~ I was wakened a little after 8:30 with nausea and a mild backache.~ The day before was your due date and I took Joel (in his stroller) for a long walk through the newly-opened Levitz showroom, hoping to speed things up a bit (your brother had been 2 weeks over-due and I didn't want that to happen again).
~ That day, your dad had to put my shoes on me because I couldn't reach my feet.
~ The night before I was up mopping the kitchen floor (nesting instincts in full "go" mode).
~ I called the doctor, who told me to go to the hospital. I argued with him, not thinking I was anywhere near labor.
~ We dropped Joel off at the home of some friends and drove to St. John's Hospital in Oxnard, a good 15 miles from home.
~ After getting settled in a labor room, your dad and I played cards (Rummy 500).
~ I still wasn't sure I was in labor and as they wheeled me into the delivery room, I asked if I was, and were they going to keep me. They assured me this was the real thing.
~ The doctor, thinking I had a long wait ahead of me, left to play tennis. The nurses ran after and caught him before the elevator took him downstairs.
~ Only a few minutes later, your dad appeared not fully gowned, and the doctor delivered you at 11:00 am, still in his tennis clothes. You were in a hurry!
~ The entire process, from the time I woke up to the time you were born, took only 45 minutes.
~ I jokingly asked the doctor if we could have our "Bradley Method" money back, since we didn't get to use any of what we'd learned in the classes.
~ You had a little round red mark on your "3rd eye" just like your brother had when he was born. Were you guys Hindu in a past life?
~ Afterward, I had lasagna for lunch, feeling great.
~ When we left the hospital two days later, I was back in my normal clothes and weighing 103lbs, only 3lbs heavier than when I got pregnant with you.
~ You had steel blue eyes and auburn hair, weighing 8lbs 12oz and measuring 18" tall.
~ You were an absolute joy then, just as you are now. I have always been madly in love with you, and that will never change.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
