Happy Birthday Alex!

As I posted below, I'm running a bit behind in updating my blog. oops!

So today I'm wishing Alex a happy birthday although his birthday was yesterday, the 23rd.

Alex is TEN years old now!!! WHERE did the time go! I can't believe I'm the mother of a ten year old. haha He's starting to get a bit of the preteen attitude as well. *sigh*

Yesterday I brought cupcakes (that I MADE this time! haha) to his school and he enjoyed passing them out to his classmates and everyone in the office. Then when he got home from school, daddy took him out to pick out his dinner (a tradition we have, letting the birthday boy pick out whatever they want for dinner) and then took him to a video game store to pick out his present.

Alex chose take-out Mexican for dinner. YUMM Good choice! And then for his present, he got a new Nintendo DS and a game to go with it.
He told me that he had a great day yesterday, but it could have been better if he could have gotten a PS3. haha HOW many video game systems does one person need?!

He's excited to have friends come this weekend for his birthday, but he's really unsure about the whole pirate theme. He feels it's too "babyish" and he's too old for that. I'm sure he'll have fun though. ;)

Okay, so now for the day Alex was born....
I was a young single mom at the time, 17 years old, although I thankfully had my parents support and so I was prepared for childbirth (as much as you can be!). My mom was my labor coach, and we had been practicing a birthing method called The Bradley method together...a way to help deal with the pain.
Alex wasn't due until March 9th, but exactly two weeks early I went into labor on the evening of February 21st. It was very slow and easy at first. The next day, the 22nd, I went to school (in my senior year at the time) but halfway through my day the contractions got worse and I decided to go home. Throughout the day my labor picked up more and more, and by early evening I was finally in full labor.
My mom helped me relax and breathe through the contractions as we learned with the Bradley method, and so we stayed at home until it appeared that my labor was far enough along to go to the hospital. Finally I said I NEEDED to go to the hospital although my mom thought I wasn't in enough pain yet. She obviously wasn't feeling what I was feeling! haha Once at the hospital, I was already at 9cm dilated and almost ready to push!
Pushing took three hours, a very long and hard three hours. Thankfully I had my CNM (certified nurse midwife) as my doctor, because she let me continue to try pushing where other doctors would probably have suggested a c-section.
Finally, just after midnight on February 23rd Alex was born! He was 8 lbs 14 oz and 21" long.

Here is his baby picture, the day we left the hospital! (Apparently we had the wrong type of carseat so the hospital had to loan us one to take him home, which is what he's seen in this picture)



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!!!