Checkup Time

Today we took the kids to the doctor. Maya needed a weight check, and Micah was due for his 18 month checkup. It was a bit chaotic trying to coordinate the visit with two kids...naturally, the appointment was smack dab in the middle of Micah's nap time, and just as we were getting ready to walk out the door, Maya decided she was hungry. The car ride to the doctors was a bit of a challenge...Maya started to shriek bloody murder a little ways into the trip, and I felt awful. I knew she was hungry and wanted to be nursed, but there was nothing I could do to calm her down until we got there. Thankfully, it was only a 15 minute drive, but the poor little thing cried for most of the trip.

We arrived and were seen rather quickly. We saw a different doctor than we usually see (there are 5 doctors in the practice, and we really like 3 of them and usually see one of them, but this was the only appointment we could get). I had heard that this doctor is very pro-breastfeeding, but she can be very opinionated (well, really a hard-ass with a not-so-nice bedside manner), but I figured that was no reason to avoid her. I had one experience on the phone with her that left a bad taste in my mouth about a year ago, but Elliot had a good experience with her one time when Micah was sick.

She started off checking out Maya - who is doing great! She gained weight (she was about 6 lbs 6 ozs), so gaining weight exactly as she should. She took her measurements (Maya was in the 25th percentile for both height and weight) and looked her over and told us we did not need to return until she is 2 weeks old. I raised my concerns about breastfeeding and supply, and got the same speech I always get ("she is gaining weight so don't worry about it"). I wish I could be that confident...Micah was gaining weight, too, until he was 5 weeks old and outgrew my supply. I really hope things are different this time around. It does seem that my supply is more abundant than with Micah, but I have a hard time believing that it will all work out.

Then we moved on to Micah. Naturally, Micah was grumpy (since we woke him up early from his nap). He was also hungry since we were approaching snack time, and he has been out of sorts since the baby came home. He wanted something to eat/drink, and I went to offer him his milk...and the doctor snapped at me. She gave me a lecture about how I should not allow Micah to drink his milk on demand, and he should only be permitted to drink at meals, and she would not let me give him any milk while she was in the room. Micah was crying and misbehaving, and she basically told me he needed to learn a lesson and behave better. Needless to say, I was fairly irked at her.

She examined Micah, and we pointed out a rash that was popping up on his legs and belly. She asked if he had a fever the past week, and we said he had not. She said it could be a post-viral rash, but most post-viral rashes are preceded by a high fever. She checked his throat and said it was red, so she ran a strep test (since strep can also come with a rash). She told us not to worry about the rash at all and that it would likely go away. We also discussed the chronic congestion and coughing, and she suggested that we try Micah on Zyrtec for allergies (ironic...since all the other doctors insist children cannot have allergies until they are 2 years old). She also said that Micah might have a sinus infection and she took a nose culture. She suggested that if his congestion had not cleared up by Tuesday, to give her a call and she would put him on antibiotics. Now, for his stats...Micah weighed 22 lbs (7th percentile) and measured 33 inches (75th percentile).

We then started to discuss Micah's language development and eating habits. We talked about the foods he eats, and she again gave me a hard time about the choices I'm making. She kept mentioning obesity (hello...did you see that my son is in the 7th percentile for weight?) and gave me a very hard time about the fact that sometimes I let him eat graham crackers. She also made me feel horrible that he won't eat vegetables (unless I hide them) - she actually told me I should try exposing him to them (ummm...what does she think I've been doing?). She asked Micah a few questions (and, of course, he said "no" to all of them), and he would not perform his "tricks" on command (I said can you show us your belly? and he said no). I've been trying not to be so insulted about her comments...I think we work really hard to give Micah organic foods and make sure he eats healthy. He does not eat sugared snacks or drink any juice. He eats fruit three times per day, and we make sure he eats proteins and whole grains, and we do our best to sneak some veggies in there as often as we can. We make most of his food and try to keep him away from processed foods. We do not eat any fast food, and he has only had junk like french fries a few times in his life. If we give him things with sugar, it is homemade jelly, peanut butter, and the occasional graham cracker. He has had cake one time (on his first birthday) and ice cream twice.

