Another Miracle Baby

Our family's newest miracle was finally born......a month early.

Nixon Daniel Boucher made his entry into this world March 2, 2008 at precisely 3:52:35am. I call him our miracle baby because his parents tried for a very long time to get pregnant and, finally, with the help of modern science, he was conceived. Because of the In Vitro fertilization process and the many ultra sound pictures along the way, we have been able to actually watch Nixon as he made his way from a blastocyst (little group of cells) at 5 days from fertilization to the beautiful 5 pound 8 ounce, 18.25" long tiny baby who brightened our lives from the day he was born.

Even though he arrived early, this tiny bundle of joy was born full of energy.....and great lungs. Since he was breech, Mom (Tristina) had to have a C-section. Dad (Nathan) said baby Nixon was screaming at the tops of his lungs even before he was pulled from the womb. The doctor reported that in the 25+ years he's been delivering babies, he's never experienced a birth like Nixon's. Yes, the doctor said, the baby was screaming before his head ever left his nesting place, but he was also grabbing hold of anything he could as he was being extricated - the suction hose, his umbelical chord......grabbing, the doctor said, as if he definitely wanted to stay where he was. Once he was freed, warmed and wrapped, however, everyone in the room was quite impressed with the level of alertness exhibited by this extraordinary child.

Nathan said the OB, the pediatrician, and all of the nurses on the floor agreed with him that - in their collective experiences - Nixon is the most handsome, and definitely the most intelligent, baby that has ever been born. He's obviously already a lot like his dad.

Nixon is our half-dozen. His birth came almost 10 years after the birth of our first grandchild, Tucker. After Tucker's birth we welcomed John (8), Mark (6 another miracle baby - and another post), Elle (4) and Ryland (2) to the family. Yet, even though grandchildren are not new to me, the birth of each one has been equally as magical as the first. All words that can be used to describe the emotions of grandparenthood (if that's a word - if it's not, it should be) are inadequate, so I'm going to stop here. Suffice it to say that my heart has, once again, been stretched and I am totally and completely in love.