In the beginning . . .

Gabriel was born in Detroit at Hutzel Hospital on May 26, 1999.  It was the second happiest day of my life.  The first happiest day, of course, was the birth of his older brother, Jeremy, on February 3, 1997 at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.  I am not even sure how to begin, so I will just start with the birth of Gabriel.  Very often, the birth of a second or third child is somewhat easier compared to the first.  Such was not the case with the birth of Gabriel.  I labored for more than 12 hours with Gabriel and pushed for 3 hours.  He developed a cephalohematoma and, consequently, jaundice.  They wanted to keep him for a couple nights, for testing and light therapy, but I would not have it.  I am a nurse and I told them I could apply light therapy at home.  His bili levels were marginal, at best.  So, we went home.