After our discussion, it was time for Micah's vaccinations. What we thought was going to be a single vaccination turned into three...apparently, the prevnar vaccine just came out with a newer version that is broader in scope than the prior vaccination, so he needed one more booster (even though we thought he had completed the series). They could not find the record of his final H1B vaccination (although I KNOW he had it), but without proof from the doctor, he would not be allowed to go to school. The third vaccination was the only one we expected to be getting - the DTaP. Poor Micah cried through all three shots - he was a mess! He clung to me screaming "Mommy" - it was NOT a good day. Luckily, I got him calmed back down afterwards, but I felt terrible for my little boy. He had a really rough day!

So, all in all, a good appointment...but I think I'm not a huge fan of this doctor.

What's in a name?

Many of you have been asking about baby Twoey's name...and I am happy to report that we DO have a name for her! Before I announce her name, however, I thought I would drag you along for our naming saga.

I think I have mentioned before that it is Jewish tradition to name children after loved ones/family members who have died. Elliot and I decided that we would like to name our daughter after our beloved grandmothers...my grandmother, Berenice, who died in January, and his grandmother, Esther, who died many years ago. We also felt we could easily name after my other grandmother Belle (who died while I was pregnant with Micah) because her name also began with "B." So began our search for "B" and "E" names.

Another issue for us is that we were looking for "B" and "E" names that were either Biblical or had a Hebrew (or possibly Yiddish) origin. We quickly realized that the options for the letter "B" were quite limited...we identified the names Beyla (my grandmother, Belle's name in Yiddish), Batya, and Bari. We both disliked the name Batya. Elliot did not like the name Beyla (although it was very much growing on me) and I was a bit iffy about the name Bari (but it was rapidly growing on Elliot).

We then looked at E names...there were so many that I liked, but Eliana was by far my favorite. Elliot liked the name...but was concerned that it was too similar to his name...he did not want to be Ellie and Elliot (again, in Jewish tradition, naming after someone ALIVE is almost like wishing them dead...it is a superstition). I completely understood that, since the names really are quite identical and have the same exact Hebrew root.

So then we kept looking for more names. I also had a great aunt Hilda I loved like a grandmother, and her name began with an "H" so we considered "H" names...and we fell in love with the name Hannah. Unfortunately, we did not think it flowed well with our last name, so we were a bit hesitant about the name. Nevertheless, Hannah Beyla was a top contender for a name for me. We also looked at "I" and "A" names (because the Hebrew letter used for "E" is also the same letter used for "I" and "A" names). We came up with Alayna and Alana and Isabel. One of the things we liked about the name Isabel is that it contained Grandma Belle's name IN the name, so we could easily honor 2 grandmothers with one name. For a long time, Isabel was our top contender...we thought we could call her Izzy (or even Belle or Bella if she preferred). We were thinking Isabel Hannah could work perfectly as a name...but I was sad because I very much wanted to honor my grandmother, Berenice, and I felt the name did not accomplish that goal (and we previously honored Grandma Belle with Micah's middle name). Then, horror of horrors happened...okay, I'm being dramatic, but the Social Security list of top 100 names came out, and Isabella was ranked #1. That did it for me...I became very uncomfortable with choosing a name as popular as Isabel! I thought our daughter would be one of 50 Izzy/Isabel/Isabella/Bellas in her class if we selected that as her name. My name was extremely popular while I was growing up...and while I love my name, it was often a challenge being one of 4 or 5 Jessicas in a bunk or a classroom. I was never JUST Jessica - my name had to come with a last initial, or a nickname, or a descriptor. Because of my experience, it has been my preference NOT to pick an extremely popular name for my children.

Ironically, in all of this discussion, we actually agreed on a boy's name (that we did not need). Funny - we had such a hard time choosing a name for Micah - if we'd had a boy this time, we definitely would have named him Asher. But, I digress....

