Webb's birth arrival on July 24th created the Monthlong Knudsen Celebration Season beginning on June 24 and culminating on Webb's birthday. All Knudsen birthdays (& our wedding anniversary) are neatly contained within this window, except, and until the arrival of, Paige who pitched up in September! Paige doesn't mind being the odd man out, since she hopes the break works to her benefit, giving us all time to restock our wallets for her birthday largess! Wishful thinking anyway!
But, back to the Birthday Boy's Birth Story: since Andie was my 2 year old daughter, I was beyond thrilled when the doctor in Cambridge, Massachusetts ventured his guess (based on an old-school sonogram) that I was carrying a boy this time! A boy! A son! ...Perfect!
My doctor's accurate prediction turned out to be a blessing for Paige as well because when you have one of each you really don't have a strong preference for #3 (at least I didn't).
While the doctor nailed the sex right, he did not estimate well how quickly my labor would proceed with Webb's delivery! After checking in at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston (basically down the way from Fenway Park - go Red Sox!) the admitting nurse seemed to think we were in for a long haul and encouraged Brent to check out the cafeteria and stroll on back to the delivery wing, oh, ...whenever, ..."No Rush!" (yes, it's a quote, I distinctly recall those exact words!
Probably a half hour (tops) passed and when 2 nurses appeared to check on things they panicked finding me completely dilated. "Where is the doctor? Where is the husband?" one asked, impatiently. "Someone page her doctor! Someone page her husband!" the other nurse started shouting orders. The "no rush" admonishment was long gone!
I met the OB/Gyn Physician on call just minutes before Webb's grand entrance....so much for giving my regular doctor travel time to get to the hospital (didn't happen). And, Brent wandered in from an uneventful cafeteria visit to a room of full of commotion! It was too late for an epidural and with barely a push Webb made record time.
And with Webb's arrival it seemed like we went from a Mom/Dad/Daughter scenario to feeling like A Real Family! 2 parents and 2 kids! It really was a shift for me, this was no longer just "playing house." Webb's birth was a bit of a confirmation that whether we knew what we were doing or not (I likely did not) we were a family all the way! Yikes!
Happy Birthday Wishes to Webb whose debut forced me to Mom-It-Up and realize that I was in the thick of it, like it or not. Happily, I did like it. A lot!
