She's here!

(I've been sitting on this post for days thinking I would have time to add lots of pictures. Turns out, no such time. There are gobs of pictures though, more to come ...)

I'm sure you've heard, but officially announcing the arrival of Miss Georgia Charles Lund. She was born on Thursday, November 1st, at 7:58am weighing in at 6 pounds 15.9 ounces and was 18 inches in length.

The second they pulled her out and let us peek over the sheet, Erik and I both thought she looked exactly like Ellen. They very much resemble each other, but Georgia seems to have darker, thicker hair and very long fingers and toes. In contrast, Ellen has had Erik's feet since day 1 and has the shortest toes ever. So far, the vote is that Ellen is more "Lund" and Georgia is more "McKnight".

We like family names. Erik's maternal grandmother was Mary Ellen and my middle name was Hampton. I had a great uncle Georg who was an artist and always seemed interesting to me. I never met him and my mother says he was "eccentric", but he was the inspiration for Georgia's name. Charles was my paternal grandfather's middle name and is a boy's name we always liked. Also, none of the women in my family have "female" middle names - they are mostly maiden names and such, so I liked that Charles kind of fit that pattern.

Our hospital stay was pretty uneventful. That thing I mentioned about Ellen's birth being a reflection of her personality? Perhaps Georgia's is the same ... she waited patiently for my scheduled c-section date of 11/1/12, nary a contraction in site. She screamed out when she was delivered and then was silent in the operating room, just checking everything out. I had to ask if she was still in there she was so quiet! Good Apgar scores, just observing. Ellen was a sleepy baby, but I think Georgia was (is?) even sleepier. Rarely cries and, in fact, is rarely awake. Sure to change, but nice while it lasts!

We had a bit of feeding trouble from the outset, I think mostly due to sleepiness and a learning curve on her part, but she turned a corner on Monday night and things seem much improved.

Ellen has been a champ. She was sweet to Georgia when she first visited in the hospital, held her, and then said she was too heavy and please take her away. She mostly liked to check out the hospital stuff, wait for nurses to visit and play with a few new toys when she came to the hospital. Georgia gifted Ellen a new baby doll and Ellen was concerned with where Georgia got the wrapping paper and how she brought the gift with her. A few months ago, Ellen also asked if Baby Sister would share her cake on her birthday. I explained that there wouldn't be cake (which, why isn't that a thing?) and Ellen surmised, correctly, that it was probably because the baby wouldn't have teeth. We got home in the afternoon on Sunday and Ellen was in school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. She runs in the door to visit her baby - "the cutest / sweetest / best baby" - and it warms my heart. It isn't all roses, though - Ellen's sleeping has been more challenging than Georgia's thanks to a poorly-timed cold and daylight savings. Georgia is easy to overlook because she is so quiet, but she cried quite a bit at her first sponge bath and Ellen put her fingers in her ears and ran away. She also said one morning, I heard Georgia crying last night - did you? (Ummm, YES). Also, the biggest issue (if you can believe it) is Georgia's umbilical cord. Ellen hates the look of it and runs away when I change her diaper or clothes!