It's Louie's Day

It was late March in 2004. I was done teaching for the year, we had just gone to a March Madness party the night before at (the future Grandma) Alice's, and I had gotten over thinking that I was going to go early with my first born. It was the day before my supposed due date and everyone told me that people go late with their first.

I was taking it easy that day. Kevin left to go to work. He was still working in Dayton at that point. The only thing I had to do that day was to drop my brother Joe off at NKU. It was a sunny day when I was headed south, Joe sitting beside me wearing an "Iron Horse" T-shirt*.

I felt weird, but to a hypochondriac who is going through pregnancy for the first time, it wasn't anything unusual. On the way back from dropping Joe off I gave my doctor's office a call and they told me to come on in. After an exam that took all of 47 seconds, my normally laid back doc said to get straight to the hospital. No stops. I decided that I would have to stop home to get my bag for the hospital, and on my way there I called my mom to come get me and called Kevin to tell him to turn around.

The pain hadn't gotten to me yet, but my water had broken so they had me in my room and hooked up to pitocin very quickly--I'd say it was at about 10am. And a big storm came quickly after that--along with contractions! Kevin showed up around noon and people started coming to the hospital shortly afterward.

The thing with this baby was, it was the baby. The one who would make not only Kevin and I first-time parents, but there would be new grandparents, new aunts and uncles, new great-grandparents and new great-aunts and uncles. A lot of changes would come with this bundle and that, along with the fact that we didn't know if it was going to be a boy baby or a girl baby made it all that more exciting!

Louis Victor* made his way into our world at 5:50pm on Monday, March 29th; 8 pounds and one ounce, 21 inches long. It was a fairly easy delivery. Like, three pushes and we had ourselves a baby (I owe so much of that to my fantastic OB!). Kevin and I stared at each other in shock. I don't care what anyone says--I don't know if I had it in my mind that I was just putting on some extra weight or what, but nothing prepared me for having our very own child until my doctor put Louie in my arms.

I didn't cry, like I saw so many women do in TV shows and movies, on "The Baby Story." But I did feel a rush, a filling-up feeling in my chest. This just happened. We just had a baby. I felt disconnected from the situation. All the busyness of the nurses and doctor in the room. Kevin snapping pictures left and right, all the while his eyes were filled with tears of joy. This was such a gift to me. This feeling of calm and peace. I felt very grounded in the moment, me, with this baby latched onto me in his first minutes of life.

This story isn't much different than many delivery stories you've heard, I'm sure. But it's the story that started our family, the one that made me a mom, Kevin a dad, and paved the way for the other three crazies. And it brought us to today. My baby, my first-born is six years old today. He likes superheroes and drawing; he loves baseball; he has the most adorable sprinkling of freckles across his nose; he has a good heart; he loves his brothers and sister; he enjoys helping out; he is very curious; he is a good reader; he is...more than my words can describe. I am so blessed to have my little guy and I am happy I was able to share a little about the day he was born with you.

Happy 6th Birthday, Louie!!!

*Did Uncle Joe have a premonition when getting dressed that morning?? (Iron Horse = Lou Gehrig)