I was on bed rest almost immediately due to minor complications. I had issues throughout the pregnancy that prevented me from doing almost anything. This dependency weighed heavily on my marriage. My husband was used to me being the care taker, the cleaner, the bill payer, the taxi driver, etc. while his job was minor cleaning and most of the cooking. His work schedule when he was transferred back home was stressful. He had a boss that put work before anything else and expected all the employee's to do the same. My husband, unfortunately, fell in line with this theory. Pregnancy did not work well into this schedule. God's grace mixed with patience and determination got us through this as well.
I prayed and prayed that I would have a boy. I thought it would be so nice to give Calvin a little brother. 9 years difference is huge but I'm also 10 years younger than my oldest brother and we are very close. When I found out I was having a girl, I questioned the tech and continued to do so at every ultrasound. I didn't know what to do with a girl. I had 6 nephews and 1 niece who was just a baby herself. I thought, "I don't know how to raise a girl". Funny how those sorts of anxieties strike us. I didn't know what to do with a boy before I had Calvin and somehow I managed. My sister-in-law said that maybe it was a good thing, "Calvin could still be Adam's son and this little girl would just complete our family". I never thought of it that way, Adam's family had welcomed Calvin with open arms and often referred to him as the grandchild.
Maisie was born on June 12th, 2008 via c-section. She was a peanut, only 6.9lbs and 19” long, she was perfect. A mother’s heart grows so much more with each child, it’s an amazing gift. I fell head over heels in love the second I laid eyes on them.
Adam was over the moon with having a daughter; he would give her the world if she asked. And Calvin grew 20 inches when he held his baby sister for the first time. He recently wrote about this day in a paper he had to do for school. It brought tears to my eyes and then I thought, “Calvin will be 25 when Maisie is 16, he can go with her on her first date”.
The honeymoon was over when we came home. Maisie went from 3-4 hours between feedings to 2-3 hours. She cried all.the.time. and threw up the other half. I believe I cried with her. She would be up until 3am most nights and Adam and I would switch off walking with her. We didn’t know what was wrong. After several doctors’ visits, tests and a trial on meds, we switched doctors and got her on reflux meds that made the angels sing in heaven. There was this new peace of mind that enveloped our home. Maisie was around 7 months old by this time so her sleep pattern had been established and while she’s in her own room she has yet to sleep consistently through the night.
Maisie has always had this essence about her. She’s a fighter and she’s strong willed. A trait that I hope she got from me. She knows what she wants; I believe that’s why she started talking so early, she wants to make sure we hear all of her orders. By the time she was a 1 year old, she was off the meds, talking and had adopted the nickname Moose as she was no longer the peanut we had brought home from the hospital. By the time she was 2 years old she was potty trained and telling her brother Calvin what to do. Now she runs around the house with him yelling “Abracadabra” and Calvin, being the obedient soldier, fly’s around and flips and jumps on the floor to amuse his sister. When I tell her no, she goes into her room and slams the door. When her daddy has something that she wants she looks at him and says, “I love you daddy”. When Calvin leaves for school in the morning, I open the living room window so she can get on the couch and yell “BYE BUDDY”…at 7am. She is the missing link to this family, the comedic relief, the light and the glue that binds us together. She is the reason why we made a new plan so long ago.
