Exactly three weeks ago, on October 16 at 4:44 am, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl. She wasn’t expected to arrive for another week or two but she decided to come early! And I’m pretty glad she did because she turned out to be quite a big one! The biggest of my three, she weighed just a little over 7lbs and was 51cm long. If she had waited a few more weeks, I probably would have had a much more difficult time giving birth. But she did come and it was such a pleasant surprise!
Kayo and I named her Frances Josephine. Kayo has always wanted to name one of his kids after a pope and we just love and admire Pope Francis! So we picked Frances, the female version of his name, which also means freedom. We took her second name and nickname, Jo, from Josephine March, a character in one of our favorite classic stories by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women. But we also chose it because it means God will increase, and I thought it’s really beautiful, full of hope and promise.
Jo and I spent three days and two nights in the hospital without experiencing any problems or complications. I’m happy that I’m recovering well and fast from the birth and grateful to my parents, in laws and, of course, my wonderful husband for taking good care of me and the baby while at the hospital and afterwards as I tried to get back into my regular routine.
So the past three weeks have been full of cuddles, sweet baby smells and shot after shot of adorable photos! But it has also been full of adjustments, not only for me and Kayo, but also for my two other daughters, Summer and Emma, who are now Ates (big sisters). Even if it hasn’t been easy for them, I see that they adore Jo and are very much fond of her. They smile when she smiles and they find her little baby noises funny.
Meanwhile, Jo is simply being her cute, darling self, asleep most of the day and of course awake for the most part of the night. She’s hungry and demands to be fed every two to three hours and I most gladly answer to her call. I do enjoy nursing her, by the way, as I did with her two sisters.
We are all learning how it is to be a family of five, taking it one day at a time as we get into the groove of our new kind of normal. It’s a big change but we are crazy in love with her and happy to have her around!
Welcome to the family, sweet Jo! There has been a whole lot more sunshine and magic in our humble little home since you arrived. We love you so much!
Leave a Reply