Her name is Melia. She is now officially 6 years old. She was born Labor Day Weekend. She was “sunny-side up” and very little about that has changed…
If you’ve been here long, you’ve met Melia before. She has personality enough for 10 children. She is theatrical, creative, and silly! She is the child who has proven to me that sometimes “nurture” does NOT win out over “nature.” 😉
Being this pregnant over the Labor Day Weekend has brought back such wonderful memories of this time 6 years ago when I labored and delivered this spunky sunshiney little girl.
I remember canning angry okra while in labor with her.
I remember how right after delivery she didn’t cry like the hospital staff wanted her to, so they “roughed her up” (we later realized Lia just isn’t a crier).
I remember how I would take her out in the sun with just a diaper on to help her jaundice. We would walk and walk around the yard, just the two of us, gazing at each other, learning the outline of each other’s faces.
She was my first baby to be truly “worn” in a sling. She was my first baby to be cloth diapered. She was my first baby to nurse full time, no pacifiers, no thumbs, co-sleeping, etc. And despite all that, she was also the first child I nursed through a new and unexpected pregnancy starting when she was a mere 7 months old!
Now, as a six year old, she knows how to make me laugh (by using that amazing British accent), how to make me cry (with her memories of Emily), how to stump me (with her thought-provoking questions), and how to amaze me (with her heart for God).
Just the other day, she was saying prayers with her little brother. She said,
Thank you for Micah being born by my mommy.
I looked down at her and thought to myself,
Thank you, Lord, for letting Melia be born by her mommy too.
Clara says
What a beautiful post! I can just tell from reading this how wonderful your little family is! The Lord bless you and this new little life you are carrying, and all the other little lives you have carried! 🙂
Tanya - Lilyofthevalley says
What a beautiful post about your precious daughter! She is lovely and youa re a blessed mama. 🙂
Charity says
That is soooo sweet! Our babies grow up so fast. I thank God each day that I can be at home to enjoy every minute of it.
Sally says
How sweet!!! May I ask, how bad was her jaundice? My son (who is now almost 12 weeks old) had HORRIBLE jaundice and had to get heel pricks the whole first week he was home from the hospital. He bordered having to go to Children’s Hospital on several occasions for treatment. Did any of your other children have Jaundice? What did you do for treatment? I was told that if you have a certain blood type that most likely, all your babies will have jaundice.
Sorry about the rant about jaundice…your mentioning of walking around the back yard with her in her diaper brought back very familiar memories for me! 🙂
Amy says
Sally,
My second child had very severe jaundice starting from day 1. I wish I had known back then how much more I could have been doing for her rather than just the bili-lights. Melia was my third and just “sunning” her did the trick. With my 4th child (a winter baby), I had to be a little more creative. However, even in winter, you can put them in a sunny window w/ just a diaper on and get great results. I also opened up charcoal capsules and mixed them with a bit of water and put those on his tongue to swallow. I took Vit E capsules that are supposed to transfer to the breastmilk and help w/ jaundice as well.
Since then, I’ve been diligent to get my babies out in the sun from day 1! Those heal pricks are no fun!
Lynnette says
Ah, that green and pink outfit… made me emotional for a minute. I have a picture of Anna in that with her tummy sticking out (because she had her arms up over the shoulders of her cousins).
Anna was 6 when she wore it.
I hope you had a special day with your theatrical girl.
Amy says
Lynnette, I almost emailed to let you know I had posted a picture of Lia in that outfit. Thank you for sharing it with us.