Welcome Alyssa Noel Grace!!!

She was born at 2:45 pm today, well yesterday, technically now, December 31, 2007! She is 7 lbs 14 oz, 19 inches long and a full head of long, dark hair! She is beautiful!!! For those of you who don't know, my niece Kara is the mom to Alyssa. Kara moved up here from New Mexico back in the summer. Here's the birth story! About 11:30 today, while at work, I received a voice mail from my mom stating that Kara is going to have a C-section about 2:00 pm. So, I called mom back but got her voicemail. Then Jeff called me, and said he just got a call from my mom (waking him up since he is on midnights this week) stating Kara was going to have a C-section this afternoon. So, while I was talking to Jeff, Mom was calling me back, so I hung up with Jeff and got the scoop from Mom. Kara's due date was anywhere between the 22nd and 27th of this month. Friday, she had a stress test to make sure the baby was okay, and she was just fine. So, they had her go in for an ultra-sound this morning to take a peek at her, and estimate her weight and so on. Well, it appeared she was close to 9 lbs. and her amniotic fluid was low. The Dr. and the midwife told Kara that they could strip her membrane, then give her a sleeping pill, and then induce labor tomorrow (today, now, technically). But, they figured that even if they did all that, she had a 50/50 chance of having to have a C-section anyway, because they thought she was going to be so big. So, Kara opted to go ahead with the C-section now. I must say, not ever having a C-section or being right there when someone who has had one, it was fast! My Mom went in the operating room with her, but I was right outside in the recovery room. They let me wait there because there weren't any other patients in there at the time. They wheeled Kara into the operating room about 2:10 or so, prepped her for the C-section, while Mom got all dressed up in the scrubs (I took a picture of her on her camera). Then they came and got Mom, and about 15 minutes, or so later out came Mom and a nurse holding Alyssa!!! I got to hold her right away! I was the first...yeah!!!! She is so precious! So, while Kara was in the operating room being stitched and cleaned up, Alyssa was being weighed and measured. Then they wheeled Kara out into the recovery room. We hung out there for over an hour, while they finished cleaning Alyssa and checking Kara. Trisha and Ethan showed up for a few minutes. Ethan touched her very gently on the head, but mostly he just stared at her. It was cute! Alyssa is a great "sucker"! She came out wanting the breast right away, and if she doesn't have something in her mouth, almost at all times, she is fussing! Kara is getting the hang of breast-feeding and Alyssa is getting the hang of this big, bright world! It looks like her eyes might be dark brown, but we will see. My sister says Alyssa looks like Kara when Kara was a baby, and yes, I can see the resemblence. Congratulations Kara! And welcome Alyssa Noel Grace! I love you both!!!!! Great Auntie Mary