That time when I walked a ½ mile in the rain to feed my baby girl!

Holding my beautiful baby girl is one the most precious gifts…especially when she is wire-free and being loved on by her big sister who missed out on bonding time with her. I just can’t believe it’s been a week since we were released from the NICU…even harder to believe that we thought we might lose her almost 3 weeks ago when we brought her to urgent care thinking she had a minor issue. I don’t want to go into all of the nitty gritty details of our experience. Just sharing mine and my husband’s thoughts and reflections. I can honestly say that this was the scariest experience of my life. Those of you who have had their little one{s} in the hospital can understand the emotional roller coaster you experience…especially when you are a post-partum mom recovering from labor. One minute you feel strong and like you’ve got it together, then BAMMM!!! The bucket of tears just pour out of you. Then you find something to make you laugh. It’s crazy exhausting. Yet, through it all, we saw Jesus loving our family and taking care of each little detail that we hadn’t thought through or didn’t have the strength to get through. We have never leaned on Him more and are so thankful for the “Grace” He has given us…both metaphorically and personally {our baby’s name is Grace}! While Gracie was in the hospital, my husband and I had to juggle spending time with our oldest {Zoey} and holding our sick little girl, meeting with doctors, and breastfeeding her every 2 to 3 hours. Needless to say, we got little to no sleep and my body was forced to heal quickly from labor because I had a lot of walking to do back and forth between the hospital and Ronald McDonald House. What a blessing it was to be so close though and to have somewhat of a routine and quality time with our toddler. Well I’d like to say that since being back at home that it has been a walk in the park…but that’s not reality. While it’s been so wonderful to have and hold our baby girl and be back to “normal” life, we are still adjusting to being a family of four, going to doctors appointments almost daily, and Mark and I have had health issues of our own: we’ve both had migraines and I have an infected lymph node in my armpit that I’ve been on meds for. We haven’t had too much time to recover from it all, but once again God is meeting our needs and providing so much for us. His goodness shines through our weaknesses. Here’s to a rough start, but a bright future! May the Lord continue to shine through our lives and use us to encourage and bless others, and to walk alongside others through their hardships. PS…I must give a shout out to my husband who has been there for his girls. We have leaned on eachother A LOT these past few weeks and I’m so thankful for the wonderful man he is. Thank you Mark for loving me through the good times and the bad, telling me I look beautiful when I look a wreck! You are such a blessing and I love you so much!