Natalie gets lots of Love

I was once worried that my daughter would be born on Valentine’s Day and that it would be a terrible birthday for a girl.  As I’ve been shown many times with Natalie’s birth, God’s plans are not always the same as our own. 

Natalie’s first weekend at home has gone well.  My parents came to visit so she not only got to have David, me, Zach and Julia loving on her but Nana, Papa and Aunt Jill too.  It’s hard to believe that just 3 days ago I only saw her for a couple of hours a day.  She has stayed pretty close to the 3 hour schedule the hospital put her on with sometimes giving us an extra hour of sleep at night.  She’s been fairly easy to get back to sleep too and has even been eating more than her minimum amount almost every time.  The hardest thing is feeding her by bottle at 2 am then pumping after.  I’ve still been trying to nurse but so far she latches on and doesn’t go much farther.  I’m hoping to see the lactation consultant (Lita) tomorrow while I’m at the pediatrician’s office for her first visit.  I spoke to Lita last week and she seemed to think it was still possible to nurse but it would take time.

With my parents and sister entertaining Zach and Julia and helping to get some cleaning done, David and I got to concentrate on some paper work.  I’ve got  forms for Early Intervention, forms for social security, patient information for all her doctor appointments coming up and Zach’s re-enrollment forms for school.  I feel like just when we get one item finished another form comes in the mail!  We had to figure out how much I might be able to work this year for some of the forms and it’s possible that it could be a lot less depending on how much extra time Natalie’s care will require.  We are not sure how it will work out but if I’ve started to learn anything from this experience, it is that we should

’…not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.   Each day has enough trouble of its own.’   (Matthew 6:34) and ‘the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning…’ (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Prayer Requests:

• Natalie is having some gas pain and her stomach seems a little large to us.  She still is getting poop through so we would ask for continued prayer for her stomach to be healing.
• that Natalie will be able to nurse soon.
• for David and I to have strength on little sleep.
• for David and I to have patience with Zach and Julia’s energy.
• for the development of Natalie’s eyes and ears.  I’ve read a little of the Charlotte Down’s Society’s handbook and it seems both are a concern in the first year.

Amy