Blessings, Day 2

My blessing today was my son. Actually, he's my blessing most days, so it seems a little unfair to use him, but I'll explain. (My girls are too, but for much different reasons. They'll get their days too.)

The monster was the "miracle" baby. I have endometriosis, and had been on Lupron (a drug that puts you into a menopausal state) for six months. I was transitioned onto birth control pills to manage this condition, and was taking them back to back so that I only had a period once every 3 months (I know, TMI...sorry, it's important). In January of 2002, hubby and I both started new jobs and moved into a house on base. We had the 2 girls, and we were reasonably sure that our family was complete. We even contemplated making that decision permanent, but hadn't quite reached that point. It stood to reason, with all that I was going through, that getting pregnant would be quite difficult (when I went on the Lupron, I asked the doctor if I needed to use some sort of birth control. He laughed. Hard. Informed me the odds of me getting pregnant were slim to none.) In May of that year, I turned 29, and was moping about it. The following week, I suddenly woke up one morning and took stock. My breasts itched all the time, I was expanding slightly, but not gaining weight, and I was so exhausted all the time. I could have slept for 20 hours a day and still be tired. This epiphany came when PB told me I was going to give her a baby brother. I laughed at her. She was 3, we were almost done with sippy cups and nighttime pullups. I was ready to leave baby and toddlerhood behind. I took a home pregnancy test and said not nice words.

When hubby came home from work that Sunday evening, I had the girls in bed, handed him his dinner, and then announced that I thought I was pregnant. I remember telling him that it could still just be a false positive, (I was hoping), but that I would be calling the doctor the next morning.

I called my doctors office the next morning and asked for a referral to the lab. The nurse asked the date of my last cycle. I told her June...it was May. She literally said "Well you should have had that baby by now!" I quickly gave the little speech about my condition and medications, and the nurse put me on hold so that the doctor could come talk to me. I was sent immediately for blood work. The next morning, they called to confirm my pregnancy, and sent me for more blood work. This was to determine how far along I was. It came back somewhere between 5 and 12 weeks. I wanted to hit someone.

I had an ultrasound just after my first appointment. This was late May...I was 11 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. I was numb for the first week. My hubby was ecstatic. I won't bore you with the details, but PB was a long, horrible birth experience that after 18 hours of labor 2 hours of pushing ended with a C section. Nurses cried and apologized to me. My MIL threatened people. It was not a happy time. So I wasn't thrilled with the idea of another delivery.

When I had my next ultrasound, we found out it was going to be a boy. I had started to bond with this baby, and was truly finding a way to be happy about it. We agreed on his name, and the meaning was perfect.

He was born in December by scheduled CSection. All was going well until I was moved into my room. Something was trying to collapse, there was major blood loss, and the nurses were trying to comfort my husband with "we'll take good care of her now." I was one point away from requiring transfusions, and had so little blood that they required the doctor to take the blood samples. The lab techs refused.

I have more funny (now) stories to share from his birth, but that isn't the point tonight.

From the day he was born, this little boy has brought so much joy and laughter into our family. He is truly adored by everyone that meets him. He has a vivid imagination, and isn't afraid to share it with everyone. He loves to laugh and wrestle and pretend and live. He loves his animals (stuffed) and tries to be a good "daddy" to them every day. He makes me smile each and every day. And sometimes, he's so sweet I want to eat him. He reminds me of all the good in the world on a regular basis.

He truly is a blessing from God...the baby we didn't know we needed, and didn't think we could have. And I thank God every day for giving him to us to love.