The Baby Sister

She's here!

Introducing the Baby Sister...

Brooklyn Lucille Salway

October 27, 2008

2:33 pm

8 lbs. 5 oz

19 3/4 inches

Get ready for a whole bunch of pictures!

We went to the hospital Monday morning to have the new baby. My mom came into town Sunday afternoon to help watch the kids.

Brooklyn had trouble getting air at first and so the nurse wanted to monitor her upstairs in the nursery for 2 to 4 hours. That kind of scared me, as it would any new mom...and disappointed me too. I only got to hold her for a quick second... long enough to snap a picture before they took her upstairs. (it's the first one below where she's screaming.)

Todd texted me from the nursery a few minutes later and said, "she's fine... you'll have her back in 10 to 15 minutes." That meant the world to me. I have been waiting so long to hold my baby...

After we got her back and got to spend some time with her, she went back up to the nursery to have a bath. I love this picture because you can see her rolls... she is a big girl!

She was born later in the afternoon, and with all the commotion of sending her upstairs, getting her back, and me being transferred upstairs, it was probably close to 5 when Todd went home to get the kids. When he left, my afterbirth contractions were so bad I was begging for pain medication. They gave me a shot of demerol and fenigran in my IV to help with my pain and reduce nausea. I have to say, I have never had such strong pain medication before... and I loved it. It made me so tired,... but boy did it do a wonder for my pain. The hard part was that Todd was on his way back up to the hospital with the boys and my mom and I wasn't able to even open my eyes. I was so out of it when they came I feel like I kind of missed the moment with them. That's OK... Todd got it on video and took lots of pictures.

Day 2 in the hospital. She's getting cuter... and a little more girly looking...I've never brought real clothes for my boys to the hospital... I just let them wear what the nursery gives them. But... this time I brough a cute pink outfit and we dressed her up. It was fun to see her in pink and wearing a cute bow!

My mom and the boys came up for another visit. CHAOS!!! That's the hardest part... the older kids having a hay-day with all the buttons, drapes, bed and chairs to climb on... absolute crazyness. Oh yeah, and not to mention the fighting over who gets to hold her first. Here's a picture of my mom and the newest grand-daughter..

Day 3... we go home! We dressed her up in her dolly dress and packed her in her carseat.

I came home to a beautifully decorated house with pink and white balloons, signs, and some beautiful flowers. That was a very nice surprise. We didn't get home until about 6 pm. Andrew was hoping that I'd be home when he got home from school and so he invited all the neighbor kids to come to his house and see his new baby sister. LUCKILY we were still at the hospital when they all showed up!

When we pulled into the garage, all the boys were standing in the doorway, just so excited for us to arrive. They ran out to the car, opened the door and then it began... the fight over who got to hold her first. I hadn't mentally prepared myself for that one. After some creative negotiating, we went youngest to oldest.

My mom had worked so hard to clean my house for me. It was sparkly clean. Thanks mom! She even bought me a boquet of flowers. They were waiting in my room for me.

Let me explain the name...

Brooklyn is a name that Todd and I have loved since we first got married. We were deciding between Brooklyn and 2 others. We tried them out on her and Brooklyn just seemed to fit her. We did leave the hospital without naming her, and we named her on Friday, Oct. 31.

Her middle name is Lucille, after my great-aunt Lucille. I have always wanted to name a daughter after my great-aunt... who is really more like a grandmother to me. Aunt Lucy (as we all call her) has so many Christ-like qualities and is such a giving, generous person. When Tyce died she wrote me letters almost every other day for several months. She just knows how to make you feel happy and good inside. I was hoping that one day I would have a daughter to carry on Aunt Lucy's name. When I found out Brooklyn was a girl, I knew Lucille would be her middle name. It would make me very happy as a mom if Brooklyn turned out to be like her Great-Great Aunt Lucy. Here is a picture from summer 2007 of me and Aunt Lucy up in Seattle.