Thank you, St. Nick!

Today is St. Nicholas Day, and the stockings are full of goodies.  There was one special surprise that St. Nick dropped off at the local hospital for us too!  Although we hadn't planned on fostering again so soon, the call just felt right.  She is teeny-tiny, under 5 pounds, so she is practically half the Nugget's newborn size.  I'll call her Tater Tot or Tater for short.  She is 4 days old today.

The Nugget was excited to see the baby swing and car seat out last night.  When I told him that he was going to get to take care of a baby sister for awhile, he responded enthusiastically, "Yay!"  He did his little happy dance which looks like running in place with a little head bob, fists clenched as if to hang onto his joy.

It was nice to have a bit of notice about Tater's arrival, especially since Hubby is on his way out to a business trip this week.  So we got all the baby equipment set up and made some runs to the stores last night for preemie clothes and diapers, all of which seemed impossibly small until I dressed her today, and now they seem impossibly large!  When I cleaned the lint trap after a load, the lint was pink!  I have to fold down the preemie diapers to attach them!  It's a whole new world!

So far, Tater is a typical newborn - eating, pooping, and a little cry that sounds like the panicked bleat of a lamb.  She loves the swaddle and being in the Babyhawk.  She dislikes being cold, so diaper and clothing changes are just not her favorites right now.  She has a full head of silky black straight hair; I look forward to snuggling it against my cheek when she grows big enough to take off the hat once in a while!  Her skin is a lovely shade of milk chocolate.  She has downy lanugo on her cheeks, which I know she'll shed soon, but for now she is a precious wooly bear caterpillar.  Her arms, legs, and fingers are long and slim.

We continue to be blown away by the support of our community.  Miss L delivered armloads of bags full of baby girl clothes, diapers, and wipes.  My friend A is coming by tomorrow to pick up our donations from the playdate we missed this morning and said she'll come bearing food.  Hand-me downs from Cabbage and Baby E are en route.  It is humbling and incredible to reach out for help and find it around every corner - eager to provide comfort to a child in need.  If you read the comments on Yahoo news stories, you can get pretty concerned about the state of humankind, but I can tell you that goodness and generosity still abound in our world.