9 years have come and gone

...since our first child, Christian Patrick-Edward, entered this world on St. Patrick's Day, 2000, but I remember everything like it was yesterday. It's no joke that his due date was actually April Fools Day, but LUCKILY he seemed destined to arrive on a far more festive afternoon!

I had a wonderful pregnancy early on, but as time went on my measurements were consistently behind every week. At 31 weeks along we had a big scare and I was hospitalized for 3 days with several signs of pre-term labor. In the end it was decided that a harmless blood vessel inside me had simply burst and thankfully, the baby was unaffected.

I made it to 37 weeks, but the baby continued to be growth restricted even as I consumed foods fit for a king. A late ultrasound revealed that our son's stomach was tiny in proportion to the rest of his body and the decision was made to induce labor that very day at 37.5 weeks.

After 5 hours of labor, our amazing little boy was born. He was healthy and weighed more than the obstetrician's prediction: an acceptable 5 lbs. 9 oz. During the examining of the placenta, it was determined that his umbilical chord only had 2 arteries as opposed to the preferred 3, explaining his low weight. I was told that most babies have two arteries going to the baby and one leaving them, but in Christian's case, he only had one giving him food and was therefore only receiving half of the nourishment that he should have gotten.

We are so grateful to God that despite this complication, Christian came to us a strong and thriving newborn. In fact, he was the strongest of any of our kids as an infant. He held his head up with ease at 3 weeks and loved bearing weight on his legs from early on. He more than made up for his small size and within three months had tripled in weight.

Time has passed by so quickly and it is hard to believe that next year our son will hit the double digits. It's bittersweet to watch him change and grow. We cherish all of the sweet memories he has given us and we can't wait to see what is next.