HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!

Nine years ago today, two days after I turned 40, on May 21, 1998, God blessed us with a second daughter. I will always consider her a miracle because she was born five weeks early, and spent three weeks in the NICU. The day she was born my blood pressure was dangerously high. I knew that I was having unbearable headaches unlike any I had ever had before. I called my wonderful, and that is said with sarcasm, doctor at 3:00 AM, that morning because I could not stand the headaches. He told me there was nothing he could do for me at 3:00 in the morning, but to take a Benadryl and go to bed. I'm not a doctor, but all pregnant ladies know what bad advice that was. I didn't take it, but did try to go to bed.

The next day a nurse had come to our house to see how our older daughter was doing. This is something this nurse had never done before. I will never forget her, and how the Lord sent her to our house that day. My older daughter told her that I was on light bedrest, and having headaches, so she took my blood pressure, and it was so high that she made me call both my husband and the doctor before she left.

At 6:47 PM, God blessed us with a 4 lb., 9 oz. little girl. Initially she was fine, but after about an hour in the nursery, they had to send her to the NICU because she was having trouble breathing. (I'm almost making myself cry just remembering that). Her lungs were not developed, and she had acid reflux. She could only take 1 teaspoon of milk every three hours.

She came home on June 10, 1998. Because she was coming home with a heart monitor (because of her acid reflex, and sleep apnea), we had to spend the night of June 9th at the hospital. After we had gotten settled with her in the room, my husband went to Baskin-Robbins to bring us back some ice cream to celebrate Brooke coming home. This is something we used to do regularly when we lived in that area. We'd get those little small pints of ice cream and bring them home. He came back with TWO QUARTS of peanut butter chocolate. I thought it was intentional and didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I tried to eat the whole thing, and nearly made myself sick, lol. He did the same, and later told me that he accidentally got the quarts instead of what we usually got.

He was such a help to me, and would help me with her feedings during the night. One morning before he went to work he woke me up and asked me "do you want to feed Brooke?", and I asked "Brooke who?"

Brooke is a sweet little girl who loves the Bible, and like me, likes the old hymns. When I am sick with a headache, she comes into my room to sing the hymns to me.

Brooke, we are blessed to have you in our family, and we love you very much. We hope you are having a very happy birthday!