Ten Little Finger and Ten Little Toes

   Many years ago I got a message from my adopted niece Lissa. 'I'm in trouble", the message read, "Ten little fingers and ten little toes trouble." It took me a bit to figure out what that meant. She was pregnant. She was 19 years old and had only been married for a couple months. She and Kurt were not really in a position to take care of a family. They weren't ready. Lissa had recently lost her job and Kurt's job as a welder was unstable. They hadn't planned on starting a family this soon, but since nature had decided otherwise, they decided do what they needed to be to support children.
   It turned out that they really didn't need to do much. Lissa miscarried. At home. They were excited about being parents. They had bought a frame for the ultrasound picture. Now it was over.
  A few year after that Lissa got pregnant again.  This time was different. They had jobs. They had insurance. They were ready to start a family. There was excitement, but cautious excitement. Things were going better this time. This time things would be all right.
  Except they weren't. Something had gone wrong. The baby had died. They were going to have a stillborn son. They named him after two men that had been influential on them. One of those names was C.
  This time they had learned some things. They learned that Lissa has a clotting disorder that gets worse during pregnancy. They learned that Lissa's father had some hereditary genetic defects. All this time she (and her mother and I) thought that those defects were due to medication taken during pregnancy. They were things that could be dealt with next time. If there was a next time.
   I didn't expect them to try again. They seemed happy with their life. They had a dog and a cat and did all kinds of things.
   Then I got a message from her last fall. She was pregnant again. They were having a boy. He had all his finger and toes and seemed to be growing normally. The clotting disorder was being treated. Things were looking good.
  C and I got ultrasound pictures whenever she had them. Lissa and Kurt put together a nursery. I knitted a few baby things. Last month her mother-in-law hosted a baby shower. It was a pretty grand affair. Lissa sent me a picture of all the presents they received. Things were still looking good.
  Last week a final check had been made, the baby was big enough to live on his own. If something happened he would be all right.
  Something did happen. Lissa's blood pressure started to rise. Even though she wasn't due for a few more weeks the decision was made to induce labor. Lissa let us know and said she'd keep us posted. 
  I sent a message to Micki, Lissa's mother. I asked her to let me know what was going on. Lissa might forget to contact me, but she wouldn't forget to contact her mother. Kurt would also keep Micki in the loop. We didn't hear anything for a long time as Lissa got to the hospital late. C and I went to bed. Lissa had told us that if they induced her it would be a long labor. 
  The next morning I had a message on my phone. Little Daniel had been born late the night before. There was a picture of Lissa with the baby and a surgery cap on her head. She must have needed a c section. 
   I was so happy for Lissa and Kurt. Their son had arrived and he was all right. He has all ten fingers and toes. Lissa had sent me a message telling me she couldn't stop looking at him. I got a picture of both of them looking at the baby with wonder in their eyes. He is their miracle. A new life begins.