So, we went back to looking at Hannah...we did not like Hannah combined with Bari (it sounded too close to the Hanna Barbera cartoons), and we still did not like it with our last name. We thought about Bari Hannah, but I was still iffy about the name Bari. We tried on Bari Eliana, but Elliot was a bit unsure about Eliana. We discussed Hannah Beyla and Beyla Hannah and Beyla Eliana...but Elliot was resolute in his objection to the name Beyla (and since my grandmothers did not get along, I was not sure my grandmother Berenice would feel honored by naming my daughter after Grandma Belle).

In the back of my mind through ALL of this was the thought that I STILL loved the name Maya...the name we would have selected for Micah had he been a girl. I brought it up numerous times, but Elliot always pointed out that we did not plan to name after our "M" family members this time since we already did that. And yet...I just loved the name Maya more than anything else we discussed, even though the name Bari would most honor my grandmother.

When my water broke, we still had not settled on the name. On the way to the hospital, Elliot seemed to think we were choosing between Isabel Hannah or Hannah Isabel, and I said I was not really comfortable with either of those names. We discussed Bari again, and Beyla, and all of our other names. We even went off on a tangent with a few S names, but that muddied the waters. I brought up the name Maya again, and Elliot said he thought it was off the table. Labor then got too intense for me...and we did not discuss names again until after she was born.

For the next few days, we referred to her as either Twoey or Nona Me' (pronounced nonah-may...a play on No Name!). I was certain our fear/joke that the name Twoey would end up on her birth certificate because we couldn't agree on a name was about to become reality!

We were thinking about Isabel initially, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the name, and Hannah was not working for me as a first name. I kept thinking her name was Maya...or possibly Beyla. My mom was in love with the name Bari, but I was still a bit unsure of that as a name. I love unusual names...but was not sure if it was TOO unusual.

So, there we sat at the hospital...and every time someone asked us what her name was, we said "we don't know." We debated and debated, and we negotiated and negotiated...and we were not making any progress. By Saturday, we were still all over the place but Bari Eliana seemed to be the top contender, but I couldn't let go of the name Maya, and I was leaning towards Maya Bari. I could have been sold on Beyla Eliana, but Elliot was completely not open to the name. So, we decided to open up the names for discussion/input from some of our friends/family. Much to our surprise, people were evenly split between the name Maya and Bari. A few more people seemed to prefer the name Maya, but I was surprised by the number of people who really loved the name Bari.

Ultimately, we could not reach a final decision, so we decided to combine them and choose all three names...Maya Bari Eliana. We are currently calling her Maya, but we *may* still decide to drop Maya, or we may choose to call her Bari instead of Maya - we are sorting that out over the next few weeks.

So, there is our saga...and now I can officially welcome our new daughter, Maya Bari Eliana into the world!

It still talks!

I'm sure you will all be happy to know that my pump still talks. Ever since the baby arrived, I have been fairly torn about whether or not I should pump. I struggled with milk supply when I had Micah, and one of the mistakes I made was letting things go too long before I began to pump. I swore that this time, I would not make that same mistake.

In the hospital, before we even arrived at our room, I requested a pump. I had everything set up and ready to go "just in case." Much to my surprise, the baby latched really well at her first nursing session. She fell asleep for about 6 hours after that, but the lactation consultant said that they advise moms of preemies who will be exclusively pumping not to begin pumping until the 6 hour mark. She further suggested that if the baby latched well again and stayed on for 20-30 minutes, that she felt that I should hold off on pumping and only pump if the baby refused to latch or nurse.

Right at the 6 hour mark, we had another great nursing session. The baby continued to latch at least every 3 hours for 20-60 minutes each time. She had the requisite number of wet diapers (and stools, too), and by morning everyone was telling me how well she was nursing and how perfectly everything was going. In the back of my head, however, I kept wondering if it was just too good to be true. I mentioned my supply issues and my concerns, and most felt that if I were to face supply issues, it would likely not crop up for a little while as I should easily be able to meet the baby's early demand...I just might start to fall behind later. It made sense to me, so I decided to trust the "experts." Besides...I always hated pumping, and in the early days, you pump and pump and NOTHING comes out until after your milk starts to come in - who needs that frustration?

