Today My Princess...

Today, my Princess is a milestone for you. You refuse to believe it, cause there is no cake, but today you became a 2 year old.

It is so hard for me to believe that it was two years ago that you came into my life. I went to the L&D ward at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in pain, but expecting to be sent home yet again with a "sorry there is nothing we can do, go home and get some rest." Instead they told us you were coming right then. I panicked! Your auntie Katie had just (and I mean like hours previous!) gotten on a plane to head to New Hampshire. I had no childcare for your brothers lined up for that day! Mike was gonna take the time off on the day of your scheduled c-section, which was still 2 weeks away! So I did what anybody would do. I called Mike and begged him to come down to the hospital. He was on lock down at the barracks and was certain that they were not gonna let him go anywhere. Well, He just took off anyways and headed out to help us! (If I remember correctly he fought an article 15 for disobeying direct orders to not come, and won cause he was taking care of a fellow soldier in need.)

As soon as your uncle Mike showed up, they wheeled me back to the OR. Your c-section hurt so much worse than either of your older brother's c-sections had!



But oh! You were beautiful from the word go!



Then they wheeled you off to do all the things that they do to newborns. Weigh you, measure you, give you shots, all of it. Daddy went with you to take pictures!



You, of course, were not amused!

Eventually we were together again and your brothers just couldn't wait to meet you!




Alexander was so immediately smitten that he didn't even notice that Aeddon was trying to bust open my fresh incision!

Then everybody went home for the night and you and I were supposed to get to bond. But something went wrong. You see, shortly after your brothers and daddy went home, I started to have complications. I was bleeding badly and the doctors were scared that they were gonna have to take me back to surgery. During all the chaos, you were basically ignored. Nobody really checked on you. Nobody finished cleaning you up. Nothing (well some people from your dad's work did show up and help for a few minutes at a time!)

By the time they decided I was ok, it was late and you weren't doing well. You had something that looked like a bruise on your back. (for the record, I noticed that bruise and asked them to make note of it at the time of your birth, but they didn't listen to me!) Without my permission, they took you for x-rays. They wouldn't bring you back and I couldn't understand why! Nobody would tell me that one of the nurses had seen Alexander holding you and was appalled and had told everyone that we were letting him hold you completely without supervision and that he must have dropped you. The other going theory was that the reason I was in so much pain and ended up bleeding like I did was because your daddy had hit me and done it hard enough to hurt not only me, but you as well. Idiots. Like your dad would ever hurt either one of us!

Then the next thing I knew, they were heavily medicating me and then they came in all rushed and crazy and told me that you had a broken rib and had to be rushed to the NICU at another hospital and that I had to sign the papers for your transfer and that NO I could not call you daddy to see what he though was best. I had to do it now or they were going to send a social worker down and have me declared unfit and remove you from my custody and take you anyways and then I would have to fight for you back in court. Well I panicked and let them take you. MISTAKE.

It took me two days to get them to release me from the hospital and in that time, no less than 5 people came to see me and tried to get me to confess to either Alexander dropping you, or your daddy beating us. I told them all the same thing. They were nuts and you were fine. Finally they let me go, and I rushed to your side at the NICU.



When Daddy and I got there we were informed that you were fine. There had never been anything wrong with you and that you never should have been taken from us in the first place, but that they couldn't let you go home because they had routinely put you on a 5 day antibiotic course and you couldn't leave till it was done.

3 days later we brought you home. Since then, you have been making our lives a happier, significantly more beautiful place!


















You know what, baby girl? I wouldn't change a thing. Happy Birthday My Love!