# Maria Dessiray



## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 7, 2005)

Something very specail happened today, Daisy and I became parents of a lovely healthy baby girl.  To say the least, it was quite an experiance.

Daisy was due on the 14th, but Maria had other ideas., early this morning at 1 AM est., contractions began, 5:30 AM, Daisy said, let's go to the hospital, 6 AM, I had a shower.. lol.. 6:30 AM I came home from my usual coffee run.. OMG!  7 AM we arrived at the Hospital.

At 8 AM, they said she was 6 cm... girl talk!!  they later gave her an epidermal.. OUCH!!  then we both slept until noon... snorring included! 

1 PM it was push time... 2 PM it was push harder!  3 PM, it was give it all you got PUSH!!  3:20 PM, with the help of some "salad tongs" Maria came into this world.  Daisy was exhausted, and in some serious pain, but she didn't take her eye off that child.. not for a second!

All is well, daddy is proud as all heck, and both my ladies are resting well, about 200 yards from my home here in Grimsby, at West Lincoln Hospital.  

I must say that when we were in Daisys room, and the nurses came to take Daisy for a bathroom break, and I was alone with my baby, I was overwhelmed with emotion, as if it all just hit me.. She was sleeping so quietly in my arms, and seemed so much at peace... it was wonderful.. beyond words.

Thanks for reading our story,,, pics are next...

1 in labor






2 first photo!





3 first hug from mom!





4 Daisy, My sis in law Jean, Lori (our nurse << so awesome!) and my bro Geoff





5 first nursing 





6 getting the vocal choreds warmed up!





7 with auntie Syria 





8 saying night night to Daddy





When I kissed her goodnight, my whiskers touched her cheek... if you could have seen the reaction!!! o my!  her head popped up, and she gave me such a look!!  amazing!

yes LaFoto.. Daddy will shave more often!

thanks for looking!


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## Peanuts (Dec 7, 2005)

Oh how special!  These pictures Daisy, Maria and you are going to treasure.  By the way, a gorgeous name. Congratulations to both of you!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 7, 2005)

Thanks peanuts.. But I will get a beating when Daisy finds out I posted #5!!

uuutttt oooooooooooo!


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## Karalee (Dec 7, 2005)

Congratulations again :cheers: make sure you get a good rest, I imagine that wee girls going to keep you and Daisy mighty busy for the next 20 years or so


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## Eric. (Dec 7, 2005)

haha oh the beating.  Congratulations you guys! A very pretty name! Good luck!


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## PlasticSpanner (Dec 7, 2005)

Another Barlow in the world!:thumbup:  

Did you cut the chord yourself?  I found that very emotional with Noah James, like giving him his first independant step into the world!:blushing: 

Congratulations to all three of you!:thumbup: :hail:


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## JonK (Dec 7, 2005)

congratulations on the birth of your daughter....there's nothing quite as amazing as seeing your child being born.


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## LaFoto (Dec 8, 2005)

CONGRATULATIONS!

So the order of things has been kept. Now Alison can go and have Evelyn any day now . Daisy made sure your girl (who has always been due first) would also be born first.

So happy to see little Maria and her mommy (and you are IN for that beating, and rightly so!, for posting photo 5!) and new family and all... long time for pushing, mind :shock: (don't know if the epidural does that, I never had any medication with any of my three). 

Keep sending more pics, will you? 
Maria is SUCH a lovely, lovely girl!

Oh, by the way, what is her birthday then? Dec 7 or 8?


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

Thanks so much everyone, I am so proud of my wife, she is so amazing and wonderful!

yes Chris I did cut the chord., it was cool!  

Thanks LaFoto!  Her BDay is Dec 7th, 05

A really big thanks to Lori, who was so awesome in the delivery room, she did everything she could to try to make Daisy comfortable... THANKS Lori!


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## AIRIC (Dec 8, 2005)

Congratulations Raymond, Daisy and Maria. You guys are the best and I can't wait to see the baby. In a few weeks when things settle in I will bring down some portrait studio stuff and we can do some portraits. 

Eric & Bernadette


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## Xmetal (Dec 8, 2005)

Ain't that just the finest christmas present anyone could wish for? 

Congratulations, Mr Barlow.


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

Thanks Airic and XMetal  I have studio flashes and umbrella's here bro, so I will be messing with them a bit soon... I am not much of an indoor photog, and I would love to see what you come up with!


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## aprilraven (Dec 8, 2005)

i got tears in my eyes looking at your pics, raymond..and so fast too!!  tickled for you and your girls...!  i just love the last pic, though...that one is just sweet..!

congratulations....and best wishes....!   happy daddy day!


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## Alison (Dec 8, 2005)

Welcome to the world, Maria! She is beautiful and I'm so glad that Daisy is doing well! Evelyn's middle name will be Maria, so the TPF girls will have something in common  I can't wait to see more photos of your little girl as you settle into life as parents with her!


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## &Denekamp (Dec 8, 2005)

Congratulations Raymond! And Daisy ofcourse! 

