Diana came home today. I picked her up at ten from the hospital, there were no issues. Everything went smoothly and before we knew it we were home. She slept soundly in the playpen, and my father dropped by for a while (we picked up Claire at the bus stop). Grandpa, Noni and Duke came for dinner, I cooked up the ribs and some hot dogs and hamburgers. All in all, a very nice introduction to the family for Tori.
This morning I made the kids pancakes for breakfast, then we were off to church. I showed off Victoria’s picture. After church we walked down to Harborfest. Claire wanted to try the rock climbing, but the operator was so slow (and I do mean slow — he just sat there rubbing his chin and sighing most of the time) that we stood in line for an hour with Avery slowly melting down.
Once on the ride Claire climbed about two thirds of the way up before looking to me to see if it was okay to stop. Of course it was, she did great for six. We went to the food lines which were equally as nasty, except for the hot dog line, so the kids had hot dogs, period. After that we made bead necklaces and Claire did some sand art. The kids were pretty tired, but it was a long walk to the car so I had to keep them moving.
Before going home we went to the hospital to visit mommy (and cocoa bean). Victoria was asleep in the room, but we had a good time visiting until Avery started to melt down again. We were going to have ice cream afterwards, but the cafeteria was closed. I finally brought the camera back to the hospital, so we should have more pictures once everyone gets home.
On the drive home it was raining, so it looks like we left Harborfest at the right time.
Claire had a play-date with Ava today, so Avery and I went out to pick up a blanket for Victoria. On our way to the hospital to see Diana he fell asleep, but woke up cheerful when we got there.
Diana called the nurse to have Victoria brought in and Avery held her for a moment. I fed her for the first time (well, Diana had fed her earlier) and she is one hungry little kid. I had to burp her after every half ounce, but that was about ten seconds of bottle. She polished off all two ounces and kept looking for more (no crying, though). She did cry a bit when I changed her diaper, but that was it.
She also spent the whole time looking around, especially at Avery. She’s going to adore her older brother.
Victoria Staten vonRoeschlaub, born 6/1/07 at 8:30 AM. 7lb 13oz.
Overall the most uneventful birth we’ve had. We went in, an hour and a half later Diana was wheeled into surgery, twenty minutes later the C-Section was complete and we had a very alert new baby girl. During the post-op cleanup we got to hold her and, aside from the initial shock, she didn’t cry at all. She did keep opening her eyes until, by the time she was taken off to neonatal care, she had both eyes open constantly and was looking around at everything.
In the picture her hand looks a bit purple, but that’s misleading since in reality it was very very purple. The doctors assured us that was normal.
Diana is now in the maternity ward and I am headed to sleep for a very needed nap.
Perhaps sensing the pending change in his life, Avery had a hard time sleeping last night. He was up a few times, once because something in his room was going to eat him, the last time for the more mundane problem of his nighttime sippy cup being out of water. Needless to say down at eleven up at four is not a happy night for me, but the constant interruptions just made things even more difficult.
Still no solid decision on a name.
Last night we went to the PRC gala. Last year Diana won a number of baskets, this year, for considerably less money, we won three. My mother also won a basket, which she is going to divvy up among her friends with us getting the biggest piece for Avery’s birthday.
Two of the baskets are for a baby boy. This isn’t as big a deal as you would think, since the only real hint they are for a boy is a dominance of blue, and no difference for the toys.
Diana had her amnio. Everything seemed to go smoothly, and cocoa-bean moved an awful lot. The best view ever, but still no hints to non-professionals about the gender. I’ll try to get a copy of the sono up later.
The doctor’s were surprised how much I knew about the system, but two and a half years in teleradiology is bound to rub off somewhat.
Yesterday I went with Diana for the sonograms. We got to keep the pictures they printed, I’ll have to scan some. Cocoa-bean is doing fine, and put on a bit of a show with punches and kicks. Got a good image of sucking the thumb, and counted the fingers. Five.
Okay, (Diana, here) I’m finallay writing. Of course the primary motivation behind this “blog” site is to record the goings on surrounding ‘cocoa bean’, so here’s my first entry. Okay, I know they tell you that you won’t feel the baby move until about 14 weeks, but, I gotta tell ya, this little one is a dancer! I KNOW I’m feeling movements, (it’s week 12) and one of the reasons I’m so sure is that I have felt sensations like this before with my first two. I remember my first ‘quicking’ so clearly, I even replied “well, hello there!” with Claire, and that was supposed to be ‘too early’ too.
So, here we go, Number 3 will be tearing up the dancefloor/soccer field/dojo before you know it! And I’m the #1 fan! Can’t wait to meet you little one! Love, MOM.