Celebrate, Remember, Reflect

Happy Birthday to my three little ones!

It really is such a bittersweet day. Ben, Maddie, and Jon started life 3 months early weighing 3 pounds, 2 pounds 15 ounces, and 2 pounds 11 ounces, respectively. They started on breathing machines, feeding tubes, IV drips, and blood transfusions. They started in little clear boxes with more wires and tubes connected to their tiny bodies than any of my appliances have. The bitter part is remembering back to those days -- the toughest three months of their lives, of MY life, those three NICU months. The next nine months were a blur, and I don't remember much of it. I remember the feeding cycles - change, feed, burp Ben (20 minutes); change, feed, burp Maddie (30 minutes); change, feed, burp Jon (45 minutes); grab a glass of water, go potty, pump (20 minutes); have about an hour to choose one or more of these: sleep, eat, play with Will, shower. That cycle was repeated every three hours. I don't know how we got through it... like I said, I don't remember much.

But look at how SWEET it is now! The feeding cycle has been replaced by the everyday taxi-cycle - feed them, take them to school, pick them up, feed them again, feed them again. The assembly lines of our home once were prepping 27 bottles, changing three sets of diapers and clothes. When they were eating baby food, we still did dinner assembly-line style: popping the spoon into one mouth, dipping it in the peas, popping it into mouth #2, dipping in the peas, popping it in mouth #3, repeat, repeat, repeat. Strangely, we still use assembly lines as we prepare lunches for school - making 20 sandwiches at a time, scooping out 20 baggies of goldfish crackers, making 20 baggies of fruit; we do this once a week so that mornings go more smoothly. We still often [sort of] line up all our kiddos to sign school papers, pass out allowance, comb hair, wipe faces, and give them good-bye kisses and hugs. This is our life now.

These kindergarteners are HEALTHY!! and oh what a miracle that is! These three are loving, sweet, and over-the-top silly. They are ornery, stubborn, yet fairly easy-going. They are individuals - Ben loves science, rough-housing, and cuddling; Maddie loves art, dolls, and reading; Jon loves building, helping, and games. Our children do not have the learning disabilities, the deafness (though, I do wonder at times), the vision problems, and so many of the other issues that are common to micropreemies. So today is a day of celebration for our family. Today we celebrate the births of these three precious children. Today we celebrate the milestones they've crossed and the ones we have survived. Today we celebrate these three living miracles of God. Today we celebrate how far THEY have come since those first fragile days. Today we celebrate how far God has brought Allen and me in this crazy journey of parenthood. Today we celebrate, remember, and reflect!

Happy sixth birthday, Ben!
Happy sixth birthday, Maddie!
Happy sixth birthday, Jon!