A Day in the Life....: Happy Birthday #3

Mr. Morgan turned 6 tonight, in fact, almost to the this very minute I gave birth to sweet baby mo....seems like it was only yesterday and where the time has gone, is hard to say. I recall this day clearly, we lived with Tom and Sue as the final touches were being put on our 'new house' in St. Michael.

Skateboarding Mo - all the safety gear was he gift from Mike and I

In fact, the night before Morgan's birth, Mike, Brendan, Clare, Great Grandpa and Grandma Culhane drove out to the house for a quick walk through and then had dinner at Chammps in Maple Grove.

I had been to the doctor earlier that day and she said she was going to 'help things along' and she expected to see me at the hospital within 48 hours. Sure enough, by the time I went to bed, the contractions had started. When I woke up, everyone went to work just like it was a normal Thursday and me, Brendan and Clare kept ourselves busy- me, timing contractions, Clare and Brendan asking every few minutes, is it time to call daddy? is it time to go to the hospital?

Near lunch I called Mike, for certain the contractions were 5-6 minutes apart and it was near time to go. I had done my part to keep labor in motion; jumping jacks, walks, Tom's Gazelle, anything and everything to keep my body moving! By 1:00 Mike and I were at the hospital with hopeful anticipation. We had not yet decided on a name, tentatively, we had called the baby Connor, but really had not agreed that this baby boy was a "Connor"....we just couldn't wait to see him before we'd know what name was right. We walked the hallways of Abbott, talking and admiring the donated tiles on the wall, we found the name Morgan and both really liked it. "That is his name" we said, almost in unison. The clock just kept ticking, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, I was beginning to think the midwife would send me home soon. I was only dilated to 3, no progress to speak of.

At 7, their was a shift change and the mid-wife offered to break my water, PLEASE! I almost begged...if you break my water, I swear I will have this baby. By 8, hard labor was upon me, dilated to 9 and the pain was intense, everyone took turns rubbing my lower back..until their hands hurt, so reinforcements were called in "aka" the portable whirlpool tub where I soaked until I was fully dilated, 9:45 time to push. No drugs, only a room filled with family- Mike at my side, the cryin' grannies right at the door and the grandpa's in the hallway with Bren and Clare....waiting to hear the healthy cry of a new baby.

With a couple of pushes, he was in the world, cord wrapped around his neck, but fine, happy and with his family.

Today, six years later- he is a big boy, skateboarder dude that dances to hip-hop, cuts pictures of girls out of People magazine (don't ask...he says they are for his friend at school) and takes his Dad's Polo cologne with him in his backpack- luckily that only happened once. He also loves everyone, he still kisses me goodnight and asks me to snuggle, he thinks his big brother rocks, he believes in himself, he makes up a lot of funny words....and he is now learning to read, another major accomplishment that he is now starting to brag about. Pretty cool to be a mother of a dynamic 6 year old.

What will Morgan grow up to be? He asked me last night why everyone says he has beautiful blue eyes, I said, because you do -- his response "oh, I knew that, they're just like yours and Dads". Melt my heart. I wish I could hold onto 6 for a little longer.