Freeze Frame

It was an "I'm hungry" cry. Jing Mei picked up her tiny bundle of joy, sat down on the sofa and lifted her shirt. Holding Mei Xiu to her breast, the baby quickly latched on and suckled quietly. Mei Li took note. "What are you doing Mommy?"

"Mei Xiu is hungry, I'm feeding her" she told her older daughter.

"My baby's hungry too" Mei Li stated.

She crawled up on the sofa next to her mother, and just as she'd seen her mother do, she lifted her shirt and held her baby doll to her own breast.

Jing Mei smiled at her daughter. It was one of those moments she wished she could freeze in time.

Mei Xiu, lulled to sleep at her mother's breast, was peacefully content to remain in slumber. Jing Mei got up and carefully laid her one week old baby in her basinet. She tucked in the little pink blanket around her and stepped back to admire her new little angel. She made a mental note: freeze frame.

She sat back down on the sofa and lightly stroked the back of Mei Li's hair. "Time for your baby to take a nap too" she whispered. She got up and extended her hand for her daughter to grab. Mother and daughter walked hand in hand to her bedroom, Mei Li clutching her baby doll the whole way. On arrival in her room, she looked up with her porcelain baby face framed by downy soft wisps of black hair and asked "Mommy rock us?"

Jing Mei smiled. Of course she would. She sat down in the rocker and opened her arms. Mei Li, with her baby doll wrapped in her own little arms, happily cuddled up to her mother. After mother had gently rocked daughter to sleep, Jing Mei lovingly carried her over to her big girl bed. She picked up the baby doll that fell on the floor and tucked it in next to her daughter and covered Mei Li and her baby doll with a light summer blanket.

With her girls asleep, Jing Mei had a few moments to herself. She used the time to flip through a stack of pictures. They were mostly photos Chang Hai took of Mei Xiu's birth. She arrived in the world on May 7, 2007. Unlike her sister, she was born in a hospital. As a third pregnancy's labor would likely move along faster than the first two, this time she made sure to stay at the hospital when she got "that feeling".

She continued to look through the pictures. This next one was taken between contractions. Rong Ning once again served as her coach. She moved on to the next shot. She shook her head, saying "That shutter bug husband of hers". She had told him firmly no crotch shots, but he didn't listen, she was looking at the proof. "Well these are definitely not going up on my locker" she exclaimed out loud.

A bright smile appeared on her face as she flipped to the next picture. It was from a few weeks before Mei Xiu was born. They were all on a picnic in the park and Mei Li and Yin Shi both had their ears on her tummy trying to listen to the baby. This one was definitely going on her locker door. It would join the one of Mei Li standing on a stool on her tip toes, little fingers wrapped around the top edge of the clear Lucite of the hospital bassinet, peering in to get good look at her new little sister.

Another photo sure to be on her locker was of Mei Xiu in her bassinet with the little stuffed bear Yin Shi wanted her to have. Her eyes were open and Jing Mei could already see that, although almond in shape, they were as soulful as her father's eyes.

Her father's eyes, she thought. His beautiful, precious gift allowed her to be the mother of two beautiful little girls. The family she thought she'd never have, slept peacefully just feet away. Well, until nap time was over anyway. She wasn't sure how she'd meet the demands of two little ones, but she'd figure it out.

Into the air, as if he could hear, she whispered "Thank you John. Thank you for giving me a family, love, joy and happiness. I hope that where ever you are, you have these too."

That said, and the girls still quietly napping, she laid down for a bit rest herself. She'd need it. After all, she was now the mother of two.