Sophia managed to squeeze out the final wet diaper the doctors required, proof positive she’s not dehydrated and our golden ticket home. And so at last at around 8 pm the nurse saw us to the door and we hurried to the car in the dark and pouring rain. Of course we still have to check in with our pediatrician in the morning; but after that we’re going to relax and enjoy discovering our new family dynamic.
Bella’s already asleep. She’ll have a pleasant surprise in the morning.
Settling in, cuddling with Sophia in my own bed at last. Time to finally get some decent sleep with no nurses, no beeps and bells and whistles. Just my own sweet family.
All’s well that ends well. now the real fun can begin.
Just adorable. How Isabella sees you parent will be a direct model for how she thinks parenting should be done.
What a deep, profound peace, being home with your new baby girl, adorable Isabella (who, by the sound of it, sounds so loving and well-adjusted!), and husband.
God bless you all!!
I love you guys sooo much congrats on your second baby girl. I would have been here earlier with a comment, but the Tree-bug did NOT excitedly call me with the news and I haven’t been to Dom’s blog for a few days.
Any how, I send my love and prayers. Bella’s love for her sister and her spot on imitation of your parenting is soooo adorable. I can’t wait to meet your kids. I hope we are in Austin at the same time in the near future—perhaps Christmas 2008, who knows…
Love and Hugs,
Tanya
What beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing and welcome home!!!
I love seeing the pictures of your family as it expands. As for the poop factor, I might have said this before but we called one child The Little Brown Dye Factory. In one end and instantly out the other, in a different color. Tiring. But wonderful.
jane M
I just happened to check bettnet to see if the baby had come yet and lo and behold – beautiful Sophia and wonderful family. I managed to glance through a lot of the news on your blog but alas, I’m …a mother and at the moment 3 out of the 4 of my progeny are recovering from some flu type virus while Jay’s been traveling for the last 3 weeks and has one more trip to go before an Easter break. I just wanted to say how beautiful you all look and that I empathized with all your entries, laughing, tearing up, remembering the 3 day blues, thinking before the birth of Noah I would be “super Mom” and then feeling like my world was turned upside down after his birth. Having gotten through it all I can offer you my strength as a mother and my prayers as a sister in Christ. I will say a rosary for you and your family including Dom’s Mom. As to the constant separations that we experience I wanted to share that yes, indeed, it is a series of cuts but it is also a series of new connections with my children and within the circle of our family. Even with Eric in college – it was tough that first September—we have found that he is still very much connected to us. He had a tough patch Sophomore year and cried out to us in his despair and we, thinking we were being good for giving him his space were feeling horrible for not having called him more. So we talked about how much we needed to keep that connection strong and it was a revelation to hear that Eric needed still to hear from us often. He comes home frequently and calls us and his siblings a few times a week. So if it’s any comfort I offer to you, knowing the loving, intimate and joyous family you have, that it is lilely you will experience far more connections with your children than separations.
As to those people who think large families deprive children of love etc., I am the youngest of 7 and can say that to this day I am very happy to have been at the tail end of a big family and feel that I got an abundance of love and nurturing from my parents and siblings. I am also very tolerant of noises, crowds and close quarters.
And finally, the picture of Sophia that says “She’s here!” looks to me, with the blue-striped head covering, like Mother Theresa.
Much happiness in hearing the news
—Mary Beth, Jay and kids