Soaking It All In

Sorry for being so quiet on here the past few days, but we've truly just shut ourselves away and are enjoying this time of getting to know each other as a family of five.

As I write this I am sitting on the couch with my swollen feet up on a chair, Mom and Dad are each drinking a glass of wine, and Chris is snuggling with little Adelyn against his chest before her next feeding.

I am tired, sore, and bloated and yet I have never been this happy or felt this content in all of my life.

I feel such an incredible sense of completeness and wholeness as I look at this family around me.

I feel blessed beyond words as I hold this little girl against me and study the intricate little parts of her body. Her tiny little fingernails, her curved little knees and sweet little tongue. The smell of her as I hold her up and kiss her cheeks and nuzzle my face against her skin.

What a different experience this is having one baby. It has been incredible. I feel like I can focus my attention solely on her when we have our time together. I don't have to worry about sharing the time equally with another baby, but yet know that at that moment I just need to care for her needs alone.

She is a gift that has brought such healing to me. Healing I didn't even know that I needed. Healing to have a healthy child. To not have to fear birth or prematurity. It has been so healing to look at this daughter of mine, healthy, whole and full term - and just to feel so thankful for that.

Ethan and Grayson are adjusting incredibly well. They have not shown any signs of jealousy, and truthfully I have been able to spend more time with them now than I was able to on bed rest, so I think they're enjoying that. They got to hold their sister for the first time today. It was so great to watch them giggle and smile as they studied her little wiggling body laying there in front of them.

They have been in awe of this new little baby in our house. They love to watch us feed her, change her, and even today they helped me burp her. When they hear her cry they say "baby?baby?" They love going back to her nursery and saying "Adee?Adee?"

I love watching them interact and knowing that I am the mother of these three incredible children.

Thank you all so much for your comments, calls, emails, gifts, meals, etc. We appreciate it SO much more than you'll ever know. I am sorry if I owe you a phone call or an email....I will catch up eventually! Right now it feels like all I'm doing is feeding, changing, resting, and caring as much as I can for two 21 month olds... :)

Ethan (l) and Grayson (r) holding their sister for the first time

Peaceful

Adelyn Verree

BaBa and Adelyn

Daddy and his Little Girl