When I started having contractions at 8 or 9 pm, we settled in, expecting a long night because of my experience with Christian. We started watching Pride and Prejudice because it was a good long movie to pass the time. After laboring for only a couple hours, it became quite intense, and I decided we needed to go to the hospital. Our babysitter finally came, and we hailed a cab outside our apartment building. Luckily, the City really doesn't ever sleep, so it was still easy to get a cab at 12:30 am. I remember sitting in the back of the taxi cab feeling very calm as we sped along the Hudson River Parkway. I definitely groaned/screamed with each contraction, but then the calm returned as I gazed over the water. I remember thinking the river was so beautiful at night with the lights from the city floating above it. With every contraction and subsequent scream, our poor cab driver pushed the pedal a little harder as we sped toward the hospital. The whole drive was only 10-15 minutes, so Jonathon gave him a nice tip as we exited the cab. I'm sure he was more than a little relieved to see us getting out of his taxi. I was sure that I was in for at least few more hours of labor, so I walked myself around the corner and through the doors of the hospital. After having to stop a few times, I tried to talk to the attendants. At that point, the contractions were coming so hard and strong that I no longer could walk. One of the kind nurses grabbed me a wheelchair and wheeled me to Labor and Delivery even though the other nurse said that it wasn't allowed. Thank goodness for someone willing to break "protocol" to help out a mommy in need.
From there, the nurse at the L&D check-in could tell that the baby was going to be born very soon. I was still completely clueless and was begging for drugs. She calmly helped me to the bed and tried to get me comfortable. As I continued to beg for an epidural, she calmly told me that there wasn't time. It finally clicked into my head that I was having this baby right now. Two minutes later, a young Resident came rushing into the room with Jonathon right behind. Jonathon hadn't even had time to fill out the paperwork to admit me yet. The head nurse was still with me keeping me calm and helping me through the contractions. The Resident had never delivered a baby before, so the wonderful nurse was talking him through everything. She told him how to deliver the baby, all the while continuing to encourage me.
At one point toward the end, I felt like I was going to die or at least pass out. I felt my eyes roll into my head and the room started to fade. But then that lovely nurse took my hands, stared right into my face, and kept saying forcefully, "Look at me. Look at me. You can do this!" A couple more pushes, and little Andrew was born. I felt a huge sense of relief and was so overjoyed. I have never felt more powerful or strong in my life. Andrew was a precious, sweet bundle of joy and worth every ounce of effort. He had tons of dark hair and (once the swelling went down) was the cutest little baby.Now at 6 years old, Andrew continues to amaze me with his intellect, his love and affection for others, his excitement for life, and his persistence. With all of his amazing qualities, there also come some that are more challenging. He is an extremely picky eater, has his own agenda for most everything he does, and struggles with calming himself down when he is frustrated. He is definitely helping to make us better parents. Our fierce love for him is helping us change for the better so that we can be the kind of parents that he needs and deserves. We are learning everything we can about parenting a strong-willed child so that we have the tools necessary to help him succeed in life.
For his birthday, Andrew wanted to invite Grandpa and Grandma H. and all his Uncles and Aunts to our house to play games and eat cake. He was so excited to get to choose the games. We set up three tables and had tons of games out. Everyone found a game, and we started to play. Andrew's table got to play all of his favorites: Harry Potter Trivia, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Pandemic. After a couple hours, we all ate dinner together. Andrew requested rice for his special birthday dinner. He loves rice more than almost anything else. With the rice we had teriyaki chicken, salad, and freezer corn.
Then it was time for presents and cake. Andrew was so excited to open presents that he didn't even want to wait for the cake.... so we did it reverse order. It was his birthday after all. He got some new Magic Treehouse books that he was very excited about. Grandpa and Grandma H. gave him a fun pop gun, Grandma and Grandpa C. got him a model solar system to hang in his room, and Tera and BJ got him a Skylander toy. Everyone was so kind to Andrew, and he was so thrilled with everything.
Later that week, he got to go to the Museum of Natural Curiosity with his best friend, Jonah Knapp. They had a GREAT time playing. Those two kids are inseparable and never have enough play time together. After the museum, they went out to lunch at McDonalds. What more could a six year old want! He had such a wonderful day.
We are sure thankful for our Andrew and all that he brings to our family. Happy Birthday! I hope all your wishes come true, sweet boy!
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