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TMCNet: Video chat allows soldier in Iraq to see his newborn baby's first moments

[November 07, 2009]

Video chat allows soldier in Iraq to see his newborn baby's first moments

TUPELO, Nov 07, 2009 (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It was 2 a.m. in Iraq, and Army National Guard Spc. Chris Dixon was sitting in a dark room, staring intently at a computer screen.

On the screen was Dixon's first child, Baylee Marie Dixon, born moments earlier at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

His wife, Lindsey Dixon, had just had an emergency C-section to deliver the child and was under general anesthesia.

So while mom slept in a room nearby, dad watched Baylee's first bath, her first bottle and her first shot from some 7,000 miles away in Iraq -- thanks to two laptops with Webcams, Yahoo! Messenger's video chat and the hospital's wireless Internet connection.

"When you're over there, and you're away from family and friends, you begin to wonder why you're even there," Chris Dixon said. "When I first saw her, I realized I was doing it to make the U.S. and the world a safer place." Dixon, 25, is a member of the Bravo Troop 198 Cavalry, part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team.

Shortly after Baylee was born on Oct. 20, Dixon was given a two-week leave. He arrived at the Memphis airport on Oct. 30 and received a surprise welcome from his wife and child.

"If I didn't have to uphold an image," he said, "I probably would have lay on the ground and cried." The Dixons returned to the hospital on Friday to meet with the staff.

Since he's been back at the couple's home in Myrtle, Chris Dixon has been making the most of his time with his daughter. He bought her a blanket and regularly changes her diaper.

He wakes up every night between midnight and 4 a.m. to care for her.

"He's spoiling her," Lindsey Dixon said.

Chris Dixon was supposed to be home when Baylee was born. He has been in Iraq for five months and was scheduled to get home four days ahead of the Nov. 5 due date.

But a checkup revealed that Lindsey Dixon needed an emergency C-section.

The couple had been keeping in touch through Yahoo! Messenger for months and made an impromptu decision to use the service to keep the father-to-be informed.

His aunt, Nancy Braddock, used her laptop to connect with Dixon through the video chat and carried the computer around for the next three hours.

While the 6-pound, 7-ounce baby was in the nursery, Braddock stood on the other side of the glass holding her computer.

Lindsey Dixon said that being able to see her husband of two years on the video chat helped her find the support she needed during the delivery.

"When I saw him on the computer, a calm came over me," she said.

It was the second time a video of a newborn child at the hospital has been streamed to a father in Iraq. The first time happened about a year ago.

"Seeing that smiling wife and healthy baby reassures them so they can go back to doing what they need to do without worrying about their family member," said Ellen Friloux, administrator for women's and children's service at the hospital. "They can actually count the baby's fingers and toes." The hospital plans to make the service more widespread soon, Director of Biomedical Services Mac Stanford said. Though the Dixons had to use their computers, Stanford said the hospital will have its own equipment in place that will allow out-of-town family members to watch videos of newborns via the Internet.

To see more of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.djournal.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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