Dearest Family and Friends,
First and foremost, we want to thank you for all of the e-mails, phone calls, and notes we have recieved since Catherine's arrival. I apologize if I have no returned your call or written back but life has been a little bit crazy over the last few weeks.
I have been so excited to tell you about the last few weeks but for some reason, every time I have attempted this e-mail the words have not come together. The last three weeks have been filled with many highs and lows but I can say that I am so thankful for every minute (well, maybe not EVERY diaper change). Our story begins the day my mom arrived on July 5th. When she arrived she brought a gift with her from a family friend of ours. Mrs. Umemoto is the mother of a middle/high school classmate of mine and is probably one of the Holiest people I know. The week before my mom left to come over here, she ran into Mrs. Umemoto at church. When mom told her of her upcoming travels, Mrs. Umemoto quickly pulled out a tiny little pouch and asked her to give it to me. Inside the pouch is the smallest statue of Mary. When my mom gave me the pouch and statue I was flattered but went onto other things. Little did I know, it would be the thing that would help me the most during labor and the days/weeks to follow. When I finally went to the hospital on Friday night, I grabbed the pouch on the way out the door and put it in my bra strap knowing that it would remain with me the whole time. Honestly, I forgot about it until around 1:45AM on Saturday morning when things were getting tough. I hung it around my middle finger as a reminder to talk to Mary, as she had already gone through this whole process and done it...well, perfectly. I think my nurses and doctor thought I was crazy because I kept talking about talking to Mary. We were just having a few 'girly' conversations. Well, those conversations got me through the hardest part of my evening and BOY DID I NEED THE HELP! I did not remember labor being that hard! She remained on my finger until I was able to get up and shower and then Paul probably knew that I would lose it and put it somewhere for safe keeping.
Upon arriving home from the hospital, life got a little hectic. I wasn't COMPLETELY prepared for two BABIES and got a little bit overwhelmed. When I got into bed on the second night home, I went to turn off my bedside lamp and saw that Paul had hung the pouch on the lamp switch. Little did he know, it was the perfect reminder to pray before going to sleep. Additionally, it keeps me reminded of what Mary and I have in common in motherhood. Over the following three weeks, our poor family was plagued with every sickness under the sun! I had a sinus infection and a flu bug, Paul had a stomach bug and the flu bug, Catherine had a little cold and a TERRIBLE diaper rash, little Paul also had the cold, and mom had sinuses/allergies the whole time she was here. Every day was quite the adventure. Thankfully, my mom acted as the glue to our little family keeping the laundry going, all of us fed, and Paul entertained. Seriously, she worked her rear end off! With everything going on, we never really knew WHAT Catherine's disposition was actually like. All we knew was that she fussed A LOT more than Paul (when she was awake or not eating). In addition to that, little Paul decided to let his temper shine bright. I have to be honest, I was not liking being the mother of two children there for a few days. Every night, I would go to bed, start to turn off the lamp and see my Mary statue hanging there as my reminder to talk to her Son and beg her for wisdom and strength as a mother.
After a few E.R. runs and doctors appointments we, more or less, got all of our illnesses under control and little Paul is beginning to learn his boundaries. We have learned, in the last few days, that Catherine is actually a very laid back baby. She has adjusted to a eating/sleeping routine BEAUTIFULLY and only wakes up once a night as long as we do our job of keeping her awake between 7-10PM. During her morning and evening wake times, she simply sits in her chair and looks around. THANK GOODNESS! She is growing by leaps and bounds. As of Tuesday, she weighed 10lbs 12oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. Her newborn pictures are scheduled for next week but I am afraid she won't look like a newborn at all! We shall see!
Little Paul LOVES to kiss his little sister. He basically washes her hair with spit on a daily basis. Any time she fusses or cries, he is the FIRST to respond! He either runs to her chair or to her door and then showers her with even more kisses once she is near his level. Yesterday, he even brought her a pacifier and put it in her mouth! It was so cute. I can already tell that he will be a very protective older brother!
All in all, we are getting used to our new normal. The last three weeks have not been easy at all but things are finally starting to balance out. We are already looking forward to introducing her to you all in October (just don't be surprised if she has teeth, weighs 20 lbs, and has hair to her feet by then...). Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers over the last few weeks. We will continue to put up pictures of our growing family!
Love,
Jeanne
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