AB CB: February 2012

Betsy Marie Tester

2/13/12

8 pounds, 2 ounces

21 inches long

She is here and we are so in love! I can't believe how sweet she is. I love having a tiny little newborn all curled up in my arms.

The delivery went really well. I was very nervous but she was delivered safely and healthy. The surgery was a lot longer than the other two so it took awhile to get her out. When it was time to pull her out they let Andy stand up and take pictures and announce the sex. It took him a few extra beats because he was so shocked that she was actually a girl. He was so convinced that we were having another boy. It was all very sweet - then we heard her little cry.

It's hard being behind the curtain and not getting to be apart of the action. The important things I remember hearing were "She looks really good." "She's so tiny!" (everyone was predicting a 9-10 pound baby) and from Andy "She has red hair!"

Then they brought her over to me and I got to hold her for awhile. She just had this tiny little squishy face and kept sticking out her little lizard tongue. They didn't rush her out to the nursery which was really nice. They let me take my time with her and then took her straight to recovery to wait for me. Andy was with her the whole time and when I got into recovery I got to hold her more and start breastfeeding. She didn't want to latch on for more than a few seconds - but she did really great. I got to be there for her first bath which was awesome because I have never been able to do that before.

It seemed like it took forever to get out of recovery and into our room. Especially since we had so many people waiting to meet Miss Betsy out in the waiting room.

When Curtis came into the room he was really sweet and excited. The only thing he didn't want was to hold the baby. Unfortunately he had seen some pictures of her before she was cleaned up and he was convinced that she was still covered in goo. The next day we convinced him that she had indeed been given a bath and it was safe to hold her. He was really sweet with her and has been such a good big brother so far. I'm really proud of the way he has been with her. I know he is still processing the changes this girl has brought into our lives - we all are. But we are all smitten with her and completely head over heals.

She has been home for a week now and is doing really well. We mostly just sit around and stare at her and try to figure out who she looks like. She has a lot of similarities to the way Curtis looked when he was born but also very different. She has her daddy's eyes which are blue for now. I can't wait to see if they stay blue or turn hazel like her brother's. Her hair is reddish but a lot more blonde than Curtis' was. We could have a little blondie on our hands. The only thing for sure is that she is cute cute cute!

We love you Betsy Marie!