Leif Magnus (King of the Legos): Happy 0th birthday, Leif!

Labor began at 3:45 a.m. and progressed much more quickly than we were expecting. We had been planning on having Beth, our doula, come over to our house during early labor to help us with pain relief techniques and help us figure out when was the right time to go to the hospital. However, since Amy's contractions were frequent and regular right from the beginning, by 8:00 we decided it would be wise to meet Beth at the hospital rather than having her come to our house first.

That turned out to be a very fortunate decision! By the time we checked in at the labor and delivery ward, Amy was already dilated to 7 centimeters; in another two hours she was ready to begin pushing. Beth and the midwife were extremely helpful in coaching Amy though various different labor positions to help Leif maneuver his way out into the world without any need for pain medication. Aaron stood by Amy's side the whole time, providing ice chips to keep Amy hydrated, cool washcloths, and a hand to hold. At 12:37 p.m., Leif made his grand entry into the world, crying and kicking vigorously. Amy and Aaron were both thrilled with how everything went and excited to finally meet their baby boy.