New to the world...

We were blessed with the arrival of our beautiful, healthy baby girl on May 3, 2012 at 11:45 AM.  She was delivered by c-section, and cried the very second she came out.  Both her mother and father agree that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.  The nurses called her "feisty" while they were cleaning her up and checking her out...  We couldn't agree more.  She weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs, 0.1 oz. (yeah, they actually wrote down 0.1 oz.) and measured 19 in long.  Even though she was the size of a 35 week old fetus, everything was well developed and she seemed to be perfectly healthy.  We got to go home on Sunday afternoon, a warm, sunny day.  As we were bringing Rose into the house for the first time, Dad got inspired by the beautiful rose bush in the front that was in full bloom and decided to take the following picture (as corny as it is).

Since then, it has been a whirlwind, as any parent could probably tell you.  Actually, her first few days were false advertisement...  She was a very calm newborn.  She would sleep 4 or 5 hours at a time if you let her.  We literally had to wake her up to feed her.  This has most definitely changed!  She would gladly eat every 30-45 minutes if you let her, and will absolutely not let us go for more than 2 or 3 hours.  Not to mention, it takes probably 2-3 times more to satisfy her...  Oh well.  Both Mom and Dad agree that it's totally worth it.  She's such a beautiful young girl that it's a pleasure to take care of her.  Still, we are looking forward to hearing what she has to say.  :)

-Chris, Candace and Rose

The Journey

Rose,

Just so you know, we found out that you were on the way the evening that we were traveling to Evanston for the Hog Roast.  You were giving your mother a hard time, hard enough that we ended up in the emergency room to make sure you were okay.  We had to go to the doctor again as soon as we got home so they could see if things were normal.  This is what they found...

Yes, that 0.207 cm blip was you.  This made your Mom and Dad feel a lot better about things, but she was still feeling pretty rough.  In the meantime, we already had planned a trip to Baton Rouge to visit your Mom's Tigers and to see some old south landscapes.

We had a great time, but your Mom couldn't eat any of her favorite cajun food because it made her sick...  :(  When we got back, it was time for another checkup with the doctor to see how you were doing.

Once again, we felt blessed that you seemed okay (and that we could see you this time).  We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, all the while impatiently waiting for the appointment where they could tell us if you were a boy or a girl.

It was so cool to be able to see you so well...  As the ultrasound tech so boldly typed on the image above, "IT'S A GIRL!!!"  95% sure to be exact is what she told us.  I don't think we were convinced by the images, but she was sure.  In any case, in the couple of days that followed, we made a snap decision to go on a cruise to St. Thomas/St. Maarten.  This turned out to be an excellent choice, since we had such a great time and more importantly got to extend our Christmas vacation by another week.

That's your mother and I at Magen's Bay in St. Thomas.  The way she puts it, she was in "her favorite place with her favorite person."  (That was at least true until you came along...  But I guess you were there too.)  In the next few months, you could say that we were "nesting".  We spent a bundle of time getting the house up to snuff so that you wouldn't be born into a world where all the walls were white.  From mid-January through early April, we managed to paint 8 rooms, add a backsplash to the kitchen, and completely remodel a bathroom...  We were busy, but the work paid off.  The house is much more comfortable and inviting.  Of course, towards the end of the pregnancy, your mom couldn't do as much, so we took it easy.  We also had other opportunities to see you, since you were kind of small.

 Such a pretty little face...  But you gave us a surprise, because as sure as the ultrasound tech was the first time she checked, now she didn't know if you were a boy or a girl!  We still believed you were a girl, but we had to think about it a little more just in case.  This was the second to last time we got to see you before you came.  Two weeks later we went back to check on your size, and you hadn't grown!  Dr. Szentes (The Hoff, or Patrick Swayze, depending on who you ask) quickly informed us that you were coming the next day, whether we were ready or not.  So the next day (May 3, 2012) you came, and we finally got to meet you.

We love you Rose, and we're blessed to have you as a healthy baby girl.