He's Here!

Well, so much for being prompt. I was always taught if you are not 10 minutes early you are late. So we are really late-but only by about three months. So this is the catch up phase for the family. Here is a quick summary of Sam's Birth.

March 8th 2007. The day started like any other. I went to work to give an evaluation to two pilots while Laura stayed home with the two Grandmas. On my way home I was informed that Laura's feet had swollen to such an extent that the threesome went to the Doctor to get her checked. Fortunately it was not Toxemia, however she was ordered to stay off of her feet for the rest of her pregnancy. As soon as I got home we built her a nice little nest on the couch, fit with blankets, food, water, and the remote. Once she was settled I took Grandma Stromberg to the store to get a couple of things, at which point the fun started. We were looking at counter tops in Lowe's when I received a call from Grandma Bean. The calm in her voice belied the fact that my wife's water just broke and that the baby was on the way at any time. I envisioned getting home and promptly catching a slimy baby in my mitt and smacking his backside like in the movies. I quickly dropped everything and practically ran to the car, taking care not to leave Grandma S in the dust. Racing home, she had to remind me it would be better to get there alive and that I should slow down (standard complaint in this house).

We arrived at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly New Jersey by 2:30. By 4 (ish) Laura was having minor contractions, and by 6:30 she was ready for drugs. We had discussed the natural method before, but why suffer when you can do it painlessly? Pushing in earnest began at 9:33 and Sam arrived at 10:08. The four of us in the hospital room had a bet on size/time. Below is copied from the paper towel it was written on. I brought home the money for time, Carol for weight. Pretty good guesses if you ask me.

Carol: 7 lbs 15 oz, 9:47
Laurel 7 lbs 2 oz, 9:25
Laura 7 lbs 13 oz, 9:26
Dan 7 lbs 9 oz, 10:07

What a kid--he was perfect from the get go, from his red hair to his 10 toes. Of course we are super biased, but we think he is the cutest kid in the world. We know every parent thinks theirs is cutest, but that is how it should be! Laura was so strong throughout the entire process. She never yelled, never cried, just pushed with a quiet resolve. As you can see by the pictures above, she still looks as beautiful as ever even after birth. After I almost fainted, counted fingers and toes, and cut the umbilical chord, Sam was weighed and poked and prodded for a couple of hours while Laura was tended to by our awesome doctor. Finally, around 1 am we were escorted to the recovery room, dad, mom, and baby in arms. The grandmas went home while we spent the night in the hospital. What a tremendous experience!

People said right from the beginning that he looked like his daddy. Here is an early picture of me from the hospital. You be the judge.