Three in a Photo

Terri and Dennis Bain Photo

February 13, 1984

6 weeks into Pregnancy

As soon as Terri and I found out that she was going to have a baby -- we already HAD a baby!

When I learned on January 13, 1984 that I was going to be a FATHER -- I WAS A FATHER.

If anyone had asked me how many people were in my immediate family, I would have proudly declared THREE.

We would not know if it was a boy or a girl until August 17, 1984, but we knew that if he was a boy his name had always been Jonathan -- if she was a girl her name had always been Charise.

Jonathan Evan Bain and Terra Charise Bain.

We had a baby.

Now the long wait to hold him/her in my arms.

We already had a family.

We already had a photo:

Terri's abdomen became the center of our whole world.

She soon had to change her wardrobe to accommodate our new addition.

All of conversations, with everybody, were (annoyingly, I'm sure) punctuated with the words "The Baby . . ."

But we not only talked about "The Baby . . . " -- we talked TO the baby.

I talked to her, sang to her, and read to her.

As the baby grew and became active, we would lie in bed and watch her movements.

I had the pleasure (most men do not) of going personally with Terri for every one of her prenatal doctor visits. Every time I went we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. What a thrill.

We worked every spare moment on preparing the nursery for her arrival. She had a bed (crib), a bassinet, and a bathinet, and a changing table, and toys and clothes.

We NEVER had a viable tissue mass, or an embryo, or a fetus.

From the moment that she was conceived from our love -- she was a baby.

Our baby.

Terri became very sick, weak and dehydrated only five or six weeks into the pregnancy. But she did everything humanly possible to protect our baby. Her greatest concern with the life and health of our child. She was hospitalized for a brief time -- but her sacrificial care and Motherly Instinct transferred to the strength and growth of our bundle. That is what Mothers do.

Terri was a Mother, and I was a Father, long before Charise came out from hiding.

We had always loved children. Charise taught us to love the unborn.

And we do.