Madonna's Birth Story - 2 Years Ago Today!

I met Madonna last year when I started teaching at my new school. She taught third grade down at the other end of the hallway, and we quickly became friends. She was very good at helping me get through all the "new teacher" wonkies, as I came close to tears while she was in my room more than once. She was a supportive and caring listener, which means, of course, she's an amazing mother! She, like Katie, is also an avid blogger, so I won't copy her whole story here, just my favorite parts. You can read her entry over at Just Us Three. Enjoy!

At 6:00 p.m. we called the hospital to see if they had room for us, they told us to come in at 7:00 p.m. or so. But before we went, Kevin made my favorite dinner--Stuffed Steak Ole. Um! I didn't eat much, but I knew I would not get to have it again anytime soon because of all the peppers and onions. (Hmm, thanks for this tip - I'll certainly enjoy a good meal before I go anywhere near the hospital!)

We got to our room around 7:30 p.m. Our nurse Tracy checked me and found that I was 1 to 2 cm dilated and that my cervix was 90% effaced. Actual progress, shocking! So they held off of giving me anything to encourage more contractions. Around 4:00 a.m., after a long night of restlessness (contractions aren't fun), a doctor came to do the epidural. Can I just give you one piece of advice, get the epidural! After that, the only way I could tell I was having a contraction was from the pressure.

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Kevin was the first to hold him. Ethan did some crying when they were checking him out and cleaning him up, but once they wrapped him up and handed him to Kevin he was completely quiet. Kevin said he did a lot of looking around, mostly looking right at his daddy. Once the doctor was done with me I got to hold our son in my arms for the first time. He seemed so content.

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Kevin and I are just so excited to meet this little guy we've been talking to for months in my belly. It's still pretty surreal. It really hasn't sunk in that this newborn is our son. We're just anxious to get him home and begin our new lives as parents.

Ethan was born on December 3rd, 2007 - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BUDDY!

I think this picture is just the sweetest! I know he's sleeping, but I want to scrunch his little face and make high-pitched googley noises!

Thanks, Madonna! Enjoy your time at home with your little one. We miss you!