August 25th 12:28am...

What a crazy night! You finally came out of hiding at 12:28am this morning. Mom went into labor at about 5:30pm on the 24th. About 7 hours later, you came out with a full cone head of hair at 8 lbs 9 oz and 21.5 inches long. I have to admit, you really looked like an alien when you first came out, but knowing that you were our little alien made you the cutest alien I had ever seen!

I had just sat down on the train for my daily 35 minute commute to Shangri-Lisle when I got a call from mom (I always assumed I would get a frantic call from your mom, freaking out about being in labor, but when push came to shove, she was pretty calm and subdued.). So your mom proceeds to tell me that her water broke, and she was wondering if I could "hurry home!!!!" Now, I have taken public transportation to work for the better part of two years and the term "hurry home" is no where in my vocabulary!

One train ride and one cab ride later, I made it home to find you mom calmly doing her hair before she went into labor (mom must have wanted to look her best for you). Her contractions didn't really start until about 6:10, but once they started HOLY COW!!! We left the house at 6:30 for the hospital, and contractions were only 2 minutes apart and almost a minute in duration. I seriously thought I was going to have to deliver you myself on the side of Butterfield Road! We made it to the hospital around 6:50 and went right into the delivery room. Contractions were still coming pretty hard and fast, but mom's epidural started to kick in around 8:30, so things settled down for a bit.

After a couple hours of "relaxing" (if you can call intense contractions masked by a nerve inhibitor relaxing), mom was ready to start pushing. Not so much becuase you were ready to come out, but because it actually made her feel better to push during her contractions. At this point, it was just your mom, me, Grandma Mueller, and one nurse. For the next hour and a half or so, the four of us coached mom through every contraction. By midnight, more people started to come into the room, which let me know that you must have been getting close! 28 minutes, 1 doctor, 4 more nurses, and a few contractions later, you graced us with your presence.

So that is our story to this point! Since you have come out, you have only had a few bursts of crying, but for the most part, you have been really well behaved. As I sit here typing this post, you are peacefully sleeping next to me (see below). I can't believe how perfect you turned out to be. Sure, that is easy to say now. I am sure in about 10 or 15 years I will be rethinking that last comment, but for now I just want to revel in your perfectness!

Noah James Thompson

August 25th, 2010

Till the next time...

Dad