It was 24 years ago today that our last child, Adam Joseph Martin joined our family. I have already wished him a happy 23rd birthday (for the second year in a row) but did the math and realized he is actually 24! (Six subtract two is four, so that has to be right, but it is still hard for me to believe!) He chose June 22, 1992 to come here to Earth and we were lucky enough to have been chosen to be his family.
Adam was born at the Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, Texas. He was our largest baby, weighing in at 9 lbs. 11 oz. and was 22 inches long! He was already past the newborn stage (where they pull their legs tightly up into their stomachs) when he was born. One nurse commented that she had noticed with larger babies that they arrived laying out flat. He started wearing 3 month clothing immediately.
Another thing that was remarkable about baby Adam, was that he was covered in dark hair. He had a very hairy back. Like his older brother Christopher, he was very fair complected, but with very dark hair. Adam also had very long eyelashes such that when he would cry, his tears would cause the top lashes to plaster down on his cheeks. It looked rather hilarious. I felt guilty laughing at a crying infant. Fortunately, he did not cry all that often. He was generally a very pleasant little guy. He was only unhappy when his stomach was on empty or had an air bubble trapped in it.
He was the youngest of eight children. I won't say he was spoiled, but the other children doted on him, especially his four sisters. They were all older than his three elder brothers. There was a 15 year difference between he and his oldest sister, Camie. She was like a second mother to him.
I remember several funny Adam stories, but will relate only one at this time. He was probably about 18 months old when this incident happened. One day, after putting Adam down for a nap, I noticed he did not stop crying. His cry was also not his normal protest cry (of being put unwillingly to bed). I entered his bedroom to check on him and found him standing in his crib. As I tried to lay him back down, I realized that one leg was stuck at the knee (with the knee bent), between the crib bars. He had on a bulky sweat suit which did not help matters. I tried unsuccessfully to remove his leg from between the bars. Each time I left the room to try and find the right tool to help, he would panic and set up a howl. I felt so sorry for him. Ordinarily, I would have broken one of the crib bars, but my husband and I were leaving town the next day. I knew the babysitter would be needing the crib to put him into for sleeping. I remembered that in our city (Plano, Texas) one could call the Fire Department for assistance. I called them. A firetruck with about 8 firemen, rushed to the scene. When several of them entered the bedroom dressed in their jumpsuits and gear, Adam really panicked and began freaking out. Fortunately, two of them were able to force apart the bars without breaking them, while a third pushed Adam's knee back through. The firemen wanted to take Adam to the hospital to be checked out. I was unwilling to let him go because I had preschool-aged Christopher to tend to at home and would not be able to ride with them in the ambulance. They checked the pulse in his foot and looked at the coloring of his leg and, after seeing him toddle around for a few minutes with no problems, determined he could stay at home. It would be about 16 years later, that I would ride with Adam in an ambulance to a hospital emergency room, but that is another story for another time.
Happy 24th birthday, Adam!
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