Busy, Busy Babymakers

And here we are- almost 6 months later and boy has it been a ride! January ended with my 25th birthday and February passed with even less interest. March 1st marked the official start of the Lacrosse season and the beginning of the end of my pregnancy. March was such a busy month, I barely had time to feel miserable being large and in charge- I woke each morning before 6 am and was at work by 7. I left my "real" job at 3 pm and headed to the field to coach until 6 or 7 each night. When I arrived home each evening, my loving husband had dinner for me and a much needed foot (or ankle or calf) rub waiting for me. Can I tell you how lucky I am to have married this man?!

We concluded baby prep with a LOVELY baby shower- that was rescheduled due to a freak snow storm- and got many of the necessary supplies to welcome our bundle. Clothes were washed, crib made, car seat installed- all we needed was a baby.

March 24th marked our first official Lacrosse game of the season. The Lady Braves played well, but lost- story of the season- and I headed home on the bus at about 7 pm. As I drove home from the school after all my athletes were picked up and ushered home by their parents, I had a heart to heart with my little baby, yet to be born. I told her that I was ready for her. With March 25th marked on the calendar as her due date (I was confident that she would be a late baby- I did NOT have my hopes up), I let her know that we were ready when she was. All my coaching responsiblities would be taken care of, things were tied up at work, and we were ready to hold her; I told little miss that she could come any time now. I had no idea that my baby listened so well or would be so prompt.

I woke up at 3:30ish on the morning of Thursday, March 25th with some pretty serious contractions. They were just a few minutes apart and strong enough to cause me to double over. Not terrible pain, but they definitely took my breath away. I decided I wanted to take a shower and see how I felt and then call the doctor. The man was a little bit anxious and was pushing for sooner rather than later. He called the after hours number and we waited for the doctor to call back. By this time, the contractions were two minutes apart- sometimes less- and the doctor called to say head to the hospital.

When we got there, it was about 6:30am and we were well into labor. I was 7 to 8 centimeters dialated and the nurses were preparing for a baby to come soon. But, this little miss took her time after the initial rush. We called our parents, they jumped up, dressed and headed our way- and I labored. And labored. And got really tired. By 10:30, I was ready for an epidural to get some relief from the exhaustion. The anistesiologist came by at 11:15 and we were in business. I took a two hour nap while the man watched some TV and I awoke at around 2 pm feeling like a new person. Around that time, the doctor came in and broke my water- and we waited some more. Our parents came in and took VERY FEW pictures and chatted about our birth days and all things baby. Around 4, the doctor shooed the family to the waiting room and checked me out to see if we were ready... and we were. She said, let's go and we were pushing before I knew it.

At 4:20 pm on Thursday, March 25, 2010, Ainsley Jane was born weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21.5 inches long. This little miss cried with amazing strength at the moment she entered the world and was healthy in every way. We could not have been happier! Since then, it's been a blur... The happiest, most fun filled blur of my life!

Welcome, little AJ!