My baby is five years old. So much has changed in my life since she was born.
After Savannah and Kaylee were born so close together, most everyone (including Ryan) assumed that our family was complete. But I always wanted one more. I was so excited to be pregnant with Ava and I really enjoyed almost every minute of the experience. I finally had a really good OB/GYN and I wasn't as nervous about every aspect of the pregnancy like I had been with the older girls.
I was induced on Tuesday morning March 4,2003. I was disappointed to be induced again. I was convinced that out of three pregnancies, I would be able to go into labor on my own at least once. I was wrong. When I was induced with Kaylee, she was born within three hours so I expected Ava to arrive that day before lunch. She didn't.
My labor progressed slowly all day. I was seriously 42 weeks pregnant and she hadn't dropped at all. Friends and family drifted in and out for most of the day to witness my stunning lack of progress. Around 6:00PM, my cousin Mark stopped by. He and Ryan were involved in an animated conversation and were completely unaware of the change in my condition. I had begun to weep silently. I was completely freaking out. I just felt entirely out of control.
A few minutes after Mark left, just prior to the staff shift change, a nurse came in, took one look at me and said "Are you pushing?" I shook my head in denial but apparently she recognized the look. She pulled the sheet off my legs and screamed "Get the doctor. This baby is crowning!" At this point, Ryan still had no idea what was going on. The nurse basically held Ava's head in (sounds yucky, eh?) while my doctor ran in, reminiscent of a thousand sitcom birth scenes, and caught her just in time. It happened so fast, we never even got a chance to turn off the TV. Ava was born during American Idol and some redhead named Clay Aiken was performing.
We did not know Ava's sex prior to her birth. It was great fun not knowing and I wished I had done that with all the kids. I asked the doctor what it was and he said "I have no idea." This is not the answer most new mommies are looking for. She had come so fast he had basically handed her immediately over to the nurse as he tried to concentrate on fixing the damage I had inflicted on myself. It wasn't pretty. Let's leave it at that.
Ryan went over to the isolette and told me she was a girl. I sagged with relief. I had been so scared to have a boy. I know nothing of boys and frankly, they frighten me a little. She weighed 9 pounds and 6 ounces which was a little disappointing since I'd gained at least 50 pounds with the pregnancy.
She was simply the perfect baby. So easygoing and happy. She put up with smothering kisses from Savannah and Kaylee all day long and hardly ever fussed. It was so nice to feel like I knew what I was doing as a mom. I finally had a baby I could enjoy without obsessing over every diaper and feeding. I would change her clothes or diaper and kiss her little feet over and over. I am absolutely crazy for baby feet...so tiny and soft.
Now those tiny feet are much bigger and time seems to be passing so fast that it almost takes my breath away. My sweet little baby now weighs 53 pounds and is almost 4 feet tall. She hates to leave home for anything, comes up with creative excuses to skip preschool and insists on wearing pajamas just about everywhere we go.
Our family has gone through a lot of changes since she arrived and in some ways, we are unrecognizable from the family she was born into but I know for sure that we weren't complete without her.
A few minutes after Mark left, just prior to the staff shift change, a nurse came in, took one look at me and said "Are you pushing?" I shook my head in denial but apparently she recognized the look. She pulled the sheet off my legs and screamed "Get the doctor. This baby is crowning!" At this point, Ryan still had no idea what was going on. The nurse basically held Ava's head in (sounds yucky, eh?) while my doctor ran in, reminiscent of a thousand sitcom birth scenes, and caught her just in time. It happened so fast, we never even got a chance to turn off the TV. Ava was born during American Idol and some redhead named Clay Aiken was performing.
We did not know Ava's sex prior to her birth. It was great fun not knowing and I wished I had done that with all the kids. I asked the doctor what it was and he said "I have no idea." This is not the answer most new mommies are looking for. She had come so fast he had basically handed her immediately over to the nurse as he tried to concentrate on fixing the damage I had inflicted on myself. It wasn't pretty. Let's leave it at that.
Ryan went over to the isolette and told me she was a girl. I sagged with relief. I had been so scared to have a boy. I know nothing of boys and frankly, they frighten me a little. She weighed 9 pounds and 6 ounces which was a little disappointing since I'd gained at least 50 pounds with the pregnancy.
She was simply the perfect baby. So easygoing and happy. She put up with smothering kisses from Savannah and Kaylee all day long and hardly ever fussed. It was so nice to feel like I knew what I was doing as a mom. I finally had a baby I could enjoy without obsessing over every diaper and feeding. I would change her clothes or diaper and kiss her little feet over and over. I am absolutely crazy for baby feet...so tiny and soft.
Now those tiny feet are much bigger and time seems to be passing so fast that it almost takes my breath away. My sweet little baby now weighs 53 pounds and is almost 4 feet tall. She hates to leave home for anything, comes up with creative excuses to skip preschool and insists on wearing pajamas just about everywhere we go.
Our family has gone through a lot of changes since she arrived and in some ways, we are unrecognizable from the family she was born into but I know for sure that we weren't complete without her.
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