Meeting the Family

We were so enchanted with our tiny baby that we couldn't wait to share her with her siblings.  

The kids spent the day with their grandparents and took a trip to Build-a-Bear to create a special gift for their baby sister (a large pink monkey dressed as a princess).  I'm sure they really had no idea what to expect, but they acted as if they were very excited to meet their newest sibling.  Unfortunately, after we were moved into the maternity ward, the nurses checked the little one's temperature and she kept loosing ground, so they decided that my husband should take her to the nursery to be warmed up.  As luck would have it, that was the exact moment that EVERYONE showed up to welcome our little girl, so their first introduction was through a large window of the nursery.  As sterile as this sounds, it was actually kinda' nice.  The kids had the chance to see me and get their hugs and kisses without the "watch out for the baby" warnings that usually happen when mom is holding baby.  We then all went together to "peek at baby sister" and they stared, entranced, for several minutes.  My son was the cutest - his big blue eyes were glued to the baby and he was terribly concerned about her.  

15 minutes later Daddy came back with the newly warmed 3 & 1/2 hour old baby. They were so excited to hold and snuggle up to her.



We had so many visitors in the next few hours!  Both sets of grandparents,  Uncles and Aunts from both sides of the family, Neighbors and Church Friends.  Phew!

It's a Girl!

The nice thing about having labor induced is that you can plan ahead a bit.  I spent Wednesday cleaning, paying bills, and generally getting our home ready to welcome baby.  

On Thursday morning we had to wake early to bring the kids to their Nana and Grandpa's house.  They were thrilled to be allowed to travel in their pajamas. (I love how simple changes to their routine are such a big thrill to them!)  

Knowing that labor could take a while my sweetheart brought along the morning paper and lots of coffee - our first was also induced, and we remembered the long day of waiting. Anticipation and excitement make the time seem to go by in a strange way; fast but slow at the same time. We were so excited to welcome our tiny daughter to our family and just couldn't wait to see her little face. 

We arrived at the hospital for 7AM, they broke my water at 7:30 and then started me on Pitocin at 8:30. The nurse had trouble starting my IV and had to stick me a few times.  She joked that she would take two hours off of my labor as compensation - since the doctor said that he expected her to be born by 3PM, that moved our timeline to 1PM: sounded good to me! 

Our little girl didn't respond very well to the labor - every contraction caused her heart rate to drop, so I was confined to the single position that she seemed to do best in for the next few hours - writing that out makes it seem much more dramatic than it was, I was fairly comfortable most of the time and she wasn't in any danger. I had been concerned about having back labor because baby was flipped backward, but she was able to turn herself around at about 11:00, a great answer to prayer. 

Finally at 1:21 our little lady entered the world!  She had to be examined by a NICU doctor right away because there was meconium in her waters.  They took her before she even had a chance to cry and suctioned her lungs.  This photo shows much more than I could see of what was happening:

Daddy got a better view.

  

After ten minutes she was doing great and the doctors had finished with all of their tests and procedures so I was allowed to (finally!) hold my daughter.

Bliss!

And here she is ~ Pink, Healthy, and Wonderful!

8 pounds 1 &1/2 ounces

19 and 3/4 inches long

It doesn't get any better than this!

Please pray for us on Thursday morning

We are doing well, but still don't have our precious daughter in our arms yet. 

Baby's due date was April 17th, and our doctor told us several times that he didn't expect her to wait that long.  Well, she decided to prove him wrong.  

We went in for an ultrasound and a few tests last night before going to her daddy's 35th birthday party.  They measured her heart rate, the amount of fluid she is in, whether she is moving enough, and several other things just to make sure she was doing well.  She did great.  We could see her little hair floating around, and her tiny lungs as they practiced breathing.   Her score was 8 out of 8, an overachiever already, and they are currently estimating that she is 8lb 4oz.  Unfortunately, she is still flipped  (face up, not breech - which is fine, but usually takes longer to deliver).  They decided to induce labor early tomorrow morning. 

If you think of us, could you please pray that baby rotates (for my comfort) and that her delivery is quick and healthy.  

Oh and in case you are wondering, the ultrasound above is of her face in profile with her hand next to her nose - I promise to post much better pictures in a few days!

Baby Naming - It isn't as easy as you think.

Okay, so baby is past due - and because we don't announce our children's names until after they are born, the topic of conversation with EVERYONE who knows us has recently turned to baby names.

