Happy Birthday Drew!

December 21st was the big day. Drew is finally 6! He's been talking about turning six since the day after he turned five; so it's been a long wait. In honor of the big day I decided to recap the day of his birth. Every kid should know about the day of their birth right?

At 3 a.m. on December 21st 2003 I woke up wet. I thought I had wet the bed. I jumped up and went to the bathroom to clean myself up and then I had to wake Brian and tell him that I had either peed myself or gone into labor. I wasn't really sure which. I wasn't having any pain so we decided to try to go back to sleep and see what happens. I managed to sleep off and on for the next two hours between contractions. I really didn't want to be one of those over-anxious first timers who ran to the hospital every time she had gas. So I kept insisting on waiting just to see if it was real. Finally at 7 a.m. we called my doctor who told me to get my butt in to the hospital ASAP. It turns out that once your water breaks the baby is at an increased risk of infection so they want you at hospital right away; not four hours later.

We had made plans to have breakfast with my mom that morning so we called her to give her the news and headed to the hospital. Our first rookie mistake was calling every family member and telling them we were at the hospital. By noon that day I had barely dilated but had 10 people in my room watching me and waiting for something to happen. My mom showed up with a huge platter of fudge that everybody nibbled on while I crunched my ice and glared at them all. By early evening I had gotten an epidural and needed a nap so Brian came to my rescue and kicked the whole family out. The only one allowed to stay for the long haul was my mom.

I started pushing at 8 pm and pushed for two very long hours. I was in complete shock at what a marathon this whole labor thing was. Finally at 10:03 p.m. Andrew Michael Iverson was born! I'll be completely honest here when he came out the only thing I was thinking was "Thank God that is over!". It took me a few seconds to snap out of it and realize it was time to meet my baby.

There he was staring at me with a head full of dark hair. I know it isn't this way for all parents but for me I was head over heels in love the second Drew and I made eye contact. It was just a feeling that overwhelmed me. Thank God I had that feeling because it was the only thing that got me through the next few days. The struggle with breastfeeding, the sleep deprivation all of it. Brian and I were thrown in the trenches of parenthood and getting our butts kicked quite honestly. It was definitely my overwhelming instinct with Drew that made me muddle through and figure out this whole parenting thing. Now six years later I'm feeling much more confident in our abilities. And we have a handsome, happy smart little boy to show for it.

Happy Birthday Drew! You are and always will be the one that made me a mother and for that I am grateful. I love you Bear!