Over the past couple of weeks, our family has been enjoying lots of quality time with our newest addition, little Caroline Rose. The older kids are having a great time playing with their baby sister, and we're all settling into the new routines and schedules of having a newborn in the house again! Here are some random thoughts that I've been having:1) I really must keep a pitcher of lemonade or iced tea in the refrigerator. Here in Texas, visitors stop by unannounced to congratulate us and to bring meals, banana breads, and sweet little baby gifts. I think that this is entirely wonderful, especially since I am prone to loneliness after the birth of a baby, and feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful neighbors and friends! But every time a visitor knocks on the door, I am wishing that I had a cold drink to offer them. My mother-in-law makes a delicious lemon iced tea, so I'll have to get the recipe from her and keep a pitcher in the fridge!
2) Going to the grocery store with a wailing infant has its perks. First of all, my trips are much shorter than usual since I don't have the luxury of browsing casually up and down the aisles. Second, I save money because I buy only the essentials. Lastly, I meet all sorts of friendly people who smile at me with pitying looks - when I was a first-time mom, those smiles bothered me because I was sure that people were secretly very annoyed with me for bringing a screaming newborn into the store. Now I know that most people don't really mind a crying baby (as long as it's not their own!), and that they understand because they have been in the same position themselves!
3) Taking the two older children to swim lessons is very difficult with a newborn. Inevitably, when it is time to change out of wet bathing suits and into dry clothes, all of the dressing rooms will be taken, the toddler will have a poopy diaper, and the newborn will have a blow-out poopy diaper. After changing diapers, Mommy won't have the time or energy to put on the toddler's clothes because the newborn will be screaming, so on the way home the toddler will be crying because she needs her pants and she is cold. Mommy also won't have any snacks or drinks, and the children will be so hungry that you would think they hadn't eaten in three days. The older children will be traumatized by baby's blood-curdling screams, and everyone will arrive at home in a bit of a state of shock.
4) So many people have been extremely generous in bringing us meals, and I wish that there was something that I could do (other than write a thank you note) to convey the depth of my gratitude. Any ideas??
Life is good, dear friends, and we are incredibly blessed to have baby Caroline at home with us! A blessed Holy Week to all of you!
6 comments:
Kat, love hearing about all of these new baby experiences. In so many ways ring close to my heart after having endured a lot of them myself! The swimming lesson one is particularly acute. I can recall returning home after a venture like it and the boys beginning to mimic the wail of baby J because it was so loud and pathetic. Eventually, we had a carful of crying (one legit and two impostor) kids and I just had to laugh at the cacophony of it all... Remember, you are one person and there are three of them! You have to prioritize needs as you see fit.
As for a sincere way to say "thanks"--you could drop a few dollar coffee card with a note to give them a cup of joe to relax! Most people, though, are just grateful for a thanks. They want to help!
Oh how I remember those days. I'm so glad you are enjoying them. She's positively beautiful Kat. Congratulations!
You do buy less when you are rushing through the store! And you are a brave woman taking all your children anywhere with a newborn! Much less swimming lessons.
I love the baby doll in with Caroline! I wouldn't worry too much about serving the people who bring you things! I would feel terrible if I stopped by to help out a mom with a newborn and she served me a recipe based drink!
A very genuine verbal thank you is the best. They want to help you, not cause more work.
The ice tea is a nice idea, but for a simpler way you could just put a pitcher of water with slices of lemons and use PAPER cups. Or even more simple idea, bottled water with a thank you note attached. You could have your older kids glue it onto the bottle, or you could tie it with pretty ribbon ~less simple. Congrats of the beautiful baby girl!
Actually, just being around a newborn and young children (who always seem to live in the moment) is such a blessing that most of us feel as if we are the ones who receive from the young mothers around us. My five daughters are now aged 20 to 25 (no grandchildren yet) and there are times when I see a newborn and wish I could say to the mother, "May I smell your baby?" I remember going to the grocery store in our small town after my youngest had enrolled in school and hearing people say, "I almost didn't recognize you without your children around you." You can be sure that seeing you "on the front lines" as it were is an inspiration and a reminder of life's best moments to all the people who cross your threshold.
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