At the end of day two, I began to get nervous again. It was our first sign of trouble...salmon colored urine in the diapers. It is a sign that the baby is passing uric acid and not getting enough fluid. Once we saw that with Micah, everything went downhill quickly, so I was fairly concerned. We spoke to the nurse and to the doctor, and everyone pretty much told us it was "nothing" - just feed the baby more often. I asked about supplementing and I asked about pumping, and everyone felt that the baby was doing a great job on her own and I should just trust that it would be okay.

The salmon-colored diapers continued all day on Sunday (and even this morning). She is supposed to be passing 3 stools a day, and she has barely been doing one since Saturday (she did 3 on Friday, and then 1 on Saturday morning, 1 on Sunday morning and none since then). She is definitely hitting the requisite number of wet diapers, but I think my supply might be the issue. we called our pediatrician and we are going in later today for an appointment, but over the phone they said I should start supplementing.

So, this morning, after she nursed on one side, I bit the bullet...and got cozy with my pump. And yes, it still talks. I think it is still pretty salty, too. It started out telling me to "Let it go" and then it called me "Whacko." When my pump switched to the faster pumping setting, it started to tell me to "back up" - since it was hurting, I decided the pump was asking me to turn down the tempo to a lower speed, and I happily obliged. Then it started to say "back hoe" - I'm thinking it was trying to make conversation about our upcoming renovations?

After all of that pumping...I barely got 5ccs. I hate pumping! I know that I did breastfeed shortly before pumping, and that the pump does not do as good a job getting the colostrum out, but I just find the whole process so discouraging! I ended up giving the baby all 5ccs, and I called the pediatrician to discuss her salmon-colored diapers. The pediatrician who had answered the phone read me the riot act about not supplementing yet, and how it was necessary and the baby would get sick and dehydrate...so after giving her the 5ccs, I caved and gave her another 10ccs of formula. I decided that maybe that would be all she would need to "get over the hump" and I would wait and see what they said at her doctor's appointment.

At 2:30, we headed to her appointment. We saw a different doctor, and he thought she looked great and maybe put on an ounce or two. I was just thrilled she is no longer losing weight! We discussed the salmon-colored diapers, and he thought that it was not a big deal before my milk came in, especially since she was gaining weight. He thought her color looked good and everything else was perfect. Naturally, after our long discussion about her lack of normal urine, he checked her diaper and...you guessed it - a beautiful yellow-colored urine-filled diaper! The little stinker made me into a liar...or at least one of those crazy, hypochondriac parents. I am pleased to report she has had two more normal diapers since our appointment, so it looks like all the extra nursing (or perhaps the touch of formula this morning) did the trick. Now, we just need to get her pooping again...she has not pooped since about 5:00 am on Sunday morning. I'm sure when we have a nasty diaper, I'll be regretting WISHING for more poop, but what else can I do? We will return to the doctor on Thursday for another weight check. Hopefully, she'll continue to do well.

In the meantime, Micah shows absolutely NO INTEREST in his sister. I did manage to snap a few photos of him nearby - I'll try to post them soon. We've been doing well during the days - she is nursing easily and so far I'm trying not to worry about my supply. Elliot and I have been trying to take turns caring for each of the kids, and my parents have come by a few times to help out with the baby. She seems to get very sleepy in the late afternoon/early evening, and then is wide awake from about 10:30 until 3:00 am. Last night, she just did not want to be put down, and I was exhausted - since Wednesday night, I had only had 5 hours of sleep - TOTAL. I finally just latched her on, propped myself up in bed, and the two of us took a 3 hour nap together that way. Yes, I know it is a bad idea to sleep in bed that way, but we needed our rest, and I just could not figure out another way to make it work because she wanted Mommy and no one else to hold her. Hopefully, tonight will be easier, but we shall see.

She has been nursing VERY frequently all day today. The little lady has such sensitive skin - she has completely scratched up her face with her fingernails, and every time she rubs up against something she gets these terrible abrasions/rashes that can last 3-12 hours.

Okay - that is our update for now!

