becoming a big brother… Oh, yes. Andrea was dilated to a six and Noah was making me dial Chappy’s number at least once an hour to find out if his baby brother had been born yet!
Well, eventually it was our phone that rang and Noah came bolting from the other room when it did. “Guess what buddy?” Chappy said on the phone. He had that “this is the best day of my life even though I’m more tired than I ever have been in my life” tone.”The baby is here!”
Noah just looked at me and grinned, eyebrows raised.
“Noah, did you hear me? Your baby brother is here!”
“Mom pushed him out of her tummy all the way!?” Noah’s grin spread impossibly wider.
“Yep! Are you gonna come see him?”
That was all Noah needed to hear. He dropped my phone and was out of the room before it hit the ground, demanding that I hurry up and get out of there.
All the way to the hospital he repeated the same two things over and over. “Dad, I have waited so long for this!” and “My baby is here! My baby is here!”
We knocked on the door to their hospital room and Chappy came out. “You don’t want to see him, do you?” Noah did his best to barrel Chappy over and get inside. When he finally did, he burst through the door and booked it straight over to Andrea who was holding a ball of purple and pink squirminess, surrounded in blankets.
“My Baby. My Baby.” Noah said as he approached the tiny person. As soon as he got there his voice lowered and he became overly cautious as he started checking out the new addition to their family. Almost immediately the baby looked up as if he knew Big Brother was there. And through unfocused eyes he seemed to focus right on him.
Noah poked and petted and prodded him. Completely fascinated.
And then he got to hold him.
And you could see in his eyes. It was love at first sight.
He just held him for the longest time. Happy.
And then he pulled the baby’s hat back to make sure he had hair. If you know Noah, you know he loves a good head of hair. This baby didn’t let him down.
He didn’t let anybody down.
Throughout the visit, Noah was completely fascinated with his brother’s tiny purple toes.
How could he not be?
And then, after the baby had been handed off to somebody else, he climbed up on Mom and gave her the gift he had been working on.
It said, “i L Mo.” It’s how he spelled I Love Mom.
And just like “that” their little family was even more complete than it was before.
And I may have snuck a few shots of the first “all boys” moments.
And then after another soft stroke and a tiny kiss from Noah, we said goodbye.
It was really, really, really, really neat to watch the moment that Noah met his baby brother. The way he fell in love with him said everything. He’s gonna be a good big brother. A strong big brother. A protective big brother.
Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less.
Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing
How precious! Thank you for sharing. Makes me believe in love again :)
you're not a single dad! what a sham.
The pictures tell the entire story!
I fell in love with my nephew when he was born with purple feet and his toes were shaped like mine. Now, at 17, he us a wonderful young man who still has toes shaped like his aunt's (who adores him).
Love this!!!
Beautiful people at your finest :) thank you for sharing this.
Happy Birthday to Noah;s little brother!!
ok i cried all the way through that.. awesome
You are a great dad. And such an example of co-parenting at its best. I know the road may not have been easy, but to see the pictures of happiness and everyone so comfortable in that special moment was beautiful. Happy 1st bday to Noahs brother.
How sweet! I remember the first time my Noah held his baby brother. The pictures I have bring tears to my eyes just like yours did.
Tears!
Ah c'mon, Dan, you're making me cry! How sweet. Noah is such a gorgeous boy - his eyes are so full of beauty and wonder. I remember when my daughter met my son for the first time - it was really magical. The first night home with him, I breastfed him in an over-sized rocking chair. He had fallen asleep at the breast. My daughter was curled into my body on my other side, stroking her baby brother's soft new cheek. My husband was kneeling on the floor, his arms draped around all of us. It was the most intimate moment of all my life... I just cried at the stillness, the beauty and wonderment of it all. Thanks for sharing your memory. I love your blog.
Beautiful!
Awww How sweet! :)
I still remember holding the first of my two sisters in my arms, when I was nine years old, and feeling a complete, total, world-stopping awe at the teeny, tiny life I was holding - and the realisation that I was someone's big brother. ME, of all people!
This past April, that same sister became a mother herself - and now, I'm someone's _uncle_. I won't get to meet her for another year, we live far apart. But, oh my heavens, once again there's that "time slows to a crawl" feeling all over again.:)
Beautiful.
Amazing...I have tears flowing as well. As a divorced and remarried mom, I am so proud of the way you approach blending families. No matter what has happened...there is no room for hate. If my former husband remarried and they had a baby, I hope I would be invited to bring our children to share in this moment. Taking the 'men' pictures just shows that you put your son above any selfish, foolish pride that you may have....
Wow time really does fly, doesn't seem possible that it was a year ago!
Absolutely beautiful.
So Sweet... Great pics Dan!!!
Has it really been a year? I remember the post from when he was born. Time really flies! Hope Noah is still enjoying his baby brother as he did that day!@
What a wonderful post! The pictures are beautiful.
Awesome photos! So sweet!
What an incredibly sweet thing you caught in words and pictures. :)
Happy tears! You get the best pictures of your sweet lil guy!
Wow! Oh, and their Mum does look AMAZING so soon after giving birth. It must have hen a bit weird for you, but the fact that you were there speaks volumes about ALL of you. Respect to all the adults, and big hoorray to the lucky brothers to have eachother. Lovely pics, great post. Much
Such beautiful pictures!!
So awesome :)
What a beautiful moment!
how special for the both of you.
Congratulations, Noah! You will ROCK as a big brother!!!!!
Noah is so blessed to have such great parents. You two should get a co-parenting award or something.
You're awesome! I love the way you and Andrea have come together to allow this to happen so fully for Noah. I wish this was the same for all kids.
That was a wonderful story Thanks for sharing. Your son Noah is sooo adorable and handsome, what an awesome smile he has! Noah is going to be the BEST big brother of all!
Sheesh....what a tear jerker! Glad I'm not the only one, judging from the previous comments. ;oP
Those pictures of Noah's eyes tell the story better than any words ever could. He will be the best big brother!
that is so beautiful, made me think of my daughter visiting me and her newborn sister in the hospital. That´s almost 10 months ago now, and it was such a big moment for all of us. Thank you for sharing. I really love your blog and how you describe things that are happening in your life. It often touches my heart. Stay like you are, because you are a very great person.
Happy birthday Noah's little brother!!
I really admire the way you have made a unique family for Noah - you, his mom, his brother and step dad. It's amazingly inclusive, and he's very lucky.
Damn those onion cutting ninjas - how do they always seem to strike when I'm reading your blog??
aw, crap, now I am sniffling and red eyed at work!!
You are such an awesome person! I love that you have such a good relationship with Noah's mom and her husband. I can see why Noah is such a great brother.
That was such a beautiful post....sheer love and joy in your sons face....and you are a great man to be there and capture it all
Such a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing!!
fcking hormones... grrrrrrrrr ;)
Congratulations
wiping away tears of joy for Noah, "That dad" and you. What an amazing journey you'll all be on together. It was an amazing thing watching my oldest become a big brother. He wasn't quite old enough to understand but you could tell how much he loved his little brother - right from the moment they met. Their love for each other was palpable and I know they'll be best friends for life.
Sweetness! Great pics too!
My oldest is almost 4(in 2 weeks) and my youngest almost 2(in 4 weeks). Alex still calls his brother " my Ryan", and I love it.
Fantastic post, and amazing pics!
I dont think I have ever ever seen more beautiful pictures -- they capture what is rarely 'captureable': pure love. thank you for sharing this intimate time.