The Name

Dylan sound asleep in her crib all swaddled up like a burrito.

Admittedly, we came upon Dylan very early on in our hunt for names. We knew we wanted a name with meaning and history to it. On a trip to Montana around Labor Day, Christine and I had an extended phone call discussing the fears and concerns of our impending parenthood. We both had reservations, but we were also excited about the prospects of a little one in our life. Names became a great way to blow off steam when those conversations of life with a baby became a bit too heavy.

On that trip to Montana, we got into an especially heavy conversation. I was in Montana working, Christine was home delving into pregnancy issues including ultrasounds and genetic counseling by herself (and with some help from friends). The procedures and information were scary at best. We were faced with some big decisions about diagnostic work to determine the health of our child. Big topics like this meant big worries followed up by a few tears and back to fears and tears when finally one of us would throw out a silly name suggestion just to break the tension. I won't even start in on the names that were thrown out, but most easily brought a smile to our faces.

The little one after a bath.

After one of my long days of driving back roads of Montana looking for locations for our shoot, I called Christine with the idea of Dillon as our child's name. It could go either boy or girl and had multiple spellings. Christine is fond of names for girls that also have a boy flavor to them. Gives the girls some grit and toughness, I think. The name seemed perfect.

Dillon, Montana is one of those places I had visited multiple times, but never spent much more than a night there: camping on the road side on my way to Jackson Hole or to Idaho to ski. Our good friend Bob stayed their multiple nights one summer when his VW van broke down and he was stranded waiting for the parts to arrive. As ussual, his good spirits allowed him to meet many of the locals and having a van meant he always had a place to sleep. I began liking Dillon. Its good people. All fed and happy with mom.

Three years ago, we began a tradition of packing up our bikes and dog and heading to Dillon for one of our favorite early summer activities: RATPOD. Ride Around The Pioneers in One Day is a bike ride through one of the most beautiful and hidden parts of Montana, and, RATPOD is a fundraiser for Camp Mak-A-Dream, a camp that provides a cost free summer fun experience for children with cancer. Kids from all over the world come to Montana to attend Camp Mak-A-Dream to have peer interaction, learn more about their life with cancer and to just have fun and be a kid. We've been supporting Camp Mak-A-Dream for a few years now and we've come to have many friends through them and it is an important thing for us. Dillon has really grown on us and certainly a place we look forward to visiting every summer.

Last year, Christine rode 75 miles while pregnant with Dylan. The ability to go and ride your bike and enjoy Montana and the outdoors just seemed like an engrained trait in our child, we thought we should give her a name that reflected that experinece. So, our little biscuit has always been known around here as Dylan. We had to work really hard not to spill the beans and let her name sneak out. We tried to go with a short version like "Lil D" or just "D" but often times, we just had to bite our lip. The diapers need changing, even in the wee hours of the night and Christine still does it with a smile on her face regardless of time!

Dylan shares a middle name with my mother, Linda Ray Gardner. She was given, as her parent's first born, her father's first name. Ray was my grandfather, a jolly man that worked hard in the woods as a logger, forrester and teacher. He loved to teach people the ways of the woods. He was the one that let me wield a chainsaw at age 10. He was the guy that danced around BBQ's with pairs of cherries over his ears and singing a little jig. Grandpa Ray was just one of those people you loved to hang out with and enjoy his company. And it seemed equally fitting to honor my mother. She inherited that hardworking philosophy from Grandpa Ray along with a kind heart, loving spirit and resiliance we hope Dylan inherits, too.

Nicole comes from Beans. That's Auntie Jill for those of you that don't know "Beans." Jill is the middle child of three from the McBride family. She was affectionatly know as "Jilly Bean" or "Jelly Beans" and "Beaner" and of course, "Beans." Now, around our house, Beans is Auntie and it is so fitting. You can see the love she has for Dylan when she holds her and takes care of her. I can only hope that Beaner doens't get Dylan in too much trouble when she's older. They'll have a fun time together for sure. Aunite Beans' middle name is Nicole. Christine wanted a piece of her sister in the name as a way to honor her love for her sister and treasured friend and in perfect Hawaiian style (Jill's home state now) Dylan has herself a long name and a long McBride history to live up to!

There you go, Dylan Ray Nicole Clark. Now just 11 days old today.
Those fingers!

Week One

Dylan right at home at her changing table. You can see pictures of Christine as a little girl and Matt being held by his brother Ben.

Life is pretty simple when you are only one week old. All you have to concern yourself with is getting something to eat, getting your diaper changed, being held most, if not all of the time and sleeping. For fun, you throw in a little crying to drive home the point of your needs, pee when there is no diaper on and for real fun, you projectile poop during the diaper change and watch the clean-up crew dive into action. Yes in deed, life is simple when you are only one week old.

In the many congratulatory emails I received this past week, one in particular was very funny. My friend Paul commented on how beautiful Dylan is and I responded "...what's funny is that something that gorgeous can launch pooh nearly an entire meter. Go figure." Paul quickly replied: "Many scientists have correlated anal fortitude with outward beauty. In fact several supermodels are documented "poozookas." At a Billy Joel family picnic, Christy Brinkley launched a turd 53 feet. And there's a rumor that a "Kate Moss misfire" actually killed a Key grip during a shoot in Brazil." So Key Grip friends be warned. Since neither of us are that tall, I doubt we have a supermodel, but we know she's been born with some fortitude!

