As Promised

Rachelle is now 10 days old, and doing just fine. Her face is thinning out and she's getting longer. She also seems to be getting cuter, but it's possible that's just a mother's bias. Anyway, here are some more pictures for you to enjoy.

Rachelle Q & A

Q: How did you decide on her name?
A: We just like the name Rachelle. We've both known several Rachelles in our lives and liked every one of them, but we've noticed that the name itself seems to have fallen out of fashion. Well, we're bringing it back. Her middle name, Beverly, was my grandmother's name. My grandma was a very special lady and I miss her a lot. I hope the name rubs off on my daughter and imbues her with some of my grandma's super powers.

Q: How is Stellan doing with a little sister?

A: Pretty well. He's adjusting to having less Mommy and Daddy time, and having Grandma Cook here has helped. He's sometimes extra moody, but so far he hasn't taken it out on Rachelle. He is very sweet and loving to her. We're working on boundaries for affection-showing. Like not grabbing her while she's sleeping, not suddenly giving up on holding her without informing the watchparent, etc.

Q: How is she doing?

A: Great! She is a champion eater, and has slept for at least 5 hour stretches almost every night. Her temperment seems to be very different from her brother's, which, at this stage anyway, is a huge relief. Did I mention she sleeps? Stellan didn't; he would sleep maybe a total of 6 hours in any given 24 hour period, but only 45 minute spurts. And he spent the rest of the time eating or screaming his lungs out.

Q: How are you doing?

A: Great! Apparently delivering a baby on the smaller side of 9 pounds is much easier than delivering a baby on the smaller side of 10 pounds. I'm recovering much faster and feel generally pretty good. Oh, and I love being a "new" mommy again. I'm totally in love with this girl and just stare at her for hours. I love the way she looks, the way she smells, the way she slumps, the way she goes cross-eyed when she pees (Stellan did this at her age too) and especially the way she sometimes squeaks just before she burps.

Q: When are more pics coming?

A: Probably tomorrow. It will be worth the wait.

Blue Light Special

So our little Rachelle found herself in a bilirubin tanning bed when she was only hours old. (Bilirubin, also known as jaundice, is a common concern for newborns and was never in any way life threatening for her, so don't freak out, OK?)

In point of fact, she never had bilirubin, but her Coombs count (not going to explain medical jargon, not my strong suit) was high enough that her doctor thought she might be at risk. So she had to spend any time she wasn't nursing under a huge blue lamp. She also had a little light paddle under her back that was strapped to her at all times, even when nursing.

As you can see, the hospital provided her with a super hip Zorro mask, mostly to hide her identity so that hordes of adoring fans would never learn of her "condition" and spread the news to the paparazzi. However, one paparazza grandma managed to get this photo of her via Skype.

So now the story is out. The best news is that she was given a clean bill of health and has shown zero signs of any bilirubin, even in follow-up bloodwork. Oh, and now we get to hold her anytime we want, not just when she's nursing.

More Pictures

Here are some more pics of Rachelle.

Version 2.0

Rachelle Beverly Cook was born today at 1215 P.M. She weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz. We are very excited and as you can see from the photos Stellan is also very excited to have a little sister.

Remember This?

This is a photo of me modelling the adorable outfit Grandma and Grandpa got Stellan for his "first" 4th of July. It seemed like a safe bet, since his due date was June 27th. But of course he didn't come by then, and not for almost another 2 weeks.

Well folks, it's happened again. I'm now at 40+ weeks and counting. And no, I'm not modelling another outfit for you. So if you keep thinking, "Surely she's had that baby by now and somehow I just hadn't heard," think again. I'll let you know. I promise. Let's just hope this baby girl decides to come quicker than her big brother. And maybe, if I'm lucky, smaller.

While We Were Sleeping, Part 1

I have a confession - I have been a lazy blogger. I'm sorry. In an effort to catch you up, I'll be filling you in on what you may have missed.

The first big one is that we went to Orlando. Kevin went to a career fair and Stellan and I figured, if Daddy's gonna get a hotel room there anyway, we might as well come along. So we did. I found us a hotel with a water park built in, and it was awesome. The career fair was a bust. Too bad for Kev, but yeah for some fun in the sun as a family!