My Youngest Is 3 Today, So I Reread His Birth Report

Hi, friends! Today my youngest turns 3. THREE! For me, three feels like a magic cutoff. The toddler years are already over, and the baby years were over long ago. That tiny little peanut (20 inches, 6 pounds 12 ounces) has turned into a big daycare kid who knows exactly what he wants (his favorites: gummy bears, ice cream, cuddles with Mom, playing ball, collecting sticks, tickling, looking at books). To get myself in the mood for this post, I dug out the birth report from our birth center and traveled back to that cold February night in 2023 when our little guy joined us. I'd like to share a few lines from this wonderful report with you:

“3:20 a.m. Katharina contacts us by pager, she's having regular contractions.” “4:00 a.m. Katharina arrives at the birth center. The drive wasn't great and she's very glad to be here.” “4:10 a.m. Katharina is having regular contractions every three minutes, she's doing wonderfully.” “4:15 a.m. Katharina gets into the tub.” “4:29 a.m. Her water breaks.” “4:37 a.m. Katharina feels the head.” “4:40 a.m. Spontaneous birth, the little one cries right away, Katharina calls out, 'I did it!'” “4:44 a.m. Katharina gets out of the tub and into bed. She gets glucose tablets and a hot water bottle.” “4:50 a.m. The little one is pink and warm.”

“I did it!” What a magical sentence. The whole birth was magical. It was powerful and completely self-determined, which still makes me grateful and proud today. Grateful and proud: those two words sum up the last few years in general.

I'm so grateful we got this little guy. To live it all again, and really savor it this time: the baby smell, the first steps, the lantern parades. So many times people I know told me they couldn't imagine doing it all over again, because they'd simply outgrown that stage. I soaked every bit of it up, took it to heart, and saved it forever.

I'm so grateful for this little boy, who brought so much love, joy, and life into our family, who made us complete, and whom we all adored from the very first second.

3 Years of Chaos and Happiness

And I'm so proud that we've rocked these last three years as a family. Proud of the big siblings, who have really grown as people, who take on responsibility and put their own needs second, but who get so much back from their little brother. Proud of my husband and me, for getting through all those sleepless nights and the little and not-so-little worries of having a baby. For not losing each other in all the big-family chaos that just takes over sometimes. Some people told us we were crazy to start all over again, and sometimes we told ourselves the same thing. But our little guy was the piece we were still missing. And now we're complete.

Three years as a mom of four, and it wasn't always easy. I've cried, cursed, and wrestled with it. I often thought I wasn't getting it right. But I've also laughed so much, cuddled so much, and just loved watching him grow. These were three turbulent years, but they held far more good moments than hard ones. Not for one second would we want to be without our youngest.

Happy birthday, you big, little miracle, you whirlwind and cuddle bear. You soccer fan and trampoline jumper. It is so, so, so wonderful that you're with us. We love you very much.

(Here's the post from his first birthday, and here's the one from his second!)