Baby Malachi

Baby Malachi arrived on my dad's and Sam's grandpa's birthday--December 11th. He was born at 10:37 p.m., six minutes after we arrived at the hospital. We were grateful that we made it there in time. :) He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

That night, I'd been having contractions for a couple hours and after we put the boys to bed, I was thinking they might be getting serious. Sam had a paper due the next day, and I knew if I had the baby he'd have to find some way to get it to his teacher early, so I was editing it for him and trying to give him as much time as possible to finish it. With the hypnobirthing method we use, it's all kind of dreamy anyway, and you're not really thinking in terms of pain or difficulty, but when Sam said he was going to go drop the paper off at his friend's house, I suddenly realized (with some surprise!) that we better not wait any longer to be on our way to the hospital.

We called my mom and she came over to get the boys, and then we stopped by to drop Sam's paper off, and by that time I was starting to think we really better hurry, and Sam was saying, "I almost hope we get pulled over; I've always wanted this excuse!" So we made it to the hospital, and I went in and said I was in labor, and the nurses could see I was pretty focused at that point, so they sent me into a room. Just as I got into the hospital gown I realized I really, really felt like pushing. When Sam told that to the nurses at the desk, they all came running in wheeling various things and asking me things, but all I could think was that I really just felt like pushing, so that's what I did. And out he came! Simple as that. :)

The midwife, obviously, didn't get there in time, and the nurses were busy bustling around and taking measurements of the baby, but I thought I heard someone say "he," so I had to keep saying, "Is it a boy? Is it a boy?" because they seemed to think we already knew. Finally someone heard me and said he WAS a boy. And he was healthy and just fine, and I felt quite good too--kind of like one of those African ladies who just squats down in the field and has her baby and then slings him over her shoulder and keeps on working. :) (Maybe not quite that good.) But it was really nice to have the hospital part all over with so quickly--I was lucky!

We decided on Malachi Norris as his name. (Norris after one of my former teachers at BYU, Leslie Norris.) He looked quite red and flat at first, but still cute, naturally. :) He was pretty alert too, and hungry, so it was fun to hold him and start getting to know him right away. So far, he sleeps a lot, and eats in between, just as you'd expect. He has a little bit of fuzzy dark hair, and slightly furry shoulders, and long toes, and feet that turn purple when they're cold. We're happy to have him in our family!