Where, Oh Where, Has My Baby Gone?

My littlest one, Cuckoo, certainly knows how to make an entrance.  He doesn't just walk into a room, he presents himself.  It could be with a song, or with a lion's roar, or a cute little look indicating that he wants to cuddle, but you always know he's there.

Three years ago today, Cuckoo was born, and boy did he make an entrance.  It's like he knew, even before he was born, that he was going to be the sixth child.  He let us know from the get-go that he was not going to be like his siblings.  It was one odd delivery.

The most remarkable part of it all was that I didn't have any pain throughout the entire labor.  When rating my pain, as the nurses always have you do, I gave them a 2 out of 10 every time, only because it really isn't very comfortable to do anything when your stomach turns to a ball of concrete every few minutes.  At one point, the nurse came to check on me, and asked how I was doing.  My answer, "I'm bored!"  I was 9cm along.

With all of my other pregnancies, getting to 8cm took forever, but then 8cm to baby in your arms was quick.  Really quick.  When we got to the hospital, no one was in much of a rush, seeing that I didn't appear to be in any pain.  They all probably thought it was false labor and they'd be sending me home.  We told them of my slow labors, so that didn't get them moving any faster.  Once they finally checked me, I was already at 8cm.  Everyone certainly moved then! 

We all hurried up to wait.  And wait.  And wait some more.

Because I was so far along, the doctor refused to let me out of bed.  I wasn't allowed to walk around or even go to the bathroom.  She was scared to death that I was going to deliver in the hallway or the toilet.  At one point, two hours after being hooked up to the IV, I demanded to be taken off the monitor so I could go to the bathroom.  The nurse let me.

Through the hours, Hubby, the nurse, and I were wondering why the doctor didn't just break my water and get the show on the road, but since she never showed her face, I couldn't ask her.

Finally, at 11:20, more than four hours after getting to the hospital, I felt something.  A big something trying to squeeze its way out.  Hubby ran and got the nurse, and she gathered the troops.   Basically she yelled out the door, "She's having this baby naturally!  The other mothers can wait!"

First push, I felt a big gush of fluid.  I looked to the nurse and said, "Well, I guess my water broke."

She just looked at me with a sheepish grin and shook her head no.

It took a second before the situation became clear to me.  With a touch of embarrassment, I realized that I had just peed all over the doctor.

All I could do was laugh, which really isn't the most comfortable thing to do when you are desperately trying to push a baby out.  And then I turned to the doctor and said, "Well, I bet you wish you would have let me go to the bathroom now, huh?"

With the next push, my water did break and put my doctor's reflexes to the test.  After delivering five other children, I am very good at pushing.  I sent that amniotic fluid flying halfway across the room.  She actually ducked.

Once again, I laughed.  "I guess you should have broken my water, too."

At 11:33 our little Cuckoo came into the world.

And he continues to prove himself to be completely different than his siblings.

All of the other kids have been long and lean.  Cuckoo is short and chunky.

The other kids have all been extremely shy.  Cuckoo talks to people everywhere we go.  He enjoys chatting with people and getting them to smile.  When we are out somewhere, he'll tell me, "I'm going to go talk to him over there," as he points to someone he doesn't know.  A few seconds later, I'll look back to see that he managed to get this stranger (to him, not me) to put him on his shoulders to see something.

And it's not just me saying this.  People are forever telling me how stinkin' cute he is.  Yes, I'm well aware that people say that to all mothers to make them feel good.  This is different.  When people see me, they come looking for him.  Grown men and women intentionally bring food to bribe him away from whatever it is he's doing.


Even my grandma is completely smitten by him. She has actually called me to check on how her little guy is doing. She NEVER called me before he was born.

The other kids have poker straight hair. He got my curls.

Being the sixth, his life is different than the life his older siblings had as toddlers.

First off, you'll not see his curls in any of these pictures.  If he doesn't get it washed every day, the curls fall out.  He most certainly doesn't get a bath every day.

He has the chance to do things the older kids are just now doing.

He may not always be able to do it, but he does give it all a try.

When you are talking with someone or looking at something, and he wants your attention, he doesn't just call your name, or bother with the whining that the other kids did.  He simply grabs your chin and physically turns your head.  He started doing this when he was only 9 months old and continues doing it to this day. 

He loves to sing.  Unfortunately, he sings songs that my other children would never have known as toddlers. And he does it at the top of his lungs. At home, in the car, in public.

He is a child who knows what he wants and has no trouble telling you what it is.

Take, for example, the day he moved out of his crib.  He was beyond excited.  He kept bouncing around yelling, "I'm in a big bed like everybody!" 

He was thrilled to finally get to lay down in it, covered in the sheets that he picked out.  Before we even said prayers, he asked Hubby and me, "When are you going to leave?"

We were completely expecting him to get out of bed many times that first night, just because he could.  All of the kids did.  They like the idea of being free to go to the door, open it, and yell down that they need something.  We were shocked that he didn't do this even once.  We never heard a peep from him.

Until 2 hours after we put him to bed.  We heard someone step on the vent.  The vent that is really just a fancy metal grill in the floor of their room, which is directly over the room that we had been in all night.

We looked at each other, with the, "Did we just hear what we think we heard?" look, then took off upstairs.  Over the previous two hours, he had moved every book off the shelf and to his bed.  There really wasn't even room left for him on that bed.  When we came in, he started screaming at us.

"I NEVER want you in here!  Go away!  I NEVER want you in here!"

He does, however, have a few characteristics that show that he is part of our family.  Things that the other children did do.

Despite the occasional demands that he doesn't want us in his room, he is a wonderful snuggler.  He loves to curl up on your lap and just be held.  All of my boys have done this.  Shoot, they still do.

Unfortunately, he also inherited my sweet tooth.  Unlike the other kids, though, he knows how to use his charm to acquire junk food everywhere we go.

He builds with blocks every day.  Elaborate buildings or long, complicated tracks for his cars.  And like his brothers, he cleans them up every day without being told.  They don't clean up after themselves now, but for a few years they were such good boys.  Hopefully, he will be different from them in this area, too.

It's so hard to believe that he's already three.  Although, his short stature makes it a whole lot easier to deny the fact that he is getting older.

Today, we will have some fun celebrating Cuckoo.

We'll have his chosen chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, then head to the playground to play.

He wants his birthday cake to have Lightening McQueen and Spiderman playing soccer. All of his loves in one succinct scene.

He has already gotten a card from Grandma.

He is convinced that it says, "Buy 'tella and share 'tella with Buttercup."

I guess he can't get Star's birthday present out of his head.  But, unlike Star, he is going to share his Nutella.

Little does he know, Star is planning on giving him one of the coveted jars. 

He will also be receiving three bags of M&M's from Giant.  He also can't get Star's birthday present out of his head. 

From us, he will be getting a tricycle and a Lightening McQueen helmet.  He's the only one who doesn't have a bike, and it really annoys him.  It's just not easy to find a bike with pedals close enough for him to reach!

So, after soccer, and after he gets his gifts, we'll head out for a little bike ride.

He'll be thrilled.

Have a lovely day!