one month old

mommy's little joy

our bundle of holiday cheer:



plus a photo of our lovely christmas tree which zack went out and bought before thea was born. good thinking as we wouldn't have had time to get one afterward! as it were, we still didn't decorate the tree until a few days before christmas.



father vince. we spent christmas eve and christmas brunch with him. he kept us all [especially my dad] entertained with his many jokes and interesting tales of travel. zack and i see him now about every two weeks or so for dinner.

john and lucy's visit

i am so happy that lucy and john could make it to california this month. although it was a short visit [filled with mostly rainy days unfortunately] we spent some quality time together. john is a very excited uncle and father-to-be. he jumped right in, changing diapers, shushing and shaking. i think he got a few swaddle lessons from zack too. we also took thea to cantina, her first restaurant excursion, while they were here. i miss them and wish we lived closer so thea and her cousin-to-be [expected in late march] are the best of friends.

howzit

thea smiled for the first time when she was just two weeks old. sure, dr. upton [our pediatrician] thought i was just an overly eager mother when i told him. luckily we caught it on camera:



taken december 11, 2008 just after heather and bob's holiday party. on second thought, maybe she just had too much egg nog.

ten days old

a few photos from the hospital...

thea was born at sharp mary birch hospital for women in san diego, ca. we absolutely loved the hospital and all the amazing nurses, doctors and staff!

a quick delivery story:

my water broke on the night of november 27, a few hours after thanksgiving dinner. we headed to the hospital around 10pm and were admitted to a room in the wee hours of november 28. contractions had not begun but the nurses gave me the night to progress on my own before starting pitocin. with no change by 7am, the IV began and contractions kicked in. it was a long day of waiting with not too much pain but not much change either...by 10pm [24 hours after arriving at the hospital] i was still only dilated to 3cm. the doctors suggested a c-section but allowed me to hold off until the morning.

however, by midnight the baby's heartbeat began steadily dropping with every contraction and at 12:45am the doctor said we could wait no longer. i was pumped with drugs as zack donned his scrubs for surgery. i was wheeled to the OR and prepped by a team of doctors and nurses, there must have been 10 people in the room. i remember asking for my glasses before surgery began as they had been removed and i wanted to be sure to see the baby when it arrived.

our little nuggie took her first breath at 1:14am, followed by a bellowing cry! "she's beautiful," the doctor remarked. what?? she?? we have a daughter?! i couldn't be more excited!! her palate is perfectly intact. her cleft lip is tiny, minor, adorable. how lucky we are.

welcome to the world little nuggie!

theadora crews randel
born november 29, 2008
1:14am
6 pounds, 6 ounces
19.5 inches

we are thrilled that she's finally here!!
...and one of us is totally shocked that she's a girl ;)