Caitlin makes 3!
Nick and I are absolutely delighted to announce that our 3rd child,
Caitlin Maria was born on 25 October 2004.
We had always known that we didn't want Sam to grow up as an only child, but we weren't sure that we would ever have the strength to go through all the testing again. However we decided to give it a go and thought that we would accept whatever was given to us if it was meant to be it was meant to be! The testing this time was probably even more stressful than when we had Sam probably because we knew that this would be our last ‘chance', but also because I think we were a little ‘numb' from losing Gemma during the whole Sam experience; this time it all seemed so much more real.
As you can imagine, the day that we found out that the baby was healthy was fantastic. I had already convinced myself that it would be bad news so I think I was in shock when I was told that all was well! The pregnancy went very well and Caitlin Maria was born by Caesarean on 25 October at 12.03pm. We were delighted that we had a girl, not to replace Gemma because
Gemma meant everything to us, but to now have a girl and a boy seemed just perfect.
From day one, Caitlin has been one on her own! She is a really good
little girl who has a quiet but determined nature. She is so strong willed
very like her sister in that respect. She loves the bones of her brother he only needs to walk into the room and her face starts beaming. Sam is a
lovely big brother, he looks after his little sister well and smothers her with kisses and cuddles. Lots of people ask whether Gemma and Caitlin
look alike. I think there are some definite similarities, often in the expressions she pulls and her face when she is sleeping. And the most striking similarity are the big blue eyes!!!
Caitlin is 9 months old now and doing very well. She is never still, crawling everywhere and certainly keeping me fit! Sam is 3 and developing into a very bright, funny and loving little boy. We have just had our
first holiday together as a family of four and it was wonderful. One thing I have learned is to never take anything for granted, and I was able to appreciate every day that we spent as a family together, despite Sam testing our patience a few times and getting the chickenpox half way through the holiday. That's family holidays for you!!!!!
Nick and I still can't believe how fortunate we have been in our lives.
To have Gemma was truly a gift from God, and now to have two more fantastic children and watching them grow and develop makes us feel very lucky. We are committed to enjoying every day and appreciating all that we have been given.
We will continue to update the website with news and photos of the children. We look forward to receiving messages and emails from friends old and new. Please do get in touch.