How Stan Was Born

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning because I was having contractions and they hurt. I went out into the kitchen to have a snack and while I was in there I started timing the contractions by the clock on the oven. They were 5 minutes apart, almost exactly. I sat there for probably an hour and a half, just watching the clock and thinking, oh my gosh, I bet I'm going to have the baby today! I finally went back to bed, but of course I couldn't sleep, so I just laid there and waited for Scott to wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes, I said, "Scott, I think I'm going to have the baby today!" He woke right up and said, "Are you serious?!?" By that time my contractions were back to eight or nine minutes apart and irregular, so we went to church. This was Sunday, May 9. Stan was due May 16th. During sunday school and sacrament meeting I borrowed Scott's watch and was writing down the times of the contractions on the back of a receipt I had in my day planner. After church we took a nap until it was time to get ready to go to the mother's day party at the Wessman's. I was having second thoughts about going, so we decided to go by the hospital and see whether it would be ok to go up to salt lake. When i got there they hooked me up to this machine that measured my contractions and checked to see how far I was dialated. I wasn't far enough to be admitted to the hospital, but they said to stay and walk around for half and hour and come back, so after half an hour they checked me again. I had gone from a three to a five and a half, so they admitted me and took me to my room. While we were settling in and waiting for my epidural Scott and I watched the finale of Survivor, where Rob proposed to Amber. Stan wasnt' moving much, so they gave me an oxygen mask--they didnt' know that he hardly ever moved normally, I guess. After I got the epidural (one of the best things that's ever happened to me :) I just dozed in the bed until a nurse came in about five minutes before midnight and told me I was ready and I could start pushing. Dr. Baxter came in and 20 short minutes later Stanley was born. He was tiny and limp and purple. And now he can walk and play and babble and laugh and clap his hands. His feet stick out past the end of his car seat. He has six teeth. He thinks it's funny when we do silly things. He insists on feeding himself. He dances when we play music or sing a song. It's pretty amazing. Happy birthday, Stan!