a birth annoucement!

Please meet Mary Claire Elizabeth....



Born May 29th at 2:39pm. That makes her birthday the day after Tess's! That will make for some interesting juggling. :)


(Don't know why this is sideways, but as I am already typing one-handed, it will have to stay that way!)
She weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. Tiny, by our standards, making her the second smallest baby we've had! This is pretty funny after all the ultrasound techs' dire predictions...they told me at my 37 week appointment that she already weighed over 9 1/2 pounds and that her head size was off the charts. I have no idea what percentile her head size is in, but I promise it's nowhere near as big as the last three babies'....


She's doing great! Her birth was kinda traumatic...more about that later. She was pretty unhappy her first day of life,earning her the nickname "Mary Mary"...as in "Mary Mary quite contrary" :). She wouldn't even hardly look at me, just scrunched up her face and squinched her eyes shut and nursed or slept for the first several hours of life like she was trying to pretend we weren't there. Her head seemed to be really sore...she would cry every time I adjusted it for nursing. By the next day though, she started to just kind of open up and adjust very well. She is 4 days old today and a very sweet, alert, happy girl. As long as I am holding her, of course. ;)


I am doing pretty well. We have had some serious engorgement issues this time, but I think I turned a corner with that during the night last night...I feel much better today. John is off work for a couple of weeks, which is such a blessing. Frankly, just sitting in my living room feels strenuous sometimes with all the activity around here, lol. And today she turned from a sleepy newbown to a baby who lives at the breast...so that is helping.


I need to get some pictures of her with the other kids. Everyone is very taken with her, except for maybe Henry, who I think is feeling a bit insecure...so I whenever I am not nursing the baby, I am loving up on him. I know he'll adjust...he's so young. Tess is madly in love with her new baby doll and drives us nuts with requests to hold the baby. Jack...the first thing Jack said when he saw her was, "She has arms, but they are really short." Isn't that just the most Jack-like thing to say? :) Maria, of course, is "second Mom"...she can't wait to get out and about with the baby to show her off. I, however, am happy to relax at home a bit longer yet.
Back with a birth story soon!