On the 22nd day of June

We became a family of four.  

(The birth story, as told through Ryan's eyes)

What the pictures below don't show is that prior to our check-in at 5:30 pm PST, Whitney was lounging by the pool, soaking up not only the sweet summer sun, but also her last few minutes of serenity. I would never contend that our lives are the most hectic or the busiest, but what I will say is that in those last remaining hours we were secretly thinking to ourselves "Why are we throwing ourselves out of balance, again?". I have concluded that change is inevitable and with that change comes an altering of our routines and with those alterations come additional stress for a season.  Its not until the dust settles and we find our rhythm that for the most part our life finds its sense of balance again. A week and a half later we are still waiting for the dust to settle.

Upon check-in the Doctor discovered that Whitney was already dilated to a 5/6--this seemed to bring both of us some relief as I'm sure in his mind he realized that he wasn't going to be camping out until the wee hours of the morning, and in my mind I was happy that this baby wasn't being delivered in the back of my car, one of Whitney's feet on the steering column and the other on the head rest. Whitney is a true believer in letting the baby "cook" for as long as it needs to--"he will come when he is ready to come" Whitney always says, mine own anxiety notwithstanding. By the time we entered the hospital, the baby was ready and he was most certainly coming. The total time lapse between check-in completion and delivery was only about two and half hours. 

Laying in the bed, epidural in, water broken, Whitney was conducting the room, which is just a nice way of saying that she was telling me where to stand, what to take pictures of and what to get on video. She seemed to gain a whole level of confidence knowing that the birthing plan she had laid out was unfolding properly and that for the most part everything was going smoothly. If she was in any real discomfort you would not have guessed it as she handled herself with a quiet confidence and a demonstrable competence of a woman who had done this a dozen times. Her calm demeanor was helped quite a bit by an amazing nursing staff and a prickly, yet professional anaesthesiologist who hooked her up with the good stuff right out of the gate. Like out of a text book, when the nurse came to check on Whitney's progress 45 minutes later, she was almost shocked to discover that the baby's head was on deck and he was ready to join the conversation. The nurse notified the Doctor and within minutes he was in the room going through his pre-game preparations. 

When we first met Dr. Langford, I remember thinking that he was very quiet, answered the questions in a very straight forward manner, but was not bursting with personality. However, as time moved on and Whitney got closer to her due date, Dr. Langford started showing more signs of life. The crowning moment being when the baby was ready to join this world, Dr. Langford unzipped his office personality and stepped out into his big show personality, acting more like a motivational trainer in the corner of a fighter--pushing back his stool, chanting and rallying his contender round after round. It was impressive to see the Doctor so involved and so invested in the process. I personally was also shocked to see what had transpired, you mix some bad lighting and a half naked woman with her legs in stirrups and this Doctor blossoms! Needless to say, I had always felt great about Dr. Langford being Whitney's Doctor but any questions of whether or not he was the man for the future were quickly put to rest when the big show commenced. 

Whitney was amazing during the delivery process, she came out swinging and three solid pushes later our second miracle was with us, healthy, swollen and chunky. On June 22 at 9:44 p.m. PST, baby Howes was born weighing in at 8 lbs 11 oz-- 21 inches long. Whitney and I were joined by Whitney's mom and sister and also our sister-in-law, Amber, who is also expecting and will be delivering in the same hospital with the same Doctor come September. Indeed, there was not a dry eye in the room and I think we were all in a little bit of shock and extremely grateful at how smoothly everything went. We have been truly blessed.

It was not until four days later that we finally agreed upon a name. Deciding to leave the hospital with a nameless baby is not a popular decision and we found ourselves pariahs of the maternity ward in the Pomerado Hospital. Whitney and I personally did not see the big deal in giving the naming process a few days to marinate before pulling the trigger. After much contemplation and flip flopping, we concluded that his name should be Bennett Ryan Howes. 

We definitely recognize how blessed we are to have two healthy little men in our lives and truth be told life has never been better.

Note to self: Remove your mascara before giving birth. Yikes!