Happy Birthday Max!
Our dear Maxwell,
Today you are one year old. How has so much time passed? How did you get to be such an amazing little boy? Where has our baby gone?
This past year has been wonderful. You have come so very far from the preemie we took home from the NICU. You have spoiled Daddy and Mommy unbelievably. You gave up your own pacifier when you were 4 months old. You decided on your own that you would rather be layed down to bed and fall asleep than be rocked to sleep. You are currently showing less and less interest in your bottle. Shots don't hardly bother you. In fact, unless you're tired, not much bothers you at all. There are exceptions to that of course, no one is perfect : D
While it's still "fresh" in our memory, here is your birth story:
Mommy traveled to Denison with Aunt Jill for her first baby shower. They left after work on Friday night (4/25/08), and arrived in Denison a little before 8 o'clock. We got all our stuff inside, and while Mommy was waiting to use the bathroom she felt a rush of fluid. At first she felt embarrased thinking that she had her first experience with losing bladder control! But she soon realized that this was not the case. Her water had broken!
Mommy called her doctor to let them know what was going on, and then Aunt Jill took Mommy to the Crawford County Memorial Hospital to be evaluated. It was around 9 o'clock when they confirmed that yes indeed, Mommy's waters had broken. They quick hooked her up to fetal monitoring to make sure you were okay, and checked to see how far dialated she was. We had 2 centimeters. Mommy was given a couple doses of antibiotics and magnesium to try to slow or stop the labor. Then, the doctor approved the transfer by ambulance to Des Moines (at first they wanted to send us to Omaha because it was closer, but thanks to the fact that the doctor on call in Denison had been classmates with Mommy's doctor in DSM, we got to go "home" instead!).
We were leaving Denison around 10 o'clock; the ambulance ride was pretty quick, making it from Denison to Des Moines in under 1.5 hours. And that included being pulled over in Carol County! Yep, that's right, our ambulance was pulled over on the way to Des Moines. This would only happen to us : ) Anyway, we got to Des Moines and Daddy met us at the hospital with Gma and Gpa Hanson.
They checked Mommy again and it was determined that labor was progressing instead of stopping, so we were moved to the labor and delivery room. Mommy was going through the regular rigamaroll, and when they check to see how we were doing around 3 a.m., the nurse thought Mommy was fully dialated! So Dr. Johnson was called and the NICU Team arrived, and the nurse was wrong! By this time, Mommy had been awake for, oh, about 27 hours and she was EXAUSTED. So, she asked for an epidural so that she and Daddy could rest. It took a litte doing, becuase Mommy kept throwing up from all the stress, but the epidural was finally complete. Aww, sleep!
After Mommy got a couple hours of rest, Gma Hanson came in to visit with her. Soon after, Mommy's labor started to progress towards the finish line! Yeah! So the doctor was called back to the hospital, and the NICU Team was called back to the room. The normal progression of delivery was proceding. As you came out, at 7:02 a.m. it was discovered that you had managed to wrap your umbilical cord around your neck a couple times. Perhaps that's why you decided you needed to come out 6.5 weeks early.
While not dangerously early by any means, this was all scary for Daddy and Mommy. We spent 18 days in the NICU with you. Watching over you, encouraging you, cuddling you when we were allowed, caring for you when we were allowed, crying with you. Someday you will understand the word stressful, and sweetheart, having your baby in the ICU is about as stressful as parenting gets! All parents have a profound love for their child, but having a baby that has to fight to survive from the first moment, it just turns your world around and you forever look on with a completely different perspective.
Thank you for blessing our lives. We love you.
Mommy and Daddy
**More to come later on his b-day party. Check back, you won't want to miss it!**
