Reillee Anita

Well, sorry to make you all wait a couple of days, but at long last, here are some pictures of this week's adventure! Above is the proof of weight photo that the nurses insist you take...so wierd, right?! I like it because it also shows baby Reillee wide awake...a trend that has continued. I swear she over-baked, and that's why she's so hungry and awake. (When Benjamin was born 3 weeks early, he spent four full weeks sleeping. It was heavenly. Not Reillee. She came out wondering where the food was and why she had to be swaddled and sleeping.)

Myself and Reillee a few minutes after her birth. Luke is taking the picture, muttering to himself questions about how I can go from torturous screaming (yes, screaming) to "I can't believe it's a girl!" in a matter of seconds.

(Notice, she's still awake. Told ya so.)



The birth story. I wish it was a condensed version, but there is not much to tell. I started contracting at 9:20, left the house about an hour later, and arrived at the hospital around 10:45. By that time, I had to stop walking, moving, breathing, blinking, etc through each contraction...which made it an arduous journey to labor and delivery. Contractions were basically right on top of each other. We finally got outselves checked into triage at 11:05. Time came to a stand still as we waited and waited and waited for the nurse, the doctor, anyone to believe that I was actually in labor, while in my mind I was screaming, "STOP IT WITH THE CHECKLIST YOU MORONS! I'VE DONE THIS FOUR TIMES ALREADY AND THE BABY IS COMING NOW!!!!" Anyway, they finally moved me to a delivery room some time later, and Reillee came at 11:47. I'm trying to block the time from 11:05 to 11:47 from my brain, but Luke can do a great impression of me hanging onto the bed rail (like that's going to help) panting, the obnoxious nurse whispering things that are supposed to be encouraging, the attending OB yelling at me to push, and the resident's complete nonchalance. (The OB was yelling because I had an abruption and the baby's oxygen supply had been cut off. I'm glad she yelled, though I didn't realize why at the time. Luke was about to pull a Chuck Norris on her.) As with Benjamin's (natural) delivery, the immediate recovery was amazing and a blessing. Okay, back to the pictures...

Awwww! Don't be fooled, her eyes are closed because of the flash.

Luke and Reillee

Mariner's hat, a tradition.

The kids are in love with the baby. Particularly Benjamin, who had always insisted that we were having a girl. He really wanted to name her "Slurpee", though. Sam, likewise, has had a fun reaction. "Baby's done sleeping! Hi baby! Him's cute! Baby loves me!" She has, however, had her minutes of sadness. Yesterday morning Sam was sitting on the bed with the baby and I, and I picked up Reillee and held her up on my shoulder. Sam's eyes got really big and watery and she laid face down on the bed with her huge frowny face. I don't think she even realized why she was upset, except that she suddenly realized that this novelty is going to stick around!

And that's it for now! We'll be back, hopefully showered and well rested....maybe....