what to expect...

I think, if we have another child, that I may burn my copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting."  By week 8 of the pregnancy, we'd already broken the rules in the book - we were 2 ultrasounds in, had seen his heart beating both times, and my morning sickness was so severe that I had been sent to a dietician. Pre-eclampsia is mentioned in the book, but there's no actual discussion on what happens if you get it.

Acorn is definitely not what they (or anyone else really) were expecting, and I think one thing I've learned from this is not to assume life will be typical.

So it is with Acorn's new doctor who, upon reviewing one test report, was mumbling the report outloud as he read it, and then exclaimed, "How rude! They called you unremarkable! Clearly that's not true, you're unique and wonderful!"  Acorn clapped and giggled. This doctor? Not what we expected, but definitely what we needed.

Later this week will be Acorn's second trachiversary - 2 years he's had his trach, and really, I can't imagine him any other way, though I look at the dozens of NICU photos on my wall here at work daily, including the time before the trach. It's odd, when you consider it, that we think of all this as normal - the tubes, the nurses, the doctors, the therapists. Again, not what we expected.

Expectations are all around us, but just for today, think about what life might be like if you decided to do something completely unexpected. Try it sometime - you might be glad you did.