Happy 1st Birthday, Levi!!!!

This day last year started out like any other. Luca and I got up and had breakfast and got ready for the day. My plans were to go to Airdrie to get Chris some work shirts for the summer (he only had long sleeved dress shirts, mostly). So, Luca and I headed into town to get some shopping done.

We came home and had lunch, then it was off for a nap for Luca. Surprisingly, I wasn't tired this afternoon (I had napped ever afternoon for quite a while before this), so I watched a movie. It was the first afternoon that I would stay awake. Little did I know that I would be up a lot of the night with a newborn!

At 5:15pm, Chris called to say that he was going for some drinks with the guys from work as it was the last day for a few of them that were heading to school for a few months. I told him that I had had a contraction a few minutes prior, but we didn't think much of it as I had been having contractions off and on for a week now.

Within 15 minutes, there was another contraction and then another. After a little while, I called Chris back to say that he didn't need to hurry, but that he should come home. He was just going to finish his meal and head this way. That was fine by me, as I thought we had tons of time.

Within a few more minutes, I called back and told him to leave now and to hurry. My contractions were about 8 minutes apart.

I reached transition and was laying on my bathroom floor between heaving into the toilet. Luca was quite concerned that I was going to make a mess!

Chris arrived home at 7:15, got Luca strapped into his car seat and me into the Jeep between contractions. They were coming hard and I couldn't talk through them at this point.

Just before 7:30 we were on the road, only to have to wait for a train before we could leave Crossfield. Chris drove confidently (but fast!) and I watched the clock and timed contractions.

I don't remember a whoe lot about the drive except for at each town that we passed, I would think "Didsbury....40 minutes......Olds....30 minutes......Bowden.....20 minutes........Innisfail.......15 minutes......Gasoline Alley......5 minutes.

We arrived at the hospital at 8:30, with my contractions 2 minutes apart and lasting about 90 seconds. Pat and Joanne were there to meet us and to take Luca home with them.

Chris got me into a wheelchair and pushed me upstairs to labour and delivery. When we arrived, I managed to tell the nurse "They are 2 minutes apart and strong. I want an epidural!"

She got me to go to the bathroom and then would check me. As I emptied my bladder, I felt the baby's head move down into the birth canal. I couldn't get up. At this point, there didn't feel like there was a break at all between contractions. It was just one constant one. The nurse and Chris managed to get me to the bed where I was to be checked.

At the same moment the nurse declared that I was 9.5 cm dilated, my water broke and I had to push. There was no holding this baby back!

2 pushes later, at 8:44pm, with only Chris and a nurse there, Levi Allan was born! The poor nurse only had time to get her gloves on to catch him. We had been at the hospital for 14 minutes. They didn't have a chart for me, and barely knew my name!

He was perfect! At 7lbs 7oz he was exactly a pound smaller than his big brother was. He had so much dark hair, and beautifully colored skin. His head was perfectly round, afterall, he didn't spend much time in there to get a cone head!

Chris managed to get this photo, my all time favorite picture. This is just seconds after birth, the cord still attached. You can see the nurse passing the scissors over to Chris to cut the cord.

We were so shocked to have had a baby that quickly. On the ride to Red Deer, I knew that I was in the advanced stages of labour, but had no idea how advanced! I honesltly thought that I was about half way there. We had no idea that Levi was so close to being born on the side of the highway! Thankfully, I had a full bladder that I'm sure kept him higher up!

Luca was a bit nervous to meet his new brother, but seemed excited too. Or maybe he was just interested in all the gadgets at the hospital!

We were thrilled to come home as a family of 4.

I can't believe that the year has passed so quickly. Levi is crawling; so very close to walking, says a few words (Mama, Dada, Hi, and Lula for Luca), and is a happy little boy. He loves to follow his brother around and tries to do everything he does.

The next year is going to be busy and fun- I'm looking forward to it!

Happy Birthday, Levi! We love you!