Berkley Kate

I cannot believe my baby turned 2 this month! How it is that we lived without this sweet little girl I cannot remember. She has been such a blessing in our family and we wouldn't feel complete without her distinct little personality.
I always think back to their births on this day, so I guess I will share the obligatory story, if only to have it written down as I know even these momentous days can sometimes fade in my hazy mommy mind a little with time. Berkley wasn't due until May 31st but because my first baby was so big I was terrified of going the full 40 weeks. My parents also had a reunion they were in charge of that weekend so when the nurse scheduled my induction for the Friday before they left I went home very, very grumpy. But I always seem to find something to complain about when I'm pregnant and I had been having back pain from pressure on my sciatic nerve so at my next appointment my doctor scheduled me for the next day May 14th. I was ready to be done but also nervous about having 2 kids to take care of. We dropped Braelyn off for the night at my parent's house then Kevin went and played basketball, and I just sat on Braelyn's bed and cried. Pregnancy hormones make things seem pretty dramatic and I felt so bad that Braelyn wouldn't be the baby and that she would have to share and on and on. I composed myself then started the checklist of things that all pregnant women have to get done like wash and style our hair, throw in one more load of laundry, clean the baseboards and floors even though my Mom and sister had cleaned my house top to bottom that week (again hormones make things seem like a big deal) and finally laid down for a restless night. We got to the hospital bright and early and things got under way as usual. I always have to get an IV antibiotic and they have to give it 4 hours apart so they don't turn my pitocin up which means the first few hours are very mellow. We watched TV and Kevin rubbed my feet then the doctor broke my water and things started moving. They gave me my epidural because they were going into a surgery and didn't want me to have to wait. I remember getting it and telling Kevin I felt weird, then I woke up to people swarming around me and I began throwing up. I seemed to have a drop in my blood pressure that made me pass out, Kevin said I looked like a ghost I got so white so fast. After I felt better Kevin laid down for a little nap and my pain got worse and worse. I get really nervous about bothering anyone so I just laid on my side and kept pushing the epidural button. My nurse told I could push it every 15 minutes and I think my eyes were glued to the clock as I waited to push it again. I finally started whimpering in hopes of waking up Kevin, and told him to go get the nurse. She checked me and quickly left the room. I don't think she had planned on things being done so quickly after they turned up the pitocin and nothing in the room was ready so people got hustling pretty quick. My doctor's office was just across the parking lot and Kevin stepped to the window in time to see the doctor sprinting across the pavement. He got there in time and thankfully it was only a few pushes and we had our second little one here. Whenever someone would ask Braelyn about her mom having a baby she would tell them that I was going to have a purple care bear. That must have been more appealing to her than an actual baby, but when Berkley came out they put her on my chest and she didn't cry, and didn't cry and I started getting more nervous until the nurse saw that she was being too quiet and tried to get her crying. After Berkley had become more alert the nurse joked that she really was her purple care bear at first. She only weighed 7 lbs 11 ozs which to me was a perfect size, not the 10 lb baby I was worried about. We had a wonderful afternoon visiting with family and Braelyn came to visit, but was more interested in putting my bed up and down than in the new baby. Later in that day we had the pediatrician come visit us and told us that they were worried that Berkley's intestines were not connected to her bowels and that if she wasn't able to have a bowel movement sometime that night that she would have to go in for surgery the next day. I was terrified and felt that it was something I had done to ruin my brand new little baby, but Kevin helped me calm down and convinced me we wouldn't worry about it until the time came. I have never been so anxious to see poop, but thankfully she was connected and though we had to spend some time at Primary Children's with a pediatric surgeon and do some not fun therapies, nothing that needed surgery every came out.
Berkley has been such a blessing to me personally. The days before she was born I couldn't seem to get a name to stick, I even packed the baby name book in my hospital bag and I kept going back and forth unable to decide, and the indecision was making me crazy. But the morning before I had her I had a strong feeling that it was Berkley who was going to come to our family and that perhaps the decision hadn't been made until then, but knowing what would come in the near future God knew that it would be Berkley who would help me handle it. Anyone who has seen her knows her strong preference for Momma but I don't mind because she is such a joy to me. She has a similar sense of humor and she is so aware of other people and their feelings, and on many occasions has been the one to help me smile. She has a strong enough personality to stand up to her sister but they are different enough that they aren't conflicting. Daddy loves all the tricks he can teach her, and likes when she runs up to greet him at the door.
We love you little purple care bear! Happy 2nd Birthday!