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| Kamryn Ellie Brooks |
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| Our lovely little lady. I wanted to dress her in something special to remind me of her brother Jacob. Isn't this ladybug outfit the cutest? |
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| Big sis Kelly's checking out her new baby sister. She says "Kamryn" perfectly. We've already experienced so many heart melting moments with our two little girls and are looking forward to many, many more! |
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| Newest family photo. Kelly even has her "Big Sister" shirt on. If Jake were here, I imagine he would be sitting right in between us all. |
My brother Joe and my sis-in-law Jenee were expecting their 2nd child just a mere 5 days before I was due. Mind you, our girls (Kelly and Lexi) were born exactly one month apart. I swear, this was not planned! As it turns out, Jenee and I both ended up in labor at different hospitals on the same afternoon! Crazy right!?! My parents were in a frenzy with all the labor updates. We thought our little ones might actually end up sharing the same birthday. Well, my scheduled induction (thanks to big babies) progressed a little slower and our little ones arrived just nine hours apart -- different days -- different astrological signs too! My nephew is a Leo (born 8/22) and Kamryn is a Virgo like her big brother Jakey.
Meet my adorable nephew ~ Camden Gage Kelly.
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| Camden with his stuffed Donald Duck, which we re-gifted to him. My brother Joe and his wife Jenee (Jakey's godparents) gave Jake this stuffed Donald Duck when he was a baby. We wanted Camden to have a little something special from his big cousin. |
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| Forever friends ~ Kamryn and Camden. Yes, we're well aware that the names are very similar and we love that! I think it's very fitting in how close they are and will continue to be as they grow up together. |
Josh and I put a lot of thought into the name we chose for our new little girl, as we wanted to pick a name that also somehow incorporated her brother. Our initial list of names was VERY long, but we eventually whittled it down to the top two first names and a few middle name choices. We waited until we could meet her to finally decide and make sure it fit.
Kamryn means spiritual one. We chose to spell it with a "K", so we could be 'those parents' who have matchy-matchy names for their kiddos. Ellie, is actually the name of Jake's favorite stuffed elephant (only the more girlie spelling) and means light, bright shining one. It is more than perfect because it reminds us of Jake's song, 'Here Comes the Sun' and the fact that she is our second rainbow baby. She is our "something beautiful and full of light...a counterbalance of color, energy and hope."
Most people don't know that when Kamryn was born, she wasn't breathing on her own. I was able to hold her for approximately two seconds before a medical team whisked her off my chest. It was then that I realized she hadn't let out her first cry. During those first minutes all I could think about was our little girl and Jacob -- how could this be happening?? It was so surreal. In the back of my mind I was thinking that I absolutely couldn't fathom losing another child, while at the same time knowing that Jake was watching over us and that he would never let that happen. I could feel Jake's presence and kept thinking back to a very special sign that I received at the cemetery earlier in the day when I asked him to watch over us. I knew with every fiber of my being that our baby girl would be okay, but I needed her to cry for confirmation.
Thankfully the amazing medical staff went right to work on her and were able to resuscitate Kamryn by helping to inflate her lungs. It took a couple minutes for her to let out her first cry, which left us with an incredibly helpless feeling until we heard the cry that reassured us she was okay. Apparently my placenta had abrupted during the last few minutes of labor, so her oxygen supply was limited. The lack of oxygen was causing her heart rate to drop, so she was in distress, very weak, and needed the extra help. The abruption also put me at great risk. We were both closely monitored during the hospital stay, but doing well-enough that we were able to check out of the hospital and head home the next day.
As if this weren't enough activity to welcome a little one into the world, we also had a 6.0 earthquake hit in the middle of the night while we were in the hospital. Being in a large non-earthquake retrofitted building with a wall-to-wall window when a big quake hits is certainly not the safest place to be. Hence, the haste to check out of the hospital. I think it's safe to say that Kamryn is shakin' things up quite a bit since she arrived. Not even a day old and she made it through her first big quake (the biggest to hit the Bay Area since 1989).
Whether you are a spiritual person or not, I can tell you without a shadow-of-a-doubt, that we have a special angel looking over us. We will continue to share Jacob with his little sisters, so they will always know how lucky they are to have such an incredible big brother watching over them.
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| First night at home reading Kamryn her brother's favorite book, just like we did with her big sister. |
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| Visiting big brother |
Photo Cred: Professional photos taken by my cousin's wife Amber, who just launched her photography business Sweet Crazy Life Photography. Check out her Facebook page.
