Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for this week so this will be a rather lengthy post.

• First I am so thankful for my beautiful, healthy, happy little girl. She is such a joy to have in our home. I love taking care of her, and as you can see, we have way too much fun watching her little facial expressions. When I was pregnant, I would always think "Mom was out of her mind to do this twelve times" but now I can see why she did do it. In her own words "There's nothing in the world like a new baby." My greatest joy right now is snugling her and watching her do pretty much everything: breathe, eat, sleep...I think she is such a beautiful little miracle. Justin always says "she just keeps getting cuter" and I couldn't agree more.
• Justin as always is the biggest blessing in my life. He was so great during the whole labor and delivery. He really helped me calm down and handle my pre-epidural contractions. If it weren't for him, I think I would have died before the epidural came. And he has been such a great daddy. Katelyn loves to snuggle with him. He's so good at calming her down and making sure she's warm and happy. And he's got this diaper changing business down. He's also much better at burping Katie, and using the mucous sucker.
• I am so grateful for the hospital staff. First of all, the nurses were so kind and caring. I never felt like they were being nazis about how much Katie was eating or if I was burping her right or anything. all they seemed to care about was if baby and I were happy. I just can't get over how kind they were. Whenever I called for a nusre to ask a question or ask for anything I needed, they acted like it made their day to wait on me. In fact, sometimes it seemed like they were disappointed when I wouldn't let them get me anything. Second, the guy who did my epidural was like an angel sent from heaven. He was already at the hospital when I came in, and he was so speedy quick which was such a blessing. He was also very kind and considerate. Third, I have to saythat my labor and delivery nurse was pretty much the best ever. She was so encouraging and helpful. She has had a baby of her own, and it was nice to have her help coach me through things.
• I'm also really grateful for Abbey, my old roommate. She is such a dear. While we were at the hospital she let herself into our apartment, and not only baked us cookies but cleaned it for us. The bathroom was torn apart because Justin had been doing some home repairs, and it was also the scene of the pre-hospital labor war zone. And the living room was clutterly from all my blankets, pillows, waterbottles, etc that I also needed during my pre-hospital labor hours. I feel bad that she had to clean my nasty house, but it was so nice to come home from the hospital and have a clean apartment.
• I'm really grateful for Katie's pediatricians. The one that we saw yesterday at her first appointment was so kind. He was a good listener, and he treated my all my concerns or questions as if it was the msot natural thing in the world to be worried or concerned about those things. He didn't make me feel like I was over paranoid or inexperienced or anything. That means a lot to me because I can't stand it when people especially in the healthcare field treat me like I'm an inferior or that my fears are unreasonable.
• Thank goodness for Mom. I don't know how many times I have called her and asked "Is this normal?" or "This is what is happening, what do you think I should do?" Knowing the Mom has had twelve kids, and can say "Been there, done that" to pretty much everything related to children, is very comforting and helpful. I've really appreciated her counsel and reassurance. Not to mention now having gone through childbirth myself, I am so grateful she brought me into the world, and took such good care of me.
• Lastly, thanks to all our friends, family, and ward members who have helped us so much and taken such great care of us. Thank you for giving us so much baby stuff and being there to encourage and support us. We really appreciate all of you and everything you have done for us.

Well, there's so much more to be grateful for, but it's just about feeding time for Katelyn so I better get going. Stay in tune for more great baby pics...with Justin around, I'm sure there will be more to follow soon.