Sorry to hear about all the complications. I hope and pray that the new year greets you and your family with more health, wealth, joy and peace.

My friend was on bed rest and anti-contraction medications through much of her very difficult pregnancy with twins. If the drugs had any effects on her babies- they were all positive (think genius babies). On Christmas eve, her 2 year old daughter was reciting the pledge of allegiance (in total) for any attentive adult. Her son is equally brilliant.

We were diagnosed with gestational diabetes at about this point in Ranger’s pregnancy. Between crying spells that I’d already broken the baby and learning how to inject myself with insulin, it seemed so hopeless- like nothing was going to go right.

Ranger was then born with a giant head and our pediatrician had a fear of craniosynostosis. Under medical advice, I had to quit breastfeeding before the end of his first year. It felt like his future was slipping through our hands.

While at two- he can no more recite the Pledge of Allegiance than he can bust broncos, he’s still a smart, thriving child. He’s very tall for his age and is hitting all of his developmental milestones.

Jim and his brother were born with serious birth defects (a hole in the heart and Meckel’s diverticulum respectively) that had total resolution by adolescence (the only lingering effect is that both men are not eligible for the draft).

You both are working hard to give your baby the best chance possible. You can do no more than that- and that sincere effort is still a huge gift even in the face of multiple obstacles. In this post there’s a lot going wrong, but it’s easy for an outsider to see that you’re doing everything right despite tough circumstances.

adrienne