Grayson Xavier HannersOur sweet little boy, Grayson Xavier, joined our family on Monday morning. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz., and was 21.7 inches long. He and I are both doing really well, and the kids are all in love with him.

They always say that each birth is unique, but this one was surprisingly different from the others. I always have my babies early, so his arrival at 39 weeks was no surprise. In fact, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Morgan had spent the entire week before in Africa, and had only just returned home on Sunday afternoon! I had been on pins and needles all week, worrying that Grayson would come before his Daddy returned.

My labors tend to last for quite a while. My shortest one was Liam's, which lasted for about 12 hours. So I was hoping for a shorter birth, but not expecting anything faster than 6 hours. I woke up at about 6 a.m. on Monday to a contraction. I tried to rest for a little longer because I had a feeling that Grayson would be joining us that day, and I would need my energy. Morgan got the kids off to school while I showered, gathered my things, made the bed, etc. I started to fold some laundry, but decided that I should probably eat something and get ready to go.

So I went downstairs and ate some breakfast while sitting on my birthing (exercise) ball and timing my contractions. They were coming every four minutes and were lasting one minute each. The midwife had told me to come in when they were ten minutes apart, but they basically started at four minutes apart. So we loaded up the car and left Liam at home with Grandma and headed out to St. Johannis Krankenhaus (hospital) in Landstuhl.

As soon as we got to the hospital (at about 9 a.m.), Morgan wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery. The kind midwife I had met on previous visits to the hospital, Sabine, met us at the door. She lives in our village and walks her dog in our neighborhood. I had my pick of rooms because I was the only woman there. I chose the room I had toured a few weeks before. It has a really neat birthing bed that can be used in all different positions. Before I could get out of the wheelchair, another contraction started, so I asked if I could just wait a minute. During that contraction my water broke.

After getting into the bed, Sabine checked me and found that I was dilated to 4 centimeters. After that, the contractions started coming faster and more intensely. Sabine checked me again, and I was 6 centimeters dilated.

I asked to go to the bathroom, and while I was in there, I had some really intense contractions. I guess Sabine could tell something was happening based on the sounds I was making because she quickly escorted me back to my room. But I didn't even make it back to the bed. I knelt down beside the bed, and all of a sudden felt the baby's head crowning! The doctor and midwife were very fast, and placed everything they needed on the floor between my legs. German hospitals work with the mother much more than in the States. They are used to catching babies in whatever position feels right for the mother.

I felt the urge to push, so just went ahead and did it, and after two pushes he was here. Because I was kneeling beside my bed, I couldn't hold him right away. He was laying on the cloths on the floor between my legs, so I had to look down to get my first look at him. He was beautiful! Morgan cut his cord, and I got up into the bed and held and nursed my beautiful little boy.

He was born at 10:02 a.m. -- only an hour after checking into the hospital! I was in deliriously happy shock to be holding my sweet little boy after such a short labor. It was definitely intense, but it was beautiful, and the results were miraculous. We are all so happy.

Watch for more pictures and posts to come.