Happy, happy due date!

"It's my due date and I'll cry if I want too, cry if I want to, cry if I want to..."

Not my song. Ansley's song. Though, quite honestly, there haven't been too many cries. Gurgles, yes. Currently actually.

It has been a long ride. I can admit that I remember taking that test in February. I remember anxiously waiting to see if that second line to appear. Ok, I won't lie. Apparently, you can be "really" pregnant. Cause the two minutes you are supposed to wait for the pregnancy test results was really only about two seconds. Yup, I was "really" pregnant.

The double lines were met with a "That's awesome!" from my hubby, and a "Goodness gracious, how did this happen?" Ok, done laughing? Of course I know how it happened. Are you kidding me? I'm an abstinence educator. I teach kids about sex. What I meant was, "Why did this happen? And why now?"

You see, I had only been at this job for six weeks. Surprise! I'm pregnant! I'll need time off in nine months. The other issue: it had only been seven months since I had a miscarriage. I would not wish that on anyone. Ever. Period. But, with another pregnancy came the risk of another miscarriage.

But, I made it. I made it to this day, October 27. And, I have a beautiful and healthy baby girl. When I should have been at a 40 week check-up for me, I was at an appointment for Ansley. Which, fyi, not fun watching your kid squall from a shot. I don't suggest it. Keep the head turned.

Her arrival proved one thing to me. She certainly takes after her father. I have enough trouble being on time. She makes her daddy proud. She was early.

So, we celebrate. We celebrate her arrival, no matter the date. We will celebrate every day, because every day is a gift, and mine was not belated.

Happy Due Date to us!

Never wake a sleeping baby...

Ansley had her picture taken by a wonderful friend a few weeks ago. I have a new respect for those who photograph children. We were taking pictures for about an hour, which gave us about 10 good shots.

Of course, I have a ton of her screaming her head off, and a couple cute ones with some questionable material on her hand--Mommy has to get better about keeping baby clean. :o)

Here are a few of my favs though.

My child is a distant cousin of the Michelin Man.

The blanket she is on is actually one of her Daddy's baby blankets.

My child makes the cutest faces!

Though this is what we are growing more accustomed to. "No more pictures!"

All in all, it was a success, and I can't wait to get even more!

I can't believe I did it!

I did it! It is complete, er, at least the first two days are. I've returned to work.
Now, I never expected to return to work just four weeks after pushing out a baby. In fact, I don't think I completely expected to be able to move four weeks after having a baby. In the words of Prissy, "But Miss Scarlet, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!"
But, I did it. Yesterday morning, I got up, got ready for work, and kissed my husband my four week old baby goodbye. And it was not good. But, I did it.
Now don't get me wrong. I love my job and I love my office. But I've discovered I love my baby much more than that. I love my husband, but it took me months to realize it, and I am still learning what it exactly looks like. But this new love seemed to come naturally. I didn't have to learn.
Don't let me fool you. I don't have it figured out. Not in the slightest. I still seem to get peed on when I change a diaper. I've even been pooped on a few times. And, just the other day, I knocked her noggin on the door frame. It was the ever so slight bump, but totally convinced me that I indeed had no clue what I was doing.
But I didn't have to learn how to love her. I didn't have to learn how to gaze at her. I didn't have to learn to enjoy each little hiccup, or the smallest sneeze. I didn't have to learn that each cry will break my heart, even if it's just because the baby wipes are cold.
But I did have to learn how to leave. And like learning to love my husband, it's something that I expect to keep learning everyday.

The beginning...

So, I'm sure no one wants the complete, in depth story of my little bundle's arrival, so, it should suffice to say that after 21 hours, two water breakings, and 10 centimeters later, Ansley Reese arrived at 6:20 a.m. on September 21.

Her arrival was much of a shock, as she chose to enter the world 5 weeks early. That's right. Five weeks of baby kicks and hiccups that mommy missed. Her promptness meant no mommy-baby bonding until that afternoon. And even then, the umbilical cord that connected baby to mommy had been replaced with connections to machines and monitors. No hugs and kisses, just hand-holding and diaper changing.

But we endured those 5 days. We endured the nights apart, and the hour drive. And now we are together. Now, mommy and daddy laugh at the funny baby sounds. We take turns on diaper duty, and though daddy can't offer the same milky goodness that mommy can, he sure can feed our little trooper in bottle form. And he does. And we love it.

And that's our story. It's been an adventure, and it is sure to be much more of one. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears and hours of laughter. As the years go on, there will be ::gasp:: spankings and sleepovers, dolls and dresses, boys and books, and if daddy has his way, plenty of soccer playing and baseball watching, though Little Girl doesn't seem too interested yet.

And we're both wrapped around a tiny finger.

So continues our fairytale.

Well, here goes nothin'!

So, here it is, folks! Welcome to the blog. I normally don't have much to say, but with the recent arrival of a new family member, there's sure to be plenty to talk about. So sit back, grab some treats and enjoy!