I always knew I wanted to be a mom.
Jeremy and I were married in December of 1996. We knew that we wanted to wait a few years to have kids. We wanted to spend some time together, just the two of us, before we added to the family.
In March of 2001, we welcomed our first bundle of joy. He was born 3 weeks early and weighed just over 6 pounds. His hair was almost a khaki color. It was love at first sight. We named him Harrison. He was the sweetest baby, although he didn’t like to sleep. He finally slept all night for the very first time when he was a year old. He was full of personality. We have videos of Harrison playing his guitar and singing at a very young age. He always liked to have someone play with him. He wasn’t one to go to his room and play independently.
In March of 2004, we welcomed our second bundle of joy. She weighed just over 7 pounds and didn’t have one hair on her little head. She was beautiful, and we named her Alayna. She was actually a better baby than Harrison was. She slept through the night when she was just 6 weeks old. As she got older, she loved all things Barbie. She would sit in her room and play Barbies for hours, all by herself. She was extremely good at entertaining herself. And she was always singing a song, whether one from a cartoon she liked or a song she had just made up.
I originally wanted to have 4 kids, but I was uncertain whether I could with my back issues. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could have babies at all. When we were pregnant with Harrison, I went into labor 13 weeks before my due date. We were terrified. The doctors later determined that I went into labor early because my body ran out of room to carry a baby. My spina bifida caused me to have a very short torso, so there was really no place for the baby to grow. Because of this, the doctors put me on medication to stop the labor and they also put me on complete bed rest. If I got up and moved around at all, I would start to have contractions. I made several trips to the Emergency Room, where they would give me more medication to stop the labor, and each time they were successful. Finally, at 37 weeks, the doctors stopped all my medications, and I immediately went into labor. Because of my previous back surgeries, I could not have an epidural. I had 12 hours of labor with no epidural and ended up having an emergency c-section. I was in an extreme amount of pain before delivery. The anesthesiologist quickly put me to sleep, and when I woke up, I had a baby boy.
When we got pregnant with Alayna, we knew more about what to expect. I had my first contraction with her at 16 weeks. We started the medication and bed rest early, but I still made several trips to the ER to stop labor. This time I decided not to try natural childbirth. All the pushing and straining had caused me to lose some feeling in my legs after I had Harrison. I didn’t want to take any chances, so we scheduled a c-section with Alayna. Her birth experience was much easier than Harrison’s. So, I’m a believer in scheduled C-sections.
I still lost some feeling in my legs. The stress of pregnancy was taking a toll on my body. For a few years after Alayna was born, we considered having another baby but ultimately decided to stop with 2 kids. It just seemed like too much of a risk to have another one.
So, I ended up with the perfect pair of kids. A boy and a girl, and in my eyes, they were pretty close to perfect, and they still are.
I’m so very proud of my kids. They are amazing in so many ways.
We homeschooled the kids from kindergarten through 12th grade, and we did it mostly to have more time together as a family. I liked being with the kids, and they liked being with me most days.
Alayna had some health issues that made it almost necessary to homeschool her. I’ll have to write about that at a later time.
But we just always loved being together as a family. And even though the kids are both adults, we still like to be together.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with my adult kids.
Alayna and I went to a play she and I wanted to see. We had a nice dinner, great conversation, and laughed until we hurt. We talked all the way there and all the way back home.
Harrison and I traveled a few hours away to attend a concert. He bought tickets earlier this year and asked me to go with him. We had the best time. We sang loud and laughed at drunk people.
This weekend with my kids is something I will always cherish.
Our family has a special bond. We get each other. We fight, laugh, and joke around… but we can always be ourselves. We are comfortable with one another. Whether we are all sitting in the same room working on our separate projects or going somewhere together… it’s just good.
I’m a lot. I don’t even think that needs to be said. I have a big mouth, a big temper, a big opinion, and an overall big personality, which can be too much for some people.
I’ve mentioned before that I tend to make myself smaller (which sounds funny because I’m not even 5 feet tall). I don’t mean smaller in stature but smaller in personality. I do this in many spaces and around some people. I’ve learned how to check myself, read the room…
But with my family, I don’t have to do that. And honestly, it’s the only place in the world I don’t.
They are my safe place. They are my family. And I love them.
Until Next Time,
Whitney