On The Night You Were Born

How I love that book.  Tonight I read it to Noah at bedtime but before we started I told him about the night he was born.  How Shawn and I were fast asleep and I woke up to my water breaking.  I woke Shawn with the biggest grin on my face and said, "We are having the baby today."  I can still remember exactly how excited I felt.

That was 2:47am.  My doctor told me to come to the hospital at 8 so I had five hours to sleep.  As if I could sleep.  I took a shower and fixed my hair, in hopes of looking good for photos...my hair did look pretty good. :)  Then I ate a bowl of cereal and waited as Shawn snoozed away.  Right there is the difference between men and women!  I tracked my contractions on a piece of paper that is now tucked into Noah's baby book.

Finally it was time to head to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.  It was Christmas Eve so the hospital was largely barren.  Just the right time to have a baby, quiet and plenty of attention when needed.

At 8:43pm our baby was born after nearly 2 hours of pushing.  I said it was the workout of my life.  Shawn announced, "It's a boy."  We named him Noah Patrick and felt like the luckiest people of earth.  When I first held Noah in my arms I felt as if I understood what my life's purpose was all about.  This perfect little baby crystalized all that really mattered, our hearts were filled with joy.

Living in Boston with no family near and all our friends gone for the holidays left us to savor the time as a newly minted threesome.  We celebrated Christmas with Chinese takeout and snuggling our bundle of joy.  He really was the best Christmas present ever.

As I told Noah his birth story he grinned ear to ear.  Such a beautiful memory for me and precious beyond words to see him light up like that.  I sure do love that kid.