Oscar at First

The day started with one Martin going off into the world...

Calvin and his first day of kindergarten.

And ended with another Martin coming into it...

Before the school day was over I began to have some serious cramps and pains.  By calculating how long the other five births were, I figured--if the pains continued--I had anywhere from 4-8 hours before actual birth of my baby.  

So, I started packing my bag and sent David to pick up the kids. By the time he came home I was sure it was labor.  And by the time I'd given everyone a snack, I was sure I needed to go to the hospital NOW!

The best laid plans... 

I had planned on using a doula again and perhaps even doing a water birth.  But even though everything was happening so quick, I thought I still had hours of labor:  enough time to call the doula and arrange babysitting for the rest.  Thinking that and feeling such intense pain I was sure I needed an epidural--or chloroform, or a heavy mallet, whatever. However, as soon as I was in a bed, I was told that whenever I wanted to, I could push.

Four or five pushes later, he was born!

 

8lbs. 12oz. 21in.
Compared to Willa, he was a little one.  David and I were so amazed that a baby could come so quick.  We just kept shaking our heads that he was already here.  We'd been preparing for a long night of labor and it was over before we knew it had started.

He was (IS!) such a beautiful boy.  

So alert.  He just kept looking at his new world until I fed him for the first time and he went to sleep.

He came much quicker than his name...  
Finally on the day of our release, we chose Oscar.  It is a good Scandinavian name and has meaning on my side of the family.  For his middle name we chose Xiaojia.  A Chinese name and the name of David's late mentor, Xiaojia Ge.
Dr. Ge is the reason we came to Minnesota and in fact, is the reason David entered the field of Human Development.  He was a wonderful man who built an amazing life despite being raised in China during the Cultural Revolution.  His pride was helping his students succeed.  Some of David's closet friends are the fellow grad-students of Ge.  He built a family among those he trained.  It's an honor to remember him every time we explain little Oscar's name; much the way we do when we tell about Willa and her great grandma and Calvin and his grandfather.

We are so happy to have Oscar come to our family!