Birth of  my son- 1985

My pregnancy went well, but that didn't stop me from worrying about the chances of having another problem pregnancy. My doctor wanted me to have an ultrasound at 12 weeks and then an amniocentesis to rule out any issues. I did it all so that I could enjoy the pregnancy. It did help to find out that everything seemed normal, but there was always a bit of fear in the back of my mind.

In May 1985, our big boy, was born. He was 8lbs 13ozs. He was our Rainbow Baby. A rainbow baby is a term for a baby that's born after the parents have a pregnancy loss. The name draws on the rainbow symbol, representing beauty after a dark time. I wish someone would have told me that back then. He will always be my rainbow baby.  

He was built like a real football player! David went out and bought him his 1st football. A very proud father he was.  My daughter was thrilled to have a baby brother. She wasn’t thrilled when we got home; he got most of the attention. She was toilet trained before he was born, but then everything changed, and it was one way to get my attention. I would be breastfeeding, and she would stand in front of me and just pee in her pants. She knew I would have to put him down and take care of her until I told her she would just have to wait. She soon realized it was not fun being in wet panties and decided to go to the potty instead.

He was a happy baby, and she enjoyed having him around. She loved being a big sister and took it upon herself to do a lot for him, including talking for him. He would just grunt, and she would know what he wanted. He didn’t start talking until he was nearly 2 years old.

David was still working for Honda and was now the Sales manager, and he was not home much. When we married, I knew that marrying a salesman would not be easy. He would leave early in the morning, and some nights, he would get home at 11 p.m.

It became much harder with two kids, and I often felt like a single parent. I would try to do as much of the outdoor chores myself so that when he was home on the weekend, he could spend most of his time with the kids. This seemed to work out well, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to be that perfect wife and mother. I didn’t realize that it would catch up with me eventually.