He's Here!!!!!!!

This is William Ward Wettlaufer.....he decided to be a December baby and was born at 2:30 a.m. on December 1st.

A moment between new mom and dad.....

It all started on Monday morning...first hubby was up at 5:30 a.m. to leave for the airport on time to catch his 9:15 a.m. flight...we live about an hour or so from the airport......so it started out as a very early morning.

I decided to go to quilt class as usual because I knew that Jennifer was being induced, but I also knew that the method (applying inducing gel) was a very slow method. Returned from quilting in time for the kids to get home from school....Ryan had already texted me a few times saying that nothing really was happening.....
Around five o'clock, another text said the contractions were steady and they'd be having a baby that night. I texted hubby in California and he texted back that he thought I should go 'up'...Jenn and Ryan live about three hours north of us..hence the 'up'....well, I'm afraid that's all the encouragement I needed....fortunately army boy, (who hence forth shall be known as Paul because he's no longer in the army as of Monday morning) had just returned home and agreed to watch over the teens so they did not kill themselves or others in my absence!

So I left around 5:45pm, and unbeknownst to me there was a winter storm taking place just out of the city where Ryan and Jenn live!!!!!!! Ryan sent me a text...while I was driving....that I tried to read,..while I was driving....ya, I know....you don't have to tell me..I already slapped my own hand.....but it's really hard to pull over on a major multi laned highway to read a text....plus I didn't have my reading glasses on...just my distant ones...so I made out something about snow between a city called Barrie and their city...and to go slow.....well, after a detour to Vaughn Mills, the Bass Pro shop...to be specific...you see, when I had to change from one highway to the next...and I was just congratulating myself on this because there's about ten million lanes of traffic at this point...and I thought I was on the right one...but I looked up and it said I was suppose to be way over on the other side of all the lanes....too late....(hubby did say later that I probably would have been okay)...so I quickly took the next exit....and because I am woman, hear me roar...I stepped into the very first place to ask for directions...and use their facilities because I was desperate at this time....pressure has that affect, ya know......so the nice clerk at the Bass Pro shop, told me how to get back to the highway...unfortunately cause she lives around there she wasn't specific enough and I was wondering up this road, looking for the highway signs, when my cell phone rang...it was hubby, calling from California...I figured it was the Lord's doing cause I was just talking to myself and the Lord, wondering if I had made yet another wrong turn.....well, he stayed on the line (my cell phone bill's going to be humongous!) and helped me get back onto the major highway.

So, I'm just going along...at a steady 110 km/hr...roads were clear and good...no snow....further north I went the roads were wet from a light rain but no snow....I was just thinking to myself....well, this is good...I'm making good time.....just me and Andrea Bocelli singing his new Christmas album...well, that may have been a mistake.......when somebody is singing let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......well,maybe I should have put in a different c.d.!

About 40kms from Ryan and Jenn's town, the snow started.....I thought...'okay, here's the snow'...'I can do this'.....in a flash, it went from I can do this, to oh no, I can't see!!!!!! I had two vehicles behind me and none in front of me...the snow on the road was already thick enough that I couldn't see any road markings.....I was in a panic....hands clutching the steering wheel, leaning forward, trying desperately to see....anything....there was nothing...the odd time I would see a rutted tire track that hadn't filled in yet...mostly I just watched the roadside markers to try and stay on the road...I had no idea what kind of terrain was just off the road.....the snow was coming in huge flakes, hitting the windshield faster than my wipers could handle. ....and all the while good old Andrea kept singing merrily away....but I daren't even take my hands off the steering wheel for a second to shut it off.....finally, the exit came up for Ryan and Jenn's town and I slowly crept off the highway. At the first McDonalds I came to, I stopped and called hubby......who was enjoying himself at a bar-b-que in the nice California warmth!!!! Then, of course I had to visit their washroom....then on to the hospital....as soon as I could stop shaking!

When I arrived Ryan met me...we really weren't sure how this was going to play out cause of the H1N1 thing...they were suppose to be strict about visitors, but I pretended to be invisible and got in! Jenn and her mom were walking the hallways, stopping once in awhile for a contraction.....
We quickly got to to room that she was labouring in and I sat there, trying to be quiet as a mouse and invisible so a nurse wouldn't kick me out. I don't know if it was because it was later in the evening or what, but they let me stay....and about five hours later...I witnessed the birth of my grandson....we think he's a beauty! At first he cried some and then he just opened up those dark eyes and was looking around everywhere...Jennifer did an amazing job....she was very determined and tireless in her effort to bring forth her son.....I was very proud of her and my son, who stayed by her side, supporting her...he admitted that if it were him he thought he would just ask them to put him out....much more civilised!

So, there it is...my adventure into the wintery north.....(I will admit to being scared to come home when Ryan said it's like that on that stretch of road from now til spring!)..after 4 hours of sleep, and putting William's name on his quilt...I left the little town of Parry Sound and drove home.....the roads were clear and for the most part, dry.....I had been praying and I know others had too,...especially my worried hubby, thousands of miles away.....it's the first time that I've ever travelled so far, all alone.....on the way home I listened to Lonestar.....wasn't taking any chances!

Welcome to the family William...we're sure glad you're here!