baby girl!

just after midnight on february 26th, i was woken up by my itchy ankles (how's that for a good story? ;-)) a few days before, I'd developed PUPP, a harmless itchiness that plagues some pregnant women, though i'd never had it before.  it was making me crazy, but as it turned out, it ended up being a blessing (well disguised ;-)).  for one, it made me uncomfortable enough to overcome my anxiety about the delivery, and for two, it woke me up in plenty of time to get to the hospital that morning.

we checked in about 1:15 am, and i had a nice, leisurely labor, comfortably installed at the hospital before things got too exciting (imagine that!).  even after my water broke around 4:15, i was actually starting to think maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but then there was the last half hour =p  still, at 4:59 am, the announcement came - 'a full head of black hair, a baby GIRL!!'

my first thought - she's a *big* girl!

 

miss chubawaub =)

 

hello, world!

getting my footprints - no scrawny newborns for us ;-)

getting shots - she looks just like her brother here!

 

in the light of my first morning

late morning brought grandma and some adoring sisters to meet their 6-hour-old baby sis:


daddy might have a few girls ;-)  that's our name list that c is holding, which was still inconclusive

first bath

the newborn outfit that i brought was retired after one use =p

the girls went off to school and violin, then came back in the evening with grandpa and little man:

such sweet gentleness - most of the time ;-)

s was a bit hard to contain in a small room, and downright dangerous with a newborn on the bed =p, but he has been much better with her at home

 

after a night of continuous feeding, where she wouldn't let me put her down for more than 15 minutes at a time, i was ready to try the paci =p  it didn't actually work for very long, and she still hasn't really taken to it

a full three hours before we left the hospital, we settled on a name.  Samantha means 'listener' in Aramaic, and Jia-Huei means 'increasing or pursuing wisdom'.  together, they remind us of proverbs, particularly 19:20 - 'listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.'  may she come to know the voice of her Lord and seek after wisdom all her days!

all packed up and ready to go home!