Welcome A.J.!

I am often asked by expecting mothers “Are you sure you want me to call even in the middle of the night if I go into labor?”  The answer is “yes” and AJ is proof that I pop out of bed to attend early morning births (I even beat his parents to the birthing center!) I got the call from Stephen (AJ’s dad) around 12:30 AM that “the time was finally here.” This little guy was stubborn. His due date was the 19th but he held out until the 24th.

I usually give my Moms2B tips on how to make the birth pictures more memorable. For example, find a cool little “skull cap” for your baby instead of the ones the hospitals provide. Well, the hat you see in this picture on AJ’s handsome little head was lovingly made just for him by his mom… sentimental, sentimental, sentimental…

Elisha (AJ’s mom) decided to have him without the use of any drugs and at the beautiful Allen  Birthing Center. I have to say, I would have never guessed she was in labor until about 30 minutes before AJ was born (which was 5:37 AM). I know her midwives were as baffled as I was. With the aid of some caffeinated beverages (none for Elisha), we all sat around and talked through the early morning hours until the little guy decided we had waited enough.

Very excited big brothers showed up around 7:00 AM. Grandma told us that middle brother, Brenden, woke up in the wee hours of the morning to use the bathroom. When he saw his grandmother there, he knew what that meant…AJ was on the way!!! He was so excited he went and woke up “biggest brother” Dillon. Dillon was so excited he couldn’t go back to sleep but Brenden some how found the way.

Grandpa was one of the family members who got up early to meet the little guy. There was one family member,I think her name was Aunt Brittany, (forgive me if I got that wrong, my brain isn’t usually fully functional at those hours), who I understand was bummed that she couldn’t be there. Brittany had joined the Air Force and had to check in at 4:00 that morning. I know it will be a few months before Brittany has the opportunity to see this but, I just wanted to say “Brittany, if you do see this, “Thank you for serving our country.”

I have this same picture taken at around 1:00 AM. I decided to take it  again on my way out around 7 something AM. The Allen Birthing Center is an old historic house that was built in 1909 (I think) and was one of the first houses in Allen. What a cool place to start a life.