8 years ago today......

Kaeli surprised us by making a slightly early entry into our lives. My due date was March 21, 2000. The fact that I was HUGE should have tipped me off, but it didn't. Even the constant "you must be due any day now" didn't really tip me off. My response was usually, "nope, I have another month". To which they would usually respond "I don't think you're going to make it that long". Sure enough, those complete strangers knew exactly what they were saying.

The morning of Feb 25, 2000 (a Friday) I decided that the guest room just had to be finished THAT day. I spent the entire day painting. I honestly don't think I rested very much that day at all. Steve got home around 5PM as usual. He seemed a little surprised by how much I had accomplished and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. Looking back, I should have said yes. But, there was something in me that was driving me to get that room done. I asked Steve if he'd put all the furniture back in place and help me get the room completely finished instead. He dared to question my need to do this RIGHT NOW, but obliged anyway. It obviously didn't take him long to learn that a pregnant woman is not rational and there's no need to even TRY to rationalize her behavior. The last thing that needed to be done was the ceiling fan. I will never forget holding up the fan blade for him and then feeling that huge gush of water.

The moments after that are a little blurry. There was no doubt Kaeli was coming soon. Well, I should say there was no doubt to a rational person. I still had my doubts. But, the on-call OB said to come in and I did as she said. Steve and I rushed around packing our bags. Yep, we looked like one of those movies where the couple is running around like crazy with nervous anticipation. I sure wish I had packed sooner, but I never imaged I would go any earlier than my due date.

I changed my clothes a couple of times, grabbed a towel, and headed out the door. I walked in the maternity triage door and told the nurses "I think my water broke". They actually laughed at me because I didn't seem sure. But, I'm guessing my soaked clothing gave my little secret away. They sent me straight up to the labor/delivery floor.

At this point I knew my little girl was coming, but had no idea when. I was only having TEENY-TINY contractions that barely registered. We waited for a few hours before the decision was made to start pitocin. This is where my memory gets a little fuzzy. I think the pit was started around 11PM. After about 2 good contractions I decided an epidural sounded really good. The rest of the night Steve and I slept.

7:59 AM on Feb 26 Kaeli was here.

How did 8 years go back so quickly? And, even more amazing, we managed to squeeze 3 more births in those 8 years!

Unfortunately we didn't have a digital camera back then. I have to find time to scan *real* pictures in order to get newborn pictures on here. I can't promise that will EVER happen. I will try, though.