Birth Story

As you all know, I had been waiting quite some time for little Miss Twoey to make her grand debut into this world. I started having issues with contractions and a shrinking cervix very early on in the pregnancy, and everyone expected that I would be lucky to make it as far as 36-38 weeks. So, all pregnancy, I planned for a very early delivery.

As is par for the course, someone up there must have been laughing at my plans! I scheduled regular work hours up through 36 weeks, and from weeks 36-38, I cut back on my schedule and for every meeting, I gave everyone the caveat "unless I go into labor." When I actually made it to 38 weeks, I was shocked. I continued to schedule some work meetings, but never more than a day or two in advance. I had completely cleared my schedule from week 39 and for most of June and July...with the exception of doing a 1 1/2 hour presentation at a conference on June 26 (what I had originally expected to be at least 3-4 weeks after Twoey's birth - my first "post-baby" tentative venture back into the working world). As the date drew closer, I started to worry about how labor would affect that presentation. Last week, when we concluded Little Miss Twoey would never arrive on her own and scheduled the induction, I was relieved - attending the presentation pregnant would be much easier than attending with a newborn baby. Ultimately, I decided to roll the dice and not cancel my presentation - I was certain I would be able to make that meeting.

After my appointment on Wednesday, I was convinced that Twoey would never arrive on her own. My contractions were regular and non-progressive, my cervix was not dilating any further, and after long stretches of intense contractions, the severity would subside. On Thursday morning, I went with the babysitter to attend Micah's classes. My contractions seemed to pick up during class, and I was quite uncomfortable. They were about 3-4 minutes apart and fairly intense. As had become my practice, I did my best to ignore them. They continued all day long, and often were too intense for me to walk or talk through. I had scheduled to meet my friend Heather for a manicure/pedicure at 3:00 pm, and for a few minutes, I hesitated to go in case I went into labor. I then scoffed as I recalled all the other times I stayed put for fear of labor, and decided to go pamper myself.

My manicure/pedicure were wonderful! It felt great to get a leg and foot massage, and I painted my toes a nice pink in honor of Twoey. My contractions continued throughout the appointment, and even on the drive home. I arrived home a little after 6, and Elliot and I fed Micah dinner. After dinner, Elliot ran a quick errand and came back and informed me that there was a nice outdoor concert happening down the street, so we decided to walk over. I warned Elliot that my contractions were quite intense, and I did not know how far I would be able to walk or stay out. We made it to the concert, and I found a chair (next to a friend I spotted). We sat and chatted, and every 3-5 minutes I had to stop to close my eyes and focus on relaxation breathing during the contractions. We stayed for the concert and then headed home. I found the walk quite difficult, and by the time I got home I was extremely uncomfortable.

We bathed Micah and put him to bed, and I took a shower to relax a bit. After my shower, I tried to stretch out and relax on the couch. Elliot has gotten so sick of my constant contractions that all of my whining about discomfort did nothing to elicit any response from him. I begged for a back massage or a leg massage...but Elliot was not interested in obliging. Instead, he told me his hand hurt!

I tossed and turned on the couch, and around 12:00 I managed to fall asleep for a few hours. I woke up at maybe 1:30 or 2:00 with a contraction, and once again needed to run to the bathroom. I decided to head upstairs and try to get comfortable in bed and get some rest. I was extremely restless and uncomfortable - I could not find a good spot in the bed, and every 10-20 minutes I needed to run to the bathroom. Elliot came upstairs to bed around 2:30 or so, and once again I whined about how much discomfort I was in from the contractions, and told him that I might actually be in labor. He asked me if I wanted to call the midwives, and I said that I knew if I'd called, they would either tell me to stay put until my water broke, or tell me to come in and get checked at the hospital...and then send me home because nothing had changed. So, we decided to wait it out. I asked Elliot to massage my back through some of the contractions...and he told me he was tired and going to sleep.

