North County residents Darrin Ladd and his wife, Sarah, sit with Millan, who was born Thursday at Tr
NORTH COUNTY ---- Father's Day means different things to two of North County's newest dads.
Darrin Ladd, 35, of Carlsbad, said fatherhood came to him last week as the fulfillment of a lifelong wish and years of planning.
Health Osborn, 41, of San Marcos, said he doubted until recent years that he would ever be a father, and he wasn't sure that's what he wanted.
But both men now say they are full of the optimism and awe of first-time fathers, and are planning to celebrate Father's Day with brand-new baby boys.
Darrin and Millan Ladd
"It's awesome, it's amazing, it's really the greatest thing," Ladd said of being a father, as he sat by his son's bassinet and his wife Sarah's bed Friday in a private room at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.
Millan David Ladd ---- his name inspired by Sarah's maiden name, McMillan ---- was born Thursday morning at the hospital.
Darrin Ladd, a Rhode Island native who works as a technology management consultant, said he has wanted to be a dad almost as long as he can remember.
"Even from when I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to have kids," Ladd said. "I can remember as a teenager thinking one day I wanted to become a dad."
Ladd and his wife, a 30-year-old middle school teacher, married four years ago and took steps to build a life that would one day include children, he said.
Sarah Ladd finished a master's degree, they moved to Carlsbad and settled into jobs, and they bought a home in the Calavera Hills neighborhood.
Darrin Ladd said he felt wonderful when Millan arrived, but not as though the course of his life had dramatically changed.
"The reason is, I've been ready for this and excited for this," he said. "There are not a lot of things I feel I am giving up for this."
And he's looking forward to every aspect of fatherhood, he said.
"Every day I think it's going to be fun, the firsts and seconds and thirds," he said. "And even the hard times, sitting down and figuring out 'How I am going to deal with this,' knowing I'm probably not going to get it right, but still trying."
Sarah Ladd thinks her husband is also in it for the fun. He's got a strong playful side, and he always goes in for goofing around with kids on their block.
"He says, 'hi' to the adults, then he goes straight for the kids," she said.
Heath and Landon Osborn
About 1 p.m. Saturday, Osborn and his wife, Adina, 35, took Landon home to San Marcos from Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he was born Thursday evening.
As they fetched Landon from his car seat to take him inside for the first time, Osborn and his wife got teary, the new father said.
"Driving the baby home, introducing him to all the pets, it was pretty intense," Heath Osborn said about an hour after he got home.
Osborn, who is a buyer for a package distribution company, said that the birth of his son had already changed him.
"I feel a big difference," he said. "It just kind of completes my life."
Not that he and his wife felt something was lacking, Osborn said.
Through most of their nine years of marriage, they were happy without children and didn't think they would have any.
Adina's weight problems put her at risk for a difficult pregnancy, and the pair was happy, traveling somewhere special twice a year, and getting out of town most weekends for camping or frolicking on the Colorado River, Osborn said.
About 1 1/2 years ago, Adina had gastric bypass surgery and lost 105 pounds.
No health issues now hampered the couple from becoming parents, but they still weren't sure.
"We were set in our ways. We liked to do a lot of travel and enjoy each other," Heath Osborn said. "But we were afraid we would have regretted it if we didn't have children.
"We would have regretted it," Osborn said emotionally, looking at the baby in his arms.
Now that Landon is here, Osborn said, he thinks he'll be a natural father, and he'll try to emulate his own dad in setting an example.
"He taught me high morals and a good work ethic," Osborn said of his father, who lives in Santee. "He set a great example of what a good marriage should be and he taught me to be honest and try to help others out if they need it."
Adina Osborn said she expected her husband to be an intuitively caring protector, but that he's managed to surprise her with his alacrity in basic baby care.
"He's very supportive of me, very caring about everybody, so I knew he'd be excellent, she said. "But I look up and he's already burping the baby. He's faster at changing the diaper than I am."
Father's Day
The Ladds said they hadn't thought much about Father's Day, but that they were very glad to spend it at home with a new baby.
Heath Osborn knew his baby's due date was close to the occasion, and he and his wife had both hoped he'd have a special reason to celebrate.
"That's what we were hoping, that he would be my Father's Day gift," Osborn said with a smile |