Out for a Walk

We took Lena for a walk on Monday, March 21, 2011. I have several options for slings that I've been trying out. This is the Moby wrap. It was easier to put on than I thought it would be. She's so small and this wrap held her very secure. We walked Bradley to the local library and back. It was our second walk with Lena.

We found a lamp post that had been tagged by KWitta at the Lakewood Library. It made me very happy to see this in my neighborhood.

We had a good walk. It was cloudy, not hot and not cold, with a nice breeze. It felt good to get out.

Power to the People

Lena is 10 days old as of today, March 23, 2011. 

Holding Lena

From top, clockwise: my Mom, Todd's Mom, sister Sarah, friend Consuelo, friend Nicole, my Dad
Center: Todd and me

Faces of Lena

March 18, 2011

Lena's Name

Cora Marie and Lena Elizabeth Davidson, 1909

When we were thinking about names for our daughter we pulled out the family tree that my grandmother typed out in 1991. There were some great names. Her name was Winona, which I've always loved. Her mother's name was Jally May and Jally's sisters have perhaps the most interesting names I've ever heard--making Jally sound like a perfectly common name--including: Mant, Zona, Ettie, and Effie. There's also Maggie, Bessie, Ethel, three girls that died young, and a boy named Oliver. Jally's mother was named Elminia and Jally's mother-in-law was named Elvira Josephine. We had plenty of choices for unique family names.

I never met my grandmother's sister Lena, but I grew up hearing her name. She was accomplished at needlework and a large piece of her embroidery now hangs in my parent's house. Lena died of diphtheria in 1928 three weeks after marrying--I remembered that story from childhood too. I thought passing on her name might be a way to both honor her and my grandmother. 

Marie and Lena, ages 2 and 4

Besides that, we fell in love with the name. It fit our criteria completely. We wanted something short, simple, and distinctive. If you look up the meaning of the name Lena you'll find a wide variety of meanings, for example in English it means palm tree. Since it seems to mean everything, we've done some selective editing and prefer to follow along these lines: in Greek it means sun beam or moon ray; in Scandinavian it refers to "torch", a metaphoric representation of something that shows light and leads the path; and it is a derivative of Helena which means light and shine. 


So, for us Lena means light.

Our Lena at 6 days, Sat., March 19, 2011

The Orchid Bloomed

When we left for the hospital on Saturday night I had noticed that the orchid in the kitchen window was about to bloom. This is what we found we arrived home on Tuesday. 

By Wednesday, there were two blooms and many more buds about to bloom. We weren't home to confirm it, but I like to think that it bloomed when Lena was born. I inherited this plant from my Mom when she had to get rid of her plants after coming home from the hospital. I don't have very good luck with plants and have never had anything as delicate as an orchid.

Lena is Here

Lena arrived at 12:28 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, 2011, weighing 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 22 inches long. She is bigger than I had expected, but she did stay in the womb a full 41 weeks. I started having contractions that I could feel on Friday night that lasted through Saturday. By Saturday night the contractions were regular and strong enough that we called the doctor and decided to go to the hospital.

Once at the hospital we were told that I was still in early labor and to walk around the hospital floor. If nothing happened then they would send us home. Instead, after two sessions of walking and checking my water broke and we were admitted to the hospital. Active labor went quickly, but my nausea turned into vomiting -- everywhere. By the time I was in transitional labor I was hooked up to an IV to counter the dehydration from the vomiting and given a strong anti-nausea medication intravenously along with oxygen. Lena's heartbeat was dropping whenever I had a strong contraction, so I needed to lay still on my side through the transition contractions with the fetal monitor, IV, and oxygen. Surprisingly, I thought transition was the easiest phase. Since I couldn't move I focused all of my energy on breathing and making it through the contractions. Then, I was ready to push.

My doctor, Dr. Littrell, came in on a Sunday and coached me through three and a half hours of pushing. It was the hardest work I've ever done. Todd was a tremendous help and support, both emotionally and physically as we tried to find the best position for pushing.

Finally, she was born and handed to me. It was amazing. She looked like an alien with her purplish skin, cheesy white coating, big dark eyes, and pointy head. She was beautiful. She scored an 8-9 on the Apgar Scale, a quick health assessment given right after birth.

Todd and I are so pleased with the hospital, our doctor, and nurses. Everything went better than expected and our experience was very positive. After months of wondering how the birth would go it was finally done. All of the reading, talking, classes, and preparing we'd done had paid off. We had a natural birth without any medication and no complications or tearing. Both mother and baby are healthy and happy.