The Birth Story of Quinn...............

New Year's Eve was a quiet one. Kids went to bed, James and I watched a movie together, and then I was on the computer surfing the web.

We actually missed the New Year come in. It seemed like a regular night. I think it was 12:05 when James looked at me and said "Happy New Year." As you can tell the ringing in the New Year was not a big deal for us.

That all changed about 30 minutes later.

I started feeling a little crampy. I dismissed it as contractions because I had just had a nasty stomach virus a few days before and thought it may be coming back.

Then about an hour later, the cramping intensified. I was not sure if they were contractions or false labor, so I kissed James good night and decided to lay down to see if the pain would go away. After 2 hours of restless sleep, I got back up. James was still awake. I told him that the contractions had not gone away and that the baby may be coming today. So, James asked what he should do. I told him I still wanted to wait. The contractions were still all over the place and I wanted to wait until there was a pattern to them. I told him to go to bed and I would wake him up if anything changed.

Around 6:30 am, I could not take the pain anymore. It was intensifying. I called the hospital and told them I was a scheduled c-section and was having contractions. They told me I needed to come in and they would page my doctor.

My brother woke up to get ready for work. I told him I was going to go to the hospital and needed him to watch the twins. I then woke up James. We both got dressed and out the door we went.

When we got to the hospital at 7:15 am, the nurse and wheel chair was waiting for me. They did not want me to walk. I got up to my room, they hooked me up to monitor the baby and the contractions. The contractions were 2 1/2 minutes apart and I was 5 cm dilated. The nurse told me we had to stop the contractions. They were coming too fast and since I had a c-section with the twins, I am not aloud to deliver vaginally.

I was disappointed. I thought she meant I would not be having the baby today. I was wrong. When she rushed back into my room with the shot, she told me that the OR team was on its way and I needed to hold on until they got here to deliver my baby. I was scared, but I was so excited too. Today was the day I would see my little baby boy.

James reacted a little differently. I am not sure if it was watching me get a shot, lack of sleep, the realization that this all was really happening or a combination of all of it, but he turned a little pale. Enough for the nurse to be concerned. She asked if he needed some water. He nodded. She left and came back with a glass of water for him. After that, he looked better. And he was back to his joking self. I love this man. He can make me laugh and he is always there for me. I swear I am the luckiest person to have found a man like this.

Around 8:00 am, James called my mom to let her know what was going on and told me she was on her way.

At 8:30 I was wheeled into the OR to get prepped for surgery. That is when the doctor's told me that it looked like Quinn would be the New Year's Baby!

And at 9:30 am, they started the c-section. Quinn was born at 9:40 am. He was healthy and crying. I was able to see my little boy a few minutes later. He looks so much like James. A real cutie.

James left with Quinn, while the doctors finished with me.

James made all the calls to the family. I heard from a few nurses told me that he did it while holding Quinn. They said it was so sweet. They had never seen a Daddy beam over their child like that before. He had a glow to him.

I got to my room at about 11 am and James, Quinn, and my parents were waiting. And it was then that I was able to hold my son for the first time. It was so overwhelming. My little boy was finally here. I was so happy. I held him for a very long time. I just did not want to share.

The twins came to the hospital later that afternoon. They were so excited. They "oohed" and "aaahed" over him. It was a good day.

Quinn was unable to sleep with me in the room that night. I had somehow broke open part of my incision. It was pretty bad. There was a lot of blood. I think I actually freaked out the night nurse.

Other than that my hospital stay was uneventful. The next night Quinn did spend all night in my room. He slept with me in my bed. I woke up one time and while I watched him sleep, I realized how much I was enjoying this. How much I really wanted this.

It is now a week later at 6 am and I am feeding Quinn. It still feels so surreal. I still cannot believe he is finally here.

But I am enjoying every moment of it.