So, all night, I sat up by myself contracting and laboring. I was breathing through the contractions and trying to stay relaxed, but in the back of my head I was fairly certain I was in labor. At 6:00 am, I told Elliot that I thought I was in labor...and he said "okay" and went back to sleep. At 7:00, I woke him again and suggested that we should call my father to come down "just in case" because I did not want to be alone while he took Micah to daycare - I really felt like I needed more help getting through the contractions. I also wanted to call the midwives - possibly go in to the hospital or get checked at the office. We briefly debated the pros and cons of calling my father, and ultimately Elliot thought it would be easier for me to just wait things out at home while he took Micah to daycare. A few minutes later (7:39)...my water broke! There was no longer any time to debate what to do.

I immediately called the midwives and my parents. I was a bit sad because I knew that my mom had to go get an iron infusion, and I knew she would not be able to join me for the delivery. I've known this whole time that she was unlikely to be there...but I kept hoping that maybe Twoey had waited so long so that her Grammy could be with us. My mom started to get emotional on the phone, and I cut her off...I knew I just could not think about what was not going to happen, and I need to focus on getting through it. I then sent Elliot into Micah's room to wake him up and dress him while I hopped into the shower to rinse off. Like last time, I felt a bit of relief when my water broke...but it was short-lived. Within 5 minutes, my contractions were coming in intense waves - I was doubled over in the shower and barely able to stand or talk. I realized that things were happening quickly, and I worried that we would not make it to the hospital in time. We were out the door a few minutes after 8 (well, I was out the door and in the car waiting with Micah before 8, but Elliot kept forgetting things and needing to go back inside), and we drove Micah to the daycare. I was unhappy that I was spending so much time on my own trying to get through the contractions. Elliot literally dropped him off barely dressed, with milk and some cheerios and said "here he is - feed him!"

By the time Elliot returned to the car, I was extremely uncomfortable. The contractions were coming in waves so quickly and so strongly. Unfortunately, while I could play my ipod birthing/relaxation mix, I could not recline, get comfortable, or truly physically relax during the contractions. I was definitely squirming and antsy during the contractions, and trying to grab on to the car handle. As we started our trip to the hospital, I realized that I was getting nauseated - a symptom that hit about 20 minutes before I needed to push with Micah. Suddenly, I thought I might give birth in the car. Elliot drove like a maniac to the hospital to get us there, and about 5-7 minutes out, I told him I thought I needed to push. We arrived to the hospital, and Elliot had to go get a wheelchair because I could not walk. During one of the contractions, I had to get out of the car and squat down because the pressure was so intense.

We finally made it up to the admittance area around 8:45. The admitting nurse started to ask a ton of questions. I could barely open my eyes or focus, and all I could say was "I need to push." Next thing I know, they are whisking me into a room. I did not have time (or the energy) to change into a gown, so I simply took off my shorts and kept my shirt. The nurse came in and checked me and said "we've got time - you are only 6 cm dilated." I was scared...when I gave birth to Micah, it was about 3 or 4 hours from the time I was at 5 cm until he was born, but I was not really in any significant discomfort then (well, my back hurt during contractions, but they were very manageable as long as Elliot massaged my back). This time, I was experiencing fairly intense and quick contractions, and I really was not able to get in a comfortable or relaxed position because things had happened so fast. Elliot was focused on talking to the admitting nurse, so he really was not able to focus on massaging my back and helping me relax during the contractions. I was extremely nauseated, and worried that I would not be able to keep up that level of intensity for very long and experience natural child birth again. In my head, I started to wonder if I could handle it, and I started to think I might not be able to do this again. In hindsight, I should have realized that I was close to the end...I had the same 5 or 10 minutes of panic just before I started pushing with Micah!

They continued to try and ask me questions and try to hook me up to the monitors - all the commotion certainly did not make things easier for me. About 5-7 minutes later, I again repeated "I need to push." They checked me again...and much to their surprise, realized it was go time! I was so relieved...I knew that if it was time to push, we were almost there and I definitely could get through it. They suited up, and asked me to hold on for 1 or 2 more contractions. It must have been around 9:15 or so at this point, and I started to push.

