No..... they were both planned

My two kids are 10 years apart in age.  I'm often asked, "Which one was the surprise" Or people will say, "Oh, you have an oopps."

Actually, both of my children were very much planned and it wasn't easy.

I'm told that I look younger than I actually am.  Some people think that Alex, my 14 year old, was the surprise and that I had him:very young."  Those people are often shocked to find out that I was 25 when I had Alex.  It took a lot of patience and changing doctors to have him.  You see, I lost 3 babies before I had Alex.  The doctor I was seeing at the time was not concerned and told me that was "perfectly normal."  During my third miscarriage his nurse told me that I could not call their office every time I thought I had an ache or pain.  I immediately began my search for a new doctor and found one who thought he could easily fix the problem.  I was to immediately call him as soon as I thought I was pregnant and I would begin supplemental hormones to sustain the beginning of the pregnancy.  It worked very well because I had a healthy baby boy about 11 months after he told me that.  It was not a fun pregnancy.  It was complete with a trip to the ER at 7 weeks for severe dehydration, a car wreck at 28 weeks that sent my into labor with a 24 hour stay in the hospital that successfully stopped labor, a trip to Labor & Delivery at 35 weeks when the dog knocked me flat on my back and Alex stopped moving for hours, being told I would never make it to my due date because of all the contractions I was having, and Mr. Alex made his entrance into this world 3 days AFTER he was due.

Fast forward many years....  I wanted to have a baby.  At the time, I suspected an infertility issue and sought help to resolve that problem.  It wasn't even 4 weeks later that I was pregnant with Tori, my 4 year old.  This pregnancy had it's scares as well.  It involved the same supplemental hormones, a threatened miscarriage at 11 weeks, since I was "advanced maternal age" it involved numerous trips to the perinatologist (but on the plus side I have more sonogram picture of Tori that most people do of all their children combined and we knew at 13 weeks that she was a girl), knowing ahead of time that she had a minor kidney issue which also gave me time to research and consult with pediatricians about what to do (turns out to be so minor that it's almost resolved completely), and having to beg the doctor to induce me 2 weeks early so I could have my mom at the hospital.

So, I simply answer, "No, they were both planned."

The day I became a Mommy

14 years ago today, at 5:01 pm, I became a Mommy!  Alexander Wade Williams was the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen.

The day was a long one that actually started about 2:00 the previous afternoon.  I woke up about 3:45 am on October 17th and noticed that my contractions seemed close together.  I decided to wake up Eric and have him time the contractions while I took a shower.  He thought they were too close together and wanted to leave immediately, I told him to wait - I needed to fix my hair and put on my make-up.  Then my water broke and he was insistent that we leave now - I needed to finish getting ready to go.  On the way to the hospital I made him stop at the convenience store so I could get something to eat.  He reminded me that in Lamaze class they said not to do that.  I told him I didn't care and he better pull the car over.  I quickly ate a blueberry muffin and downed a bottle of apple juice (he drove way too fast).  We arrived at the hospital around 5:30 am.  When I walked into the hospital, no one believed I was in labor, that my water broke, and that my contractions were 2 minutes apart.  Once they checked e, they were amazed that I was in labor.  You see... at this point it didn't hurt.

I had an elaborate labor plan that included soothing music and my wonderful massage therapist.  It all worked great until noon.  That's when I abandoned this foolish "natural childbirth plan" and asked for the epidural.  It's a good thing I did, since Alex waited another 5 hours to make his grand entrance into the world.  Alex had a little trouble and needed some extra care.  I didn't get to hold him for another 30 minutes or so.

Alex had colic with a vengeance.  Other than that, he was a laid-back, happy baby.  He loved everything and everyone.  He was so cute!

I could not ask for a better son.  He's super smart and looks the part.

He's a musician.

I can't believe it's been 14 years.  I love this kid more than the world.

Happy Birthday Alexander Wade Williams!!