April 5, 1984

Very early in the morning on this day 21 years ago, Youngest Son was born. He made his appearance early, yet still managed to weigh 10 pounds, 8 and one half ounces. He was extremely cute and snuggly, and slept a lot. This is still true about him.

I didn't believe I was actually in labor, but my doctor thought it a good idea to go to the hospital just to be sure. Three year old Oldest Son, and 17 month old Daughter were brought to grandma and grandpa's, where they dined on hamburgers, green beans and chocolate cake. I remember this, because of that question they asked me at the hospital, 'what was the last thing you ate'? ' Green beans and chocolate cake', as I passed on the hamburger. (why do they want to know this? i was tempted to say...'stick around, you'll find out'!)

I didn't have back labor with my other two. This one did the hokey pokey on my spine for 7 hours. Of course, doing the hokey pokey doesn't register on the monitor, so The Husband God Gave Me kept pointing out that I should not be in pain, as the contraction had passed. With some effort, I chose to continue to love him. The thought of raising 3 young children on my own never did appeal to me.

Youngest Son was born, took a quick look around, and went back to sleep. He woke up about 10 days later, at the time he was supposed to be born. But he never quite got over being a sleepy baby (and as a toddler, it was not unusual for him to put himself to bed).

The next day I was given the chance to realize what my life was going to be like for the next few years. I had a private room in the hospital, because I figured it was my last chance for anything private for awhile. Twenty-one years ago one was still allowed a three day stay. THGGM brought Oldest Son and Daughter up to meet the new baby. He dropped them off with me, and then left to go place his dinner order. Youngest Son started crying, Oldest Son wanted me to hold HIM, Daughter dropped a glass, tipped over my water pitcher, and flushed something down the toilet. I realized that the next few years where going to be a) noisy, b) wet, c) not boring.

One of the greatest things for Youngest Son, was having a friend whose birthday was on April 6. This friend got to have a birthday party every year. Mine got one in a lifetime. They had all of the same friends, so it was always fun. Now, Youngest Son shares an apartment with this friend. I am Instant Messaging him as I write this, and he assures me that they were not riding bikes with their friends at 6:30 this morning. They are adults now, and are both at work.

But, I remember when...

(bonus question: why was this child our last? the clue is in the first paragraph.)