Leah Marie

In the Fall, Brandon had a wonderful 4th grade teacher.

She sat with me, Tom, and Brandon to talk about Brandon's possible Tourettes. She wanted to know what we wanted the class to know and wanted us to set up an IEP so Brandon could get the support he needed at school.

What a blessing this teacher turned out to be. She really made an effort to help Brandon get through the year. She would play soft music during quiet times, she got Brandon a podium to stand at when his leg tics were active, and she communicated with me every week.

Brandon's neurologist was trying different medications with Brandon. Some had terrible side effects, but one did finally help with the vocal tics. In the beginning, it is difficult to find the right medicine.

On October 26th, our Chicago White Sox played in the World Series final game. Tom is a huge Sox fan!

We were at home, on the couch watching the game. I started feeling what I thought might be true contractions. I started timing them - then I started thinking how am I going to tell Tom we have to go to the hospital.

Soon, I had no choice. I told Tom that I was having contractions and I needed to get to the hospital. I was pacing, so he told me to sit down. Silly man thought if I sat still, the contractions would slow down. I went and called my doctor - he told me to wait maybe an hour to see if I was really in labor. (I have a feeling he was watching the same game.) So then I called my parents who were at my sister's about 40 minutes away. My dad said that he and my mom would be right over. I started to panic as the contractions got worse. I told Tom we had to go. I called my friend who lives across the street. She came over to watch our other 4 while my parents were on their way. Tom and I left. We listened to the White Sox win the World Series while in our car.

I think reality hit Tom while we were driving. As soon as we got to the hospital he was a little "snippy" telling the nurse to quickly get me a wheelchair and to please get us to a room right away.

The conversation between Tom and my doctor was a lot about the White Sox while I was focusing on my pain.

We joked about it.

A few hours later on October 27th (Simon Le Bon's birthday!)

our sweet 8 pound Leah Marie was born. While looking up names, we came across Leah (because of the song) and it said that in the Bible, Leah was the sister of Rachel. Well, there you go. Our Rachel now had a sister named Leah.

She was a beautiful baby! Blue eyes and thick, dark hair - which eventually turned bright blonde. She is our "Blondie."

And being so close to Halloween - her birthday parties are always fun!