The Andersens: Christopher Neil Andersen

Christopher Neil Andersen was born today at 3:54 pm. The delivery couldn't have gone smoother. Yesterday, I completely wore myself out trying to go into labor. I ran around the house vacuuming, doing laundry, and pulling weeds. I spent two hours on my hands and knees scrubbing the grout in our kitchen tile, because I read that being in that position helps the baby come down. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed when I went to bed that night without a baby.

In retrospect, the Lord was actually answering my prayers, but I wasn't patient enough to see it at the time. I had been praying that the baby would come at a time when I would be able to have care for our other three children, when Neil could be here to help me, and when it was not rush hour traffic. Since it takes a good 30 minutes to get to the hospital from our home in good traffic, the latter was a major player in my anxiety leading up to delivery.

This morning, everything fell into place. I started cramping around 6 AM, and when it didn't go away, I showered and started getting the kids ready to go. The pain got more consistent but was bearable, so we waited until 9 AM when rush hour traffic was over to head to Salt Lake. We walked around the park next to Mom and Dad Andersen's apartment for quite some time just to make sure I was ready when we got to the hospital. All my worries disappeared as we left the kids with Grandma and headed to the hospital. We really shouldn't have dawdled so much at the park, because once the nurses checked me in, I was dilated to 8 centimeters! Everything became a flurry at that point. I was strongly encouraged by the staff to receive an epidural in order to slow labor down. I was group B Strep + and needed to have two bags of antibiotic before delivering. The first bag was given to me so fast that I started to have an allergic reaction to it. I couldn't take a breath without coughing and that was making the contractions which were now piling on top of each other more difficult to bear. However, once the first bag was empty and the epidural kicked in, I felt total peace. More peace than the last three times I have given birth.

I laid in my bed half awake, thinking about this baby boy. My thoughts started to drift to the place his spirit was waiting to enter mortality. I imagined him saying his last goodbyes to his ancestors up in Heaven who will soon become his guardian angels while he lives here on Earth. Then, I dreamed that someone was telling him about our family whom he would soon be joining. I heard that person say, "You are hitting the jackpot, little one. And not just with your parents and siblings who are so excited for your arrival, but also your Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and Cousins. Your family isn't perfect. But in a world where society is shunning children and traditional families, you are going to a family with a lot of love who are trying to emulate the Savior and keep the promises they have made to love and nurture their children."

When I came to, tears were forming in my eyes. What a great honor, yet incredible responsibility I have as the mother of these sweet spirits the Lord is sending to me. I am grateful He trusts me enough to care for them.

The name Christopher means "bearer or carrier of Christ." It seemed like a good strong name. Also, my Grandpa Reichert's name is Chris, so it fits. He measured 8 lbs 13 ounces and 21 inches, and is ALL Andersen with blonde hair and squishy cheeks. Once we saw how "Andersen" he looked, it was confirmed that he should have his Daddy's name as his middle name.

When he came out, he was still in the sack. Doctor Rallison got really excited and said it was the first time he’d ever done a delivery like that. Apparently, this happens only 1 out of every 80,000 births. According to the nurses (and Wikipedia), it is considered a sign of good luck and an omen that he is destined for greatness.