Friday, March 19, 2010

A letter to the birthday boy

Happy birthday Will! Today you are three years old. You have changed so much in the past year. You still have an iron will and have the mastered the art of temper tantrum, but you are also curious, funny and completely charming (when you want to be).

You were born on a Monday. I was very excited when I started having contractions on the Saturday before, thinking that you were going to make your appearance that day. Grandma Hansen came over and helped your daddy and I and we stayed awake all night. At about 6 in the morning on Sunday, Daddy and I drove to the hospital. We were happy and talking and so excited to see you. That should have been a sign to us that you weren't coming that day. We got to the hospital and I realized that I wasn't having anymore contractions. The doctor confirmed that you weren't quite ready to come out so they sent us back home. We were so disappointed! Back at the house, Daddy took a nap and I laid on the couch and watched tv. Grandma was napping, too.

A few hours later, my contractions started up again and they stayed strong for the rest of the day and all night. Your dad promised me that we would go to the hospital at 4:00 a.m. if I was still having lots of contractions. (You won't ever experience this unless the science changes drastically in the next 30+ years, but holy cow do those hurt! You owe me big time!) Well, 4:00 a.m. rolled around and I was in a lot of pain. Daddy didn't think it was time to go yet and that made me so mad! I decided to get the car keys and drive myself to the hospital. I forgot that I couldn't even stand up. Finally, at about 6:00 a.m. again, we got in the car and headed to the hospital. This car ride was much different than the day before. I screamed the whole way and told your dad to DRIVE FASTER! When we got to the hospital, the nurses could hear me yelling and everyone hurried around to get us a room. This detail will probably gross you out when you are older, but I was dilated to 7 cm and there was no waiting around. I didn't want an epidural but they asked me if I wanted one mid-contraction and I couldn't help but say yes!

Once I got some medicine, things quieted down for a few hours. Your dad took a nap under a table. When it was time to push you out, things started getting interesting again. I wasn't having much luck and you seemed to be stuck (gross, I know, just hang on for a few more sentences) and after about an hour, the doctor said that it was probably time for a c-section. I was disappointed but by that point, I just wanted you to be here safely.

Daddy came with me to the operating room and Grandma Hansen stayed back to wait for us. After a few minutes, we heard your wail and knew that you were here. That is such a happy memory for me. The doctor brought you over to me and I saw your face and thought that you were the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen.

Daddy and I hadn't picked out a name for you. We were trying to decide between William and Marshall. After we were back in our room and everyone was cleaned up, we decided that we should probably name you. Daddy said that he thought you looked like a "Marshall" and I thought you looked like "William" so we still hadn't decided! In the end, your Dad let me pick since I had been dealing with the contractions and all of the yuckiness. In hindsight, we probably should have named you Complacent, Acquiescent or Amenable. But Will suits you just fine.

This blog is filled with funny anecdotes and things you say to us everyday. I'm so happy to be your mom. I can't wait to see what the next year brings. Happy birthday big boy. We love you so much!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cute Pic :)