Ainsley Ruth is Here!

We are so excited that Ainsley Ruth is finally here! She came Wednesday, December 16, at 5:03am. I would make Zach tell the labor story because he did an amazing job with Ellie's story, but he actually wasn't there! So let me start from the beginning...

Monday, Zach had an opportunity come up at work where they needed him to travel to Boston Tuesday and Wednesday. My immediate response was like WHAT?!? of course you can't go, I could have the baby at any moment! However after much thought, it would look really bad if he went and I didn't go into labor AND I most likely wasn't going to go into labor. He allowed me to make the decision, and after much thought I decided it would be best for him to go. So he left at 4am Tuesday morning and was supposed to fly back at 3pm on Wednesday afternoon. He of course would be able to drop what he was doing at any moment and catch a flight home, unless it was in the middle of the night where there are no flights from Boston to Raleigh. Well, low and behold, I started to go into labor in the middle of the night the one night he was gone...

At 2:30a, I woke up having a contraction. I had been having some contractions earlier in the evening around 5p that were 7 minutes apart, but they went away. I was thinking that this was going to be the same thing because it had been going on like this for a week. I got up, went to the bathroom, then laid back down and waited for the next contraction. It was only 5 minutes until the next one, and during this one I think Ainsley kicked and I heard a pop. I thought my water might have broken, but there was no fluid. I went to the bathroom again, and had some leakage, but still no idea if my water really had broken. I kept timing the contractions, which were more painful than the braxton hicks I had been experiencing. They were consistently 5 minutes apart, but I waited an hour to make sure they didn't go away. Around 3:15 I knew that even if my water hadn't broken, I was in labor. I woke up my mom (who came and stayed with me since Zach was gone), called Zach, and started to finish packing my bag. My mom called my sister, who was then immediately on her way to my house to watch Ellie.

While packing my bags and getting some things situated, the pain got worse. At 4a, I was ready for an epidural. I told my mom that we needed to go ASAP! Within a few minutes, we were out the door! Now Zach hadn't informed my mom of this, but when I'm in severe pain, you don't talk to me. So my mom was trying to encourage me and was really excited, but I wouldn't let her say a word. I wanted an epidural NOW, and that's all I had to say. The ride was extremely difficult and painful, I was encouraging my mom to go as fast as she could. We arrived at the hospital around 4:20. After I got put into a room, the nurses were trying to ask me questions and get everything ready. All I cared about was getting an epidural and getting it NOW! They told me I needed to answer the questions and they needed to get some blood. Well I think they knew I was not going to be getting one and that baby was coming soon. I would say around 4:45 I had started pushing (beyond my control, I couldn't help it). The doctor wasn't there yet, so the nurses were trying to keep me from pushing, but they thought they might be delivering her themselves. They ended up calling another doctor in, but my doctor finally arrived in time to help deliver Ainsley and she arrived at 5:03! She weighed 8lbs 5 oz (big girl! Ellie was 7lb 7oz) and measured 21 inches long. She was perfect, beautiful and healthy!


Zach took the first flight out in Boston and arrived at the hospital at 9:30a. We were able to spend some time alone, just us with Ainsley... and I finally was able to rest. I am doing great and feeling great, just tired. We actually came home yesterday, December 17, since we were all doing so well. It's definitely difficult having a newborn and toddler, but luckily my mom is here to help! Thanks for your prayers, continue to pray as we learn to live as a family of 4 and for little Ainsley as she grows. We can't wait for you to meet her if you haven't already!

Our new addition

Close up of Ainsley's chubby, cute cheeks AND dark hair!!

Zach already reading to Ainsley