Shocker!

I woke up yesterday feeling great, energized and ready to start some fun activities with Evyn and Reed. We started off at the park with some friends, and as we were walking back to the car I realized that my cell was not on. I quickly powered it up and the chimes starting ringing so fast that I almost threw it into the woods, thinking that it was going to explode or something. I realized that I had several voice mails and started to dial up and check them, however, my phone rang before I could follow through with that.

On the other end of the phone was Holly, panicked and scared. She said "I am at the hospital, and I need you here." Oh no! I immediately assumed she had hurt herself at work and asked how bad she was hurt. Then, I got the shocker of a lifetime. She replied with "Ashley's pregnant and her water broke. She is only six months along and they are trying to stop labor!" Turns out, they were right across the street from where we had just been playing. I really can't remember much after that - we had both just learned that our lively family was going to get livelier. We are going to be grandmas. Grandmas with a 3 year old and a 4 year old. Grandmas in their 30s and 40s. Grandmas who seriously considered having a mid-morning cocktail at that moment in time.

Now, I know that this is the kind of stuff that happens on daytime TV. We normally like to keep the drama to a minimum and are usually successful. How could our daughter who we see all of the time hide something like this you ask? We definitely noticed that Ashley was gaining weight but were sure that she would have spilled the beans if she was pregnant - we *are* cool, accepting moms after all. At this point, we are trying to focus on offering support and love even though we can't quite understand why this had to be a secret. Let me also apologize to those of you you have not gotten a phone call prior to reading this blog. We are trying to process the info and hold it together and hope no one takes offense to being left out of the loop.

As things stand, Ashley is hooked up to all kinds of drugs. The labor has stopped although random contractions are breaking through. The baby is a girl which is awesome given the fact that preemie girls generally do better than boys. She is 26 weeks along and appears to be totally healthy. That is a relief. We are now playing the waiting game. They are closely monitoring Ash for any signs of infection, which is the greatest threat now that the protective amniotic fluid is gone. She is receiving excellent care and baby girl has a 60-80% chance of survival. We are very hopeful, as are the NICU doctors, that our tiny baby will do fine, although she will likely spend the first several months of life in the NICU.

I will update as things unfold but we are expecting her arrival soon, as in (possibly) days. Please feel free to leave any comments on the blog, whether is it kind words for Ashley, expressing shock or whatever. Now I must set out in search of a camera battery. I think after all of this, Ashley would kill me if I showed up with a dysfunctional camera.