My Baby Turns 4 Today!!!

Wow, I just can't believe my baby is turning 4 today! She certainly has been waiting for it long enough! A while back she wanted to know whose birthday comes next before her birthday. So I had to go down the list of family members to get to her birthday. For months she knew that after it was Uncle Dan's birthday, it would be her birthday. And that when she turns 4, she gets to be in a booster seat in the car. No more car seat! Wow.........that is going to be so eerie, no car seat! She'll now get to use the regular seatbelt with her booster seat. Oh, speaking of booster seats, we got a COOL one! We were going to get her a "girlie" one, but the one they had in Target was SOOOOOOOOOOO pink it was pukey! (And I LOVE pink!). So this one is upgraded, dark brown & black, more cushey and even has lights on the headrest part in case she needed light to read or do activities! Damn!!!

Awwww, she just woke up and I hugged her and said, "Happy Birthday! You are FOUR years old today!"

"I'm FOUR years old today?!" (Holding up four fingers)

"Yes you are!"

"YEAAAA!!!!"

What a much better day today is than the day she was born. It was exciting, but yet scary too.

See, I was only 34 weeks along when she was born.

A few days prior, I took a non-stress test for my pregnancy. They noticed my blood pressure was high (I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure for about 9 years now) and had me go up to labor & delivery to get checked out. Well, after examining me, they noticed I was about 2-3 centimeters dialated! They said I had been having some contractions, but I never noticed them. (Which is odd, since I do feel just about everything in my body!)

So I got put on steroids to help further develop my baby. I had to come back every 12 hours to get a shot. In the meantime, my oldest daughter was at gymnastics and they wouldn't let me leave the hospital just yet to get her. So I called a dear friend of mine to go get her for me.

After they finally released me, I went to get my oldest daughter and we went home. I was able to get a hold of my husband too (yea, he wasn't here, he was up in Seattle on a port visit with the ship he was connected to), and he had me call his parents to come down just in case I needed them.

Next day....we went to the hospital around midnight to get my next shot, then came home. I actually went to work that day too, because I had to do payroll. While there though, I didn't feel good AT ALL! So my boss drove me home and my in-laws took me back to the hospital (it was time for the next steroid shot anyway). By that time labor seemed to progress a little more, my blood sugars were way up (oh yea, did I mention I had gestational diabetes as well?!), my blood pressure was up, etc. So they put me on more medicine, and stopped my labor.

Next day.....August 3, 2002..........doctors wake me up EARLY in the morning. My body is not doing well, and I am far enough along that they think my baby has a REALLY good chance being born early...34 weeks along.....it took me FIVE HOURS to get a hold of my husband.....FINALLY!..... and he got permission to come home and then tried to get a flight home.

In the meantime, I called my dear friend, Michelle, and asked her if she wanted to come help me deliver this baby! She was SOOOO excited to be there and witness it! My in-laws still had my eldest, but my mother-in-law wasn't doing too well with all the excitement and stress going on, so she called my mom and asked her to come down to help with Cheyenne. So my mom and my aunt came down. And I'm so glad that they did, my mom was able to see a grandaughter right after she was born.

My husband made it to the hospital just as I was getting ready to push my daughter out. Now this was an experience for us as well, as my oldest daughter has to be born via c-section. It was the most amazing thing, giving birth to my youngest. I cried, I was so happy.

She did end up having some problems though. Her lungs weren't fully developed so she was on Surfactin (sp?) for a few days to get her lungs matured, one of her lungs did collapse and she had to have a chest tube inserted, jaundice, multiple tests, BUT she was only in NICU for a week. But that week was the longest week of my life.

Now?! She's so incredibly healthy! She's full of life & vigor. She makes me crazy sometimes, but makes me laugh just as much. She's a spitfire, that's for sure. And she's mine. And she's FOUR years old today! (I always remember that Bill Cosby performance when he talks about the boy, Jeffrey, who was on a plane with him one time and said over and over, "I'm four years old. I'm four years old." ) :D