Dylan after her first bath just after proof of her "fortitude." This was the event that painted the nursery and as far away as the hallway. Good thing the dog was sound asleep for this episode.

We're slowly finding our rythm here with Dylan in our lives. We find she has got the feeding schedule down and doesn't disapoint. We can nearly tell time with her hungry cries. Now and then, she throws in an extra feeding for a growth spurt or something.

During this first week of life, highlights have included visits from both grandmothers, lots of time with Auntie Jill, some time with Paca Phil and Uncle Ben, Aunt Liz and cousin Jackson. A doctor visit wasn't too bad on day three of life. No poking or blood draws or shots made it especially good. On top of that, the good news of minimal weight loss was welcomed news. Looks like we are on the climb now with weight.
Dylan wrapped up her mom's arms for a little nap.

All in all, things are good. Dylan is a pleasant little girl. She's so easy going. She is far from demanding. Her biggest need aside from eating is just being held. And that is one thing we just can't resist!
Dylan in her dad's lap all happy and content.

Day 2

Lil D on her second day of life.

Dylan was one tired kid when she came out. All of that pushing wore her out leaving her with just enough energy to un-leash a small roar and then right to sleep. The rest of her first day was with just that: sleep, and a move to post partum recovery. She got to meet her grandmothers and of course be held by both. The brief grandmother visit also included her Uncle Ben and Aunt Liz, Cousin Jackson and Auntie Jill. But it was a brief visit since mom and dad were so tired, they each dosed off during the visit.


It is amazing what a little baby will do to your smile!

A restful night with just a little complaint from Dylan brought us into day 2 of her little life. As Christine put it, it was like being in Mexico on the beach and having person after person coming to you trying to sell you something. We awoke to the pediatrician checking Dylan out, then the OB doc, then nurses, techs, a hearing technician and the hospital photographer selling photos. Christine managed to nicely say no to the photographer "we got it handled" she said. The steady stream of people kept up until we left at the end of the day.

One of the many people to stream into our room was the woman doing hearing checks. This is Dylan's DJ impression...

We arrived home at about 6:30 p.m. It was so nice to be in our own place. Christine was doing fine, feeling good and quickly recovering. Dylan was doing fine and adjusting nicely. I was bugged eyed, sleepy and excited. We nearly fought over who held the girl next. 36 hours of hospital time was plenty.

It's good to be home.

Our first night in bed with our new child had us both giggly and estatic. We looked at each other wide-eyed with this little creature asleep between us. (No, it wasn't the dog either. Maggie is now on the floor and actually very content down there.)

It is hard to explain the feelings that you have at this moment with a new child. I've heard all kinds of things about how it changes a person or how it is the best thing ever or how exciting it truly is. Well, those things are all true, now that I've been there. But it really is so much more.

Dylan getting some love from her Auntie Jill, visiting us from Kona, HI

The Big Day!!

Dylan Ray Nicole Clark, Born March 18, 2009 at 2:18 p.m. weighing 7.53 lbs and 21" long.


The big day finally came on Wednesday at just after midnight. We got to bed about 11:30 or so. Christine was whooped from a long day of hanging out with her sister, Jill, including returning stuff to Ikea, grocery shopping and the post office. Apparently getting those last minute errands behind her. After we had both dozed off to sleep, she awoke to a strange feeling in her tummy. The baby seemed to be moving, but she "dropped" further down in her uterus. Apparently an odd sensation for Christine. Just after the drop, her water broke. I awoke to a semi-panicked voiced in Christine: "Matt, I think my water just broke." She scurried off to the bathroom and came back but more fluid was leaking out. It wasn't dramatic like portrayed in bad Hollywood sitcoms, but there was no doubt what had happened.


Christine holding her baby for the first time with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks just seconds after her birth.
Immediately after her water breaking, the contractions started. I tried to play it all off to keep our nerves from flaring. I suggested some rest, maybe actually sleeping a little longer (yes, I admit, I was trying to get as many extra winks in as I could). The contractions came on pretty strong and there was no chance of sleeping through them.

I started timing each contraction out. Christine went from 6 minutes apart for about 30 seconds long to 4 minutes and 45 seconds long pretty quick. The pain also became stronger. A call to the doctor confirmed our suspicions: Time to go the hospital. I quickly grabbed a few last minute things and off we went. I did wake up Jill before leaving and she was super excited. I don't think she ended up sleeping the rest of the night!


Dylan on the scale. Nothing like a cold plastic tray to welcome you into the world!

We got to the Hospital at around 3 a.m. The contractions continued to come on stronger and quicker, but Christine toughed them out. We were finally in our birthing suite, moving from triage, around 6 a.m. Christine did all she could to muster the strength and courage to make the short walk. The contractions were debilitating and her low blood pressure made her dizzy like a drunk sailer.

Once settled in the room, we ordered an epidural for Christine. She was so deep in the pain cave, she could hardly hear anyone in the room, but the spinal brought her back and in within an half hour, she was smiling and present. Just in time for the pushing to kick in. She pushed for about 3-4 hrs. A long sprint to the finish, but the results were amazing.


Christine and Dylan just about 10 minutes after birth.

At 2:18 p.m. on a cool and rainy Seattle March day, Dylan Ray Nicole Clark was born. Everyone was healthy and made it through birth just fine, including dad. Dylan was 7.53 pounds and 21" long. She has the longest fingers and toes and beautiful eyes. She's perfect.

Getting Ready

Crossing off the final things off the list. Oh boy, I feel something big coming but I know I haven't a clue.