Things were happening quickly - I could immediately feel the baby descending, and apparently the top of her head was easily visible. They kept asking me to push a little harder and longer, but she seemed to move down during the contraction then bounce back up. I could hear Elliot yelling encouragement to me (and I think he was holding my leg to give me support while I pushed). While things happened faster than with Micah, it was somehow more exhausting this time. A few times when I was pushing, I wanted to just stop and quit, and it just felt like maybe I wouldn't be able to push hard enough and finish this out. All of the sudden, I heard some whispering and the midwife sounded a bit anxious when she asked me to push a little harder and longer. My first thought was "I don't think I can" but I asked what was wrong and she responded that the baby's heart rate was dropping during contractions. I immediately knew that meant her cord was likely wrapped around her neck. I had a moment of panic...often, when they suspect the cord is wrapped around the neck, they rush to have you do a c-section. I then focused in on the midwife and did my best to push her out as quickly as I could. Since I was only pushing for about 10 minutes, it must have only been another 3-5 minutes. I think I pushed about 3 more times and finally felt her head push through. It stung for a moment, and then the relief was instant. A second later I did one more push and her shoulders started to follow. Immediately, the intense contractions were done, and I just felt relief wash over me.

I heard the midwife yelling "wait" and taking over from Elliot (who was helping to "catch" the baby). I then did one more small push and she was out! There was some scurrying to quickly cut the cord, and she seemed quiet for a minute. After what seemed like a very long pause, I heard her crying out! They then placed her on my belly while they finished cutting the cord.

I later learned that when she popped through, her cord was wrapped around her neck...twice. They scurried a bit to untangle her, and did not want me to finish pushing her out for fear that the cord would tighten. Because of the commotion, Elliot was deprived a bit of doing the final part of the delivery...but her safety obviously came first. They cut the cord and collected the cord blood. We also learned that there was some meconium in the amniotic fluid, so they had to bring in a neonatalogist to check her lungs. Luckily, she had started breathing on her own and her lungs were clear. I managed to escape without a single tear...no need for any stitches and minimal swelling/bruising.

Her apgar scores were perfect...9 and 9. She weighed 6 lbs 10 ozs and they measured her at 19 1/4 inches long. She has very long fingers and toes, and her feet are so skinny (unlike her brother who had wide and square feet). Her finger nails are actually long, too - even longer than mine! She will have beautiful hands and nails one day. I think we might need to go take her for a manicure this week! Her skin is very dry, and she has all this hangy...well, old lady skin on her hands and feet. Her skin appears to be very sensitive - she seems to be breaking out at every little thing (must get that from me). She has hair...but not nearly as much as Micah or as dark. It was also kind of curly. It is very long...just not as thick. Too bad - Micah had such great hear it would have been amazing on a little girl!

My friend Heather was waiting outside, and they sent her in a few minutes after I gave birth. About 15 minutes after she was born, we received another delivery - a pink teddy bear and some balloons from our family friends Gail and Steven! It was amazing.

They had to give her a couple of vaccinations, and then I got to breast feed for a bit. Unlike her brother, Twoey latched! She seemed to be doing well. They had to test her blood sugars, and those were perfect. About an hour or so later, the nurse gave her a bath and cleaned her up, and then we were moved into our current room.

My parents came by to visit as we were moving and got a chance to meet her. They only stayed for a little while, though, and then they went home to take care of a few things. They returned a few hours later, and my father and Elliot went to go pick up Micah from daycare. Micah met his sister around 5:30...but, to be honest, he was not so interested in her. In fact, he would not come anywhere near me while I was holding her! Micah spent most of the time playing with the balloons.

Around 7:00, my friend returned to the hospital with dinner for all of us - we sat together in the family room and ate dinner before everyone went home. It was a nice evening. I guess all I can say is that Micah, while indifferent to his sister, seemed just fine.

Remember that I mentioned my Saturday afternoon conference that Twoey conveniently mucked up? Well, they have been quite kind and are setting up a conference line for me, so I will be giving my presentation by phone from the hospital today. In the end, it all worked out!

Introducing...

Baby "Twoey" arrived at 9:27 am, weighing 6 lbs 10 ozs, measuring 19 1/4 inches long. We are both doing well! Name and birth story to follow...as soon as we decide on her name!

Here are some pictures to start you off: