And then there were 3

My little girl Layla Jane is one year old today. The morning of exactly one year ago I was in the basement of our rental house pacing through contractions, trying to be quiet as I let my husband Mike sleep upstairs. I figured we would be up for the better part of a day or two and there was no need for both of us to have no sleep. They tell you that with your first baby labor will last a long time so get comfortable because just because you're feeling the pain does not mean the baby will be here shortly. In anticipation of that I was ready for a long day. My husband woke up to find me breathing through some relatively easy contractions and we decided now is the time for him to download some songs onto my MP3 to get me ready for the big day. My number one choice? The Eye of the Tiger from Rocky. I kid you not. In the mean time while Mike was downloading songs we put on "The Goonies" because who doesn't want to watch one of the greatest 80s movies of all time while they're going through contractions? About an hour later I was grunting and groaning through contractions and "we" (Mike) decided, lets go to the store and walk around to speed up the labor process. So at about 9:30 on a Sunday morning we went to Walmart to pace the aisles and speed up the process.

Now i'm not sure if you've ever seen someone going through contractions but I tell you, the people at Walmart were acting like it ain't no thang. I would duck down a deserted aisled as I breathed heavily through a contraction, a little afraid my water would break and I would be like Natalie Portman's character on "Where the Heart Is" where she delivers right on the floor of the store. After an hour and a half in Walmart it was time to go home.

I struggled through a shower and getting dressed and off to the hospital we went at somewhere between 2-3pm. Each bump in the road made it feel like Layla was going to pop out at any moment. Admittance to the birthing ward of the hospital immediately led to my water breaking, a few unsuccessful stabs at my veins with one successful attempt, a tiny bit of Nubain (which did nothing so I will go 100% drug free next baby), and Layla made her entrance into the world at 6:29pm right at the start of Superbowl 44, New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts. Our team won!

Layla is a delight. She has brought a whole new world to Mike and I and I look forward to sharing more about her and what she has done to make me a better person.