It's a girl!

Dear world,

By the grace of God, Saeeda and I were blessed with a baby daughter on Friday, the 13th of June at 7:29pm. Although initially reluctant to leave the comforts of her mother's womb, Nuha Maryam Khan arrived in one sudden push, weighing in at 6 lbs 15 oz. and stretched 20.5 inches long. One moment Saeeda and I were a happy-go-lucky couple with few cares in the world, and in an another instant we were parents, responsible for another life.

I had done my research beforehand, reading all the requisite guidebooks before the delivery. Among these were "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (overrated), "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" (great), and to balance things out "Mack Daddy: Mastering Fatherhood without Losing Your Style" (funny). But something strange happens to you at delivery. In the blink of an eye, you forget everything. Every last word you have read. Every last piece of advice you have heard. And in my opinion that is proof that the brain's capacity is not infinite. The moment that your child is born, your neurons overload so quickly and completely that they have no capacity to hold a single thought or memory. The result is that you transform into a quivering slob of choked up emotion, much to the benign amusement of the gathered nurses.

I think Nuha is going to be an introspective child. Upon arriving into this world, she took a good long look at her mother. Then she looked at her father, and finally, the doctor who had delivered her. I fully expected her to begin crying, but instead she continued observing the world around her. It's been almost 24 hours now, and the only sound we've heard from her is a brief "I'm hungry!" wail this morning.

But although Nuha is going to have her own traits and characteristics, I wonder how I'll guide her development. I spent last night's fitful sleep thinking about that. I know, for example, that I want her to break barriers. Whereas her mother prefers that this be in the form of a medical researcher discovering new cures for cancer (commendable, but so typically desi), I'd prefer that this be by way of being the first Muslim team captain to win the NCAA women's basketball championship. You know, something a little more ... hip.

I also know that I'm going to spend time embarrassing her. I know that I'll be that silly dad that cheers too loudly for their child at performances, or that father who insists on kissing his child goodbye in front of all her high school friends.

I'll also probably be that father who is completely wrapped around his little girl's finger, and serves as solace when her mother has categorically refused to give into her petulant child's immature demands. I'm going to be the ATM machine she uses for shopping sprees. I'll be the sucker that does all this in return for a bear hug.

I will definitely be the father that stands ready to kick the ass of any guy who dares to mess with her heart. I'd be happy if Nuha decides to remain single until she magically finds a perfect mate without ever having spent time "dating" (the supervised Islamic version or otherwise). But if not, I'm going to be the psycho father who silently stalks my daughter's love interest, and when he makes contact, just silently mouths "I'm watching you."

But for now, I'm going to be the father that changes some really poopy diapers, or that laughs hysterically every time his little girl burps after a feeding. I'm going to be the dad that gets excited when funny cartoon movies come out because he'll finally have someone to watch them with. I'm going to be the dad who takes enough pictures of his child that he fills up his laptop's ample hard drive.

Basically, I'm going to take advantage of all the advice, well-wishes, and prayers that each of you have sent our way. Hopefully, I'll have the ability to absorb all this information to become the best dad that I can be.