Pure joy on the Mother's Day menu

It took a few days, but it’s finally beginning to sink in that we have a new baby in the house.

Our stop in the NICU (which I wrote about on Monday) sort of delayed all the normal new-baby feelings I expected. It was so out of the blue and stressful that it was almost hard to believe we’d brought our baby girl home at last and that she was healthy.

And she is healthy, thankfully. The low platelet count is something she’ll never have to deal with again. Once her body gets rid of all the killer antibodies I gave her, she’ll be able to shore up her own supply of hundreds of thousands of platelets and the problem won’t return.

I guess if you have to have a sick newborn, it’s best to deal with something that can be treated and then goes away forever. I feel very fortunate for that.

Regardless, my perspective has been forever changed. I have new respect and empathy for any parent with a sick child in the hospital. I’m fortunate that Caden never had any troubles. After he was born, he stayed my side until we left the hospital and has been home with us ever since.

Chloe’s little hiatus, on the other hand, underscored the preciousness of each day and highlighted the absolute connection you can have with your children—even when they are only a few days old.

It’s fitting then, that we just had Mother’s Day. Never have I felt more raw joy than I did on that day, waking up with my two babies—one on each side of me. I also woke up to a crisp white package with a velvety green bow, on which was scrawled the sweetest message from my new baby and my 21-month-old (brilliant, aren’t they?). Inside the package was a stunning necklace with rubies and diamonds — the birthstones of my two babies.

We took the day easy. My husband made me breakfast in bed with Caden’s help. Caden also helped me eat my breakfast by digging out the blueberries in my pancakes. Chloe slept soundly by my side.

Later in the day, Caden woke up early from his nap. I was in the middle of nursing Chloe so we went to his bed to soothe him. Though he never went back to sleep, the three of us lay there and cuddled for an hour.

After that, my parents came over with a barbecue dinner from one of our famed local joints. We ate, we made merry, and afterwards my mother made me take a nap while she and my dad watched the kids. It was her Mother’s Day present to me.

All in all, a really marvelous day. And hopefully the prelude to a truly marvelous year!