Kathy came into the world as expected, on November 4th, 1987, quite different than the first two birth experiences. We knew it would be a C-section, and we chose the day. It was so easy; pack, wake up, and go to the appointment. No pain. No worries. Bret & Jacob spent the day with grandma Wall.
We also had the name chosen for years. If I had 2 girls, one would be Kathy, named after my sister and best friend. The other would be Alexa, named after my other best friend from grade school all the way to high school. I loved her name, and she was the only Alexa I knew. (My sister also loved the name, hence, Sarah's daughter is Alexa) I am glad we now have a Lexi.
Kathy was expensive. We had no health insurance at that point, but knew we would probably have a c-section, and just saved money for it.
Because we lived in Salt Lake, we had plenty of help from Grandma Wall, other family members, and the ward brought in meals for 5 nights. Dad & I fondly remember having 3 nights of chicken soup, but all totally different tasting. We had some great cooks in our ward.
She cried a lot, and by her 2 week check up, she already had an ear infection, which explained why she was so fussy. However she continued to be a fussy, colicky baby until she was six months old, when she learned to such her finger. She also did not sleep through the night until then.
It had taken us 4 years to be blessed with a girl after having Jacob. We wanted more children, and prayed and fasted. Two miscarriages came and went, sadly, and I found myself longing for another child. We finally decided to try to adopt. We started going through the paperwork. It was at my physical for the adoption that the doctor told me I was pregnant.
Before she was born, Kathy was reaching out to me. I had two amazing spiritual experiences with her. One was in the temple, after I knew I was expecting. I was told as clear as day that I was having a little blond girl. I could almost see her. It was surreal.
I had another visit from her in our home, before she was born, that is too tender and special to blog about, but I also can remember it very clearly and how I felt.
Bret was so happy when Jacob was born, and he wanted even more siblings; so this was thrilling to him. He held her and watched over her and of course became our babysitter. He was great with babies and children.
We felt so blessed with 3 children. Dad was at the end of his PhD, and life was awesome! Because I had had so much trouble getting pregnant, we didn't know if we would be blessed with more children or not. Right before Kathy turned 1, we moved to start our new life with IBM in NY, and dad bought our first brand new car, a Ford Escort. (which, didn't fit a family of six!) Our 4th blessing, Tom, came soon after, and we were complete!
