Lauren

Well of course no blog would be complete without a special blog about my other lovely daughter - Lauren. Lauren was our "surprise baby" in a few ways. We were planning on having a second child but not quite as soon as she came along and also when I did the home pregnancy test I thought the test and not worked properly. I did the usual pee thing and put it on the bathroom vanity and after a few minutes there were no lines at all so I thought I had a dud test - grrr!!! I really didn't think I was pregnant anyway but to get no result was really annoying. I picked up the test to throw it away and glimpsed 2 lines on the other side - I had the test upside down! I was so excited and ran down the hall letting out a rather loud expletive only to be told to "shush" by Dean as someone was at the door so I had to spend a minute or two jumping around the hall until Dean was free. I was so happy. Once again the pregnancy started off a little bumpy but everything soon settled down and it was a normal pregnancy which was such a relief. The only downside was 9 months of morning sickness again and Lauren was breech so it was another c-sect. She was delivered on 15 December 2003 and weighed 6 lb 3 oz - another small but perfect girl. I think the breech position was a warning of her future stubborness. Oddly enough her strong personality and "terror streak" are something I really love about her. Sure it can be hard at times but she is just an amazing wee kid and I wouldn't change a thing. I worried when I thought about having another child if I could ever love another child as much as I loved my first. Of course as any mother of more than one child will tell you this is not something you need to worry about. The minute I held Lauren in my arms I fell totally in love with her and now the love in my heart had multiplied for my 2 beautiful daughters. Today Lauren had her first visit to the emergency department as she had dislocated her arm. I cried for her - it broke my heart. Here we were with a pretty minor thing but it made me think of my friends who had been through so much with their children - my friend Diane who had to see her child through open heart surgery at the age of 5 months and my friend Amber who gave birth prematurely to her twin sons and had to watch one of them die and worry about her surviving son as well. I am glad to say Diane's son and Amber's surviving son are doing well. How hard it is to watch your child sick or in pain - no matter how minor it may be. Lauren, I love you very, very much and my biggest wish for you is a long and happy and healthy life. I can't wait to see the amazing person I am sure you are going to be. Love Mummy. XXXX