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| Ella Valentine 4-22-08 |
Maggie here (finally!)....
Ella Valentine turned 6 weeks old today and has just begun to bless us with her incredible smile. She is amazing and Max and I are learning to read her cues and understand her needs better every day. My respect for all the parents of the world has grown by leaps and bounds! I find myself constantly marveling at the thought of my own mother who raised five of us long before the invention of disposable diapers (or electric swings or breast pumps or dads-who-change-diapers and do night feedings!). I honestly can't fathom how she did it when mothering one little easy baby girl has kicked my butt in these first weeks!
Max and I have only managed to muddle our way through this far because of the amazing support we've been getting from our family and friends. Erica arranged for folks to bring us evening meals and we've been blessed with wonderful food and endless loving arms to hold Ella. My dear friend Terri Fox jumped on a plane from Boulder when Ella was just two weeks old and took incredible care of all of us. Terri's a mother of two, and she schooled us beautifully, giving Ella her first sink-bath and teaching me about the healing powers of drinking wine in the evenings and wearing ear-plugs at night. Grammy Dinah came out and stayed with us for two weeks which was a huge gift. Every morning Dinah would cradle Ella in her arms as she sang and talked to her about her future and rocked her to sleep. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Linda have been nurturing us all, Linda even taking on the brave adventure of sleeping/feeding Ella for an entire night while Max and I got to snuggle and sleep. And as I write this, my mom is in the next room - her arms numb from holding Ella in precisely the one position that has finally enabled her to fall asleep.
Max and I feel so fortunate to have this level of support and it makes me so happy to feel all the love Ella is receiving and to think of the big circle of friends and family she will grow up within.
