When Cameron was born, he was three weeks early. He was tiny (6lbs) and I was ill, more ill than anyone suspected. In a matter of days my blood pressure spiked and I had protein and everyone murmured pre-eclampsia. For a person with a normal blood pressure of less than 100/70, everyone charted my blood pressures of high 130/80’s as normal. Then, as my platelets started to fall, things started to feel more urgent. In the hours post-partum, they fell lower in a direct correlation to my baby turning yellow. Then everyone MOVED! Having the lab report his bilirubin results backwards cause everyone to jump into transfusion mode. A wise family physician caring for me and my first baby was wise enough to recheck the blood work and discovered the simple human error. Instead, we got home health delivery of bililights. And my tiny baby went under the french fry light and looked like a small, wrinkly sweet potato, earning him his nickname. Over the years it morphed into Sweetpea.
I made one of his favorite things for breakfast today. It was once just a Thanksgiving treat, but I break the rules a few times a year and make them special. They sit warm from the oven on the kitchen counter. Welcome home, Sweetpea.
