13th Birthday

I now have a teenager in the house. My baby boy turned 13 today. On January 12, 1995 at 8:30am , I went the the hospital so they could induce labor. Apparently Josiah had decided he was fine where he was and didn't see a need to come out. Tim and I spent most of that Thursday playing UNO and walking the halls. Contractions didn't start getting intense till that evening and I was awakened every 10-15 minutes. Friday morning I was finally moved to the delivery room and received an epidural. The first time it didn't take and they had to find the anesthesiologist to do it again. I spent 3 hours pushing, but every time I pushed Josiah's heartbeat would drop. The nurse told me the epidural was interferring with my ability to push and shut it off (talk about a shock). The doctor finally came in, scolded the nurse for waiting so long to page him, and I was rushed to the operating room for an emergency C-Section. As soon as I was prepped and ready, Tim was allowed into the operating room and remained by my side for the whole procedure. Within minutes, Josiah was here, 7lbs, 4oz. It was a scary time. I hadn't been told whether or not I had been given birth to a boy or a girl, because the cord had been wrapped around Josiah's neck pretty tightly and they were still trying to get him to breathe. Finally the anesthesiologist said "You have a male child' :). I don't remember anything after that until the next day. That 24 hour dose of morphine made sure of that.
Josiah demanded a lot of attention in the beginning. He was never happy unless he was being fed or held. I joked that I spent the first 3 months of his life in a chair. We nursed and napped. At 7 months he was crawling and at 9 months he was walking. He never really slowed down. He has always been very strong willed and determined, but also affectionate and caring. I hope that these qualities I have seen in him over the past 13 years will serve him well as he becomes the man that God has intended him to be. I'm very proud of you Josiah. Happy Birthday!