It's a boy! - the first time. . .

Next Saturday Morgan will be 29 years old.  Cleverly, he and Desiree have decided to get married on April 6th next year and will all the excitement around that event, I won't even notice that he will be 30 - or so we all think!  Here's what happened when he was born.  As I've said before, I always took time on the boys birthdays to tell them the story of the day they were born.  The four very best days of my life and Hollis' life.  The story of the day Morgan was born actually started the day before he was born.  I was about two weeks past my due date and Dr. Lovell said that if I hadn't dominoed on my own by Monday, we would induce on Tuesday.  My only ultrasound test had been very early in the pregnancy so we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl but there was something about knowing that it would indeed be over soon that allowed me to relax.  On that Wednesday, the 6th, Hollis came by our apartment at lunch time to pick up a key to the safe deposit box.  We were paying for this delivery ourselves and didn't know if they would keep the baby until the bill was paid so he was going to get some savings bonds to cash so if the hospital was cash and carry - we would be able to carry!  As he came into the apartment, I was sitting in a chair with a plateful of leftover Chinese food propped on my very large belly.  I put the plate aside and got up to go to the bathroom and as I did, my water broke.  I immediately called the doctors office and after Hollis called his office, we left for the hospital.  Dr. Lovell at that time delivered at Metropolitan Hospital on the edge of downtown San Antonio.  My contractions began as we were arriving at the hospital but they were not what you could call regular.  As the afternoon progressed, my labor was iffy at best.  I agreed to have some Demerol "to take the edge off" of the contractions.  First bad decision.  A couple of hours later, Dr. Lovell decided from his office across the street that perhaps I needed to have my labor intentionally stalled for a while in hopes that when it resumed, it would be more regular and productive.  This would be accomplished with a larger dose of Demerol - I agreed.  Second bad decision.  I was very groggy, very quickly but the contractions didn't really stop.  Then the good doctor made another decision.  He decided that perhaps I should be put on a Pitocin drip to stimulate my contractions - while I was nearly knocked out from the Demerol.  I don't actually remember agreeing to this decision but it was the third bad one.  I labored all night long.  All the training in the Bradley method of childbirth was lost because I came to in the MIDDLE of each and every contraction.  I had no time to breath, prepare, anything.  When Dr. Lovell checked me first thing Thursday morning, he said that I could push.  I was still pretty out of it but I tried.  Shortly thereafter, he said that it was going to take forceps and a pretty stout episiotomy to get this kid out.  For this part, he thought a light caudle anesthesia was called for.  At 9:27AM, Morgan Lee was born.  And then I hemorrhaged.  I had already had an IV for hours but they were putting fluid into me as fast as they could along with drugs to make the bleeding stop.  I stayed in the recovery room until 5:00 that afternoon and the minute one bag of fluid was empty, another one was attached.  I did begin to come out of the grogginess and was able to make a few phone calls.  While I was on the phone with my mother in Houston, Hollis came into the room with the information card about baby Morgan.  He handed it to me and pointed to the line that said "weight."  I gasped quite loudly and my poor mom on the other end of the line was freaking out.  I said "Mom!! Do you know what this baby weighed?!?"  She did not.  I said "NINE POUNDS, SEVEN OUNCES!!!"  I will never forget what she said next:  "Laura, you don't have to give birth to Kindergartners.  You can start with little bitty dudes and work your way up!"

I was moved to a room about 7:00 that evening and finally got to see my son.  He was so big and so beautiful - instant love!!  I had a parade of visitors that evening and then Friday morning, I went home!  I had wanted a medication free delivery and to leave when my baby was six hours old but I wasn't even awake yet when he was six hours old.  Although there were several things about this delivery that were not in my birth plan, and although I did not get along well with Dr. Lovell and did not go back to him for the other 3 deliveries, I do have to give him credit for one decision.  In 1983, HIV was out there buy they were not screening blood for it yet.  My hemorrhage was really bad and Dr. Lovell could have just as easily ordered a pint or more of blood for me that day and changed my whole world.  I remain grateful to him to this day for ordering fluid - and not blood - for me.  Oh, and it turns out they bill you for babies - we got to take him home and we didn't even have to sneak him out in my suitcase! 

His 29th Birthday Dinner - Dad's stir fry.

Happy Birthday Son!  You continue to be a great source of love and pride for us and we couldn't love you any more than we do right now.