April 7th 2005
The big day is here. It is a warm sunny day with a beautiful blue sky. It is a good day to be born. I slept on the sofa bed in your mum’s room. We both only slept for 4 or 5 hours. Last night it was a little noisy outside with all the cars and scooters zipping by. We live in Marbella up behind the town a little, so it is much quieter there than it is here.
I was woken up at 8am this morning by all the birds’ perched singing in up high in the trees, on the gargoyles and roof of the cathedral. Your mum is looking very calm, very beautiful and as relaxed as usual, I cannot think of anything on this planet that would faze her.
I needed to have some breakfast so I walked back to the café we were at last night. I had a coffee and a toasted croissant for breakfast. Mum was a bit jealous; as she is not allowed to have any breakfast this morning due to the operation she is about to have and she is feeling hungry and thirsty.
When I came back to the hospital I had a shower in the smallest, most ridiculous shower I have ever been in. I don’t think that the architect that designed the bathrooms has ever met or even seen a picture of a pregnant woman. Pregnant women are big.
I am sitting watching your mum, dressed in her green surgical robe, you will not believe this but she is sitting in her hospital bed and is putting a little make up on her face.
Well, well, well Thomas I was so completely and totally wrong, your mum can be fazed, one day when you are older you have to ask her about the enema from hell. Oh my God, Thomas, never ever trust a snowman.

So the snowmen are here cleaning the room, since I left for a 5-minute walk to get over the whole enema thing, and in that time your mum has vanished. It is 11.05 am. She will be in this hospital somewhere; I am going to find her. Perhaps I will find you too.

I have just been told that I cannot see your mum I do not know what is going on. I am very sad about this. I have been handed a blue doctor’s suit and I am sitting wearing it in our room wondering what to do.
Just before mum disappeared I was just in the process of beening told off by your mum and the head nurse. I forgot to bring your mum’s passport. It was the last thing I was asked to do just before we left the house last night. It was really mum’s fault as she said’ go and get my passport from the office.’ Even as she said it I was thinking ‘hmmm, we don’t have an office.’ And the passport went instantly out of my mind.
The nurse was talking about having to cancel the operation. Luckily we had your mum’s driver’s license. How could they possibly cancel the operation you have to be born today?

11.45am, I have found your mum. She was lying on the operation table covered in only a green sheet looking very glamorous, and extremely brave as only Helen can. I managed to sneak the camera into the room and took a couple of pictures of her.
The nurses came in an introduced themselves. In this hospital they all wear green uniforms from head to toe. Unfortunately the nurses were tiny and they hospital only had extra large uniforms in stock. I started to laugh they looked so funny. Then both the doctors came into the room. The both gave Helen a kiss on the cheek, shook my hand and told me I had nothing to worry about. Then I was told to leave and come back to our room. I am feeling even more excited than ever.
First it was months, then weeks, then days, and then hours and now it is only minutes until you are finally here.

1.15pm

I have just seen you for the very first time. You are tiny (3.3 kilos) and you have light brown hair. A nurse came in with you, let me kiss you on the head then immediately took you away to get your shots etc. You are so beautiful, the moment I saw you in the nurses arms wrapped up in your little white blanket, something chemical happened in my head and I could feel myself changing from a not dad into a dad. Thank you Thomas, for this gift, I promise I will cherish you as much as I cherish your mummy. All I ask from you Thomas is that you live a life that will make you happy and that you let mummy and daddy love you all that we can.
The nurse came back to the room and asked me for some of your clothes, so much for all the books we have read, I did not have a clue what to give her. I just handed her a blue baby-grow. She looked at me gave me a small smile and said “nada mass’, “nada mass,” I replied, feeling like a complete fool.