Birthday Boy

Today is Keller's 3rd birthday. I cannot believe my baby is three.

Keller was born on a Thursday. I started feeling contractions at 2:30 AM. I had actually had some signs the night before that his arrival was imminent. Anyway, I woke up with contractions and went into the other room to time them before calling the doctor or waking up John. At 3:30 the contractions were stronger and about 7 minutes apart. I woke John up.

When I woke him up, I think all I said was, "John, I'm having contractions." And he jumped up and started getting dressed and I think said, "Let's go." I called the doctor and he told me to come in.

We left for Holy Cross and by the time we left, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and really strong. I called my parents and I think they jumped into their car right then and there.

We made it to the hospital at about 4:00. By then my contractions were about a minute apart. And so freaking painful. They did the initial exam, I was already at 7 cm and was going to be a mom very soon.

We got into our delivery room and the guy came to give me an epidural. I asked him if he was going to paralyze me and he assured me he wouldn't. I was having contractions while he was giving me the epidural, so I had to be sure I'd be able to walk when this was all said and done.

The doctor broke my water and told me things were moving along nicely. At about 6:30 they told me I could start pushing. John was out in the parking lot calling family, so I of course had to wait a little. No one thought I'd be going through such a fast labor. They cut off the epidural and when John came back, it was time to go.

I pushed for about an hour. It was the hardest physical challenge in my life. Because I had been on bed rest for 3 months, my legs were shot. They were shaking and I had no strength to push. I was feeling the contractions and it was not a fun time. They had to give me a shot of something to speed up my contractions because they started to slow.

I really started doubting whether or not I could get this baby out. I said as much to the doctor and John (something like, "I can't do this anymore"). The doctor was a little miffed and basically told me in no uncertain terms that I was pushing the baby out. It's all about tough love with me. The doctor knew this and had to be stern with me.

Just after 8:00 AM, our sweet baby boy was born. John had tears streaming down his face, that was a beautiful sight. We didn't know what we were having and everyone had convinced us we were having a girl. So when the doctor said we had a boy, we were a little surprised. I almost asked the doctor if he was sure, but thought against it. I didn't know if his tough love had ended by then and wasn't sure if he'd slap me. Anyway, Keller Joseph Gill was born. And the light in my life shined as brightly as ever.

Yesterday was Keller's birthday party. It was a hoot. We had a safari party at Andy's Parties in the Kentlands. It was awesome. The kids got little safari hats and binoculars and went on a safari for lions and giraffes. We did a pinata, pizza and cake. It was great. I will post pictures later today.

Happy Birthday, Keller. We love you to bits.