Eight Years

Just hours old

6 weeks

8 years ago, at 1am I woke up the morning of my due date, to the concern that I had just wet my pants. I wasn't quite sure what was going on so I changed and went back to bed and then felt my abdomen tightening and more "leakage" and realized my "water" had probably just "broke". When I called the hospital the lady seemed relaxed and said I should probably come in and get it checked out. Thinking there was no urgency (hearing the horror stories about hours of waiting for that first baby to come) I showered, packed a few things to make sure I had everything in my bag, cleaned and wiped down the babies room, did some wash, replaced the tin foil on my stove, dusted, all the while having contractions where I would have to stop and hold my belly, lean over a bit while feeling fluid leak out. As they got more consistent Erik showered and we hopped in the car.

On the way to the hospital I called my office to tell them I wouldn't be in for my last day of work.

When we arrived at the hospital the nurse seemed upset that I had waited 6 hours before coming in...they should have expressed their concerns better over the phone...anyway, they got me in a room and hooked up to millions of cords and monitoring equipment and the day started. I was barely dilated and since I was working against the clock to get the baby here within the acceptable time after leaking fluid, they started me on medication to encourage my contractions. At about a 3 1/2 I asked for an epidural (go women who can do it all natural!!). The baby was having some trouble so they started me on some oxygen and started pushing fluid back into my uterus to lift the baby off the umbilical cord. I was told to lay on my side as she seemed to do better in that position. I spent the day crunching ice chips, begging for a mint or gum or just to brush my teeth to no avail.

By 4-ish I was getting sick of everything and felt like my epidural was wearing off so they had the anesthesiologist come and re administer the epidural. I was still feeling a lot of pain so I told the nurse and she said lets check you, as it had been a bit. When she did I sensed her reaction. Surprised eyes quickly running out to call the doctor with a passing "You're ready to go!" The nurses clamored to bring in all the necessary tools and equipment, started me doing some pushing before the doctor arrived, when he did we pushed for about 10 minutes and at 5:01pm out came the most beautiful little girl with fuzzy dark hair, skinny little arms and legs and long toes and fingers which equalled 10 of each! Her ears were perfect and because she dropped so quickly and came so fast her head was beautifully shaped.

Words cannot fully express everything which goes through your head in a moment like this but I remember being so amazed that we brought this life into the world and being consumed by the love I immediately felt for her. They placed her on my chest immediately after she was born and it felt amazing to have her close. I instantly wanted to protect her and give her everything possible to thrive and succeed. Erik's eye's were bloodshot and red and as I saw him cradle her with the utmost care and love, I quickly saw the loving and good father he would be.

Everyone laughed and joked -- "of coarse Ashley would have her baby one her due date" -- but it is totally McCall. She is so easy and just does what she is supposed to do when she is supposed to do it. She was such a sweet baby and that hasn't changed. She has remained beautiful and sweet. As the oldest she devoured our attention and grew in love. At six weeks she began to grin and show excitement at seeing us and she continued(s) to amaze us with her charm and intelligence.

Eight years later I look back at the time spent with this sweet spirit and wish I could slow time down or capture each moment in a bottle. It seems like it's gone so fast and I just wonder what the next eight years will hold. Will they fly by as fast? McCall is the sweetest girl. She has a huge heart for people and for her family. She is vivacious for learning and in all subjects. She wants to know how everything works. She is naturally intelligent and book smart but she is really street smart and can figure things out and spends time considering how things work. She loves to be right beside me and wants to fix things, make things, create things. She loves to try and learn new things. I could go on and on about her amazing talents, traits and skills.

As I told her this morning, the day she was born was the greatest day!