Because sucking up to your aunt is a good start...

Ava was born on her aunt Deby's birthday- September 19th.

Deby is Jef's older (but not oldest) sister. We really like Deby and her husband, Mike. On a side note, Mike was Jef's best bud in high school and beyond, and he met Deby thru Jef, and the rest sort of tumbled into place.

So, when we were sitting around joking on the night of September 18th of last year that "it would be a HOOT for Ava to be born on Deby's birthday", we never really thought it would be more than a joke. Until we went to bed at 10:45 and my water broke.

Let me just say that I know less than 10% of women will have their water break, and if it does break it's usually a trickle, and blah blah blah. Ava did not get this memo. My water broke with an audible POP and flooded the bed.

Of course, I lost about 100,000 brain cells at that precise moment. All I could mutter was, "I think my water broke(?)" and Jef kept giving me this puzzled look like, "Whaaat?". And because of the fact that neither of us could think any more, I dialed up the on-call midwife who laughed at me as she said, "Yes that does mean come to the hospital".

I took a shower, Jef took a shower, I called Tracey, I posted on a few message boards. I called my parents and had dad come get Faith. I walked up and down the stairs 4 or 5 times. I made sure everything was packed. I looked for a pencil, because I wasn't sure I had packed one (don't know what in the world I was going to DO with said pencil, but I had to have it!).

Finally, at 11:15pm we pulled out of the driveway. Still no contractions. I thought- great this is gonna be a looooong nite. A few miles up the road I made Jef stop at a convenience store and buy me a bottle of water (I knew they wouldn't let me have anything once we got to the hospital and I was DYING of THIRST). So, Jef walks into the store, peruses the water isle checking out every single brand to assure the bottle he purchased for his wife was The Best. That was about 11:45pm. That us when my contractions started at 2 minutes apart. That is when I started thinking, "Oh shit- we gotta GO!".

Finally, finally, finally- after an eternity!!- Jef gets back in the car, I tell him We Gotta Go! and off we zoom up the deserted highway.

After he got us lost in a dead end parking deck, and after we have a nice discussion that resolved with, "I will not be dropped off at the door while you park, I will have this baby in the parking lot before we are separated!" we finally made it to the ER check in where they wanted to ask me 47 different questions like my name, and all kinds of stupid things that could wait!

Finally, at sometime after midnight, they wheeled me into an observation room. They checked my cervix which was at 3, hooked me up to some silly machine, and left me and Jef with the instructions of, "When the contractions reach to this level (pointing to machine) then call us".

Two minutes later: I made Jef call them. They came back (reluctantly) and checked me again. I was at 7. They started to believe what I was saying about the whole I am having this baby NOW thing.

At a little after 12:45 I was poked into a suite and an IV was ran. Jef has said to this day how nice I was in the delivery room... and I really was. Because I know a secret. Do you want to know the secret? If you are nice to your nurses, they will be nice to YOU (I bet Michell knew that secret already!). There might be an extra pillow needed, or some other item you must acquire. If you are really nice to them, you have a better chance at getting it. Also, these women will be checking you for dilation. And you don't want someone to do that all pissed off.

At 1:00am I told the nurse I really wanted to push. She told me to wait and she'd check me. I told her (nicely) to hurry because I was going to push anyway and there wasn't much she could do to stop me, as I had very little control of it myself. She checked me, I was at 10. She said to wait for the midwife. I reminded her of the fact that I was on auto-pilot.

Six (half-assed) pushes later, Ava crowns and the whole room (minus me, who was a little pre-occupied at the time) erupts into cheers at The Head Full Of Hair That Ava Has! One more slight push and there was my baby. And my GAWD look at the hair! Ava was born at 1:09am.

The whole previous nine months faded away, and I was completely and totally in the moment of this new life.

Her face and eyes were puffy and bruised from entering the world at a sprinter's pace. She didn't have any eye lashes or a whole lot of eye brows, but I didn't care. She had 2 funny looking skin tags on one ear, which I immediately fell in love with and kissed.

Jef melted into a massive pile of daddy-goo on the floor. He's a big softie anyway, but there was his baby. He'd not gotten to see Paige be born (via c-section) so this was his first experience at all this jazz. I remember him holding her for the first time, and I will never ever forget the look of absolute contentment on his face, and the feeling of absolute contentment in my heart.

Jef went to the nursery with Ava to take photos as she got her first bath and got measured and poked and prodded. I was left alone in the room to sleep.

I couldn't sleep. I was too excited!


Gotta love a thumb sucker.


Let me go- waaah!


Big Daddy J and little Ava.

--The Milk Maid says the calendar lies... it can't be a year already!

Tune in tomorrow for HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVA, complete with NEW photos and real time commentary (sort of).

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