Jack and Anna were approximately 9 months old. I was sort of feeling like I might be pregnant, but I was in serious denial. Did I mention Jack and Anna were only 9 months old??? Finally, I gave in and took a pregnancy test. It was positive. Just to be sure, I took another--same result. By this time, I was already about 10 weeks along. I called Thomas, but he had left his cell phone at home that day and was unavailable. So, I had to sit on the news all afternoon until he finally got home. He was super excited. I was also very excited, but my excitement was mixed with nervousness. It had been a rough year. I had gone into preterm labor, and narrowly avoided giving birth at 30 weeks (another story in and of itself). Following that scare, I spent the last month of Jack and Anna's pregnancy in the hospital. They were still born prematurely and Anna spent her first 10 days in the NICU. Then, there was adjustment to life with preemies. Except for doctor visits, they couldn't even leave the house for the first 2 months. Then, it was the illness and death of my mother. After that, I got very sick with a bad case of strep throat, followed by a horrendous double ear infection. Couple all that with breast-feeding and a serious lack of sleep while working full-time at a very stressful job that required me to be in court multiple times a week, and let's just say I wasn't quite myself.
So, you may be able to get some idea of why I had the nervousness. Anna had just started consistently sleeping through the night and life was finally feeling a little less nerve-racking.
Fortunately, as the pregnancy progressed and it became evident how much easier it was going to be for my body to handle one baby as opposed to two, the nervousness went away and only the excitement remained. We didn't find out the gender (although we strongly suspected, thanks to an ultrasound tech who referred to Kara as "she" more than once). I carried her to full term and she was born weighing a healthy 8 pounds and 2 ounces. What a difference those extra 3 pounds made! She only woke up once each night. I called her our "angel baby," she was just so easy! Well, until she hit about 6 months and developed a bit of a temper/stubborn streak.
Today, Kara is amazing. She is super-independent. She has been picking her clothes and dressing herself since she was two. She loves imaginative play and can keep herself entertained for hours with dolls, toy animals, pretty much anything. She is somewhat short-tempered, but gets over it very easily. For example, yesterday she hit me. I sent her to timeout. A minute later, I walked past her and she reached out, hugged my leg and said "I love you, Mommy." She is also very smart and super coordinated. She is very cuddly and sweet. She shares well and is kind to her friends and siblings. She is pure joy and I can't believe how much I love her. She was the perfect addition to our family and came at the perfect time.
Happy fourth birthday, Kara. I am so excited for your future!
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