And thats a lovely name you've picked! 

we wanna see more pictures, soon!


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## Chiller (Dec 8, 2005)

Awesome Raymond.  These are amazing to see and Daisy and Maria are beautiful.  Congrats to all of you


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## Chase (Dec 8, 2005)

Huge congrats to you both!


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## terri (Dec 8, 2005)

Congratulations, again! Thank you so much for the pictures. :love: She is a beautiful little girl. Daisy looks tired but her usual beautiful self. It's all quite magical in those first few hours, isn't it?  

I am looking forward to watching little Maria grow!


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## photo gal (Dec 8, 2005)

Thank you for sharing your story Raymond!  So special to get to see these!  They touched me and I know the three of you must be very happy.  I send you and Daisy hugs and some sweet little kissses for Maria!  Congratulations!!!  : )


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## Johnboy2978 (Dec 8, 2005)

Raymond, thanks for sharing that with us.  You have a beautiful girl there with a head full of hair!  Glad to hear all is well with both the girls.  Your life will change drastically now, but for the better.  We had our first 3 months ago and it is a very special moment indeed.  It gives you a whole new respect for your wife being there in the delivery room.  My wife went from 1 cm to 6 cm in about 10 minutes.  She delivered 75" after getting to the hospital and it was so quick that she wasn't able to get an epidural.  I too, cut the cord, and was shocked at how thick the cord was and how hard it was to cut (was your experience like that?).  
Be sure to get all the sleep you can while baby is sleeping, b/c you are now on her schedule and keep those pics coming. 
Congratulations to all 3 of you.


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## JTHphoto (Dec 8, 2005)

Beautiful name for a beautiful little girl!  Congratulations!


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## digital flower (Dec 8, 2005)

She is a real cutie.

What kind of camera are you going to get her?


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## bjfowle (Dec 8, 2005)

congratulations


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## hobbes28 (Dec 8, 2005)

Congratulations Ray and Daisy and welcome to the world little Maria.


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## Big Mike (Dec 8, 2005)

Congrats, that's great :thumbsup:


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## charizzi (Dec 8, 2005)

aww!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!  :thumbup:


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## Alexandra (Dec 8, 2005)

Congrats!
I'm soo happy for you guys!
And good thing you didn't faint and miss it all, Ray. Now that's real courage and manhood!
And all my greetings to Daisy of course, she deserves a great applause!
And Maria is just the cutest thing on earth, can't wait to see airic's portraits of her and you better teach her photography!
So CONGRAAAAAAATS again!!!!!


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## Rob (Dec 8, 2005)

Congratulations. You must be sooo proud!!

Rob


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## danalec99 (Dec 8, 2005)

Raymond J Barlow said:
			
		

> Something very specail happened today, Daisy and I became parents of a lovely healthy baby girl.


old news! 

Congrats again, guys!


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## M @ k o (Dec 8, 2005)

Congrats Raymond and thx for sharing these family photos.  :cheers:


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## errant_star (Dec 8, 2005)

So happy for the two of you!! It's definately a life changing experience!!

Congratulations ... she is beautiful and it sounds like mom did wonderfully!! :hug:: :hug:: :hug:: :hug:: 

And dad got coffees and slept!!! Hmmm that all sounds kind of vaguely familiar


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

aprilraven said:
			
		

> i got tears in my eyes looking at your pics, raymond..and so fast too!!  tickled for you and your girls...!  i just love the last pic, though...that one is just sweet..!
> 
> congratulations....and best wishes....!   happy daddy day!



Thanks April, you are so sweet!! I can't wait to take so photos of you holding Maria!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

terri said:
			
		

> Congratulations, again! Thank you so much for the pictures. :love: She is a beautiful little girl. Daisy looks tired but her usual beautiful self. It's all quite magical in those first few hours, isn't it?
> 
> I am looking forward to watching little Maria grow!



It was so amazing!! thanks Terri!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

Johnboy2978 said:
			
		

> Raymond, thanks for sharing that with us.  You have a beautiful girl there with a head full of hair!  Glad to hear all is well with both the girls.  Your life will change drastically now, but for the better.  We had our first 3 months ago and it is a very special moment indeed.  It gives you a whole new respect for your wife being there in the delivery room.  My wife went from 1 cm to 6 cm in about 10 minutes.  She delivered 75" after getting to the hospital and it was so quick that she wasn't able to get an epidural.  I too, cut the cord, and was shocked at how thick the cord was and how hard it was to cut (was your experience like that?).
> Be sure to get all the sleep you can while baby is sleeping, b/c you are now on her schedule and keep those pics coming.
> Congratulations to all 3 of you.



That cord was so tough!  I had to give a good squezze!  nothing short of a lifetime experiance, I can't wait for #2!!


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## JonMikal (Dec 8, 2005)

wonderful news you guys!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 8, 2005)

JonMikal said:
			
		

> wonderful news you guys!



thanks Jon!

here are a few more! >>> 


this is a set up shot, but here is how we looked 3 hrs before her birth!






