Background (Chapter 1)

   Since Teegan is almost two years old, I need to summarize our lives up to this point. I think it will be easier on me as the writer and you as the reader if I do it in parts. Thus begins Chapter One.

   There's no such thing as just a special needs child. A child's disability affects everyone in the family; parents and siblings. You have now become a special needs family. It would be impossible for me to write about Teegan without mentioning his impact on all of us. Therefore, I must introduce you to the members of our party. I have five amazing boys and two awesome stepdaughters. My oldest three are with my ex-husband, then there are my twin stepdaughters, then my last two boys with my forever husband. Teegan is the baby of this bunch. All six of his siblings are healthy.

   And now for Teegan's birth story. I am hypothyroid, which makes it a high-risk pregnancy. I wasn't that concerned though. After all, I had four healthy pregnancies already. During my first ultrasound, they discovered mild hydronephrosis (fluid in the kidneys) and mild ventriculomegaly (ventricles in the brain were dilated). Both conditions have about a 90% chance of a normal outcome so the doctor wasn't very concerned. He said it was just "something to keep an eye on." My next two ultrasounds were the same. The conditions were still there but still very mild. I walked out of that first ultrasound feeling fine. Sometime in the next couple days I started to worry. At some point I just "knew" that something was wrong. I pushed that feeling aside, chalked it up to the ultrasound. "The doctor isn't overly concerned so I shouldn't be either" was what I kept telling myself. I never gave voice to that feeling. I wish I would have. I firmly believe in mother's intuition. I tried to ignore it though. I felt like if I didn't say it out loud than it wouldn't be real. Looking back on it now, I feel like I cheated my husband and I out of the chance to mentally prepare. If I had spoken up maybe we would have done an amnio, maybe they would have looked closer at the ultrasounds. Never ignore that feeling that something may be wrong. Call it mother's intuition, call it the voice of God, call it whatever you wish, just listen. It's usually real and it's usually right.

  I still have a lot of story to tell. However, I don't want each blog to be too long. So I'm going to end here for tonight. To my friends and family, I'm still interested in your feedback. Your opinions carry a great deal of weight with me, so let me know how I'm doing. To strangers who may have happened across this blog, I hope what you've read helps you in some way. Thank you all for taking the time to join us in our adventure.