Bringing home baby

Our family of three is suddenly four this week as we welcomed our second daughter, Anne, into our lives.

Our latest addition is healthy, happy and helping me to quickly remember the late-night joys of bringing home a newborn baby who wants to eat constantly and be swaddled up so tight she looks like a human burrito.

For those of you who follow this blog, you know this pregnancy hasn’t come easily. I was diagnosed with heart failure three years ago after my first daughter’s birth and was basically told never to get pregnant again. After a few years of visiting adoption agencies, praying about our family and finally finding a doctor who would support us in another pregnancy, we decided to try to have another biological child.

It was a tough decision, but I’m happy to say that so far, things have gone well with this birth. And as I sit here typing this, it’s already hard to remember the fear and anxiety that accompanied this pregnancy.

I talk a lot on this blog about the hardships and struggles of motherhood. But today, I’m relishing in motherhood. I’m relishing in the sweet snuggle of a newborn baby and the fact that I am all she needs in the world.

Yes, I haven’t slept in basically four days, and I panic if I miss a dose of pain meds, but it will pass. What will remain is this precious baby that I was told couldn’t and shouldn’t exist. Yet here she is — a little spirit that wasn’t here just last week.

What a gift.

In this passing snapshot of my life, I feel unbelievably blessed, and my heart is nothing but full.