Maternity Test Confirms Melissa Is the Mother

Melissa awoke about 2am on Saturday 6 February 2010 experiencing initial contractions. The 8 minute apart contractions surprised her since the baby was not due until Wednesday by our calendar and valentines day by the doctor's calendar.

Shortly after 4am she woke me up with contractions 4 minutes apart. I started the necessary preparations for departure, things were fairly consistent until about six am. We got the other children up. Gave them their Saturday baths and got them ready to depart.

Unfortunately, there were some slight complications. No, not those kind of complications. The night before, we bought a new table that would fit the growing family. I scheduled a pick-up at 10:30 Saturday. To complicate matters, Melissa left her wallet at the furniture store. We contacted two of our most trusted friends, and they agreed to procure the wallet and the table for us in addition to watching the children. What would we do without trusted friends?

We packed up the necessary supplies. dropped the children off and headed for the hospital. What is the difference between the first child and the fourth child? About 50 mph on the freeway and Dad stressing versus discussing a tax refund. Contractions were occurring about every 3 minutes.

At the hospital, the nurse determined Melissa was dilated to a 3. Once she sat down in the hospital bed, the contractions went back down to every 6 minutes. Since most of the births have been within about 10 hours start-to-finish or less, we figured we would just hang around Provo when they discharged us. We grabbed some bagels to eat with my brother, then went to Sportsman's Warehouse so Melissa could walk laps while we examined rifles. Then we went to the mall, so Melissa could look at some of the stores she wanted while doing laps.

The contractions became far more painful and back to every couple minutes, and so we went back in. After an hour, they kicked us out again, only dilated to a 4. Lame. At least they gave her a morphine shot. Unfortunately, she would not share, so I did not get any.

We called my sister, she was kind enough to let Melissa lay on her bed and scream for a few more hours. I attempted to nap on the couch while she and her boyfriend "studied and took a take home test" (danced in the kitchen). Right about the time it was time to order a pizza, Melissa informed me now it was time. We went to the hospital, and about 45 minutes later at 5:45pm Susan was born. 7 pounds, 7 ounces, 18 inches long with black, yes you read that right black, hair. Maternity tests confirmed that Melissa is the mother.

Initial impressions are that she has a lot more of my gene pool than Melissa's this time. The nose, eyes, and ears are more from the Hoffman line.

Mom and baby are well. Mom is reporting pain level as 0.5 out of 10, and baby is a binge drinker.

The children were more interested in what color bow the nurses put on her (purple) than anything else about Mom and baby.

Upon seeing the pictures before bringing them home, Maggie reported, "She looks wrinkly, like when I've been in the bathtub, under my fingers and toes."

Many thanks to the family, friends, doctors, nurses, and food service workers that made this possible. We are deeply grateful for your help. Sorry if you did not receive our initial mass-text relaying the details.

Mom and baby have been instructed to avoid too many visitors and public places for a few weeks, particularly anyone who has been ill. Thank you for understanding.