- It’s always nice to have a moment of reflection, a quiet time to access the situation. Things have been very busy for us the past couple of days, but this morning I was given a beautiful moment in time of absolute stillness. Around 8:30 this morning, having gorged herself on mother’s milk, Bailey was out for the count. Ben and Chloe were silently sawing logs across the way. I imagine my nurses were doing morning charting. As Bailey lay snuggled in her boppy beside me in bed, I looked upon her resting face and felt a peace fall on me like rain. I knew where it came from and was actually really grateful to have this time to tell Him thank you. Whenever we are blessed, we usually remember to say a quick “thank you Jesus!” But it is so nice to be able to set apart an actual chunk of time to truly express thanksgiving for all the little things that weaved together a symphony of perfection for us over this weekend. I never want to be so caught up in my blessings that I forget to count them as such.
- For me as a breastfeeding Mom, the experience contains so many emotions, challenges, and benefits that you could almost base an entire sitcom around it. When they are first born, that immediate skin to skin contact is as memorable as the end of Gone With the Wind. Then you begin the nursing relationship which usually initially starts a little rocky. It’s kinda like a good blind date. You like the way the guy looks and you’re pretty sure it could go somewhere, but in the back of your head you’re like “what if he has a head in his freezer?” Then all the sudden it just clicks with you and baby and you feel like you just won a Gold medal at the Olympics. You walk around proud as a peacock saying “look at me, I can walk around nourishing a tiny human in the crook of my arm while making myself a snack and fixing the broken toy of a toddler!” “I would like to thank the Academy…” Then you decide to remove your little bundle from your bosom and place them in their bassinet only to discover you’ve create a little milk monster! The moment you put them down that little head starts turning to the side, sniffing with open mouth, searching for the lost boob. How can they still be hungry?! Now you feel like the character of Cinderella. You scoop up the screaming little vampire and grab another large ice water to help rehydrate the shell that’s left of you. As you sit down with your bundle and let out a sigh, you see those tiny little lips and smooth, rosy cheeks. A small hand curls it’s perfect fingers around the strap of your nursing bra and you melt completely, like a perfect first romance. Let the story begin.
- We came home today! I am going to be honest. The past year, moving from our larger home into a smaller one, has not always been an easy transition for me. I miss the extra space, but much prefer the extra time a smaller mortgage allows you. My point in saying the above is that today, when I walked into my perfectly cozy little home, I might as well have entered into a dream mansion! Dorothy was so right. There is no place like home. Everyone at the hospital was fantastic and I only have good things to say, but I missed our happy home. I’m sure hospital beds have come a long way, but my back feels like I was on a medieval rack torture device. Ladies, you know it’s bad when your back hurts worse than where the baby exited. The staff was great, but even they couldn’t keep up with my never ending thirst for more ice water!! I think that if we would have stayed another night Chloe would have grown up to be a serial killer or something. The confines of a hospital room to a two year old will certainly drive them crazy. Ben kept trying to figure out how to open the window and that had me a little concerned too. So needless to say, we are home and we are happy. I’m sure there are challenges ahead. You know I’ll tell you all about them in the coming days. Until then, I am so good! That is all 🙂