Maria... 1 Day old!




















I didn't cover all of her expressions, but I got a few!!   

lovin life with the fam!!

thanks again everyone!!


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## JonMikal (Dec 8, 2005)

you guys have been blessed with such a beautiful child! i can't wait for the next series!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 9, 2005)

Thanks again JM! It's so quiet in this house now, almost too quiet!  another hour, and I will be back over there to see her for the begining of Day 2! I hope to have time to take some soft light shots, but my business is nuts these days, and I can't hang around during the day too much.. maybe this weekend.


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## LaFoto (Dec 9, 2005)

Actually, I must say I really pity Maria for the obvious use of the "salad tongs", her whole little face is bruised by them, so sorry that this had to happen to her! 

I haven't heard of the use of these things (what is their proper medical term, by the way?) here in Germany in AGES! 

I so feared they would unpack them for my daughter to come out, for she would not come and would not come, though everything was "prepared" for her arrival at last ("door fully open" as it were) and still... Unfortunately the midnight how looked after me during the nightshift did not know nor ever realise what was wrong and why this child would not present itself, only when in the morning the new shift midwife arrived did she find out that my daughter had her head lying on her shoulder, so what actually presented itself was her cheeks and ear and all that side part ... no wonder she could not find her way out like that! That resolute midwife then said: "We'll get it all done naturally, this is the third, it'll work", so she pushed my unborn little girl back up, adjusted her head and 20 minutes later my daughter arrived without any "salad thong's" help. Phew! I was so glad. I had gone for an out-patient delivery with her and so wanted to be able to return home within only a couple of hours ... and thankfully that was possible in the end.


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## PlasticSpanner (Dec 9, 2005)

LaFoto said:
			
		

> I haven't heard of the use of these things (what is their proper medical term, by the way?) here in Germany in AGES!


 
I think they are just called Tongs here?  There is also a Fontouse (sp?) which is like a sucker placed on the babies head to pull on which leaves the head egg shaped for a couple of days!  But either aren't supposed to cause any permenant damage!:thumbup: 



			
				LaFoto said:
			
		

> .... though everything was "prepared" for her arrival at last ("door fully open" as it were)...


 

Oh! Please!:stun:


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 9, 2005)

Ya, I agree LaFoto, I was concerned when they made that decision, But of corse I had to trust them.. Daisy is a tiny girl, and she gave it all she had for 2 hours and 20 minutes, and there just wasn't any more push in her., so this was a better option then the c section, and there really was very little bruising.  

believe it or not, folks come from all over our country to have their children in this hospital., my sis in law has worked here for 35 years, and still works here part time.  They are the best, and they are taking such good care of Daisy and Maria.. and the food is so good!


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 9, 2005)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> I think they are just called Tongs here?  There is also a Fontouse (sp?) which is like a sucker placed on the babies head to pull on which leaves the head egg shaped for a couple of days!  But either aren't supposed to cause any permenant damage!:thumbup:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Forcepts??  Also, the babys head is elongated as a result of being squeezed through such a small tunnel.  She will be fine, she is strong, has a good heart, lots of lungs!! and seems like she does have a sense of awareness already!  The education fund will be started next week.. hehehe


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## AIRIC (Dec 9, 2005)

Great shots Ray. Good to see everything is going good. Can't wait to see the baby. 

LaFoto, TMI ( To much information) ale:

Eric


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## Calliope (Dec 9, 2005)

Awww...  congratulations Raymond & Daisy.  Maria is absolutely beautiful.  I know you both must be soooo ecstatic!  Can't wait to see pics of her growing up - they grow so fast!!


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## Lensmeister (Dec 9, 2005)

Congrats mate ....... 


Soon be playing with your camera


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## Mansi (Dec 9, 2005)

i am so so so happy for you, Raymond and Daisy 
congrats again... she looks adorable!
thanks for sharing this moment with us Raymond... 
good wishes to Daisy


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## tempra (Dec 9, 2005)

Congrats to you both, the real work starts now


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 9, 2005)

Thanks everyone! Daisy will enjoy coming here and seeing such a response., very very nice folks at TPF, and very much appreciated here!!


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## Canoncan (Dec 10, 2005)

Well you disappear for a week and good things happen. Raymond and Daisy congratualtions to the new addition to your family. I wish you both a happy and healthy life with your new daughter.


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## Raymond J Barlow (Dec 10, 2005)

Thanks so much Canoncan!!

I posted some more over in Snapshots, because I don't want to overwhelm this gallery.. I think I will have a great model here for some fun shooting in the future!!







Thanks for looking!!!


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## sweet_daisy (Dec 11, 2005)

thanks again to everyone for all the wishes and congratulations!we are so proud to have maria and we love her so much! shes gonna be daddys model soon. Every time i look at her she just takes my breath away and make me forget all the pain ive gone through during labor.shes our little angel! what a great christmas present!

again thanks a lot!!!


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