Two Years Ago Today...

... I was almost 36 weeks pregnant. I climbed in bed after a long day of doctors appointments and BLS renewal (with no chairs to sit at and CPR done on the floor, mind you).  Before going to sleep I said to Jared in amazement, "Isn't it crazy that we will be parents in 3 weeks??"

Umm.... Make that about 3 hours.

My water broke not even half an hour after I laid down. {And when I say "it broke" I mean it broke! This wasn't a trickle; it was like someone popped a water balloon on top of me...} It happened so fast and so completely that I screamed and jumped out of bed as fast as any large pregnant woman can. Poor Jared was a little shocked but he composed himself quickly. We randomly threw things in a bag (lesson learned: pack early) and drove to the hospital.

At 2:21 AM, our little breech baby entered the world via c-section. And I know it sounds cliché, but our lives changed permanently in the wee hours of February 19th, 2010. (Granted, I couldn't really tell until about 24 hours later when the morphine cloud cleared, but I do know it happened!)

Bailey has taught us a lot about parenting and love and life in general.

Jared has developed 10 times more patience than I ever thought he was capable of [Hello ADHD]. And I have surprised myself, too. I more easily let go of the little things that don't matter and try not to worry about what I cannot control.

And because of Bailey we know just how wonderful a kiss from your child feels and exactly how embarrassing a temper-tantrum meltdown is in front of strangers. We know how hard it is to watch your baby be wheeled away into surgery and how funny a poop explosion is after the clean-up (and fyi: it can be extra funny if it ends up on a germaphobic relative.)

It's amazing how much a person can learn in just two short years... 

Thank you, Bailey, for all that you have taught us.