Baby Joy

My baby girl will be 1 in 2 days.  This past year has gone by so fast, I just can't believe it.  It seems like just yesterday I was going in and out of the hospital from complications from the toughest of any of my pregnancies.  The doctors decided to take her earlier than planned and did an amnio to make sure she was ready.  I have never been so scared of one tiny needle in my life...as it turned out, completely unwarranted fear.  I'm not sure if the pain I had been going through prior to the amnio made it pale in comparison but that needle was by far the least painful thing I had been through!  Then came the waiting...were her lungs mature or not?  The months leading up to this moment made me so nervous.  Of course I wanted her to be healthy but I needed to get this baby out of me!  No more insulin shots, no more needles digging and digging to find veins for pain meds to be given through, no more stress tests, no more ultrasounds, no more middle of the night trips to Triage...this baby needed to come out and not a day too soon.  Finally, the call that she was okay and we were clear for the last C-section I'd ever have to go through.
The Triage staff and I had become friends so when we came in the next day they were almost as happy that this pregnancy was coming to an end as I was.  When I said the digging for veins was over, I meant ALMOST over.  They had to do some more digging that morning but I didn't mind as much because it was finally BABY DAY!  I knew there was an end result to this trip.  I had been telling them for over a month that the next time they saw me it would be because I was actually having a baby...that didn't quite work like I had thought.  But this day was really it!
I tried not to worry that new baby would have the same issues as Aly but when the time was coming worries started to rise to the surface.  When Aly was born pretty much all hell broke loose in the operating room.  I almost had a heart attack (literally) on the table and Aly wasn't breathing. Naturally, I (along with the rest of my family) was worried about a repeat performance.  I'm happy to report that none of the above happened and all was well.  Avery Jae was born Feb 3, 2011 at 8:something (3rd kid, I don't remember the time anymore)  in the morning.  My "big" gestational diabetes baby was a whopping 6 pds 9 oz (I've learned not to trust the size the doctors think by u/s).  She was breathing just fine, holding her temperature great and eating like a champ (all unlike her sister).  So far, bullets dodged.
I never imagined how easy going a baby could be.  I've always been a fan of the newborn/infant stage anyway but she has been a go with flow type of baby from day 1.  Her nickname that Scotty and I gave her when she was about a month old is "chill baby" and she still lives up to that name.  She is a baby insomniac but chill no matter what.  I love her personality.  Cade is go, go, go all the time, Aly surrounds herself with a different make believe world everyday and Avery sits and watches it all happen. 
When I found out I was pregnant I was scared.  It took me several months to come to terms with it and once I came to terms with possibly having another baby with Mito, the craziness that was my pregnancy hit full force.  I didn't have a chance to enjoy the last time I would ever feel a baby kick from inside my belly, or seeing her picture on an u/s screen.  I can't say that I haven't enjoyed Avery though.  I consciously make myself slow down and spend time with her.  I don't want to miss a second of her babyhood.  I love all my kids but the stress of Aly's illness took a toll on me and I lost sight of the joy of my kid's childhood.  Avery has brought the joy of childhood back.  Cade and Aly love her to death and Cade thinks she is the cutest thing he's ever seen.  Avery thinks he is the funniest thing she's ever seen.  She follows them both around the house just to see what they are doing.  The first steps she took were to Cade.
At the time I thought God was crazy by adding another baby to our household.  After all, didn't He know how much we had on our plate with Aly?  It turns out He really does know what He's doing.  Avery has brought happiness and joy back to our whole house that we didn't realize we were even missing. 

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet baby girl and I'm so thankful for you.