Dear Paige

Dear Paige (A.K.A. Baby G),

Welcome! We are so very excited to have you here and now a part of our lives. We waited a long time to meet you and it was worth every minute of waiting, plus every minute of pushing. For someone who wanted to come so early in the pregnancy, you took your sweet time when it was finally time for you to make your entrance.

I went into the hospital for a non-stress test on Monday the 25th of May because your activity was rather low, especially for someone who was so hyper-active in my womb. Your activity was fine, a little flat, but still acceptable. But your fluid was very low and since you were already four days past your due date, we decided to induce. My water was broken around 1pm and you arrived about 7 ½ hours later. Your cord was wrapped around your foot, which caused your heart rate to drastically drop with every one of my pushes. It became a little worrisome when your heart rate would get really low (more than half of your baseline rate) and you were not coming out on your own, so with the assistance of the vacuum, you finally arrived.

You have beautiful blue eyes and a head full of blonde hair. You were 8 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long. You’ve already gained your birth weight back plus a few ounces, which is very reassuring to me that nursing is going well, despite how I think it is actually going…which given that you are my third baby that I’ve nursed, you’d think I’d be, or at least feel, more confident in my ability, but moms just have insecurities no matter what. The first few nights you decided to be wide awake from midnight to 5am, but I think we have that finally switched around, thank God because that schedule really wasn’t working for your Daddy and me.

Katelyn and Vanessa love you so much and are really good helpers. Between themselves, they have created a little system when it comes to diaper changes…Vanessa will help get the diaper from the drawer for me and Katelyn will dispose of the dirty diaper. You get lots and lots of kisses and are sung to several times throughout the day, a favorite being Rock-A-By-Baby. And instead of singing Happy Birthday to themselves when washing their hands, your big sisters now sing Happy Birthday Paige. Katelyn loves to hold you and talk to you. Vanessa is completely content just watching and observing you and giving kisses and hugs.

You are now a week old and, yes, I am just now posting your first pictures. Life is busy; there is no denying that fact. Thankfully, this is the last week of school for your sisters and summer tends to be a little more relaxed. Right now, you are snuggled up on my chest asleep – this being a favorite spot of yours. I have a feeling that I’ll be wearing you a lot, which is fine with me as it means that I’ll get all of those extra snuggles from you.

You are so loved and we are truly blessed with you. I love you to the stars and beyond.

Love,
Mommy