It must be tough to be the 4th child. And I have to imagine it will be difficult to the child "after the triplets." Oh those triplets, they get so much attention. People have a million questions for the lady with three kids the same age, and it is easy to overlook that 4th child. I guess that is why God made Allie extra wonderful, amazingly sweet, and if I do say so myself, super cute. It's hard to pass her by and I notice she gets plenty of her own attention!
One year ago today she was born into our family, making us a family of 6. Many of you already know this, but she wasn't a planned addition to the family. I say that with such a smile now because I would never want to imagine my life without her, our family without her, and my heart without all the joy that she pours into it each day. I may not have planned for her, but I KNOW that God did.
You see, my pregnancy with Allie came a a critical time in our lives. The triplets were around 9 or 10 months old when I found out I was pregnant. I was trying to decide if I should go back to work or not in the fall. I was praying that God would give me some clarification on what he wanted me to do next in life. That clarification came loud and clear! I had three babies and was pregnant with the next, and to be honest, I wasn't very excited at first. I was panicked at the thought of how we would handle another child. We had survived the infancy stage with the triplets and were just starting to feel like our heads were above water again. But after a few weeks, I decided that this baby was all part of the plan for us and my excitement began to grow. I was going to stay home, at least for another year and raise our 4 babies full time.
You all know what happened in the next months...our concerns about Brady grew. As the pregnancy progressed, our worries about Brady did too. He wasn't walking and I watched him closely day after day wondering what was wrong. This is where I now realize God had a plan and reason for bringing Allison into our lives even before she was born. Because I was pregnant, I wasn't going back to work...and because I wasn't going back to work, I was home and able to focus a lot of time on Brady and getting him the help he needed. I truly don't know if I would have been able to keep on top of his issues had I been back to work full time.
Allie came into the world on November 6th at 9lbs 1 oz. Her arrival was uneventful in our eyes. A planned C Section with only 1 doctor, a resident, a nurse, and an anesthesiologist seemed like nothing compared to when the triplets were born. My OB told me just the other day that she remembers Allie's deliver so well because Matt and I were calm and joking around the whole time. It was such a difference to have a big, healthy baby. Allie weighed more than Cara and Brady combined at birth! And she got to be in the room with me whenever I wanted. I finally got the chance to do things the "normal" way. To me, that has been another way that God has used Allie to bless my life.
We brought our pretty baby home and life didn't change that much. I'm sure you can imagine that Matt and I thought having this one baby was the easiest thing ever. She was a very good baby and I think the easiest to take care of out of all of our children.
One year ago today she was born into our family, making us a family of 6. Many of you already know this, but she wasn't a planned addition to the family. I say that with such a smile now because I would never want to imagine my life without her, our family without her, and my heart without all the joy that she pours into it each day. I may not have planned for her, but I KNOW that God did.
You see, my pregnancy with Allie came a a critical time in our lives. The triplets were around 9 or 10 months old when I found out I was pregnant. I was trying to decide if I should go back to work or not in the fall. I was praying that God would give me some clarification on what he wanted me to do next in life. That clarification came loud and clear! I had three babies and was pregnant with the next, and to be honest, I wasn't very excited at first. I was panicked at the thought of how we would handle another child. We had survived the infancy stage with the triplets and were just starting to feel like our heads were above water again. But after a few weeks, I decided that this baby was all part of the plan for us and my excitement began to grow. I was going to stay home, at least for another year and raise our 4 babies full time.
You all know what happened in the next months...our concerns about Brady grew. As the pregnancy progressed, our worries about Brady did too. He wasn't walking and I watched him closely day after day wondering what was wrong. This is where I now realize God had a plan and reason for bringing Allison into our lives even before she was born. Because I was pregnant, I wasn't going back to work...and because I wasn't going back to work, I was home and able to focus a lot of time on Brady and getting him the help he needed. I truly don't know if I would have been able to keep on top of his issues had I been back to work full time.
Allie came into the world on November 6th at 9lbs 1 oz. Her arrival was uneventful in our eyes. A planned C Section with only 1 doctor, a resident, a nurse, and an anesthesiologist seemed like nothing compared to when the triplets were born. My OB told me just the other day that she remembers Allie's deliver so well because Matt and I were calm and joking around the whole time. It was such a difference to have a big, healthy baby. Allie weighed more than Cara and Brady combined at birth! And she got to be in the room with me whenever I wanted. I finally got the chance to do things the "normal" way. To me, that has been another way that God has used Allie to bless my life.
We brought our pretty baby home and life didn't change that much. I'm sure you can imagine that Matt and I thought having this one baby was the easiest thing ever. She was a very good baby and I think the easiest to take care of out of all of our children.
Two and a half months later, when the world came crashing down on us, I remember questioning why God had given us this baby if he knew that our son would be diagnosed with cancer. How is the world would we manage our 4 children under 2 and now this? The day we left for the hospital for Brady's scans on January 21st, I had no idea that I wouldn't be coming home for days. Over the next few months, I had to leave Allie for days and even a week at time. I felt like our bond would never be the same, but God was there every step of the way and she and I always picked up right where we left off.
Those were such tough months for our family, but Allie was there to bless each of us along the way. Her sweet spirit, silly nature, adorable smile, and precious snuggles have brightened some very dark days in our home. She is a true momma's girl and her needing me has been a tremendous comfort to my heart this past year. She is the baby we always knew we wanted someday, but never knew we needed so soon.
God knew just what we needed sweet Allie. He gave us you and you complete our family....perfectly.
I have been struggling lately...your blog just reminded me how very blessed we are...
ReplyDeleteThank you
Happy birthday sweetie!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say hi. I had twins, had a baby 16 months later, and another one after that. So I'm one of the few who have done the whole Four kids, two and under thing! You're totally right about one child being way easier than multiples. A total cakewalk. And that normal birth experience I didn't know I needed... So glad God knew better than me. Nice to "meet" you!
ReplyDeleteHappy 1 Allie! Meg, that was an absolutely lovely post. :o)
ReplyDelete