Welcome home Daniel!

We have long awaited the chance to post about our newest addition and now that we are home we’d love to introduce him to you and tell him how he arrived…(this is my journal too so if you don’t want the long version scroll down to the photos ;))

About three weeks ago my RNP told me that he’d be here any day so I started mentally preparing but then he didn’t come…and he didn’t come…and my due date passed and he still wasn’t here. Monday, August 24th came and I had another appointment with my doctor—not too much change in the last three weeks but still “ready” as soon as the contractions arrived. Monday night while saying his prayers Sammy, who has been quite anxious for his arrival, prayed that “our new baby brother would come tomorrow” which he hadn’t done previously and I wondered if it could be…

Later that night I had a contraction about midnight and went back to sleep and another one or two and then about 4:30 when I had one and then another 7 minutes later I figured out what was going on. I finally called the hospital after an hour but they told me to wait another hour until the contractions were 4 or 5 minutes apart instead of 7. I told them that I lived thirty minutes away and that my last delivery was pretty quick and she finally gave me the okay to come in (thank goodness!) We called our friend Ed and he brought his daughter Jennilee over and they stayed with our sleeping boys. Auntie Sarah would come over later to get them. We jumped in the car and arrived there about 6:30.

(Warning…descriptive labor details if you keep reading…now that you’ve been told, I’ll continue) Upon arriving at the hospital they put me in an exam room, started my paperwork and were taking their time until the midwife examined me and laughingly said, “do you always like to play it dangerous and arrive at the hospital at a 8 or a 9?” That was about 7:30 or so and they moved me into a room and kept working on the paperwork and said he’d be here within the hour. The contractions were starting to get a bit stronger but I figured why get an epidural if it was going to be under an hour—it couldn’t be that bad, right? My sister Cathy had arrived and was reminding me to breathe while Thad held my hand and fanned me during the big contractions. The doctor came in about 7:45 or 7:50 and asked if I wanted to push. Startled I said sure so she got me ready and then said go for it. Now for the crazy part. My water still hadn’t broken so she said she might have to go in and break it but with the first big push (ouch!) out came the water bag and Cathy and Thad said it looked like a water balloon as it burst on the way out – I thought it felt like the baby’s head it was so round! A few more pushes and then his head popped out, Thad got to grab him then they told me to stop pushing (ha! That is hard to do at this point) because the cord was around his neck, they untangled him and I pushed again and he was out and Thad placed him on my tummy. Thad got to cut the cord and wa-lah, he arrived at 8:03 am. He was a whopping 9 lbs 4.9 oz (but you could have fooled us) and a lengthy 22 inches!

We had lots of visitors (before he had a name) and just before we went home the next morning it was official—Daniel Driggs Marcroft. We had been thinking about Daniel as one of the top choices for a while but couldn’t think of a middle name that we liked and that meant something to us. Sammy, who looked like a grumpy old man when he was born, fit the bill to be named after Daddy and Great Grandpa Clifford and Samuel the Prophet. Nathan we just knew his name was supposed to be Nathanael James when we heard it. Nathanael the Apostle from the New Testament and James after Grandpa Marcroft. So this little Daniel needed the same thing! Daniel (think Daniel in the Lion’s Den) was a good start but my Dad made us promise NOT to use his first or middle names since he “had to suffer” and didn’t want our boys to do the same so we finally figured Driggs wouldn’t be embarrassing but would have great significance!

We were discharged as early as they would let us go the next day. It was a great labor/delivery and I feel great! My body really doesn’t feel like I just went through labor 48 hours ago (hooray!) and the baby is doing very well! I hope that if we have more kids it will be the same (quick labor and quick recovery!) :-)

Welcome to the family Daniel Driggs Marcroft. We love you! :)

And here are a two more pictures of the big brothers Sammy and Nathan that I had to share because they’re too cute! :)

Sammy had the biggest grin when he came in to the hospital and has barely wiped it off of his face since. He loves him bunches and even threw a fit the first night because I wouldn’t let Daniel sleep in his room!

Nathan was quite unsure of him at first when he arrived at the hospital but quickly determined that he wanted to hold him and hug him too. Now I just have to watch him because he thinks that he’s big enough to do both of those things (and he’s strong enough to pull it off!)

P.S. He is definitely ours if you couldn’t tell already…but we’re wondering if yet again we passed on the red hair gene that we didn’t know that we had…we’ll have to see as it fills in. He got my birthmarks too (but they should lighten just like Sammy’s did) and he turns red when he screams too! I think that we might have gotten lucky again with the blue-eyed gene as well! It will be fun to see the three of them as they get bigger.