Happy 1st Birthday, Joseph!

Baby Joseph turns one today! It is hard to believe it has already been a whole year. Last year on this day I was 10 days overdue and agreed to be induced. All it took to put me into labor was "breaking my water" (isn't that a funny term?). We had to go to a different hospital this time around and it was the non-Catholic hospital in town. I missed seeing the crucifix on the wall, but my nurse was wearing a Sacred Heart of Jesus pin, which was really neat.

I had four hours of hard labor, with the last hour or so being extremely intense, with long contractions one on top of the next. I have to say, it was the hardest labor out of all of them so far, even more so than the twins. Finally, he was ready to come out and then the near disaster struck. With his head already out, his shoulders got stuck (called shoulder dystocia). Then followed a minute (seemed like an eternity!) of near-panic, several manuevers, and the most intense pain I have ever experienced in my life. The doctor had to manually rotate Joseph's shoulders from the inside and thankfully, it worked. Shoulder dystocia can be fatal to the baby if you can't get him out quickly.

We are so grateful to God that our baby was born safe and sound and we have loved and enjoyed him immensely over the past year. He was born on his grandfather's birthday (deceased 3-8-04) and thus bears his name: Joseph Balthaser Brungardt. His three older siblings love him dearly and help Mommy and Daddy take care of him. His latest feat is standing alone for 5-10 seconds and then clapping his hands, grinning and laughing all the while.