love at first sight

Three days after Carly's birth, we received a home visit from our midwife. She checked my vitals and gave Carly the once-over before she commenced with the dreaded PKU test.

I had myself geared up for the test. It's a long, sad time of squeezing blood from baby's heel. The have to fill up five circles on their test page, and it has to soak through each circle (the page is made of cardstock). It's awful. When we had Rachel, they did the test while she was staying in the hospital nursery, so we didn't have to witness it at all. But I was ready to be grateful to be able to hold my girl and comfort her as much as possible, and nurse her as soon as it was over. I reminded myself that it's a necessary test and how valuable it is. I was ready.

Or, at least, I thought I was ready. Carly reacted as expected, and it was difficult. What I had not anticipated was Rachel's reaction. She cried through the whole thing. She kept repeating, through her tears, "I want Baby Sister to be haaaaaappy." I cried...such empathy and compassion for her sister, whom she'd only met the day before.

Rachel has had nothing but sweetness for our little Carly from the time we brought her home. It has blessed my heart to see how much she loves her. A friend pointed out to me that Rachel will never remember life without Carly. What a sweet thought. I can't wait to see how God shapes their hearts as they learn so many of life's lessons together. I'm so happy for these two little girls.