Seven Baby Takes

1. I originally wrote this short story to say that the little one does not yet have a blog name.  Then I realized what it should be.  The newest member of our household is, of course, the Princess.  The Captain will disagree, as he swears she will never hear the word “princess” and only have nun dolls.
2. One day, I may write my birth story to share on the blog.  In case not, here’s the quick version: I woke up at 3am thinking, “Well, that feels different.” After twelve hours of freaking out because the contractions were not consistent and sometimes got further apart (and I really wanted to have the baby!), I decided it was time to do something different.  I made the Captain the keeper of the time, and he and I walked Springfield mall for a few hours, until he told me it was time to go to the hospital.  We followed two salt trucks almost all the way to the hospital.  We were admitted between 7 and 8pm and by 3am had a little baby girl with us.  It took a half hour of pushing, no drugs, and a lot of screaming, but she came out healthy and beautiful.
3.  We hired a doula to accompany us through labor and it was one of the best decisions in my birth experience (second only to choosing Tepeyac as my OB).  The doula’s name is Kimberly Lawton and if you are in the northern Virginia area and getting ready for a baby, I recommend her!
4. I came out of the experience with blood freckles on my shoulders and hearing problem.  If the baby is in the room, I have a hard time hearing anything else.  Apparently this is motherhood. 
5. I am so blessed to have such a strong network of family and friends nearby.  A huge thank you to all of my 3.14 readers who have come to visit/bring food.
6.  So far, we have brought the Princess to several Masses and other Church events and she has behaved well enough.  I am crossing my fingers and praying that it stays that way.  Although I got around it this time, I am wondering about the appropriateness of bringing a newborn into the Confessional.
7.  Late night/early morning feeding plus a tablet mean that I am doing a lot of reading.  Free/library accessible ebook suggestions are welcome!  The best I’ve read thus far is My Salinger Year, which I would recommend for a light, fun literary read.