At this pace, it won’t be long before Cali Clay Shepard has more Instagram followers than her father, Sterling Shepard. The Giants wide receiver and his model wife, Chanel Iman, welcomed their first child on Friday and as of Monday the 3-day-old infant had more than 7,000 followers.
With parents who have a combined 2.1 million monitoring them on Instagram, “Keeping Up with the Shepards” could be the next big reality series.
“We just got to take her home [Sunday],” Shepard said at the Giants training facility on Monday. “She’s good, getting used to her room and everything, getting used to the surroundings. Everything has been good so far.”
Cali Clay obviously understands she has busy parents and didn’t want to make too much of a dent in her father’s preparation for the upcoming the season. If she waited to arrive closer to the due date of Aug. 19, Shepard wouldn’t have traveled with the Giants on Monday afternoon when they left for Detroit where they’ll hold three days of practices with the Lions before Friday’s preseason game at Ford Field.
“I was thinking it was going to happen [Thursday],” Shepard said. “But we woke up the next morning and when she stood up her water broke and we went right to the hospital. She did great. I was with her every step of the way. It was pretty graphic. But it was good. She did a great job. Our moms were there and our families were there. Everything went perfect.”
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As far as work is concerned, all Shepard missed was a light practice Friday after Thursday’s preseason opener against the Browns. With the Giants continuing to install more of their playbook under new coach Pat Shurmur, each practice is valuable, which is why Shepard should one day thank his daughter for a prompt arrival.
“It was perfect timing,” he said. “She’s a very considerate baby. She came out right on time. It was nine days earlier than what it was supposed to be.”
Shepard’s third NFL season should be a breeze after watching and assisting in the birth of his first child. There’s pressure playing in front of 80,000 people on Sundays at MetLife Stadium, but this was a different kind of pressure.
“It was a little bit more intense,” he said. “You kind of have an idea of what you’re going into on a game day. This, you have no idea what’s going to happen or what could happen so the nerves are kicking in a little bit more. I was on the side of the bed with her the whole time. I even caught myself pushing when the doctor was saying, ‘Push!’ and she was like, ‘What are you pushing for?’ ”
Teammates with children are already offering advice. Eli Manning, father to three daughters, and Zak DeOssie, who has two sons, have offered their expertise on such topics as breast feeding and helping the wife when practice is over. They’ll also help him deal with days like this week when work takes a new father away from home.
“It’s tough, especially when she’s a newborn,” Shepard said. “She just came out so you want to be there with her, but you also have to provide for her. So I’m here with the team and all my time is invested into that and that’s what I’m focused on when I get into the building.”
This should be a good week of work for the Giants wide receivers. They’ll compete against the Lions highly regarded defensive backs. Every starter returns in the secondary from a year ago, including first-team All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay, who led the NFL in interceptions (eight) and passes defended (26).
“It’s always good when you get to go against a guy in a different jersey,” Shepard said. “I got to play a few snaps the other night to kind of get my feet wet. I’m looking forward to maybe playing a little bit more this game.”
Then he can go home and enjoy being a new daddy.
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