And then there were four!

Riley was born on July 16, 2008 at 3:27 PM.  Since Cale was premature and only three pounds at birth, I was not able to deliver him naturally and so I was determined to have that experience with Riley.  Prior C-Section patients aren't allowed to get induced, (or at least at the hospital here in Missoula) and so when my due date came and went things weren't looking so good.  Kind of ironic that Cale was born early and that Riley was showing no signs of coming out a week after my due date.  My doctor called me a day before she was born and said that he could do one thing that would hopefully help me go into labor.  I told him to do whatever it took to get her out!  The next day at about 9:00 AM he broke my water.  Labor followed and six hours later she was born naturally!  

I can't really describe the emotions of seeing her and feeling her against me for the first time.  For all of you mothers out there you know exactly what I'm talking about.  I was completely oblivious to everything else around me except for her tiny cry and sweet face.  I did, however, ask them to assure me she was still a girl.  For whatever reason doctors have started to fail to announce the gender once a baby is born.  I was able to hold her for probably five minutes before they took her away to clean her up and check to make sure everything was okay.  Quite a different experience from when Cale was born.  I was able to see him immediately after they pulled him out of my belly but it was a good 36 hours before I was able to see him again.  And when I did see him he was hooked up to a bunch of machines and had wires hanging off him everywhere.  Ugh, just the thought of that makes me a little sick to my stomach.  With Riley, though, everything went the way I had always imagined giving birth should go.  

We left the hospital the next day and I remember getting home, sitting her down in the middle of our living room and just bursting into tears.  What in the heck am I going to do with two kids???!!!  How in the world am I ever going to be able to go anywhere?  How am I supposed to feed two kids that can't yet eat by themselves?  Will Cale still feel loved by me even though I love someone else just as much?  I suppose all of those things worry most parents of their second child.  I was overwhelmed, though and couldn't imagine life ever being easy again.  

I truly believe, however, that God gives you exactly what you need, including the strength, courage, and patience to face tomorrow.