Welcome Baby Ace ...... Early

Well, staying on the couch didn't quite work. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to my water breaking. I was so sad, because I knew that there would be no way for Dan to able to make it home in time. Thomas woke up and came upstairs to learn that I was in labor. He was very excited.

I think I had one of the most confusing and quick labors ever. My contractions were only lasting approximately 26 seconds and were about 5 minutes apart. My midwife, Cyndi, and her assistant, Lisa, were waiting for my contractions to start lasting at least 1 minute and get closer together. I decided that I wanted to rest a little, so they turned off my light and went downstairs for a bit. Well, it wasn't long after that, that I felt a really strong contraction and pressure. They ran upstairs and Cyndi said I feel bulging, she got my underpants off and I had another strong pressure contraction and she said "Oh, there's the head", the next strong pressure contraction I had ended up pushing the baby out. I never really pushed myself, it just happened. I was so stunned that it really took me a minute to realize that I had just had a baby. Cyndi had to tell me to pick up my baby and I still couldn't believe that I had just delivered him. It was so surreal. It happened so fast. By this time it was 7:37 a.m. My entire labor was 2 hours. Just crazy. And Thomas was there for it all. He was so excited. I guess he was a little worried when I was shaking during the strong, pressure contractions, but Cyndi told him that was normal, so that made him feel better. Then he ran into the girls' room yelling that the baby was here. Jacyn had a cold in her eyes and they were stuck together, so she came wandering in crying because she couldn't see, and probably because Thomas came into their room yelling and waking them up. Thomas then did his designated job, he got to cut the cord. He was so excited about that and he did a fantastic job. As soon as he cut the cord Jacyn yelled "Yay, baby brother" and clapped her hands. I guess that the cord being cut to her was when it all became real and she finally had her baby brother here.

Cyndi weighed Ace and he was 6 lbs. 7 oz., then they measured him and came up with 18.5 inches.

Here's a picture of our little birthing group, plus Jacyn. It was such a great experience and I just love my midwife Cyndi and her assistant.

Here's Grandma holding Ace on his first day. She made his little hat on his head.

When my water broke at 5:30 that morning I immediately called my midwife and Dan. Within an hour Dan was on a plane on his way back home. We both knew that it was going to be a stretch for him to make it back home in time. We didn't expect my labor to go by so quickly though. His flight had a stop in New Orleans, so when the plane landed he checked his phone to see if I had said anything and the first thing that popped up was a picture text that I had sent him of his new baby son. When he saw that picture I know that his heart just dropped. He was so sad that he had missed this birth, but there was nothing any of us could do about it. He finally made it home at 4:30 that evening and immediately picked up his son and examined him and loved on him. Here a few pictures from when Daddy got to meet his new son.

Proud Sister holding her new baby brother.

Proud big brother holding his baby brother.

My sister was supposed to be here when Ace was born, her flight was scheduled for Saturday. That was originally when she and my mom were going to come down, but luckily my mom drove down Thursday when I started having signs of labor. All day Thursday my sister tried to figure out a way for he to get here, just in case. In the end she decided that it would just cost too much for her to try and book a different flight, so she waited for her scheduled flight on Saturday. After I had Ace my mom called her and told her that the baby was here. She burst into tears. She was so sad that she wasn't here. She cried and cried all day long. I'm sure the way she was expressing her feelings was the same way that Dan felt inside. It breaks my heart to know that they were both so sad and not able to be here. This darn little baby boy has his own agenda and I have a feeling that this is only the beginning for him.

After having Ace and thinking about the date and everything I realized something. Every one of my children have been born on either a Thursday or Friday. They were all born on odd numbers at the end of the month (21, 23, 25, 29). And three of the four were 6 lbs. 7 oz. Letty being my biggest baby at exactly one pound and one ounce bigger at 7 lbs 8 oz. Ace was the only baby to come so much earlier than his due date, only a week, but Jacyn was only three days early and Thomas and Letty were both born on their due dates. I also found out that Ace was born during a full moon. I think that's pretty cool. It's funny how things can turn out. We are so happy to have this beautiful, perfect baby boy in our lives.