not a little boy

The night of his birthday

Thomas adores that big brother.
The girls adore their brother. (Madison was in China)

It is hard to believe that it was 15 years ago that I was in our car with Tom and Maryanne, who was visiting from England, on our way to the city called Nieuwegein in the beautiful country of the Netherlands, to have a new baby. I already had a baby. Morgan was only 14 1/2 months old! I was a little bit scared and very excited. I was also tired of being pregnant that time. My hips were killing me. The townhouse we lived in had two sets of curved stairs. The first set took you up to your bedrooms, the second set took you up to the laundry room and my sewing room. I had never seen such steep stairs in my life. The heels of my size 9 feet hung over the edge of the steps when climbing them. When you are pregnant these sets of stairs are a challenge to climb when holding a baby or a laundry basket, needless to say.
Anyway, we made it to the hospital and got situated. John stayed home with all the kids. My contractions were not close but since I had just had a baby a year before and since we were so far away from the hospital (45 min. I think) I didn't want to take any chances of having the baby in the car or at home. The hospital was so different from the American ones in that they don't give you a gown to wear. You just lay down on the table, pull off your pants and have a baby. No epidural of course. *smirk* I chose to keep mine on until the last minute since Maryanne was there and I am very modest. The nurses aren't allowed to check your dilation. There was no doctor around. They judge your progress on how far apart your contractions are. It's very non-invasive. I told my nurse I was going to go fast and she said I probably would have a few more hours so she left. Maryanne left the room upon hearing that boring news to sit out in the hall. Well, suddenly my contractions started coming fast and I knew it was time. I asked Tom if he wanted to deliver the baby because I did not want to wait. (it is very difficult to hold back having a baby when you are not numb) He said he was ready, and so I pushed once. The head was easy to deliver and that is when the nurse walked in, saw what was happening and quickly ran out to get a midwife who was in the next room over helping some other slow poke mother. The midwife came in and got the shoulders out and the rest of the baby. Then she left. I never saw her because I had my eyes closed. Nathaniel was born. His name means "gift from God". It was a favorite name since high school and after seeing and holding this most precious son, I had to name him that. He was the most peaceful, calm baby ever! He was truly a gift and blessing to us all and still is now....sometimes. ;)