Just to reassure all of you . . . We have chosen something we adore . . . We promise she won't come home from the hospital nameless . . . but we aren't telling you what the name is yet!

For quite a long time now we have been talking about the new baby with our two little ones, so they have been involved in this name discussion too. They have come up with some cute suggestions, and some doozies.

Wanna' know their top choices?

Our son has chosen "Flower" (his sister morphed this one into "Daisy" - I like that name for our next puppy) My dad heard this suggestion and added his own 2 cents suggesting that "Child" would be a great middle name . . . "Flower Child" . . . I don't think so.

My 6 year olds likes "Honna" - not Hannah, Honna with a short O. I have no idea where this came from, but she loves this name and uses it regularly for the characters in the stories she makes up, for borrowed dolls, and now for her new baby sister.

We have also gotten many random-item-in-the-room suggestions from our two creative little ones. Want to come visit baby "Pencil" or little "Washcloth" anyone?

Clearly they haven't gotten this naming concept mastered yet, but neither have mommy and daddy. One of the major problems we have with baby naming is my husband's spectacular memory. It takes a lot more time and patience to discuss names and their implications with him than you can imagine. Even great names have random associations for him. A particularly grumpy 2nd grade teacher or obscure movie reference will completely eliminate names from our list. I know most people steer clear of the names of exes and psychopathic killers, but my guy seems to have trouble with any name that has actually already belonged to a human being EVER - unless it happens to be a name from his own family tree or one of his closest friends (he seriously has suggested his great grandmother's name "Meda" because he likes the history it conveys - yikes!). This funny name aversion is true regardless of whether he likes the person or not. Even if he adores you as a person, it is unlikely that he would be okay with us using your name for our baby simply because . . . I don't know why, just because the name is "used" I guess.

So as a result, the two of us will sit around coming up with lists of names we DON'T like because it is easier than finding names we both agree on. "Names to sleep outside" as my my husband likes to call them.

And then there are the real names that honest-to-goodness crazy parents have chosen. Here are some that the US Census bureau lists:

• "Marry A. Jerk"
• "Willie B. Long"
• "Georgebush" (all one word)
  
• "Young Boozer"
• "Emma Royd"
• "Vaseline"
• "Lust Garten"
• "Maya Buttreeks" (poor kid)
• "Lard"
• "Mayo Head"
• "Satan"
• "Aryan Justice" (yes really, she was born in 2005)
• "Doctor Love"
• "Gamble Moore"
• "Hugh Jass"
• "Urhines Kendall Icy Eight Special K" (pronounced "Your Highness" of course)
  
• "Ivana Tinkle"
• "Dinner Ware"
• "Bread White"
• "Ima Wh*re" (they actually spelled it with the "o" but I simply can't!)
• "Violence"
• "Lemon Jello"
• "I.P. Freely"
• and NH's own "Dick Swett" (can you believe he won office with that name!!!)

What were these parent's thinking??? Their debacles make me feel better about our own naming struggles. Comparatively, little "Flower Child" would be doing great on the school yard.

This naming business is tough stuff!

Happy Easter!

Funny things kids say

The kids always keep me on my toes. Here are a few of the funniest lines I have heard over the past couple of weeks.

~ J. searching: "Mommy, I lost my gum. I think it is in the basement."

~ A. sheepishly - "Here are the scissors, I don't think they should be upstairs." (long pause) "I cut his hair, but only a little bit."

~ Grandpa G. to J. at a church meeting - "No, it isn't your turn to pull my hair yet, I need to finish praying."
          Okay, I know that this one isn't a kid quote but really . . . not his turn YET???  Is this something we do on a regular basis?

~ J. proudly carrying his mug to the dining room table - "I got toilet water!" When Daddy tried to tell him that this was a bad idea his reply was that it "Tastes nice and fresh!" 
          UGGH!   It certainly sounded as if he made this determination from personal experience.  

~ J. crying about a lost plastic turtle - "The tooth-fairy took it!  I know she did!  That's not nice!"

Each day is an adventure!

Pregnancy Photos

As promised!

The Beginning

Author: unknown

We treasure this first glimpse of you, 

the amazing miracle of life is true. 

So small, yet awesome in what you’ll become. 

Grow strong and healthy, our little one. 

We are here, dreaming and waiting, 

wishing, preparing, anticipating. 

Each day is a step closer to life anew, 

each day a touch closer to holding you.

And this one was just too cute!