The Grateful Woman

I am starting to feel so much better. It's great to NOT be pregnant anymore, and it's great to be feeling mostly recovered from labor. It would feel even better to be fitting into something other than maternity pants....especially considering I only gained 6 pounds this pregnancy. I guess my body has redistributed itself. All in time.

I have to say that people have been so kind to us. I haven't had to cook a meal yet, and Danielle will be 4 weeks only in a couple of days. The first week my ward brought in meals, My mom was here the second week and cooked for us. Then, my kind homeschool group signed up for 14 days of meals. I've still got4 more days of meals coming, and I'm starting to feel almost guilty for letting these busy people serve me, but also grateful for such kindness.

It seems such a small thing, bringing a meal, yet it is such a large thing for me. I can savor this first month with Danielle and have extra time for all my kids. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a baby more, and I'm also happy that my other kids thrill in every moment with her. She is so wonderful.

I'm also grateful to my sister-in-law for recommending the book Becoming Babywise: Giving your baby the gift of sleep. She has been only waking up once at night, and I could go a long time with the sleep I am getting.


Danielle's umbilical cord finally fell off when she was three weeks old, so we were all excited to give her a real bath. She hated it. She screamed the entire time. That was a first for me. But I'm happy to report that they are growing on her.


Also, they always say that the last babies hardly have any pictures taken of them, but I'm pretty sure we have more pictures of Danielle than any of our other children put together, thanks to Brandon. He has photos of her from about every angle. We have 78 pictures just from last week. This is the first child that we've had a digital camera, so the kids go a little crazy. Of course, she is so beautiful that it's easy to get carried away.


Things are easier this time around as well. If she's sleeping when I need to go pick up Nicole from pre-school, I can leave Brandon with her. I can't tell you how many times I was forced to wake up sleeping babies with my older crew. The kids hold her while I take a shower in the mornings or while I brush my teeth at night, and they love every second of it. She's also my first child who loves her binky. I may actually have a pacifier baby this time around.


All in all life is great, and I feel richly blessed.