Happy Birth-day!

October 1, 2011 -
Happy birthday to two of the most important people in my life: my husband, Daniel Robert, and our newest little boy, Michael Alexander.

I have to smile a bit to think of how Daniel has spent his special day. (Now that I think of it, I am reminded of my Mother's Day comforting and cuddling a two-year old with infected teeth.) I woke Daniel around 3am to tell him that his birthday might be a little different than planned. He had only been sleeping a couple hours - who needs to go to be early when the next day is yours to spend as you wish, right? I hated to wake him, but he needed fair warning that I was having contractions that woke me up and he might be needed before the night was over. Within an hour, he was up with me getting supplies in place and warming the tub, just in case our baby decided to show up for the birthday events.

From that time on, Daniel has cleaned the bathroom, made me the juice and teas I needed for labor, assisted as my birth attendant, cleaned up, cared for kids, done laundry, nursed a headache, fixed meals, contacted friends and family about the new baby, and cancelled his plans for the ice cream social scheduled for after Priesthood session of conference tonight, and sneaked in a nap this afternoon while the little boys were also napping.

My other birthday boy, Michael Alexander, joined the party at 4:41am. Labor is never a fun experience, but the contractions were manageable, relatively short, and spaced enough that I could rest between. Pushing was also efficient and fast. Daniel announced we had a beautiful boy, and I just sat on the floor and held him. He had no problems breathing, we left the cord attached until it stopped pulsing so he could have as much of the placental blood as his body wanted, and we discussed names.

Since then, he has been eating and resting just fine. The kids all love their baby brother, and we are excited to get better acquainted as the year progresses. (Mom also feels fine - but this post isn't about me!)