AngelBaby is two

December was a busy month, complete with AngelBaby's 2nd birthday!

She has, unfortunately, refused all negotiations to stop growing up. She now talks, runs, and has an opinion. We are appealing her decision to move ahead and become a toddler. The management is not prepared to to potty train again or sing Eensy-Weensy-Spider 67 times in a row, but AngelBaby is proving to be a rebel. Our little rebel is also prone to snuggling, hugging, giggling, and saying “I wuv you!”

We must admit ... we love her too!

She was not an expected baby, but very much wanted. We found out we were expecting when Princess was just 7 months old. It was a rough pregnancy. I was in the hospital 6 times throughout the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, and the OB had me coming in weekly, just to take care of me. About 30 week, my migraines began, but my blood pressure was still okay, so I was given a cocktail shot of medications. The meds would work for a few days, then they'd give me another shot. My mom took SuperBoy (then 3) to her house for a month, and I was about to rest with just Princess ... a rather easy 1 year old. It was during this bedrest time that Princess finally learned to walk (at 15 1/2 months!)

Then, at 36 weeks, 5 days, I went in with another migraine, and my OB's midwife took my blood pressure ... it was high. My OB was out of town, so the midwife and on-call OB sent me straight to the hospital to be monitered. I was there from 11am until 10pm, with the blood pressure cuff going off every 15 minutes. My blood pressure would shoot up, then be normal the next time. My highest was about 190/130, and the lower #s were in the 110/70 range. My blood pressure was unpredictable ... which can be a sign of a stroke, and with pre-eclampsia, they were not going to take any chances. It was then, about 10:30pm - after talking to my regular OB - that they decided to induce me immediately. DH ran home to let our babysitter leave, since his dad was almost in town to stay with our other two kids.

I was started off on Magnesium Sulfate, and given pitocin to start labor. MagSulf is used to stop preterm labor, so sometimes it is slow starting, but once I got the pit, my labor picked up quickly. 15 minutes into the pitocin, at 11:30pm, my OB got back in town, and came straight to the hospital without seeing his family. He broke my water, and immediately I was in hard labor. My OB looked at me and said "I was going to run home and kiss my wife, but I'm not gonna take any chances. I'll be in the breakroom right next door." The next 15 minutes were miserable. I was alone, trying to relax, but without my coach. I kept trying to call DH between contractions. I got panicked and couldn't relax. The Nurse came in with the epidural guy just as my DH walked in. I gave in and got my epidural ... looking back I was in transition already. The epidural was pointless. The nurse left, and within seconds I was yelling - "she's coming! THIS BABY IS COMING!". DH didn't believe me at all, but the nurse sprinted in, started tearing the room apart, and yelling for the Dr stat ... before she even checked me. DH thought we were all nuts. But, the Dr ran in at 2 minutes to midnight, and (much to my relief) I could push freely. Everone was staring at the clock when AngelBaby was born ... it was 15 seconds after midnight! She was born at 12:00:15am, her birth certificate says 12:01 am to keep the confusion at bay.

She was beautiful, and as they took her to the warming bed, I prayed so hard for her to cry out, let me know that her lungs were okay (Princess hadn't cried at all...). She gave out a cry, but that was it. They whisked her away to the NICU, where she ended up being intubated on the vent. It was a rough time. NICU nurses can be amazing. We had one - his name was Mike. Unfortuantly the other nurses were not so amazing. They wouldn't let me breastfeed for more than 15 minutes total, and that was the only time I was allowed to hold AngelBaby, except for when Mike was working - he was a true angel in that NICU. A few days into the NICU experience, a nurse told me to hold AngelBaby's pacifier in, and the nurse proceded to prod and poke AngelBaby's head, trying to insert an IV, but missing. She tried for 15 minutes. I was choking back sobs, with tears streaming down my face as my newborn baby screamed silently ... unable to cry. As I tried to look away, I saw 5 other NICU parents there, staring in horror ... tears streaming down their cheeks. They all came and hugged me after it was over. This nurse disobeyed the pediatrician's orders blatently throughout that entire night ... including giving AngelBaby a feeding tube, and refusing to let me breastfeed. Then, the scalp IV didn't even stay, so they did one in Angel baby's hand again ... my newborn's hand was black and blue from all the bruising ... and it stayed bruised for several weeks. I cryed that entire night. Seeing my Pediatritian the next morning was like an angel walking into the room. He looked at AngelBaby's chart, looked at the nurse, and said "I am sending this baby home this morning ... her mother will take better care of her than she is getting here." The nurse was fumming! We had to wait for the oxygen-home-service to arrive, then we were able to load our little AngelBaby into our car, and take her home. I was so relieved, I cried for the first hour, just holding her swaddled against my chest. DH finally made me lay her down so I could sleep ... something I hadn't done in days, since I'd been sitting at the NICU at nights too.

AngelBaby was truely an Angel of a Baby. She hardly cried, loved to be cuddled, but also loved her swing. She was so very content ... always. Her whole first year, she was just content, as long as mommy was near. She was an Angel as I battled PPD. The perfect baby.

As she's turned into a toddler, she is still my baby. She still cuddles, and gives the sweetest kisses. She loves to run around, and is always in the shadows of her big brother and big sister. She has turned into a very curious climber, earning herself the nickname: curious george. She adores curious george, and screams "jore, jore!!!" whenever we turn on a curious george show. When we tell her to be a "good little monkey", she looks at us with an impish grin, and replies "ooo ahh ooh" like a little monkey.

She might be two, and throw some impressive tantrums, but she will always be my AngelBaby.

Our Angel Baby: Christmas Miracle to Tender Toddler