Tanner arrived in a perfect hurry on April 22!   He was the perfect surprise on a very special day.

With the original due date of April 25 quickly approaching, I was showing no early signs of labor and felt very good.  We had planned for a completely natural birth with hopes of delivering in the birthing tub.  Yes,  we rented a special tub for a water birth at the hospital. After a lot of research, a water birth seemed to be the perfect fit for me and the experience I wanted to have.  I found a doctor that I absolutely adore and Grady Hospital in Delaware had the perfect atmosphere - small and cozy.

On April 21,  I went for a routine check up and I expressed to Dr. Hammett that it would be wonderful to deliver on April 22, which was my dad's birthday.  He said that although it was not impossible, he wouldn't plan on it as he thought I would go beyond my due date.

As I found with other surprises throughout my pregnancy,  God's plan is the perfect plan.  Before conception, he has planned our parents, our gender , our birth date, our family, our friends, and our ultimate purpose. Sometimes we get a little too wrapped up in our humanly planning!  

April 22 was a gorgeous day - sunny and warm. I noticed in the morning that I was repeatedly experiencing some pain about every 30 minutes.  The contractions continued throughout the day and became closer together.  We had decided that when contractions were 3-4 minutes apart consistantly we would go to the hospital as recommended by Kylene, our doula.   About 8:40pm, I decided that we should make our way to the hospital so we could get the birthing tub prepared.  We arrived about 9:15pm, and Tanner naturally made his debut at 10:22pm.   The birthing tub never made it out of the car!! 

So all my humanly planning remained on my neatly typed, well-prepared birth plan tucked away in my bags in the car, and God provided us with beautiful Tanner Jackson on the most perfect of all days - just as He planned.

Tanner Jackson weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

  He shares a birthday with his Grandpa Inkrott.