Meet Alec..............

Alec Brayden was 8 lbs, 6 oz, and 21 inches long. He was absolutely perfect.

J did an amazing job during delivery. I was there holding her hand and trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

When Alec was born, the dr. handed him to J first, who kissed him, and then she handed him over to me saying "now it is time to meet you other mommy." It was amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off of him - even though he was peeing all over the place!

J and I sat together with Alec for awhile, and then I decided to call it a night. We were both exhausted, and I also wanted to give her time to rest and bond with Alec. I went back to my hotel, but didn't sleep very much!

The next day was Thanksgiving, and thankfully, B had gotten a flight! He was due in CA mid-afternoon, and then we were headed to the hospital so that he could meet our son.....J's kids had been up earlier to meet Alec, and we were happy that they all had a chance to be together. B and I sat in J's room the entire time and talked about everything under the sun. Alec was never even in the nursery - he spent all day and night in J's room. It was unreal how we all got along. B and I not only fell in love with Alec, but we fell in love with J too.

I was a mom again, and honestly couldn't figure out how I had gotten this lucky.......

Taking off.......

Ok, so we were excited - finally easing our way out of the denial phase, but veeeerrrrrryyyy nervous. One of the worst parts of this was that we were going to have to leave Lilli - and we didn't know for how long.

J had a due date of November 24th. We decided it was best if I flew out there first - on the actual due date - and that B would follow when we knew more. (J really wanted to be induced, but her dr. was not giving her a straight answer.) I didn't want to miss the birth, but we didn't want to leave Lilli without either of us for longer than needed either.

Now - I am totally not the "travel by myself and enjoy it" type of person. I was petrified. My mom flew from PA to CA with me on the 24th, got me settled into my hotel (where. I had. to. stay. by. myself.), and then got right back on a red-eye to get to work in the morning. Yeah - she rocks.

So there I was, in CA, alone, and scared shitless. J had a dr.'s appointment on the 25th, and he told her that he would induce her that following Saturday, the 29th. I was so upset. Here I was, in CA - almost a full week earlier than I needed to be. I was away from my little girl, spending money on a hotel that I didn't need. I was so mad at myself, and so lonely. I cried - alot.

The next afternoon, I was working on birth announcements on my computer, when my phone rang. It was J. It was about 4:40 and she told me that she didn't feel right. Her boyfriend (not the baby's birthdad) was going to drive her to the hospital, but she really didn't think anything would come of it. She said she would call back when she knew something.

I wasn't taking any chances.............I took a shuttle to rent a car, got a GPS, and made my way to the hospital (which was almost an hour away). J called and told me they were admitting her, and I said, "great, because I am already on my way!"

I got to the hospital around 6:30 pm on November 26th.

My son was born at 7:16 pm.......................