Kate has been home for 12 days now. Time is definitely flying by a lot faster now that she's home in comparison to when she was in the NICU! We are loving every minute and I feel like life couldn't get any better! Having that experience has made me so grateful for so many simple things. That feeling of always wanting for more or looking towards something in the future has disappeared. I'm so grateful for each moment of every day and all the blessings that come along with it!
Yesterday felt like one of the best days ever- simply because I was able to just be home and do things that used to be normal for me. I never thought I'd be so grateful to have the time to clean my house, or so grateful to have the time to spend with my kids to work on homework (both of which I considered dreadful, exhausting, and never-ending before).
I'm grateful to have two wonderful friends that are teaching preschool for me! I know my sweet, little people are in great hands. It has helped to alleviate the worries about bringing home germs to Kate and my anxiety about leaving her. It has also been absolutely wonderful to take a step back and have time to enjoy her and recoup from that exhausting journey.
Things that are normal for newborns are things that I appreciate so much about her right now. I love to be able to do diaper changes, I love to get up and hold her in the middle of the night to feed her, I love to take the time to sit and feed her during the day even when there is much I feel that needs to be done. I love it so much I get a soar/kinked neck from staring at her for too long:) I am grateful that I get to see her whenever I want! I love that my kids get to see her whenever they want too- I love that they just can't resist that temptation to give her sweet kisses on the top of her head when they are near her.
I am grateful for her strength and that I feel like she is thriving at home! I am grateful for her ear shrieking, high pitched squeal when she is hungry-believe it or not, it is cute. She sounds just like a cat and she only lets out 2 or 3 squeals to let us know she is hungry. I am grateful for the oxygen that she is on because it means I get to have the apnea and brady monitor to put my mind at ease that she is ok- I can sleep peacefully. I constantly want to check on her day and night, but have to remind myself that she is doing good or the monitor would tell me otherwise with its blaring alarm. I am grateful for the consistent NICU feeding schedule she is on-every 3 1/2 to 4 hrs.
I can't even begin to say how grateful I am for all the service that has been given to us! I am grateful for all my extended family and friends that have helped us! I'm grateful for the new friends I've made in Nephi because of the service they have given me which brought the opportunity to get to know them better. I'm grateful for all the new friends I have made through the NICU. All the emotionally, exhausted mommies that I bonded too because we could relate and support each other. All the miracle workers- the nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and doctors that I will forever be grateful for their skills, knowledge, friendship and love. And as crazy as it may sound- I am grateful for the journey we just had-many blessings and lessons learned. I'm grateful for this miracle baby- for the priesthood blessings, prayers, miracles, and all the tender mercies from my Father in Heaven that brought her home to me! But most of all I am grateful for my 6 amazing children and a wonderful supportive husband- like I said before- life doesn't get any better than this!!
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