A future mommy

Why does this:

Remind me so much of this? 

Welcome, new Cousins!

There have been several additions to the extended McMiller family tree, and we will present them in inverse order.

Introducing:

Kai

and Graham and Evan

Cuties all of them!!

New Seat

We saw one of these in action by another family in Yosemite - they clipped it onto the picnic table and viola!  Instant camping high chair.  So of course, we had to get one for our little Robin.  It came today and the verdict is.... total win!




A bit hard to tell from the photo, but we have it clipped onto our countertop.  Erin is in her Learning Tower.  The three of us did a "cooking show" (made some baked goods) and Robin laughed and chewed the measuring cups the entire time.  This is gonna be great.

Which brings me to the soap box portion of this blog post.  There's constantly new innovations in baby gear (and everything else too).  Most of the new products are unnecessary, but sometimes something comes along, such as this little seat, and it's just radtastic.  These probably were around when Erin was a baby, but we were unaware.  I know we'll get lots of use from this.  And for those people who are on the fence about having a second child (I'm tempted to post a link, but I'll respect your privacy.  You know who you are.) just think about the new, interesting, beautifully designed, wonderful things have been put on the market since your first little one was a baby. Just sayin'.  Shopping opportunities abound.

Stunt Double

Everyone should have one.

Who needs a dose of cuteness?

'Cause we got it right here for ya:

Algorithm For Packing The Diaper Wallet

Algorithm for packing the diaper wallet:

1. Estimate the number of diapers that will be needed for your outing.
2. Multiply that number by 4.

2 girls, 9 days old

Erin:


Robin:



I just love the milk-drunk pose, blissed out puckered lips, arms thrown up, and little coos.

Robin June, Week 2

Robin had a great 2-week well baby visit today.

 She's gaining weight like milk is going out of style, and now tips the scales at 9 pounds 3 oz.  Her head is expanding too, and is 38 cm.  She's sprouting upwards too and measures 22 inches.

She's growing in other ways too - she coos during and after feeds, she makes lots of cute grunts, squeeks, and chirps, and she is tracking with her eyes. When she is falling asleep the faintest of grins spreads across her face, and we get a peek into how her face will shine in a few weeks when she begins to smile outright.

Her big sister continues to be a huge help and loves to point out Robin's tiny features. Erin also tells us frequent stories, most beginning with "When I was born, I was a baby and I ..."

Robin Arrives

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

It Was Brought

Woot!

Robin June Miller McFeely
8 pounds
21 inches
Born 8:09pm, February 24th, 2010
Apgars: 9 and 9

We had to drive like bats out of hell to get to the hospital before she was born -- drove on the shoulder of the gridlocked highway with the hazards on flashing my high beams with Ash yelling, trying not to push the baby out.

We did the whole "running a pregnant woman in a wheelchair through the hospital" thing, Ash yelling like the building was on fire.  It was an excellent entrance.

We got Ash into a bed, and started pushing immediately -- Ash had arrived complete.  All went well -- 59 minutes of pushing and one suction cup later, Robin arrived.  Mom and baby are doing extremely well.

I wish I had a picture for you, but I forgot the little cord that hooks the camera up to the computer.

Bring it!

Fairly regular contractions since 1am.
Saw the OB at a regularly-scheduled appointment at 11am: 3cms, 90% effaced.
Uncle Jim to pick up E from school.
Laboring at home, ready to head in to the hospital if this keeps up.
More news as it happens.

See these internet sleuths.

Here's us heading in to the OB this morning:

Here's us with our stuff all packed:

Cute, soft, cuddly

OK, we're really ready now.  I just finished knitting a little teeny sweater.  It's knitting project #3 and, other than a few wonky bits, I feel it turned out just fine.  And it was fast, thanks to the small size and easy pattern.  It was actually done all in one piece, leaving no seams.   Thanks, Sharon and Matt, for the yarn and circular needles.  Thanks, Upper Orinda Mc's for the double-pointed needles.

The name game

A great resource for baby names is the Social Security Administration. They keep detailed records on the most common 1000 names for the last 35 years or so, and have records for the most common names going back about 100 years. Great if you're curious minded, really interesting if you're trying to find a good name for a kid.

Here were some interesting girl names from 2008, and their ranking.

164: Erin
429: Lyric
575: Aria
583: Amani (also Armani for boy. Just thought it was strange to see
such similar names side-by-side.)
674: Monserrat
791: Precious
893: Deja
927: Ashleigh
937: Tiara
939: Princess

Girl!

So the ultrasound went smoothly -- all the limbs and such were of the right number and in the right places. I had assumed that the tech would let us know the gender right when he figured it out. However, after the ultrasound, the tech left the room to get the guy who was going to do the amnio. When the tech returned, we had this little exchange:

Me: "Um, sooo, could you determine the gender?"
Lame-o ultrasound tech: "Oh, it was a girl." (spoken as "It was obvious to the trained eye. Couldn't you tell?" )
Me: "..."

Good news: everything checked out OK as far as they could tell. The actual amnio took only about 90 seconds. The needle was much smaller than we thought.

Cast your vote!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Dr. A will be having an amnio because she will be of "advanced maternal age" when Jellybean comes along. Boo.

But there's a bright side: we have the chance to find out the gender a wee bit early. Here's your chance to show off your amazing predictive powers. Vote early, vote often.