Our Pregnancy, The Unknown

Up until September 7 (well, September 6, but you'll understand that in a minute) there were a couple of HUGE things that we didn't know about.

First, the date of which our son/daughter would arrive. Our "due date" was September 1st, but since only 5% of women deliver on their due dates, it could have been anytime. For about a week prior to our due date, Anna and her Mom would go for a long walk (supposedly helps initiate labor) in the morning. When evening time rolled around, Anna and I would go for a walk around the neighborhood. September 1 came and went, as did the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, and still nothing. On September 4th, Anna and I went for a grueling hike on a hot Sunday afternoon. This is Anna at the top of the hike.
To show you how grueling it was, directly to the right of Anna's left elbow is her Mom's house, and our starting point.

Still nothing.

Labor Day came and went. Nothing. A baby on Labor Day - we could have been on the news!

The first 23 hours of Tuesday, September 6th came, and then, finally, a clue. Around 11pm, Anna felt her water break, and then the contractions got stronger. Needless to say, we headed to the hospital to get checked out. Sure enough, her water had broke and she was in labor!

The first unknown was now answered - we were having this baby on September 7.

The second unknown, what are we having?

That was answered at 1:16pm on Wednesday, September 7th - we have a boy! A big boy! A big boy with lots of hair!

And just like that, Anna and I were parents, her a Mom and me, a Dad.

These were the things out of our control.

One of the few things that we had control over was the name (and the cafeteria food we ordered, but that isn't worth writing about). We've had the first name picked out for over 3 years, and the middle name picked out for almost 4.

Before even meeting Anna, I decided that one day, if I was blessed with a son, his middle name would be Cannon. I decided this after learning my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's middle name a day or two before he, Michael Cannon, married my sister, in October 2007.

Eight months later, while Anna and I were dating (I know, right?!), we decided on Chase while attending a late June Padres game. It was a strong, one syllable name. And more importantly, Chase Cannon flowed well.

So, there you have it, Chase Cannon Brinks.