It seems like only yesterday I was in labor and exhausted, waiting to meet Our third earthly blessing. Somehow, an entire year has gone by and that tiny little baby that seemed so breakable is an indestructible (or so she thinks) one year old.

I’m on my third. I was pretty confident a year ago that I knew how things would go down. I knew how we would parent. I didn’t know C.

It had been 8 years since one so tiny depended on me day in and out for nourishment and comfort. I was so excited to be doing it again but from the very beginning, everything was different. The one thing that remained the same was the love I felt.

I wasn’t prepared for a failed hearing test in the hospital. When C failed that first test on her left ear, it was brushed off as excess fluid from birth. It would go away. From that moment, I had a rock in my stomach. Worse yet, communication for the follow up was poorly handled. Before you leave the hospital, get the follow up appointment for your baby’s hearing.

I wasn’t prepared for an infection to spread all over C’s mouth. She latched on so beautifully and was happy to nurse. But in the hospital she received donor milk for a low sugar number and ended up getting an infection from the vial they used. I was sleep deprived and exhausted and missed it until we were two nights in and she was crying all night. I was scared and my milk stopped resupplying because she couldn’t latch. I called a friend who was willing to pump for me and took the baby to the doctor. I’m so glad we have such a pragmatic doctor… ‘of course she isn’t nursing, it’s got to hurt to latch on’. Within a week she’d gone from losing 18 ounces to weighing almost a pound over birthweight. It was an incredible relief.

I wasn’t prepared for the amount of love A and E have for C. For a year, A has come home from school looking for her baby sister. She rocks her, sings to her and mommas her every chance she gets. E reads to C, he makes her giggle and she runs from him squealing when they play. The moments I watch my children I am overwhelmed with thankfulness.

I wasn’t prepared for how easy it is to communicate with C via ASL. She tells me when she wants to nurse or eat. She lets me know when she want more and when she is all done. Being her mommy has taught me completely new things and I’m truly blessed.

See, it doesn’t matter if you have one child or nine, each one will bring unique lessons and blessings to your life. Embrace it.