Introducing Noah Benjamin Moortgat...

Noah Benjamin Moortgat
February 6th, 2007
5:06 AM
9 lbs. 8.5 oz.
20" long

He's here! And a day early to boot! I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday the 7th, but on Monday night I went into labor, and he arrived Tuesday. It was a quick labor, only about 7-8 hours from the very first contractions. I wasn't even sure it was the real thing until about 2:00 AM, and when I got to the hospital, I was already 6 cms. dilated. Unfortunately for me, everything progressed so quickly from that point that there was no time for me to get an epidural. Boy, I thought I knew what pain was until I had to deliver a 9 1/2 pounder naturally! I'm fortunate it all happened so quickly because I seriously couldn't have taken more than a couple hours of that! But he is here, safe and sound, and I am recovering extremely well, much faster than I did with Riley. And in the end, it's sort of a nice thing to know about myself- that I could handle it.

So, I may be biased, but I think he is an extremely handsome boy! He definitely takes more after Daddy than me-he has got jet-black hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. I guess we'll see how much of that changes over time, but it's interesting to have two kids so different-looking, since Riley is much fairer like I am. He has a very sweet disposition so far, much like his big brother did when he was born.

And speaking of big brother, Riley definitely seems curious about this new family member, but doesn't seem to be upset about the change yet. It helps that he is getting lots of attention from Grandma and his aunts right now, too.

So, anyway, here are some preliminary photos- he's just starting to open his eyes today, so hopefully I'll get some nicer ones in the next few days. Thanks for all the well wishes that I've received in the past couple weeks, and I'll keep you all updated!