Big Brother

I feel in order for me to continue telling the story of Eli’s journey , I need to back up a little and talk about the mom I was at the time Eli entered our lives and how I got there.

A quick rundown of the timeline – Husband and I met when I was a junior in college, I was 20 and he was 25.  We went on our first date when I was 21, got engaged when I was 24, married at 25, pregnant at 26, and we welcomed Aiden Russell into the world via emergency C-section when I was 27 years old and 32.5 weeks pregnant  (for those of you like me who don’t math, I got you – that’s a 7.5 weeks premature baby)… on April Fool’s day no less!  He will forever be our little 4 pound, 5oz April Fool.  

In hindsight, his early entry into his own life is totally on brand for him.  Now, at 15, he still hates being late, he thrives on preparedness and is a total self-starter.  His drive for success and being at his best is unmatched (a trait I worry may become a source of frustration and stress for him as he enters his adult years – speaking from experience here…he comes by it honestly).  He has always wanted to know all the things before entering any situation and is still a Rolodex of information – the info goes in once, he files it away, and at the most random moments, he can turn that nob directly to the correct card and recite as needed. He came into this world a little old man, always mature well beyond his years, and I know that was by Divine design because it takes a kid with high maturity and emotional intelligence to be the big brother of a kiddo like E.  And Aiden is good big brother. 

Raising Baby A was easy.  Sure, he was a preemie and he spent some time in the NICU and that was scary, but after that it was smooth sailing.  He was eating every 4 hours when we finally brought him home from the hospital (if you’ve not had the pleasure of meeting a NICU nurse, they are superhero’s!) – he slept, ate, played, repeated.  Aiden could be totally content for hours sitting on a little play-mat, surrounded by his favorite Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys with the Backyardigans playing in the background.  He would try every food at least once (except “them green thangs”, aka Brussel Sprouts – those took several attempts before they passed through his lips) loved meeting new people, and didn’t shy away from an exciting new adventure (once the risk had been totally calculated out in his head).  

By the time I was pregnant with Eli, Aiden had just turned two and was inserting himself into adult conversation – really, just repeating what he had heard other adults say, but he was always so confident in himself and the information he had to share that he could keep the attention of whoever he was speaking with.

Aiden hit every milestone on all the charts with ease and ahead of “schedule”.  By 2 he was reading site words and simple sentences, think “See Jane run!”

Looking back now, it’s almost funny how easy I thought motherhood was supposed to be. Aiden made it feel effortless—like all it took was a schedule, some patience, and a good diaper bag. But God knew I needed that gentle beginning to prepare me for the wild, beautiful ride that was coming next.

Because two years, nine months, and 23 days after I became a mom, just when I thought I had this whole “mom thing” figured out, Eli arrived—and rewrote every rule I thought I knew.  

Every story has a turning point — ours came on January 24, 2013, in a 5 pound, 6oz bundle, via another emergency C-section when I was 34 weeks and 1 day.  The version of me who existed before Eli started her transformation immediately that day.

With Aiden, I learned how to be a mom.

With Eli, I learned what being a mom truly means.

Susan