Henry's First Day

Henry's first day really began the day before he was actually born, February 9th.  It was Wednesday and like any other Wednesday, Mom and Dad were at work.  Around midday, Dad was just arriving home for a lunch break, however this lunch break was interrupted by a phone call that shouldn't have been but was quite surprising.  Mom was calling to inform Dad that labor had begun and that she was on the way home.   With this most exciting and alarming news, Dad prepared himself for a long ordeal by doing what any other male would do, he ate lunch.

Mom arrived home about 30 minutes later by way of her principal, who was most excited to take part in the "festivities" by giving Mom a ride home.  From there the afternoon and evening progressed into a whirlwind of phone calls, car rides, doctors' offices and hospital rooms.

Henry was born at 1:26 on the morning of February 10th after only a few hours of labor.  All in all it was a successful day.  Mom and Dad left the hospital on the afternoon of February 12th for home.  Though the feeling was of relief for putting the hospital behind them, there also was the underlying feeling of terror at what they had just accomplished.  "Whose baby is this and why is he in our room?" Mom recalls thinking at some point on the 12th.  Really there never was any serious doubt about whose child they had come home with or if they had made the right decision.  They had left home a family of two and came home a family of three, and they couldn't have been happier.

The Defferdings would like to offer their sincere and heartfelt gratitude for everyone's prayers and support.